Spider-Man: No Way Home surprises, shocks and delights. It takes a trip down memory lane but remains a love story between Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and MJ (Zendaya). Spider-Man’s mentor Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) also plays a central role. And the film introduces the idea of the Marvel multiverse – a collection of alternative universes,…
Eternals is the 25th special effects extravaganza in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). But its storyline doesn’t sustain its bloated running time. That storyline, which introduces ten new superheroes, harks back to the return of half the population in Avengers: Endgame (2019). The return ignited “the emergence”. Now, the Celestials, who have secretly lived on…
Australian director Cate Shortland shot to prominence with her feature debut Somersault in 2004. Since then, she’s directed the feature films Lore (2012) and Berlin Syndrome (2017), as well as television in Australia and the US. Now she springboards into the big time with Black Widow, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon….
Long merely the sidekick or annoyance to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki finally gets some clear air and deserved screen time. This third series in the Disney / Marvel franchise on Disney + sees the Asgardian trickster thrust into a mind-bending journey. While the series once more uses time-travel as its central device, it’s…
I felt uncomfortable about reviewing WandaVision while episodes were still dropping on Disney +. The series was so, well… unexpected, that I didn’t think I could grasp it until it was finished. Now it is finished, I’m still not 100% sure I’ve “got it” fully. If you’ve spent time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the…
The world is confusing. Events happen – and are reported – at breakneck speed thanks to digital technology. But that same technology can be manipulated by unscrupulous people. So how do we know what’s real and what’s fake? That’s tough to work out. But the surprising thing is that the latest Marvel movie, Spider-Man: Far…
I nearly decided not to review Avengers: Endgame. After all, the film is pretty much “review-proof”. If you have even the slightest interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU, for the uninitiated), you’re probably going to see it regardless. If you have no such interest, seeing it will be pretty pointless. But in the end,…
[7:00 pm] I’m sitting with a drink and snack ready for Captain Marvel. The crowd at the (full) preview screening is buzzing. [7:02] Trailer for Avengers: Endgame. Seems appropriate. [7:05] Oh, they’ve done something cool with the opening credits. Nice. [7:15] Okay so Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is known as Vers (pronounced “veers”) and is…
Yet another superhero movie featuring a second-tier character from the Marvel stable. Or should that be a super-anti-hero, because Venom isn’t your usual superhero? We first met Venom in the Sam Raimi-helmed Spider-Man 3, when he was played by Topher Grace. And despite its origins with Spider-Man, Venom sits outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The…
Marvel movies have two kinds of superhero. You’ve got your building smashers (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk) who are into saving the world. Then you have your (ahem) smaller heroes – your Spider-Man, your Hawkeye – and the eponymous Ant-Man and the Wasp. They bring a human dimension to superheroes. They may not save the world,…
