Hulk Vs Wolverine (2009)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 3/4

 

 

PROS –
1) Canadian govt. employs Wolverine to hunt down Hulk causing havoc. He is able to track down Hulk only to realize that it was all a set-up by the Professor [along with Deadpool, Omega Red, Sabretooth, and Lady Deathstrike] to use Hulk and Wolverine in the Weapon X Program.
2) Quality animation and great action sequences, unlike lengthy and boring fight scene in DC Animated Universe.
3) The images used during the end-credits from the various comics rather than images from the animated movie.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Omega Red: We kill Wolverine now. That is all that matters.
Deadpool: Whatever you say, ponytail. Who am I to say no to a little murder?

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

VERDICT – 2/5

 
PROS –
1) Spider-Man inside the drone-driven illusion of Quentin Beck.
2) Good to see Nick Fury and Happy Hogan in light-hearted roles.
3) J. K. Simmons appearance as J. Jonah Jameson in the post-credits scene. This was mind-blowing!

 

CONS –
1) One time watch MCU checklist.

 
QUOTE –
Quentin Beck: People… need to believe. And nowadays, they’ll believe anything.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

VERDICT – 5/5

 
PROS –
1) The epic finale of the 11-year-old journey culminating with the 22nd film. A journey started by Jon Favreau, led by Joss Whedon, and concluded by the Russo brothers. A rare grand emotional movie event of this generation.
2) The time travel plot enabled the screenwriters to add all the good & bad, major & minor characters from the franchise to make one final cameo in this grand finale.
3) Captain America lifting Mjolnir is got to be the most epic scene of this movie. A scene 4 years in the making.
4) A fulfilling climax for Steve Rogers.
5) Fun filled storyline with great comic-relief from Ant-Man and Thor “The Dude” Lebowski.
6) An epic finale needs an epic sacrifice. It had to be Tony Stark.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Rocket: What did you do?
Thor: I went for the head.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

 

VERDICT – 4/4

 
PROS –
1) Visually one of the best super-hero movie. The third-act was psychedelic and trippy. The animation quality raised the bar too high for any future super-hero animation movie.
2) The plot follows King-Pin employing lady Doc Ock to resurrect his dead family by some particle collider. The experiment causes different versions of Spider-Man to appear in the same primary timeline. Out of all the dimensions, Peter B. Parker storyline and character was most interesting.
3) The Prowler is the Ebony Maw of this movie.
4) Sunflower (Post Malone and Swae Lee song)

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Stan: That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero.

Daredevil (Season 3)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

Verdict – 5/5

 
Pros –
1) Matt getting rid of the costume. Now he’s Marvel’s own Batman and probably larger than Batman.
2) Agent Dex – right from his intro shootout – this character was amazing.
3) Prison hallway fight – single camera and hand to hand combat without annoying cuts; in fact the entire prison escape sequence was awesome.
4) 3 major fight sequences – the first encounter of DexDevil and Matt at New York Bulletin office, second encounter inside the Church, and final tripartite boss battle.
5) The real might of Kingpin is unleashed in this season – His true powers as the master puppeteer of Hell’s Kitchen.
6) Hattley plot-twist
7) Agent Nadeem – superb subplot with a tragic end.

 

 

Cons –
1) Karen’s backstory
2) Sister Maggie – except the revelation of she being Matt’s mother – the entire subplot was completely avoidable.

 

 
Quote –
Matt : I beat you !

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

Verdict – 2/5

 
Pros –
1) That post-credit scene where Pym, Hope, and Janet disintegrate.
2) Return of the Original Wasp.
3) Randall Park as Jimmy Woo proved a better comic relief than Michael Peña as Luis.

 

Cons –
1) The absence of a co-Avenger.Not a single Avenger played a supporting role neither a cameo. Weirdly, the Ant-Man universe is cut-off from the main Avenger universe.
2) Ava Starr / Ghost subplot – unnecessary and absurd sub-plot.

 

Quote –
Scott Lang: Work-in-progress my ass!

Deadpool 2 (2018)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

Verdict – 2/5

 

Pros –
1) James Bond themed opening credit scene.
2) X-Force recruitment with Brad Pitt Cameo before they MacGrubered
3) Zazie Beetz as Domino and her superpower – luck.
4) Post-credits scenes. We equally hate X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Gavin Hood’s version of Deadpool.
5) Rednecks discussing toilet papers. Was that a product placement for Huggies Baby Wipes?

 

Cons –
1) Are we suppose to take this meta-plot seriously? This film is toying with the X-Men timeline and creating a fiasco. While the movie is good entertainment full of good jokes and good one-liners but Deadpool is breaking the 4th wall and giving pop-culture references to justify every plot hole.
2) So basically Cable travel back in the past to alter future by killing Firefist, and Deadpool is trying to save him to attain salvation while the prime-villain “headmaster” is killed by Dopinder.

 

Quote –
Cable: Who are you?
Wade Wilson: I’m Batman.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

Verdict – 5/5

 

Pros –
1) A comic-book movie plot gains weight when the heroes hit rock-bottom and a triumph costs enormous sacrifice.This was not even a triumph but the casualty is huge.
2) Not a single boring sub-plot.No time wasted on built-up.High on emotions, not just from the Avengers but Thanos as well.
3) In spite of all the battle sequences, the comic element was not compromised.
4) The jaw-dropping climax that will put Rains of Castameres to shame.
5) Thanos on one side, single-handedly balanced the scale with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the other side. Probably the best multi-starrer.
6) Avengers musical theme used extensively for the first time.
7) The presence of Red Skull on Vormir left a lot of unanswered questions.
8) Ebony Maw: Boba Fett of MCU.

 

Cons –
1) We know the timeline will eventually get reset in Infinity War II.

 

Quote –
Tony Stark: I’m sorry.Earth is closed today.

Black Panther (2018)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

Verdict – 3/5

Pros –
1) Return of Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue
2) Michael B. Jordan as “Killmonger” – Villain with a motive
3) Winston Duke as M’Baku – entertaining character

 

Cons –
1) The whole Wakanda civilization is full of contradiction – super advanced science with a functional xenophobic monarchy where the king is chosen by a ritual combat.
2) Entertaining one-time watch origin story- it’s hyperbolically cherished by critics as an emancipating movie for the black community.
3) Forest Whitaker as Zuri – seriously stereotyped.

Quote –
T’Challa: We can still heal you…
Erik Killmonger: Why, so you can lock me up? Nah. Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, ’cause they knew death was better than bondage.

The Defenders (Season 1)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

Verdict – 2/5

 

Pros –
1) Plot-Twist: Elektra killing Alexandra
2) Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra – Great casting
3) Stick cutting his own hand – badass!

 

Cons –
1) Stick’s death – end of a very powerful character.
2) Over-stretched climax with lousy action sequences. The hand-to-hand combat is ruined by excessive cuts and editing.
3) Iron Fist – probably the weakest super-hero of MCU

 

Quote –
Jessica Jones: Nice ears.
Daredevil: They’re horns.