[Weekly Update] September 13, 2021

Kind reminder to my Canadian friends: remember to vote. You can register to vote by mail before Tuesday.

CHANNEL UPDATE

• Shang-Chi is out. I have saw it. I like it.
• Instead of doing a generic review, or trying to analyze the film with only trailer footage, I decided to take the risk and talk about my one nitpick about the film, sort of like what I did with Shin Godzilla... Yep, I'm already expecting angry comments...
• We'll resume our original broadcast schedule next week with Gun Fu Part 2. Which means I get to enjoy my time watching some John Wick.
• And sadly, I also have to watch Ultraviolet...

MEDIA TALK

• While we have Marvel on our mind, might as well talk about Marvel's What If...?
• When Logan came out, I became convinced that the future of comic book movies lies in the "what ifs".
• Every cinematic universe will eventually collapse upon its own weight. And with the MCU, the tight continuity only adds even more weight, making it harder for new fans to follow what's going on.
• What started as a humble story of a billionaire fighting his coworker, has evolved into a mega project involving time travel, split universes, godly beings, aliens, and all sorts of crazy stuff. The escalation of scale is yet another barrier of entry.
• This is why the millennium Godzilla series are all loose sequels to only the first Godzilla movie, but not connected to each other. Every Godzilla in that era is a "what if" movie.
• Godzilla, and eventually many superheroes, will become the same as other folk heroes, like King Arthur, like Robin Hood, like Sherlock Holmes. Their movies would assume you have a basic understanding of their background, and every story is a "what if".
• Some may even say, the DCEU is already doing that, with their loose continuity, and some straight up spin off stories like Joker, and The Batman.
• So, as weird as it seems, Marvel's "What If" got my attention early on. And after watching 5 episodes, I have to say... It's okay.
• ----------------------
• Anyway, let's go through it one episode at a time.
• Episode 1: Captain Carter.
• In this episode, instead of Steve Rogers who became a super soldier, his love interest, agent Carter became a superhero.
• This is clearly just an introduction episode, a simple one to get you into the groove of things. It has one of the simplest story of the series, which require little to no knowledge of the MCU to understand.
• But much of its enjoyment stems from seeing the Captain America movie, and seeing how things have changed. That just means the story doesn't have much to offer on its own.
• Cramming a 2 hour long movie into 30 minutes proves too much, and the pace of the episode just kinda imploded.
• Which means as a introduction episode, it ended up being only enjoyable by fans... For that reason, I'll only give it a 2 stars out of 5.
• Episode 2: Black Panther in Space.
• If episode 1 is intended to be an introduction, episode 2 goes completely to the other end of the spectrum. You have to know a lot about the MCU to enjoy this one.
• In this episode, instead of Peter Quill being kidnapped and became Star Lord, the much more charismatic T'Challa was kidnapped instead. So instead of being Black Panther, he's now Star Lord. (Despite Star Lord being Peter's nick name given by his mother it doesn't make any sense I know)
• I honestly have no idea what the thesis of the story. T'Challa managed to convince Thanos not to wipe out half the universe, but the Collector took over the power vacuum, and the rest is just them fighting against the Collector.
• It feels like a fun excuse to have a fight that's not possible in the live action universe. But it also just feels like the writers took out a few action figures, and made up a story for it.
• It lacks the simplicity of the first episode, but also don't ask heavier questions like the later episodes do. It just doesn't stay with me. I'll give it 1 stars.
• Episode 3: Avengers No More.
• MCU takes a dark turn in this episode, in which all of the phase 1 Avengers get assassinated before the team is even assembled.
• This one feels like a step up from the first episode. It has a similarly simple and interesting hook, while managed to explore a bit more about the world of the Avengers: The dark secrets that go behind the scene, unseen in the live action universe.
• It builds an effective and intriguing mystery throughout. Although admittedly, the ending doesn't feel entirely satisfying.
• Still, the good writing managed to make me interested for the run time. 3 stars.
• Episode 4: Dr. Strange
• In this episode, Dr. Strange doesn't lose his hands but loses the love of his life. Driven by grief, he tries to turn back time to save her, only to bring greater disasters upon the world.
• This is one I won't spoil the ending for, because if you only have time to watch one episode, this is the episode you should watch. You only need to see the Doctor Strange movie to get the plot.
• Expertly written, well-paced and visually stunning, and more importantly, using the "what if" to its maximum possibility, this is by far one of the most emotional thing in the MCU. Bar is low, I know. But this episode really does manage to convey the feeling of grief and lost, a feeling that Spider-Man Far From Home tried and failed to show.
• 5 stars.
• Episode 5: Zombies
• In this episode, Earth has been taken over by zombies, and some of our favourite heroes are also now walking dead, with super powers. It's up to the few surviving heroes to find a solution.
• This is fan service episode done right. Yes, you do need to watch pretty much the entirety of MCU to understand what's going on. But at the same time, it gives us an entirely new scenario, and allows us to see how our favourite characters would react in these situations.
• Genre hopping is one of my favourite thing to do in these "what if" stories. And this one certainly has the most gap to hope through. Superhero horror films, so much potential, so little examples. I'm glad this one exists, and it's decently done. 4 stars.

And that's my overly long review of Marvel's What if... up till now, I guess. Remember when I said I'm not a big Marvel fan?

Anyway, I think I should get back to work now. I'll see you with a new video in a few days, and in the meantime, I also have to finish watching the new Rurouni Kenshin film. Oh and White Snake 2 is out. Suddenly so many exciting films to watch.