Marvel’s Phase 4 has been both the longest and most criticized in this superhero universe. Much has been said about a lack of focus, but in my opinion the problem has been more that they wanted to introduce too many things in a short time, just at a stage in which a new path had to be marked out after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ .
At Espinof we wanted to take advantage of the recent premiere of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ to review all the movies and series that this Phase 4 of Marvel has offered us, ordered from worst to best, everything that it has offered us since the arrival in Disney+ of ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’ .
17) ‘Eternals’
Direction : Chloe Zhao. Cast : Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Barry Keoghan, Brian Tyree Henry, Ma Dong-seok, Lia McHugh
One of the worst Marvel movies to date without being bad. It is true that it has its own personality and that Chloe Zhao ‘s presence behind the scenes is something that goes beyond signing someone with prestige, but the result is quite disappointing, both for what it tells and for the characters it introduces in this universe. It is of little use to enhance the emotional so much if the resulting impact is so low.
16) ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’
Creada por Malcolm Spellman. Reparto: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Adepero Oduye, Don Cheadle, Daniel Bruhl, Emily Vancamp, Florence Kasumb
Phase 4 has received a lot of complaints about feeling adrift, but here something worse happened, as they created a void – Anthony Mackie ‘s character’s doubts about becoming the new Captain America – to somewhat fill it. reluctantly reluctant -although there were some good scenes, like the end of the fourth episode-, wasting the chemistry between its two protagonists and offering a clumsy argument about the racial conflict, not to mention the strange holes that exist in the plot of the feature villains.
15) ‘I Am Groot‘
Created by Kirsten Lepore. Vocal Cast : Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper.
A collection of short films that oscillate between the cute and the inconsequential. Clearly aimed at children and completely changing the hooligan tone of the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ saga, it’s not that it’s annoying, but something that could have been saved perfectly.
14) ‘Ms. Marvel’
Created by Bisha K. Ali. Reparto : Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Laurel Marsden, Rish Shah, Mohan Kapoor, Iyad Hajjaj, Shaan Merchant, Yasmeen Fletcher, Aly Kahn, Saagar Shaikh
The first chapter would deserve to place it in the Top 5, but then it fell off to the point that the fourth and fifth episodes would put them as the worst thing Marvel has done so far, and by far. The last one took flight somewhat, but by then it was too late, because what started as a fresh and youthful series ended up becoming an important roll.
13) ‘What if…?’
Creada por A.C. Bradley. Reparto vocal: Jeffrey Wright, Chadwick Boseman, Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper, Sean Gunn, Djimon Hounsou, Samuel L. Jackson, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Michael Rooker, Sebastian Stan, Chris Sullivan
Less playful than a series should be than proposing alternative versions of important events within this universe. Yes, it was to be expected that not all of them would have the same level, but even the best ones are not that dazzling either, although a few are quite worth it. A curiosity that we hope will increase in its already confirmed second season.
12) ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Direction : Destin Cretton. Cast : Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Michelle Yeoh, Meng’er Zhang, Ben Kingsley, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah
An action movie with an oriental flavor that works quite well for almost an hour and a half, leaving us with some scenes to remember -that fight on the bus- and an inspired Simu Liu , but that sinks without remission during its last minutes, one more example that Marvel movies are stunned when they opt for an overdose of visual stimuli without there being a clear idea behind it beyond offering what I imagine they think the viewer expects.
11) ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Address : Taika Waititi. Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt, Taika Waititi, Jaimie Alexander, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff
A peculiar case, since I have no problem with Taika Waititi ‘s bet to raise the humor in the adventures of the God of Thunder and there are several really funny moments here. The problem is the mix, since everything related to the return of Natalie Portman has a more dramatic tone, the same thing happens with the villain played by Christian Bale . Despite the good work of both interpreters, this creates an imbalance that already existed in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, where interest suffered significantly during his last act.
10) ‘Black Widow’
Direccion: Cate Shortland. Reparto: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, O.T. Fagbenle, Michelle Lee, Olivier Richters, Nanna Blondell
A film that came too late, also giving itself the particularity that it works better to introduce new characters than as a farewell to the heroine played by Scarlett Johansson . However, it more than fulfilled what I needed from her: disconnect and spend some time entertaining in a most complicated situation, because just a few minutes before I started seeing her I found out that my father had cancer. If for two hours he managed to make me (almost) forget about her, it’s impossible not to have more affection for her than perhaps she deserves.
9) ‘The curse of the werewolf’ (‘Werewolf by Night’)
Directed by : Michael Giacchino. Cast : Gael Garcia Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jaycob Maya, Eugenie Bondurant, Kirk R. Thatcher, Leonardo Nam, Carey Jones, Al Hamacher
A nice eccentricity in the form of a tribute to the horror movies of another era. Of course, do not expect it to be used thoroughly, since it must be made easily manageable by all types of audiences. With everything, something more violent and generous in the gore than usual, probably because being in black and white they had a little more wide sleeve.
8) ‘Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness’
Direction : Sam Raimi. Cast : Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sheila Atim, Adam Hugill, Ako Mitchell
It could have been quite a revolution for Marvel but in the end a much more comfortable and functional approach is chosen despite the fact that it is noted that Sam Raimi is in charge of staging. There is really nothing that he does very wrong, but at all times there is the feeling that he is using the handbrake so as not to scare away some viewers, what touches of terror he has, but without going all the way with it.
7) ‘Moon Knight’
Created by Jeremy Slater. Cast : Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, Gaspard Ulliel, May Calamawy, Lucy Thackeray, Fernanda Andrade, Diana Bermudez, Ann Akin, Rey Lucas, David Ganly
Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke stand out in this series that rides successfully (although without being brilliant) between the comic, the exciting and the terrifying, also creating its own mythology and flying free within Marvel. Of course, I miss a little more determination to take advantage of that instead of doing it but without breaking the mold of the study.
6) ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’ (‘WandaVision’)
Creada por Jac Schaeffer. Reparto: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Teyonah Parris, Kathryn Hahn, Kat Dennings, Josh Stamberg, Selena Anduze, Randall Park, Debra Jo Rupp, Fred Melamed
Marvel stood out with a curious portrait of how the superheroine played by an excellent Elizabeth Olsen dealt with the death of a loved one, which started as a tribute to several mythical series in television history and then reality came to light. . My problem with this series is that it almost always left me with the feeling that its intentions were better than the final result …
5) ‘Loki’
Created by Michael Waldron. Cast : Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Owen Wilson, Cailey Fleming, Richard E. Grant, Wunmi Mosaku, Erika Coleman, Sasha Lane, Jon Levine
A stimulating expansion of this universe through time jumps in which it was clear that Tom Hiddleston was going to shine, but also beware of the discovery of Sophia Di Martino , distancing herself from the typical great final confrontations to opt for a different path which culminates in a cliffhanger that makes you want to see the second season as soon as possible.
4) ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’
Creada por Jessica Gao. Reparto: Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Gonzaga, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong, Jameela Jamil, Josh Segarra, Renee Goldsberry, Nicholas Cirillo, Jason Edwards
The best Marvel comedy. It already says it when I had only been able to see a handful of episodes and I maintain it once I have been able to enjoy it in its entirety. Yes, a lot of tendency to episodic cases, nothing of a great villain and all the trouble you want to put him for asking what he does not want to be, but as a legal comedy it has a lot of charm, it has several hilarious episodes, including its memorable denouement, and Tatiana Maslany was an unbeatable choice.
3) ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
Direction : Jon Watts. Cast : Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfred Molina, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Willem Dafoe, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Battalion, Jon Favreau.
My great fear is that it would be little less than nonsense to be able to bring together all the Spider-Mans in real image and then it is true that there is a strong component of entertainment designed for the fans, but I also think that it manages to shape a film that is It holds up and can be enjoyed on its own, also serving as a remarkable closure to this first trilogy by Tom Holland bringing the wall-crawler to life.
2) ‘Hawkeye’ (‘Hawkeye’)
Address : Jonathan Igla. Cast : Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, Florence Pugh, Fra Fee, Alaqua Cox, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d’Arcy James, Linda Cardellini
A Christmas comedy with it is true that it is safe, but the important thing is to know how to do it well and enhance your virtues. There I think that no other Marvel series has been closer to hitting the ceiling, which is greatly helped by the signing of a great Hailee Steinfeld and the good chemistry that she shares with Jeremy Renner . I’m looking forward to seeing her again in another movie or series in this universe.
1) ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
Direction : Ryan Coogler. Cast : Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Tenoch Huerta, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel
A sequel that had to be thoroughly redone after the death of Chadwick Boseman . Some see an important roll in it, but I find it a wonderful exploration of how to deal with the loss of a loved one while in parallel an adventure with warlike overtones develops. The signing of Tenoch Huerta as Namor was a great success and also very inspired Letitia Wright assuming the reins of Wakanda.
