Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

This may be controversial… but The Marvels is actually one of the best movies in the MCU.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has come a long way since 2008's Iron Man. Phase 4 started out strong, finally giving Black Widow her own solo film and introducing their very first Asian lead in Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings. It was a fantastic introduction, before now giving us a look into this universe's past with Eternals. Unfortunately, this film may not have been the best showing. [embed]https://youtu.be/0WVDKZJkGlY[/embed]

Eternals follows a race of immortal beings who have influenced Earth's history by forming the identities of gods and other mythological beings throughout history while protecting humanity from a race of apex predators, known as the Deviants. After the last Deviant is defeated, the Eternals decide to disband and live amongst humanity until the Celestials, giant beings who originally sent them on their quest, give them permission to return to their home planet of Olympia.

The Eternals' peace on Earth is disrupted when the Deviants return. Now there is a race to reunite the Eternals and finally defeat the Deviants once and for all. They discover many secrets along the way that will change their lives forever. A premise such as this has the potential to tell a grand story. 

Unfortunately, the movie has mixed results. The film has a lot of characters with a lot of prerequisite backstories. It is longer than most MCU films and is filled with a lot of exposition and long flashbacks abruptly inter-spliced. As a result, the pacing is inconsistent. Slow and tedious in certain parts. On the other hand, character introductions can feel very rushed since there are ten leads, and the film itself doesn't have time to give them proper character development. With each Eternal introduced, the audience is given their powerset and a backstory on what they have been doing for the past 7,000 years.

[update 1 year later] Out of 11 nominations, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) won 7 Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards this March 2023! That's for:

The new A24 film was just as the title describes: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). A friend saw an early screening and reported that the movie was all over the place, not what he was expecting. Isn’t that in the title? – was my smart reply. I couldn’t possibly have expected what the film turned out to be, like many. The already-cult limited release film stars Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh from MCU’s Shang-Chi, Crazy Rich Asians, and numerous films) and Joy (Stephanie Hsu from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), with supporting roles Waymond (Ke Huy Quan from The Goonies), and Jamie Lee Curtis (The Halloween movies and Knives Out). Everything Everywhere is like the Matrix, but with OCD and hallucinogens, plus a heart’s dose of mother-daughter intergenerational intercultural growing pains. The movie currently scores 5 for the Incluvie score, and 4.5 for the Movie score, with 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. People love it! Personally, I wouldn’t say I love it, but I also didn’t dislike it.

Author: Nathanael Molnár, originally published [4/26/2020]

It was Friday, April 26th, 2019. I was sitting in the AMC Dolby Theater, my friends on either side of me. Everyone in the theater was buzzing, excited. A couple of people walked in with light-up arc reactors pinned to their chests. The lights came down, and the iconic Marvel Studios theme blasted through the theater. The audience cheered; everyone was giddy and ready for what we had all been patiently waiting for since May 2nd, 2008. Avengers: Endgame, the fulfillment of the promise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It’s strange to think that Endgame came out a full year ago. I’ve been a fan of the MCU from the very beginning. As a life-long comic book fan, following the unfolding and the blossoming of this entire cinematic universe has been truly magical. It’s something that I’m still surprised we get to see and enjoy. I believe the MCU redefined the comic book movie genre. Comic book movies existed before the MCU and were successful before it. However, under the meticulous leadership of Kevin Feige, the MCU gave us something radically different (current list of all MCU films 2021).

It brought to life the long-form storytelling of comic books, the character arcs that span years, and the meshing of different worlds. In the medium of film, the MCU captured the feeling of reading comic books spanning decades, following characters in their own stories, and then following them into their larger team-ups. Sure, there were the X-Men movies that revitalized the genre when Batman & Robin had essentially killed it. Spider-Man brought whimsy back into the genre, and Batman Begins established realism. It was the MCU that brought consistent continuity, long-form story arcs, and a balance of bombastic spectacle action and genuine character growth and development.

As successful as the MCU became, as popular as The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy or Black Panther became, the entirety of this 22 movie experiment hinged on its conclusion. If the MCU didn’t deliver a satisfying conclusion to what this entire thing had been building towards, everyone would have walked away disappointed. Sure, we would still revere the individual films we loved, but the MCU as a whole would have far less significance if Endgame had dropped the ball. On April 26th, 2019, Endgame not only did not drop the ball, but it delivered for fans so much that it went on to become the highest grossing movie of all time!

There are so many interwoven stories, themes, character arcs, timelines, and dimensions! In order to keep track of the MCU films and figure out what to watch when, here’s a list of those that have come out – 29 as of now — as well as what's coming up in the next few years. Included are related articles and Incluvie score (and a fun 1.5 minute TikTok).

First is the release order of the MCU films. This is the way Marvel intended the audience to take in the characters and story arcs. After the release list is Incluvie’s own note and style on how to watch!

1. Iron Man (2008)

2. The Incredible Hulk (2008)