What If? (2021) Review

So I finally watched What if? Over-all I found it to be a great show. It was an interesting look into the kinds of things we could see going forward in the marvel Disney + shows. I finally finished watching it during a current bout of illness (mild covid) and finally had the motivation to finish watching the show after taking a little break for holiday stuff. What If? Is an Anthology series taking a look at the now wide-open multiverse of possibilities shown through the eyes of The Watcher (Jeffery Wright) an ultra-powerful cosmic being who has taken an oath of non interference, until another dangerous cosmic being forces his hand. 

Episode 1: What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

A great start to the series. This episode is a new version of the Captain America story, but with Peggy Carter becoming the first Super Soldier instead, with Steve taking the role of a photo Iron Man type called the Hydra Stomper. It was cool seeing Peggy doing all the Captain America stuff, but with it being animation allows her to do more creative and impressive things than what we’ve seen Steve do. I didn’t know how I would feel about the art and animation style when I first saw it, but I really enjoyed it. Fluid motion and looks amazing. The performances were pretty good. It was a great first start and I can’t wait to see more.

Episode 2: What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?

Another great episode. This episode is a version of the Star Lord story where T’Challa is taken instead of Peter Quill. It’s an interesting episode seeing how different things are with T’Challa instinctively helping the universe to the point of Thanos becoming an Ally. I’m surprised the Dark Order joined the collector, but it was interesting seeing the collector being a full villain. The voice acting was very good, the animation was incredible as well. Very colourful and interesting. Over-all another good episode and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

Episode 3: What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?

Another great episode. The first episode with what could be seen as a depressing story. Which is similar to the comics as they get depressing a lot. This episode focuses a lot of telling a different version of the major first parts of the founding of the avengers, but instead of it going the way it’s supposed to they end up dead. The episode sets up a mystery asking who is doing this and how they are doing it. It’s pretty interesting seeing the first example of a hero gone villain with the reveal that it’s been Hank Pym the whole time to get revenge on Fury for the death of Hope. This all ends with Loki coming and deciding to take over the earth reciting the speech he gave in Marvel’s Avengers. The performances were good, the episode was interesting, the animation was great. Another good episode.

Episode 4: What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

Another great episode, and also another depressing episode. It’s episodes like this that what if was made for. This episode is asking the question of what if Dr Strange lost his heart (his love Christine) instead of his hands. It’s a really interesting episode as it’s the first one where the story we know is only at the beginning. After the recap we get a new story with a split timeline in the universe, one where strange stayed at the sanctum sanctorum, and another where strange tried to save Christine and became obsessed with doing so. Leading to him falling down a rabbit hole of absorbing the power of possibly millions of mystical beings and eventually leading to the destruction of his universe. The performances are great, it’s the second time we see what a character is willing to do to get his goal, even becoming a monster in the process. This is also the first time we see the watcher be acknowledged by the characters in the show. The first glimpse of the endgame of the season. Over-all a great episode. 

Episode 5: What If… Zombies?!

This was a good episode. It was intriguing to see how they were going to do the Marvel Zombies adaptation, and it’ll be interesting to see how the spin-off handles it. This episode focused on the survivors of the quantum virus trying to find a cure. It was interesting to see that while the zombies couldn’t talk, they could still fight and use their abilities like they did when alive. It was cool seeing how the characters were used in the episode and what their roles were. This episodes has a bit of a hopeful spin to it….until we see Zombi thanks with an almost completed infinity gauntlet, as this takes place during infinity war. A good episode over-all.

Episode 6: What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?

This was another good episode. It was interesting to see how deep this version of Killmonger’s plan went and how much he fully succeeded for the time being. It was cool to see him interact with these moments in MCU history like the origins of Iron Man. The way this sets itself up as a story about Tony and Erik was interesting, and shows even more how determined he is for his goal to succeed. Over-all a good episode with a good cliff ganger for the future.

Episode 7: What If… Thor Were an Only Child?

This was a really fun episode. Perhaps the first almost fully comedic episode of What If, where Thor doesn’t have Loki as his adoptive brother and becomes a massive partier….to the point it’s possibly endangered planets. This is the biggest change in what if so far and it’s fun to see the difference in the characters here, like Loki and Thor are friends and all the different characters that show up as part of the planet wide party. This is the most complete story in the show so far, it has a defined beginning middle and end. It has a good character arc for this version of Thor who learns his lesson and becomes a better person for it. The fight with Captain Marvel was awesome and very well animated. This is a stand-out episode for the animation style as it’s incredible as always, but the variety of characters and situations really fits here. This also has our next big view at the endgame of the season, with the introduction of Infinity Ultron intruding on this universe. Possibly the first example of true universal transportation seen in the MCU as far as I’m aware. Over-all this was a great episode, very enjoyable. 

Episode 8: What If… Ultron Won?

This was an insane episode, another huge difference in characters, also depressing, but also hopeful. The biggest view of the endgame since it’s the second last episode, and what it sets up for the final episode is huge. It establishes the threat we first saw at the end of the last episode, and also makes us question what we know about the multiverse and even the infinity stones. Infinity Ultron is insanely powerful and able to do so much in this show. He has the powers of himself, vision and the infinity gauntlet. His fight with the watcher throughout the multiverse was awesome. Another episode that shows why it’s great this was an animated series. The set up for the watcher deciding to get involved is awesome and bringing in the help of strange supreme was great. Over-all another great episode.

Episode 9: What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?

This was a great finale to the series. We get a view of what the characters have been up to since we last saw them in their episode, as well as a view at a world we haven’t seen yet. That was interesting how Gamora in the Thanos armour wasn’t in an episode this season, I forget why but I think I remember seeing them say they didn’t have the time for it. It was really cool seeing these characters interact, for the most part, Killmonger didn’t interact with the others much. Which kinda disappoints me as Black Panther Killmonger interacting with Star Lord T’Challa. The fight between the Guardians of the Multiverse (as the watcher calls them) and Infinity Ultron was amazing. It was creative and the way they defeated him was interesting. It was a pretty good finale to the first season.

The characters and acting in the series is top notch. Most people returned to their characters, including being the last time Chadwick Boseman played T’Challa before his untimely passing. Everyone did an amazing job, giving the feel of their characters, but also making sure they feel different enough. The characters and their storylines where great, even though a lot of them got depressing. I know that was a major thing in the comic stories, where the end is usually everyone dies. I think the ones I enjoyed the most story wise are 2,3,4,7. 

The visuals are top notch. The art and animation style are incredible and colourful. It’s incredible to watch. My favourite episodes for animation are 2,4,7,8,9 as they make the most use out of the medium. I also like how the series isn’t afraid to get dark, brutal, and gory with its subject matter. The music is pretty good as well, giving us something new as well as something familiar (not unlike the series itself). 

Over-all I think this is a must watch and would recommend it. I don’t know if you have to watch them all, but i still say watch them. Two Thumbs Up !!

At the end here I’m putting some cool posters they made for the show, I would have put them with their episodes but the way I went is more unified.

Loki (2021) Review

This has been a long time coming, but here is my Loki review. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it but with the extra time away makes extra time to mull over my feelings for the show. Luckily enough I did record my thoughts on each episode after they aired for my original thoughts on each episode. 

First, let’s establish the show (even though everyone probably knows already). Loki is a Disney Plus series that stars Tom Hiddleston as the titular character, Owen Wilson as Mobius, Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer. The series is set some point during the Avengers’ time heist from Endgame, and is about the Loki that escaped from that movie with the tesseract/space stone and his adventures through time with the TVA. Now we’ll move on to my original thoughts on each episode.

Episode 1: Glorious Purpose

A great premier for this series, setting the tone going forward. It introduces us to the Time Variance Authority (TVA for short) and what they do. This episode does a great job establishing how they have kind of made Loki a fusing of the Avengers and Original timeline versions, having him learning about what they original version of himself went through and what he did. Getting it out of the way to continue on with the series. We are also introduced to Agent Mobius who is pretty cool so far.

Episode 2

Another great episode of the series, showing us more of the TVA bureaucracy and just how much they know. Our first introduction to the opening “antagonist” of the series, and a  bit of her motivation and plan. We get to learn more about Mobius as well. We also see more of Loki coping with learning about his future. 

Episode 3

Another great episode. This time more buddy cop with the budding relationship between Loki and his variant, now known as Sylvie. We get to see more of her skills and abilities, as well of what Loki can do. We get to learn a bit more about her plan, as well as the first cracks into what the TVA truly is. 

Episode 4:

Another stellar episode. More time with the TVA, including more about what it truly is. We get more of Mobius and him slowly realizing what the TVA is. We get some huge reveals and moments in this episode, as well as the first post credits scene of the series. It is incredible. And my god that post credits scene, which helps reveal more about the TVA as well. 

Episode 5:

Theres only so many times I can say that an episode is great, so this is another great episode. We get to learn more about how the timeline works and where every single thing the TVA has pruned has gone. We meet a ton of Lokis with focus on Classic, Kid, and Alligator Loki. It was interesting to see how a society has kind of been established on a trash heap of a world. I feel like this episode did for Loki as the finale did for Wanda in Wandavision in showing that they are more powerful than they and we realize. Some great moments and can’t wait to see what happens in the finale.

Episode 6:

An incredible finale for an amazing show. This episode sets up where marvel is going for the next stage of the films. This episode doesn’t really offer a conclusion to the story, other than Loki realizing that everything they have been working for in this show maybe shouldn’t happen. This episode was insane for everything it established, but is essentially one big exposition dump for everything we’ve seen and everything we’re about to see. It ends the series on a note of what’s to come, along with the first confirmation of a second season.

As you can see from my first reactions, I thought the show was very good. I think the storyline and plot was good and worked for what they were doing in the show, but I feel like it could have used a few more episodes to give us more time with the characters, and to help establish this world a bit more. I wanted these as the show fundamentally changes everything at the end with the reveal that Kang has taken over.

Over-all this show was great. The character arcs all worked really well, and the performances were amazing. I was going to go more in depth for the characters and what I felt about them, but instead I’m gonna write a little bit about each character as I can get a little bogged down in figuring out what to say about the characters.

We’ll start off with Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He was amazing as always and really had a task here as he kind of has to play a whole new version of Loki, while also keeping the things that made his 2012 version Iconic and his 2018 version interesting. I found it interesting how they brought 2012 Loki up to speed with all the development he received in the later movies. I like how in the end he realizes the weight of what is happening and what is about to happen and he can’t stop it. He had good relationships with a lot of the characters.

Next is Owen Wilson as Mobius who is also really good. I like his laid-back nature, but can be serious as well. I like how he is set up as someone who’s been with the TVA for a long time, but eventually starts to question everything about it. His relationship with Loki was pretty good, I just wish we got more time to see that evolve throughout the show and got more time with them. I also wish he got his jet ski.

The last character I will focus on is Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie. She was great throughout the show. She was badass, charming, and interesting. I liked her backstory as a Loki variant that was chosen to die for something so small. Her quest for answers and revenge lead her down the rabbit hole of the TVA and eventually to breaking the multiverse and allowing Kang to take over. Her romance with Loki was interesting, kinda weird since they’re essentially the same person. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with her in the future.

Everyone else was great. The variant Lokis were cool, he who remains was cool and interesting as this guy that seems crazy due to everything he knows, as well as his variant being one of the next big bads going forward is interesting.

The action was pretty good for what we got. The effects were really good. The set design was all good and interesting for the amount of different locations used in the show. The costuming was good as well, as well as the technology the characters used throughout the shot. They were really interesting in how they worked and what their abilities were. The music was amazing and I feel like will become the theme for Loki characters going forward. 

I really enjoyed the way the show played out as you didn’t get a sense of where it was going for a while. I just wish there were more episodes to flesh it out more and give it more time, especially since this is the series that establishes the idea of variants and there being able to be more than one version of a character in the MCU. This was our first true step into the multiverse and established the idea of multiversal imbalance with the incoming Kang War, which as we’ve seen recently in Spider-Man as well as will see in the next Doctor Strange movie is very important. 

This show plants the seeds for the future, is a fun watch, and tells an interesting story that will be very important for the future going forward. I give it two-thumbs up. It’s well worth the watch if you haven’t seen it yet. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home(2021) Review

So I just got back from seeing Spider-Man and it was amazing. I’m gonna try to keep this short so I avoid spoilers and possibly later on at some point have a spoiler post. I was considering doing them at the bottom of this post but I would rather do a separate post with them in it This is a film that you really need to go into with no prior knowledge of the story to get the full experience from the film. I try not to pay attention to a lot of what is said out there, especially during the making of the movie and I still had some stuff ruined for me. It’s still a really good movie though, with a lot of strengths. 

The story and plot were really good and went into interesting ways that I was not expecting. It was really interesting to see how this movie in a way broke down Peter as a character into his basics and is going forward with that. It’ll be interesting to see where the series takes him in the future, with the way it leads him and the rest of the characters at the end of the movie. 

The characters were all great in this movie. The heroes, the villains, the friends, everything was great. I really enjoy what they did with the characters and where it leaves them at the end of the movie. I find it interesting how we got more of Dr Strange than I was thinking we would get. He was very interesting as the hard mentor trying to teach Peter a lesson that he needs to be taught on his own. Peter in this movie is amazing. Probably Tom’s best performance as the character with how much shit he goes through. I would call this movie almost the full origin of the Spider-Man we all have known with the way he ends the movie. I enjoy how the situation in the film is almost entirely his fault and he becomes the solution. 

Everything else in the movie is great as well. The score is great, the effects are great, the cinematography is really good. The fights scenes are incredible. The fights are brutal and Peter really gets beat up in this movie. The rest of the action is really good as well. The humour in the movie also worked pretty well for me. It really fit the tone of the universe as well as the characters. 

I really enjoy how they turned Jonah into an Alex Jones type figure. 

Over-all I’d say Spider-Man was really good and is well worth the watch. It’s a fun ride that goes in ways you don’t expect and creates an interesting head to the Spider-Man Home trilogy. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite movie of the year (I think that’s Dune at the moment), or MCU/Marvel movie, or even Spider-Man movie but it is up there. 2 Thumbs up, go see this when you can. Admittedly with the current COVID situation that might not be a while for some people. 

I left this for the end because it doesn’t really have to do with the movie itself. My biggest issues with the movie are more to deal with the experience surrounding the movie. The theatre experience over-all was mostly ok, the audience cheered and clapped at certain points which can be fun, though the people next to us talked the whole way through. My other biggest issue is that this movie is a victim of the internet. I’ll probably do a post on this someday, but the constant need for people to find out every little detail about this movie kind of ruined the experience a bit as in the end so much about the movie is out there and I kinda hate it. Like let people be surprised we don’t need to know every single thing about a movie. 

Also I lied earlier I’m gonna spoil a bit through raving about what happens…….So Spoilers incoming.

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It was really cool to see a lot of the old spider-man movie villains back. We get the best of both worlds with not having to establish new versions and it really works in the movies favour. Seeing Molina back as Doc Oak was great and by god was Willem Dafoe incredible as The Goblin. He’s a highlight of the film as both Osbourne and Goblin. He beats the breaks off Peter and is amazing. His new costume is amazing as well, without the helmet it allows Dafoe to really play it up and is probably scarier in this movie. I love how in both their fights they Power-bomb each other and Gobby even gives Peter a spine-buster Arn Anderson would be proud of. I really like the use of the older spider-men and how it’s like they are taken from their time now. They have a great chemistry together and it’s cool we get to some updates to them and how their lives have gone in the time since their last appearances. They’re also where a lot of the comedy comes from, and their stuff works really well in the movie. I kinda want a Disney + series or some sketches where Maguire and Garfield are reacting to the adventures that Hollands spider-man has gone on. 

I like how this movie is a much better version of One More Day, it takes the main concept of that storyline but does away with all the aspects that make it infamous. I also like how it uses the story to turn Peter into the one we know and love from the comics, but here it’s kind of new as this is his first time this way. He’s broke, alone, living in a shitty apartment with a homemade costume. We get to see them do science stuff together and it’s so good. 

The Dr Strange stuff is really good here as it ties into the current major idea of this phase so far which is the multiverse. We get some cool imagery and Peter even uses his neediness to his advantage in the fight with Strange. I also like how the trailers do hide some of the stuff from the movie in it so they don’t fully give away everything. The post credit scenes are pretty interesting, one is kinda funny but leaves us with something interesting (which will be interesting to see where it leads going forward) and the other is a teaser for Multiverse of Madness which is INSANE. 

But yet overall a great movie and end to the trilogy. 

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021) Review

It’s been a while. Seeing that it’s the Christmas season, to celebrate I’m going to release a bunch of reviews of things far out of date and relevance! Over the next week or two I’ll be trying to release reviews of things that I haven’t reviewed yet. Including Loki, What If and Hawkeye, as well as a certain little movie that recently released about some spider-person. 

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a Disney Plus television series that looks at Sam Wilson/Falcon’s (Anthony Mackie) journey to decide to take up the mantle of Captain America after a government chosen choice, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), is shown to be troublesome. I apologize for waiting so long since this show finished to write this review, I’ve finally gotten the motivation to do this review. I enjoyed the show while it was airing, but I only did first thoughts for the first 2 episodes, so this review will primarily be an overview of what I thought of the show looking back on it this far away from having watched it. I know this is past the time that people were talking about the show, but I’m still doing it to get my thoughts out there. 

The story is relatively good for the show. It’s about the insecurities of the characters and how they deal with them. I think this is where the show is the strongest as everyone of the characters we get to see throughout the show is dealing with something. A major theme or idea for this show is mental health which it handles well, for the most part. It’s mental health issues, how people deal with them, and how to overcome yourself when it’s needed most. 

I think the characters were mostly all handled pretty well in the series. They all have some great moments and good arcs. The performances were all pretty good. Let’s go into some more specifics.

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America is really good throughout the show. As one of the protagonist (maybe even the main protagonist) a lot of what happens in the show, and what the story kind of focuses on is around him and his feeling about being given the captain America mantle by Steve Rogers in Endgame. Everything in the show goes towards him eventually taking up the shield and deciding to make his own Captain America instead of being a government approved Captain America. Throughout the whole show we see why he struggles with taking up the mantle, from money problems after being snapped for 5 years, to learning that there’s a black super soldier that suffered for doing some of the same things Steve did. In the end we see why Steve chose Sam to carry the mantle. He has an interesting relationship with Bucky, as we see their relationship evolve from bickering with each other, to true friendship. 

Sebastien Stan as James Buchanan Barnes/Bucky/Winter Soldier is also really good throughout the show. He brings his typical snarkiness/dark reflective nature to the show. I enjoy how they decided to make his arc throughout the show is him making amends and trying to repay for his actions as the winter soldier. While doing this he also deals with his own issues with Sam, as Bucky and Sam don’t have the same relationship that Bucky had with Steve. He’s still feeling the affects of his past and the fact that for basically the past decade he’s been hunted, frozen, in hiding, and dead. This is his first time where he’s just able to have a bit of a normal life in 80+ years. We get to see Bucky open up about his feelings, as well as having fun and a good time with Sam and his community and family. 

Wyatt Russell as John Walker/Captain America/US Agent is also really good in this show. He’s the perfect soldier, a man who has served his country to the best of his ability in the way they taught him. We get to see how this may not be the best way to create an American hero, as the way his government taught him created the problems that led to his downfall in the series. It was really interesting to see a normal human be given this mantel, and so entering this new world of super soldiers and super terrorists. We get to see his descent into taking the last serum for himself. We get to see a lot of what makes him tick, and how he wants to do the right thing, but his training makes him maybe go the wrong way. We see how he still has a good heart, but he’s willing to go to lengths the others aren’t willing too. One thing about his character I enjoy is that it makes me wonder how this all would have gone if Sam and Bucky were more open to working with him throughout the show instead of constantly shutting him out. 

Everyone else in the show was great as well. Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley was incredible in his epsiodes as a former super soldier showing the issues with the system. His character helps Sam make the decision to become Captain America. Daniel Bruhl as Baron Zemo is a standout in the show and is a lot more fun as character this time around. Sharon Carter was kinda cool, the reveal was kinda meh though. The Flagsmashers were interesting villains, but they have their issues as villains and it’s kinda hard for me to point out my issues with them. They just feel off to me.

On the technical aspects, the show looked good. Kinda bland, but had some moments. The effects were good, and the music and sound design was ok. The fight scenes were pretty good and memorable. The big fight between Bucky, Sam, and Walker was a stand-out.

Over-all this was a good first season. It had its good moments and some ok ones. It could have been a lot better. If you haven’t seen it yet I’d recommend it. 1 Thumb up.