MCU, Phase 4 Series, So Far

 No thanks to Disney+, I've finished all MCU phase 4 series thus far.

Let's kick it off with the first, WandaVision. As the first entry, WandaVision bears the heaviest responsibility to deliver the best as the expectations were the highest. But it did not disappoint. I admit the first episode got me confused as I had no idea what direction the series was heading. I knew something ain't right when Hart choked and his wife reacted like a robot gone haywire, churning out inaccurate response to a situation not initially programmed into it. But as the episode went on, it ended with a credit roll and it scrolled out to show that it seemed to occur in a virtual world. In any case, as more episodes were released, more mysteries were answered, and I must say they were very brilliantly crafted. Wonderful series with wonderful storylines. My rating: 8/10

The next in line would be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This series is more down to earth, more grounded in nature, and contain a lot more political elements that make the series a little incongruous. There aren't really any superheroes, but there are super-soldiers, created from scientifically-manufactured serum. It started with Sam forgoing becoming Captain America, and the first episode ended with John Walker inheriting it, and it went on to becoming him being an ass. Sam and Bucky had some rocky relationships, but they mended it and formed a partnership/brotherhood that ended with Sam becoming both the Falcon and Captain America. I dislike the 'one world, one people' theme, and I resent that the show is a lot more political and much more filler. But otherwise, it's still a pretty enjoyable film, but Sam as a Captain America felt, weird. I would be very curious what Walker next plot would be, and what's Sharon role in MCU would be. My rating: 7/10.

Loki wasted no time getting into the main storyline. Immediately after his escape in Endgame, he became a variant that chose a divergent path from what was charted, and was captivated by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a new authority from a different dimension that made its charming entrance with infinitely vast implications to the MCU. The first episode began with Loki being interrogated by Mobius, surrendering to the fact that TVA is real, and bonding with Mobius. Then we learnt that a new, devious threat to the existence of TVA is actually another variant of Loki that has been slaughtering the TVA's enforcers, and we then learnt this Loki is a female and her name is Sylvie, and she and Loki had a spark. Yes, let that sink in a little, both Loki had a spark, a new level of narcissism. Nonetheless, MCU made this disgustingly charming. Yet this spark created a whole new level of threat to the TVA. I would say Loki is among the strongest series, the story was fascinating, the theme was unique, and TVA is just a force to be reckoned with that we'll probably visit in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. My rating: 9/10. I hated the cliffhanger, please bring in season 2 quick.

Then the next would be Hawkeye. I never really like Hawkeye/Clint Barton, because he just wasn't somebody who was very uniquely interesting for me. The producers probably knew Clint had very little room for exploration, so they introduced Kate Bishop. Hawkeye isn't about Clint Barton, it's about the character Hawkeye, and anybody can be Hawkeye, and in this series it's Kate Bishop. There are two Hawkeyes in this series. I hated Kate Bishop, I thought the series focused too much on her than Clint, until Yelana comes into the picture and bonded with her, and their interactions completely changed how I viewed this series. I love Yelena - she's a very wonderful woman and extremely charming assassin, and their sisterly bond is extremely lovely to watch. But other than that, I think this series is the weakest among the four that has been released so far (except What If?). No menacing villains, no character growth other than Kate, and Eleanor is just Lorrain Warren without her supernatural power and I don't quite like her. I would definitely love to see Kate and Yelena together much more in the future! My rating: 6/10, I would have rated it 4 were it not for Yelana and Kate.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Trailer

MCU movies officially become another thing for me to look forward to, in addition to every upcoming public holidays.

Phase 4 seems like it'll be working very well!

Eternals

This has been touted as a flop because it underwhelms. Since it has been released on Disney+, I watched it.

I find the characters Eternals interesting. They don't seem to be as powerful as some of the Avengers, but they are an interesting bunch.

About one hour into the film, I get why people are saying this movie underwhelms. Okay. Too many characters. Too many origins. There's an overabundance of individual stories and why they went separate ways, before the story re-deviates and refocuses on Tiamut. 

I like Sersi. I like Thena. And I like Ikaris. All other Eternals are quite a boring bunch, maybe also except Phastos. Gilgamesh vs Shang-chi? Bad timing, Shang-chi makes his fight looks like a baby throwing tantrum when he's denied his dessert.

The first half of the movie was boring, the pace was painfully slow. But the second picked up pace, and I liked it. The visuals in this movie are wonderful. When Arishem explained to Sersi the purpose of the Eternals and about their origins, the visual effects and directions were simply mind-blowing. But I concur with the majority critics' opinions: the non-linear form of story-telling is very distracting and undercut the movie a little.

But otherwise, I've quite enjoyed the movie. It's not as good as other Marvel movies, but if this isn't a Marvel movie, I would still rate it pretty favourably. It's better than Iron Man 2, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Ant-Man. But ya, seems like it's at bottom 20% for me.

I would put it 7.5/10. I do still recommend people watching it, and I'm quite looking forward to watching the sequel, and how the characters in this movie will cross path with the other Avengers.