Marvel Live Action

[Spark Of Spirit]

I watched the first couple of episodes, they're good but not as strong as Daredevil. Gets much better as it goes, though. The second half of episode 3 and on through episode 4 are great. Still have more to go.

[LumRanmaYasha]

It's out? Ack, and I still haven't watched Daredevil. My backlog is piling up...

[Foggle]

Saw the next two episodes. I wouldn't really say this show is either better or worse than Daredevil - it has completely different strengths and similar weaknesses - but, for me, it's definitely just as engaging. Despite having very little screen time so far, Kilgrave is already my second favorite MCU villain (doubt it will be possible for anyone to surpass Fisk). I'm liking these Netflix shows way better than the movies, to be honest.

[Avaitor]

I'm starting this up tonight, and I'm excited!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm liking these Netflix shows way better than the movies, to be honest.

Eh, I think that it's a tad unfair to group the movies altogether and then say that "this or that" is way better than those collectively mediocre Marvel movies, which I have never agreed with, myself. On the contrary, Marvel has been pretty good about tonally differentiating their different franchises, despite them all sharing a Universe. Captain America is not Iron Man, and Iron Man is not Thor.

Is it fair to say that the Netflix shows are on par with or maybe even a little better than Marvel's best movies like Iron Man, Guardians, The Winter Soldier, and so on? Absolutely. And it's just as fair to say that they are way better than Marvel's weaker output like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, or Thor: The Dark World. But lumping them all together and using the weaker films of different franchises to collectively hold down the quality of genuinely great films in their own rights doesn't make much sense to me, personally.

Personally, I still think that Marvel has it down really well with which characters are more well-suited to films and which to shows. Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, are much better as big-budget films that can really tell epic stories that don't have the constraints of a TV budget. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are all street level heroes who work better tackling smaller cases and such.

[Foggle]

Eh, I think that it's a tad unfair to group the movies altogether and then say that "this or that" is way better than those collectively mediocre Marvel movies, which I have never agreed with, myself.

When did I do that?

You know I love Guardians of the Galaxy and both Captain America films, and also like the original Iron Man. The only MCU movies I actually think are bad would be Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk; I will readily admit that the Avengers films are good (especially the first one) but not my cup of tea. I just happen to think that Daredevil and (what I've seen of) Jessica Jones are the best superhero shows I've watched, along with Spectacular Spider-Man. Saying I find something superior to something else does not necessarily mean I think the latter is a lesser work. To this day, Guardians of the Galaxy and Winter Soldier are by far my favorite superhero movies (unless you count Kick-Ass, I guess).

On the contrary, Marvel has been pretty good about tonally differentiating their different franchises, despite them all sharing a Universe. Captain America is not Iron Man, and Iron Man is not Thor.

Is it fair to say that the Netflix shows are on par with or maybe even a little better than Marvel's best movies like Iron Man, Guardians, The Winter Soldier, and so on? Absolutely. And it's just as fair to say that they are way better than Marvel's weaker output like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, or Thor: The Dark World. But lumping them all together and using the weaker films of different franchises to collectively hold down the quality of genuinely great films in their own rights doesn't make much sense to me, personally.

Are you reading my posts from 2-3 years ago or something? All I said was that I'm finding myself liking the Netflix shows more than the films so far. Yes, that's a generalization, but DD and JJ are easily my favorite entries in the MCU at this moment in time, somehow surpassing 2014's films, which I already thought were 10/10 comic book adaptations. I love the artful manner in which these shows are shot and the excellent development they were able to give Fisk, plus I find the MCU's versions of Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones to be the most interesting protagonists in a live action superhero adaptation to date. Each series has a few noticeable problems, sure, but rarely have I found myself so engaged by television. I'm only lumping The First Avenger in with The Dark World in the sense that they are both films in the same series of films. Obviously there is a huge quality disparity between the two, and I'm not judging the best movies on the merits of the worst ones; I legitimately have found both serialized TV entries more enjoyable than even the best of the theatrical releases. My comment was not meant to disparage what Marvel puts into theaters as a whole, but more to celebrate just how good I think their Netflix output is so far.

Personally, I still think that Marvel has it down really well with which characters are more well-suited to films and which to shows. Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, are much better as big-budget films that can really tell epic stories that don't have the constraints of a TV budget. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are all street level heroes who work better tackling smaller cases and such.

I agree that the Avengers characters are all better suited to film than television (except Spider-Man if you count him, his story really needs a treatment similar to SSM to reach its full potential IMO), but I think Guardians at least could work equally well for both. A big budget is preferable, of course, but I could easily seem them making a truly great Firefly or Star Trek-esque TV show out of GOTG (the Man of Action cartoon doesn't count).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ah, I misunderstood you, my mistake.

I personally love the better Marvel movies as much as I love Daredevil and Agent Carter (I still have yet to see Jessica Jones). I can understand and respect your viewpoint, though.

Sorry if it seemed like I was attacking your opinion. It seemed like you think that I did, but I was only responding with my defense to what I thought that you were saying, instead of what you were actually saying.

[Foggle]

It's okay! Sorry if I got a little overly defensive. I know I've said things like what you were defending against in the past, and I'm trying to distance myself away from such bad vibes and unfair generalizations. I'm definitely not trying to paint my opinion as the "right" one or anything! I do agree that the better Marvel movies are every bit as good as DD and JJ, but I think I'm just more partial to the lengthy serialization format overall. Which is probably why I still feel gutted over SSM's cancellation.

Should I watch Agent Carter, by the way? I intentionally avoided it at the time because I was worried about it being too similar to AOS, but it seems like it might have a similar feeling to The First Avenger, which is of course excellent.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, as a fan of The First Avenger, I absolutely loved Agent Carter. Keep in mind that despite being an ABC show, it's not run by the same people who do AOS. Kevin Feige and the rest of the head movie department people had no involvement in the latter, but got personally involved with Agent Carter, and the vast difference in quality shows. It also helps that Hayley Atwell is a superb leading actress, and having Shea Whigham from Boardwalk Empire doesn't hurt either.

[Foggle]

Okay, I'll be sure to check it out, then.

[Avaitor]

It's always nice to see Clarke Peters, and hear his hella voice again!

[Foggle]

It's always nice to see Clarke Peters, and hear his hella voice again!

God yes. I sort of squealed when I saw him in episode 2.

[Avaitor]

I'm 3 episodes in, and this is very good. I don't want to say if it's better or worse than Daredevil, though, since they're different, equally well-made series.

But really, while I do understand the complaint that Marvel needs to have more female and non-white-led properties (which is totally true, but let's please don't act like this is a problem that only Marvel is guilty of), people have got to stop sleeping on the shows. Agent Carter and Jessica Jones are steps in the right direction.

[Peanutbutter]

I marathoned through more of the episodes yesterday afternoon. I only have three episodes left. Jessica Jones is superb!  I love that she's definitely flawed but not to the point of her being a jerk, which a number broadcast and cable stations would go overboard with. I like Trish and Malcolm, and even Officer Simpson. I don't really care for the lawyer and her subplot though. Man or woman, an affair angle in a show like this just comes off like padding. But the rest is very good! David Tennant knocks it out of the park as Kilgrave. Honestly, I don't see why he's not ever referred to as the Purple Man. I can understand not having his skin purple like it is in the comics, but in a show that's otherwise subtle I don't think it was a good choice to have always referred to as Kilgrave when Purple Man can be used much more subtly.



The only real bad thing about Jessica Jones is it triggers my Daredevil withdrawal. DD's second season can't come soon enough. Also can't wait until Punisher's series starts. I hope these people will also do Ghost Rider, that would make for a cool series.

[Foggle]

The only real bad thing about Jessica Jones is it triggers my Daredevil withdrawal. DD's second season can't come soon enough.

I know!

I'm 3 episodes in, and this is very good. I don't want to say if it's better or worse than Daredevil, though, since they're different, equally well-made series.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel, as well. It feels like neither a retread of nor an attempt to outdo DD, IMO; it's just its own thing (like how all the MCU films are different from each other). The way it should be!