'The Marvels' Debuted With A 53% On Rotten Tomatoes, Which Is Way Higher Than I Expected
Listen - if you know me, you know I'm as pro-Marvel a guy as you'll find on this here internet. I've seen every second of content the MCU has to offer, read every fan theory in existence, own more superhero Funko POPs than any grown man should ever have, and I'm one of the few still hopeful that they could turn this ship around and get back the hype that has clearly dwindled since Endgame.
While a lot of the internet was dumping on the original Captain Marvel movie, I was on the other side of the fence, and really enjoyed the 90s aesthetic and soundtrack/de-aged Nick Fury/Ben Mendelsohn as Talos. When the same haters came for Ms Marvel on Disney+, Clem and I were there to defend the series - for what it was, at least.
It wasn't great, and we weren't the target audience - but there were a couple really fun/unique episodes!
Still, I couldn't muster up the slightest amount of excitement for 'The Marvels' - hitting theaters this week….
Between the rumored poor test screenings/disjointed plot/forgettable villain, director Nia DaCosta strangely putting any blame on Kevin Feige by calling this "his" movie more than hers, Brie Larson not being so enthusiastic about playing Carol Danvers anymore….
….and the horrendous 'Secret Invasion' being the lead in to this story - things just seem troublesome with 'The Marvels'.
The latest trailer opening with a "Remember the Avengers?!" montage didn't instill a lot of faith in this movie being good either….
In the past few weeks, rumors about an X-Men tie-in or cameo have sparked a little interest in diehard fans, as an "X" lingers a bit too long in one of the latest trailers….
….but that felt super intentional from Marvel to drum up any excitement they could in this one.
Hell, they even put Goose on the Vegas Sphere to get some eyes on this movie!
Well, first reactions to the movie hit social media last night, and while they're not GREAT - they're a lot better than I thought they'd be!
Honestly, if this movie is even OKAY - it'll be classified as surprisingly good to me. If it's average, I'll be thrilled.
Two complaints I've seen the most are that it's too short (which I'm okay with - less time spent watching it) and that it feels like the whole movie just sets up an awesome mid-credits scene - which I guess I'm okay with, as long as the mid-credits scene lives up to the hype. I've also seen a lot of disappointment in the villain, played by Zawe Ashton (Tom Hiddleston's wife) which doesn't surprise me based on the trailers.
Again, just to be clear - I'm not rooting against The Marvels by any means. I really hope that I love it. I want Marvel to be BACK like they never left. This just feels like one of those movies nobody asked for, which have to be next-level 'Guardians of the Galaxy' great to be worth their while in a 2023 MCU landscape.
Fingers crossed I'm eating these words and pleasantly surprised come Friday night. We'll be sure to discuss everything good, bad, and/or ugly on next week's My Mom's Basement.
P.S. Why would they have The Marvels drop on the same night the Loki finale premieres? Who would choose to spend $20 to go see The Marvels in theaters over watching the Loki finale on your couch for free? That is some Barstool ass overlap.