Yeah, those two first Spideyman films were really good.
See I was really into Marvel comics when I was a child. Started with Marvel Comic, then Spiderman when he got his own comic. Loved The Avengers when they got their own comic. Read The X-Men for a good few years too.
Now this is clearly a very long time ago (tail end of the 60's probably till the tail end of the 70's when I switched to 2000AD, so it's not like I have no knowledge or love of the Marvel universe, but as the films get bigger and more complicated they're losing me, because they over-rely on knowledge of previous films.
Now I've seen the vast majority of them (but not necessarily in the correct order which obviously doesn't help) but none of their plots are the least bit memorable regardless of whether I enjoyed them or not, so by the time you get to something like Captain America: Civil War, I'm really struggling to work out what the fuck is going on.

CA:CW begins with them fighting some Big Punchy Man with robot fists in some foreign country. I don't know who he is, I don't know if I'm even meant to know who he is, and he's never introduced properly. Maybe I've seen him in a previous film or maybe I haven't, but I have no knowledge of who he is. Would it really hurt to have a couple of lines of exposition at this point explaining what the fuck is going on?

Then there's this guy who is the main villain, but for most of the film you have no idea who the fuck he is because he's just Anonymous White Man. Turns out he's actually the son of a character (who to the best of my knowledge) has never appeared in any of the Marvel films. That's not terribly helpful either.

At one point during the Civil War (I'm afraid none of that washes as a plot either, but I'll let it go) recruitment bit, Flying Black Man (who was apparently in another Captain America film which I have seen but don't remember him) says I know someone who can help! and then later he turns up with what turns out to be Ant Man in a van. God help you though, if like me you haven't yet watched the Ant Man film, because they don't bother to introduce his character here anyway, so until he actually puts on his costume you have no idea who he is either.

Everyone then punches everyone else for a very long time.

After that there is a denouement in Siberia, none of which makes much sense either, then there's more punching and nothing is resolved.

It's not a terrible film, but it left me baffled for long stretches.

I think Flying Black Man was recast at some point before he levelled up to Flying Black Man as well, just to add to the confusion.

Paul the sparky wrote:

Your confusion is down to watching them in the wrong order, Shirley? Can't help with you forgetting who characters are though. But I'd not want everyone to announce who they are in their first scene of every film they're in like Troy McClure. Not being able to jump in anywhere or watch them in a random order is one of the down sides to this cinematic universe thing, but for those of us who watch them in the right order and can remember who's who then it's not an issue.

Thing is, no one else in CA:CW has actually met Ant Man, so when he turns up with Flying Black Man it wouldn't be a great stretch of the imagination to actually introduce him properly to his mates, because if I was Captain America I'd be like who the fuck is this guy?

...and people wonder why I'm confused.

They should do a DC Marvel crossover film. Both universes together.

They obviously want this potential confusion to make sure people watch all the films. Going to see Avengers 7? Better buy Thor 9 on bluray to make sure you don't get lost.

Yossarian wrote:

I presumed it was age-related.

I'm sure it doesn't help.

g.man wrote:

I presumed it was age-related.

I'm sure it doesn't help.

Yeah, it's probably a factor.

Edit: Not only in terms of memory either, but also in giving a shit about the finer details of men in spandex stories.

There are alot of superhero tv shows. The quality does vary alot. 

Not seen: 
Iron Fist (not good reviews)
Powerless (has potential apparently)


Won't watch:
Gotham (cant be arsed)
Agents of Shield (cant be arsed)  
Arrow (garbage)
Supergirl (garbage)
Legends of Tomorrow (garbage would be a compliment)

Have watched / am watching:
Daredevil (amazing)
Jessica Jones (very good)
Legion (which im working through at moment, is touch and go)

Luke Cage (just started)
Preacher (very good)

She's protected by the fact she hasn't had her standalone film yet.

To be honest, I can't keep on top of who everyone is either, I'm just fortunate in that I'm not too bothered. A sense of humour and some decent action and I'm pretty much happy.

I will say that, as much as I understand the criticisms chucked at the MCU, I do appreciate the fact that Marvel/Disney are trying to do something a bit different. It's an ambitious project, which comes with its own set of difficulties, but the fact that it does all tie in together does add an extra edge to it and I like the fact that someone's attempting something like this.

I look forward to phase 1 of this to finish and rewatching all of these films in a short space of time to see how it all comes together.

omg i got the two flying black men mixed up and now i feel like a massive racist aaarrghhh

Yossarian wrote:

Won't watch: Gotham (cant be arsed) Agents of Shield (cant be arsed)  

I like Gotham, especially the second series. Agents of Shield provides a nice counterpoint to the MCU films, IMO.

I don't really have the time to dedicate to series which are 18-24 episodes a season. i much prefer 10-12 episodes a season without any fillers. That said i can see myself liking agents of shield.

As someone who read a lot of these comics in the 90s-mid 00s, I am in genuine awe when I see these films. Also the fact they are a bit more child friendly than most (although that's getting to be less the case I find) means you could be sitting near kids literally standing on their cinema seats in excitement, which is amazing to see.

I was almost breathless watching the first avengers film, just could not believe they brought something as awesome as the ultimates to life. I pretty much catch every single marvel film I can, and having loads of prior knowledge means I don't have to think too hard as I know the bulk of the story set up already.

I do understand not giving a shit though, I work for an indie and foreign film distrib so I hear a lot of groans about these films. Annoys me when all comic based films are lumped together like their own genre though, as there's so much diversity in now. Blue is the warmest colour was a comic/graphic novel ffs.

Isn't that just The Tory Party?