maxfisher

This was my favorite thing Marvel’s done since Endgame. I went in with no spoilers other than having seen the first trailer and was surprised by quite a bit of it, including the cameos and Scarlet Witch being the villain. It definitely felt like a Raimi film and was better for it.

IBJoel

In the comics at least, this is because of how universes/timelines branch. So the most similar universes are closest to each other and easiest to get to. I think also from a mass-media standpoint, it's easier for general audiences to accept "This world is like the one you're familiar with, but X-character looks a little different or Y-character made a different choice." Instead of "On this Earth, penguins grew to be the dominant form of life and also physics are backwards" or something.

ViewAskewbian

Give me a Planet of the Penguins move now!

IBJoel

I had this issue too. I read on TV Tropes that it was a gambit to avoid conflict altogether with a warning. It's also possible that Wanda-838 is not as powerful as Wanda-616 (especially after she used the Darkhold), so he didn't anticipate her being able to block their powers so effortlessly.

maxfisher

Yeah, my impression was that he thought he was just dealing with another Wanda and didn’t understand she was the Scarlett Witch.

dex14

Props to Stuhlbarg’s agent for getting him a “with” credit for what amounts to about 90 seconds in a bad wig.

Toddarino

I saw this late last night and wanted to think about it some more before I commented.
I liked it a lot, but didn’t love it and I don’t really know why. I’m a huge fan of Sam Raimi and this is very much a Sam movie. I was a little disappointed with the amount of Wanda screen time. By that I mean, she just had her own show and since Civil War I kinda miss the solo movies being that, solo movies.
All that being said, I liked her being the villain although I wish there was a “bigger bad” pulling her strings other than just being corrupted by the Darkhold. I also know that The Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful characters in the comic universe, but did she have to dispatch the Illuminati so quickly? Then there’s the ridiculous limping tunnel chase scene. Yeah it looked cool, but c’mon.
I loved the Bruce cameo, but I think I missed Ted. I don’t remember seeing him in the credits either.
I’m looking forward to the next installment very much and hope we see Strange and Clea mirror the comics.
I’d say this would be in my top 15 MCU but not sure where exactly.

Double_Oh_7

I feel like the MCU is speeding out of control. There's too much to keep track of with all the movies and Disney+ shows; casual viewers just can't keep up and I fear they will give up altogether.

Kevin Fiege likes to keep things simple, but it's all getting very convoluted.

Toddarino

Oh yeah and this didn’t go as deep into the multiverse as I had hoped. I’m also still very confused on who in fact is responsible for ripping it open.
Silvie killing Kang?
Dr. Strange and his spider spell?
Wanda’s hexes while fighting Agatha?
Something Ant-man does in the new movie?

Brack

Three movies a year, and an occasional show (with WandaVision the only show that’s really mattered) is really that hard to keep up with???

rw2516

If you're confused now wait till they add in Earth 2. The alternate Earth created by High Evolutionary. Reed Richards is The Brute, instead of Avengers it's the Squadron Supreme.

ViewAskewbian

I just want to hang out in paint world.

Double_Oh_7

WandaVision, Loki and What If.... are all necessary to really get all the references. That's a lot of episodes for a casual viewer.

Burnout is going to happen.

maxfisher

But I don’t think any of them are necessary to follow or enjoy the movie. I was surprised how well they balanced it, where having seen the shows enriches the experience of the movie, while the movie can still be enjoyed on its own by those who didn’t watch the shows.

Brack

Agreed. I didn’t get into the Captain Carter stuff (tried to, but got distracted). Now I want to watch those What Ifs

IBJoel

I was REALLY hoping we'd get a Squadron Supreme cameo in this film. They're probably my biggest "want" in terms of fan service

rennervision

At the very least I think it's becoming increasingly more difficult for a new viewer to jump in and start watching the movies. So I think that's going to eventually start working against the franchise.

tanman

That’s a great question. I think for the plot of this movie non of what happened before really matters since America was the one who was ripping holes in the multiverse. Obviously they knew what happened in Spiderman but I don’t think they know anything about the TVA or what’s going on there. Seems like that happens at the end of the timeline so I guess TBD with the next Ant Man?

tanman

I thought that was funny too. I had no idea who that was until halfway through their 20 second conversation. And I just rewatched Dr. Strange a week ago in preparation for this movie.

dex14

Feige: "There's always a method to the madness, even in the multiverse, and for Marvel fans, who know that Loki and Sylvie did something at the end of that series, that sort of allowed all this to be possible. He Who Remains is gone, and that allowed a spell to go wrong in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' which leads to the multiverse going quite mad in this."

Red Hood

Poster Art:
[/QUOTE]

Was that an official poster for the movie or a fan made one? I ask cause 2 of those actors listed where not in the film at all. And of course, the director changed.

Shannon Nutt

I thought this movie was a big mess...and I'm going to blame Raimi for most of this mess. He seems to have gotten too into the horror aspects and paying homage to some of his prior movies than actually giving us a decent story. All the fun that they could have had with the multiverse concept, and they seem to have done the absolute minimum - again, in exchange for a lot of horror action with FX that ranged from decent to downright bad. Two out of five stars for me, and one of the "lesser" Marvel movies.

Red Hood

It feels everyone has a little bit of responsibility on what was going the breaking in the multiverse, including the Watcher, Ultron and Strange in What if? and maybe even Steve Rogers when he decided to go back in time and live life instead of returning the stones and returning to the present time.

DJariya

Was that an official poster for the movie or a fan made one? I ask cause 2 of those actors listed where not in the film at all. And of course, the director changed.[/QUOTE]


It looks fan made and there's a note at the bottom by the person who did it.

Red Hood

By the way, I really liked the film more than I expected. I avoided spoilers and reviews since it feels that there was going to be a lot of surprises and twists in this one. I liked the twist that the Scarlet Witch was the villain as trailers insinuated that either she had a small part or was just there to help Strange fix things. I was incredibly shocked to see Anson Mount return as Black Bolt since his Inhumans show was so hated by everyone, including Feige. I hope they bring him back at some point, same with Captain Carter, Xavier and Richards. Speaking of Reed, I would have preferred to see Ioan Grufford instead of Krasinsky. That would have been more surprising.

Also, speaking of the FF, what was the exact line that Strange said when Reed introduced himself? Strange responded with something that the FF from his universe were from the 60's or something along those lines but it was so quick and mumbled that I couldn't catch it.