Thats what I found odd about Oldboy's original post after reading the thread title. The MCU. Really? The director is pretty low on the totem pole for these movies and The Russo Brothers would be the exact opposite example I would put forward in relation to the premise of this thread. 20+ films, and unless I didn't know better, I could have been easily convinced that the same director made them all. There isn't a single thing in any of them that you can easily recognize as being idiosyncratic to a certain director. Every one of them has the same fresh off the assembly line feel to them.

The Wachowski's - The Matrix.

Rocket, Hazel...if I had to pick an MCU film to highlight how the director seemed to be a perfect fit for the material I would have gone with Joss Whedon and The Avengers. I do not pick this film simply because it was a huge success but rather my question is would it have been the success that it became if Joss Whedon had not worked his magic on things like the movies dialogue? I have no issue with a film being quipy if the quips/one liners are actually fun memorable pieces of dialogue delivered with panache like they were in this film.

Think The Terminator...nothing particularly special about the words I’ll Be Back but hot damn coming out of Arnies mouth the line because an instant classic.

For some reason I keep thinking Hudson from Aliens said the immortal words Let’s Rock but it was Vasquez...two ordinary words but when she says those words and opens up with her weapon...good golly, the film just never lets up from that point forward.

Getting back to MCU films, even if you chose not to pick any of The Avengers films maybe Guardians Of The Galaxy is a perfect example of a film that many folks feel might not have been as wonderful an experience it turned out to be for many filmgoers if anyone but James Gunn directed the film. I certainly feel that it would have been a good but a much different film than it turned out to be if say the Russo brothers or that guy again, Joss Whedon directed the film.

I think it comes down to a director's style being a fit for the source material. One example that immediately came to mind is Tim Burton for Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Although it was his first feature and he perhaps hadn't developed a style yet, looking back he seems like the perfect choice because his twisted sense of humor and visual style fit the character and script so well (especially with Danny Elfman's score!).

Heavy use of spandex. Cgi galore. Good always trumps evil. Etc..

The Russos bring the fun and many iconic moments in every one of their films, since WS. There are great lines in all. The action maybe similar across all universe films, but those 4, including Civil War, especially Civil War with its genuine fun and story done right are among most unique, highly rewatchable and best in 23 movie series. Don’t get me wrong, I think Waititi’s Ragnarok is my most fun MCU and look forward to Love and Thunder, but Russo’s 4/4 imo.

Well we saw Spielberg do a Kubrick script/story and it just pointed out how only Kubrick could do Kubrick. I am not a MCU fan so completely befuddled by the Russo Brothers selection. They seem so generic, more a product than an actual film.

Spike Lee - Malcolm X

So the Russos' style is fun and great lines and a story done right? Got it. Can't see how anyone else could have possibly pulled that off. Are you sure you're not just a big Markus & McFeely fan?

Community is one of my favorite shows of all time, so you won't catch me saying anything bad about them ever, but I'll be very curious to see if they are even remotely successful directors outside the Marvel machine.

Michael Mann - Heat (and might even throw in Miami Vice, that one has really grown on me over the years)