A Love Letter to Marvel

There is so much to say about this huge franchise, from the detail and the depth of character, to the time spent on creating these masterpieces, that where to even start is baffling. I will forever and always love Marvel, their comics, their characters and their universe. While I am a fan of DC, I feel that they came much too late to the game of this generation of movies to be able to compete – throwing years’ worth of information into one 2-hour movie does not constitute an in depth backstory. Sorry, guys. Anyway. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the true recipient of this expression of love, because in my excitement over the release of Captain America: Civil War – which is absolutely incredible – I re-watched every movie in the MCU, and loved every second.

From the moment Robert Downey Jr. appeared on our screens as Tony Stark (Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist) I have been enamoured. Eagerly awaited the next release, gladly queued up to go and treasured every single moment. Because of the undying love I have for this ever-growing franchisee, I found it difficult to decide what aspects to write about here, because I could genuinely spend my life writing and talking about how much I love Marvel. So instead, I’ve chose five movies. Five beautiful MCU creations that captivated me and made the MCU what it is today.

Iron Man (2008)

Where else to start but at the beginning? We see a drunken, billionaire playboy change before our eyes – Tony Stark, ladies’ man, weapons developer and all around just not really a nice guy, becomes Iron Man. A man with a conscience, a man who saves people, a man who cares. That is actually the sappiest explanation of Iron Man to date, so, moving on. We get to see the beginning of what we know is to come; the superhero in the armoured suit who becomes a founding member of the Avengers. RDJ embodies Tony Stark in this movie and makes the character unforgettable, while the CGI used for the suits were phenomenal and the overall composition of the movie felt natural and compelling.  From the development of the Iron Man suit (from the huge, bulky Mark I, to the slimmer, though still War Machine-esque Mark II, to Mark III, the first suit with “hot rod red” and gold paintwork), to J.A.R.V.I.S. and his never-ending wit, Iron Man kick-started the MCU and they would be no-where near the thrilling, exciting institution they are today without it.

 The Avengers (2012)

Utterly perfect. That is what this film turned out to be. Packed out with our favourite characters, this movie has an intricate storyline, brilliant cinematography and some epic fight scenes. Not only did we get to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes unite, but we got to see them bond and joke and develop relationships. There are so many wonderful aspects of this movie, including “doth mother know you weareth her drapes?” and so much more. Thor’s lack of knowledge about Earth; Nat and Barton’s whole relationship; Tony’s anger over being the only one to do the homework; and, of course, the shawarma scene.  Filled with laughs, action and an incredible storyline, Joss Whedon did an excellent job of bringing the Avengers together. We got to see them come together to battle a dangerous alien force, the fantastic CGI work done to develop the Hulk (amongst other spectacular digital creations), and witness the elaborate scenes that have since become infamous; all this and an extremely beautiful cast; what more could we ask for?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

One of my all-time favourite movies. Two years after the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and is still trying to assimilate to modern living; as if seeing this wasn’t enough, just to see him getting used to this life and working with Fury, we’re hit with blow after blow of information. S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Fury is dead. Bucky is alive. Bucky is the Winter Soldier. Hard hitting, fast paced, and exhilarating. I love this movie; that much is obvious. The development and intricate plot that leads to the rise of Hydra is perfectly executed and sets up Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wonderfully. Now for my favourite part; James Buchanan Barnes. From Steve’s reaction to seeing his best friend alive, to the moment I realised that if Romanoff had not fired at Bucky, Steve would have gladly let Bucky shoot him in the chest if it meant that he wouldn’t have to hurt his best friend, to Bucky’s “I know him” and pulling Steve from the wreckage at the end of the film, everything about this film broke my heart. But I suppose that is what a truly great movie does. Stripping back the CGI in favour of more traditional action scenes and allowing time for character development gave Winter Soldier a little something extra, which I feel comes from the Russo brothers and their direction; Civil War is only further evidence; they’re definitely on a roll. Along with this, the action scenes were skilfully executed; the introduction of Falcon was brilliant and bringing Steve, Nat and Sam together made for a spectacular addition to the MCU.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

So different from the rest of the MCU I sometimes worry that it doesn’t really fit, despite being a really good movie. However, when you look closely enough you can see that Marvel have worked tirelessly to ensure that there are links between the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this other worldly newcomer; other than the obvious connection through the Infinity Stones, a Chitauri (The Avengers) and a Dark Elf (Thor: The Dark World) can both be seen in The Collector’s museum, while the Kree play a fairly substantial role in the first season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This movie felt more like a comedy most of the time, but definitely managed to still feel like a Marvel film; we see a team who initially do not want to work together, brought closer by extenuating circumstances (sound familiar?). While the action scenes in the movie were different from what we had previously encountered, they were still pretty epic and infused with Guardians-esque comedy (Groot literally shoves a branch through several enemies chests and smashes them in to walls). From Rocket’s obsession with prosthetic limbs and Drax’s confusion with even the simplest of metaphors, to Quill’s “they got my dick message!” the movie was funny in its own right, and makes a great addition to the MCU.

Age of Ultron (2015)

What to even say about this movie? There are just so many wonderful things about it. Starting with an absolutely beautiful team photo during the opening scene, Age of Ultron delivers blow after blow of incredible writing, acting, combat scenes and digital imagery. The Hulkbuster scene is one of the best (I mean, “Go to sleep”? Amazing), while the Maximoffs proved more interesting than  I expected; by the end of the movie I had fallen in love with their characters and it broke my heart to see Wanda fall apart at the loss of her brother. The scene during which her emotional breakdown wipes out many of Ultron’s soldiers is extremely well done, and Wanda showing Ultron exactly how she felt at the moment her brother died (by ripping his heart out and crushing it) only raised my opinions of her.  Other than simply seeing the team back together again, the arrival of Fury, Hill and War Machine and our old friend Helicarrier No. 64 and that incredible mid-credits scene are the reasons that Age of Ultron felt utterly perfect. Last but certainly not least, the sheer brilliance that was James Spader’s Ultron. His speech, his movements, his entire embodiment of the character is flawless and I think that had it been anyone else, there would have been some lack of conviction and taken something truly significant away from the film. Along with this, the Infinity Stones were finally acknowledged, rather than just present; of course through Vision, but also through Thor’s subplot and his acknowledgement that 4 Infinity Stones have surfaced in recent history; this has paved the way for the both the Infinity War movies and other future MCU projects, and it is genuinely difficult for me to reign in my excitement for what is to come.

Well, there it is.

If you kept reading to this point, I’d like to point out that Captain America: Civil War would most definitely be on this list if I wasn’t wary of spoilers because it really is amazing, fast paced and jam packed with all my favourite people. But alas, my rambling is complete.