Movie Marathon - The Marvel Cinematic Universe part 2

Following my return the Marvel universe, charting the highs and lows the franchise had seen so far, it's time to tick a few more off my watchlist and look to the future to see where we could be going next.

In some ways the series is quite straightforward but with the ongoing TV shows on Netflix, it's hard to catch every little reference here and there. For example, the characters talk of infinity stones which apparently came up a lot in Guardians of Galaxy but this flew over my oblivious head and now it will apparently play a strong role in one of the future films. That aside, the series has had general problems with inconsistent tones, the need to setup the sequel at the cost of the current film and underdeveloped villains. But, at the same time, we've been introduced to exciting characters, the merging of franchises and the idea that a film can satisfy newcomers as well as fans of the source material so Marvel have achieved a lot, in addition to making lots of money.

The first of three films I was able to watch since last time is 2013's Thor: The Dark World. The sequel to the 2011 film and following on from The Avengers, I had not heard great things about this. I enjoyed Chris Hemsworth's portrayal in the last one and it was a decent entry if not entirely memorable compared to the rest of the series. But he fitted in well with the rest of the team and the idea to have him team up with Tom Hiddleston's Loki gave this one potential.

However, The Dark World is crippled with a cliched story of an ancient evil coming to destroy the earth etc etc. It's so routine to the point I lost interest with dull action sequences, annoying human characters that were only there for comic relief and, sadly once more, a dull villain played by Christopher Eccleston who is wasted. The real crime is that this film had the chance to set the film away from Earth and explore its own universe, which is far more interesting to see but sadly what we get is an evasion around Greenwich, London.

The only saving grace is Hiddleston's charismatic performance but sadly that can't save this bland effort from being the worst Marvel film since 2008. With that said, we do have Thor: Ragnarok on the horizon which looks promising so hopefully the God of Lightning still has some strength left in him.

Moving swiftly on to 2016's entries was the highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War directed by the same brothers behind the great The Winter Soldier. Following the devastation left in the team's wake, proposed plans to control them start to cause a rift among the group, particularly with the Captain and Tony Stark. This is made worse when the Winter Soldier is framed for a deadly attack causing the team to be divided down the middle with various characters taking sides.

This was great fun to watch, combining moments of real drama with the lighter elements the series is known for. Granted, this is what the series can handle poorly but I thought it was very well managed and hopefully the tense atmosphere left at the end of this won't be brushed under the carpet and forgotten. Marvel have said they're no longer interested in making films for anyone to jump into so hopefully that's a good sign for the future.

Some would say there are too many new characters but I thought the directors balanced them well. Standouts included Daniel Brühl's villain who didn't feel wasted, the introduction of the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Tom Holland's energetic turn as... Well you may already know but either way this was a great entry to the series.

Finally there is Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch with a Hugh Laurie like American accent. I couldn't tell you a thing about this character going in but I'm glad I avoided the trailers and enjoyed Marvel's other 2016 entry.

The story follows a doctor who, following a reckless car accident, is unable to continue working and seeks help from a spiritual guide played by an excellent Tilda Swinton. To keep things brief, this one just about dodges the weak villain (played by the always great Mads Mikkelsen) and boasts some truly spectacular visuals that hark back to Inception. I really enjoyed how Doctor Strange explored new territory, and watching a superhero film that is 90% detached from the rest of the Marvel series was refreshing.

With that said, it's inevitable that this series will fall into Marvel's grand plan which is a shame as I would enjoy having one or two more films that ventured into this intriguing universe. The film itself is very good though and, while things do get a little too over-the-top towards the end, I'd easily recommend Doctor Strange to fans and newcomers.

Looking ahead, we have Spiderman: Homecoming, Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok on the horizon. While I am weary of another Spiderman film, these all have my interest so fingers crossed we get more films like Doctor Strange and less of The Dark World.