Hello and welcome to my assessment of all the superhero movies from the year of 2018. This is an annual video series that documents my thoughts on the immense collection of these films that are squirted out every year in an attempt to see if they are generally getting better, more tiresome, or simply staying the same. 2018 was somehow even more packed with superhero flicks than 2017 was. With a decided total of nine movies to discuss. Unfortunately, from the title of this video, you can probably guess that I actually disliked or was completely indifferent about the majority of them. However, that's not to say that there aren't a couple that I passionately enjoyed, for both positive... and negative reasons. This time, instead of organizing the video around the various studios that release them, I'll simply be talking about the films in order, starting with my least favourite and gradually going through to my favourite. If you don't care about the film I'm talking about, or simply want to pick and choose based around which movies you're interested in, there are time codes in the description for each separate movie. So, with that other way, let's start with what I think is the worst superhero movie of 2018 and go from there. I think Venom is easily the worst superhero movie of 2018 for a myriad of reasons It's a dated, tone-deaf mess of a movie that has no real through line or solid justification as to why it exists. Well, aside from the obvious. Never for a single second does the film feel like it was birthed from an actual idea for a story that needed to be told. I think it really was as simple as Sony Pictures looking at what valuable intellectual IP they had available and effectively abusing their goodwill with Spider-Man being so beloved in the MCU to vomit out a loosely connected movie that can ride off the coattails of the people who actually know what they're doing. I genuinely think that a large amount of general audience members probably just assumed that Venom was somehow part of the official MCU because of the Marvel logo at the beginning. And it even has the typical tease for the next movie in the credits, just like a Marvel movie. I wouldn't blame anyone for getting confused. It's a sneaky manoeuvrer to be sure. But anyway, the issue with the film is not that Hollywood plopped out a rushed movie that is banking off the success of popular trends. It's that the movie is just poorly thought through and has very little of substance or value. If you apply even the most basic line of thought to any aspect of the movie, it basically compounds on itself to the point where it becomes so frustrating that you just have to give up. I think Venom is kind of a tough character to pull off in a movie as is, in live-action form anyway. He's incredibly goofy and largely uninteresting to me as a concept. This might be because I'm pretty much at my wit's end with superhero movies having villains that are just the superhero, but a baddie. It's the kind of thing I would have thought up when I was 14. It's very silly. I do think that Venom goo could be interesting as a plot device to have Spider-Man go through some kind of drama and self growth in a film that was dedicated to the idea. But obviously, Spider-Man isn't in Venom. So, the writers had to think of something else to do. And what creative plan did they come up with? Well, they don't really embrace the bombastic evil side of what the character could be for the fear of having to market a movie that has a maniacal cannibalistic murderer as the protagonist, even though technically that's still kind of what he is. So, they majorly toned it down. They nerfed the best thing about Venom and Eddie Brock by having Eddie Brock played by Tom Hardy. Being every man who is so overly nice to every single person that he meets, that it comes across as laughable. It's so over the top that even when his character is at rock bottom - after losing his job and his girlfriend - he's still willing to give a homeless lady $20 for a newspaper that's supposed to be free. And this is set in one of the most expensive places to live in America: San Francisco. But even that aside, that's still not the biggest issue with the movie. It's kind of going for a buddy-cop tone, where Tom Hardy is a good guy who is trapped with this evil alien goo living inside him, which could be interesting. When I'm saying that I could picture how that idea could be fun. Honestly, anything can be interesting on paper, but the movie darts around starting off as some kind of sci-fi horror mystery, then it becomes a romantic comedy with wacky antics, then an action movie, and ending with them basically committing to Venom being a superhero. And it doesn't really fulfill any of these vastly different genres and tones well at all. I think they wanted Venom to kind of be like Dexter, where his gimmick is that he does epically violently murder and eat people, but he only murders people who are bad, so that makes it okay. The fact of the matter is, I'm pretty sure I've thought about this movie more than the writers and producers did. And to them, as long as the movie had Venom look how he does in the comics and have cool fights, so they can sell edgy Venom merchandise, then they're happy. And of course it made a ton of money. I haven't even mentioned the plot yet because... it really doesn't matter. Even the characters in the movie treat the plot as if it's nothing. Some space goo makes its way to Earth, evil Elon Musk/Donald Trump generic mustache twirling villain archetype sees the space goo as an evolution of humanity because that's what every villain in movies like this does. Meanwhile, reporter Eddie Brock breaks into the lab where they're testing on the goo and happens to get infected with it and boom Venom is born. Then, Venom fights another Venom, and the movie ends. It's not like I'm particularly surprised that Venom doesn't have an ounce of subtlety, but the dialogue and character arcs are so surface level that characters practically announce the themes and how they feel about each other just for the sake of explaining why one Venom can fight another Venom. EDDIE:
Wow! Possibly the worst scene in the movie that has been mocked to no end is when Venom announces to Eddie that on his home planet he was a loser. VENOM:
On my planet I am kind of a loser. EDDIE:
Wow! IHE:
Comically, intentionally or not, providing commentary that Venom as a character is a loser. The film literally tells you that the titular character who is on the poster is a loser. Wow(!) What a way to reinforce how Venom is a terrifying unstoppable force to be reckoned with. The dialogue in general is just stupid. VENOM:
You are a loser, Eddie. IHE:
Even whipping out the classic "You're not so different you and I" line that robs any scene of drama because of how done to death it is. VENOM:
You and I are not so different. IHE:
And, to be honest, that line hardly even applies because I'd argue Venom is actually massively different from Eddie Brock. In basically every way possible, from his physical form all the way to his personality. One thing I feel like I'm quite forgiving of in these superhero movies is that if the action is, indeed, epic, creative and interesting, then I'm willing to let go of some of the smaller issues, because at least they'd be doing something well. If this film did have incredible action, then at least that would be a decent reason to watch it. However, the action is also pretty terrible. This is for two main reasons. The first is that the power of the Venom goo is never properly established or explained. It's so overpowered that it can apparently bring people back from the dead?! And create what seems like an infinite amount of matter out of what originally is only a tiny puddle of sludge. The second reason is that the visual effects are so laughably terrible, that it's hard to take anything seriously. The best action in the movie is probably the first scene where Venom saves Eddie from an attack on his apartment, but even then it's just a significantly worse version of Upgrade, the film which is basically Venom but if it wasn't total shit. The unintentional humor of it all is the only thing that saves Venom from being a complete drag. I've only seen the movie twice, but I'm glad to say that I wasn't as bored as I thought I would be with a repeat viewing. The first half an hour is somewhat of a slog, but as soon as Venom gets involved, it becomes so stupid and tryhard badass that it's kind of entertaining to see the crescendo of idiocy reach its peak with a nauseating boss battle that is so visually noisy that it's almost impossible to tell what's happening. So, all in all... a pretty high recommendation from me EDDIE:
Wow! Ant-Man and the Wasp is the very movie that people mean when they say: "Marvel movies are bland." "Marvel movies are pointless" "Marvel movies are lame" Honestly, I refuse to re-watch it because I don't think I could sit through it again. Once was more than enough. Marvel still hasn't proven to me that this character deserves his own movies. I like Ant-Man enough, sure. He's fun when used in an ensemble cast with other more interesting main characters, but watching an entire movie based around him is exhausting. They're the most expected, middle-of-the-road, mediocre comedy action movies that hardly even build on the character whatsoever. Sure, the Wasp has top billing this time. What does she do? Fight people in an Ant-Man suit that can fly? *IRONIC SILENCE* Great. The best scene in the movie, hell, the only scene in the movie with real consequence, is the after credits stinger - pardon the pun - That vaguely sets up where Ant-Man is in time for Avengers Endgame... or whatever Well, that was worth sitting through two hours of ass-eating Michael Pena wasn't it. For the film to work you kind of have to find it funny because it's much more carefree and... pointless, for lack of a better word. Well, it's point is to make you laugh and be a cute side adventure in the Marvel Universe, but it never really justifies itself as a movie. Ant-Man seems like it'd fit much better on a small screen - pardon the pun - on a Disney+ streaming show or something like that. It was a bizarre choice to have this movie follow Avengers Infinity War. Maybe they knew how uninteresting this movie was and used the cliffhanger ending of Infinity War to trick people into seeing it for the hope of any information on the characters we actually care about. The fact of the matter is, you could skip this movie, and you would be just as up-to-date on the Marvel Universe as someone who did see it. Isn't part of the fun of these films that they are each a small part of a larger story? Or at the very least are used to develop and grow characters and put them through some kind of conflict that teaches them a lesson or perspective on something? It is so hard for me to care about Ant-Man escaping a seagull, when we just got off seeing Thanos throw a moon at people. Like, Ant-Man's journey in the movie is that he's put under house arrest, then sneaks out a few times, but makes it back just in a nick of time to have his tag taken off. This sounds like an episode of Super Hero Squad. Walton Goggins, who is a great actor, is wasted in the movie. I mean, most of the great actors are, honestly. There's a typical Marvel villain who turns out to not really be a villain, some other stuff happens... I'm putting myself to sleep even trying to describe it. I'm sure some people like it because it's just a cute inoffensive romp, but I could just go and pour boiling water into an ant's nest in my garden and get the same level of entertainment value. I guess it has an aunt playing a drum kit, which is pretty epic. Next! Am pretty much right down the middle on Deadpool 2. I feel like the reason everyone likes the character so much is also the very same reason that makes me dislike him and find him intensely irritating and unlikable. But there's just too much good work that goes into making the film a cohesive thoughtful story to really get too angry over. I don't think these Deadpool movies are quite as irreverent and clever as they believe they are. That's not to say they aren't entertaining at times. At its core, it's actually a pretty simple and done to death kind of superhero story, but uses this structure as a backbone to deliver jokes, while also trying to get you to emotionally connect with the protagonist. But unfortunately, I don't really find it very funny and I don't think the emotional moments work either because of the tone and the outrageous comedy sets. It is a difficult thing to balance and I don't particularly think it really achieves it. Although, this is probably because of my sense of humor. Everything I've really said about this movie could be spun in the opposite way to describe exactly why the movie is good. I suppose what bugs me the most about Deadpool 2 is how it actually plays it pretty safe in the grand scheme of things. I'm so into the idea of Deadpool being used as a platform to mock the never-ending stream of superhero films that are being shit out every year. I picture something like Airplane, which is perfectly parodying a done to death trophy type of movie, which puts comedy before everything else to the point where nothing really makes any sense and it's so absurd that that's exactly what makes it brilliant. And yes, while Deadpool certainly does mock superhero tropes, it's rarely through anything he actually does and it's more just quips and snide remarks that hardly even relate to anything that's actually happening. My point is, I think the humor's so on the nose that it makes any attempt at drama feel like a waste of time within the movie. One thing I will say from memory, is that the Deadpool 2 Super Duper Cut, which is effectively an extended version of the film with slightly different jokes and added scenes, is much better than I remember the theatrical cut being. To tell the truth, I was actually dreading re-watching this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't quite as bad as I remembered it being. I find every supporting character to actually be a lot funnier than Deadpool himself. The stand out to me was Josh Brolin who plays the villain not villain whose deadpan straight guy delivery is such a contrast to Deadpool that it makes basically any retort he has incredibly funny. It takes a long time for Brolin to be properly utilized in this way because his character is a serious antagonist for most of the film, but they do get there eventually. As far as the humor goes, it passed Mark Kermode's Six Laughs Test, which is supposed to dictate if a film was worth being considered a comedy, with my final laugh meter running at a whopping eight laughs, which is actually quite good for me, considering how annoying and Family Guy-ish I find these Deadpool movies at times. My last point about the humor is that I think it relied a bit too much on repetitive jokes from either the first movie or driving jokes into the ground that they thought were funny in the second. Possibly the worst joke in the movie is when they have the rocks to make fun of dubstep. Gosh, how avant-garde of you. One time I could just about deal with, but they think it's so hilarious that they repeat the dubstep joke three times. For such a self-aware character, it's strangely unself-aware to mock something so outdated and irrelevant in meme culture, ironically turning itself into the very thing the film acts as if it's avoiding - being a trophy out to touch superhero comedy. I'm also somewhat torn on the fourth wall break self-awareness, which I know is crucial to the character, but I just mean I think the cleverness isn't always there. I think the funniest instance of this type of humor is when the shock collar has a code they need to break and someone just says seven and it works. There's such an ultimately unimportant detail that the humor works well for me. However, they use the same joke earlier in the movie where they're explaining how Cable's time-travel device works ending with Deadpool saying that the writing is lazy, mocking the kind of trope that a lot of other superhero movies do. It's with this kind of thing where the meta comments bug me. Probably because they don't really do anything clever except point out how bad their writing is. Just because you know how bad and shitty something is doesn't somehow make it not shitty because you're aware that you're doing it. And I know it's supposed to be making a point or statement, but this is precisely the lack of subtlety that bugs me. If the jokes don't land then it kind of ruins entire sequences or scenes. Surely these fourth wall breaks would be the best chance to subvert what would normally happen for some kind of comedic effect, which they do do a couple of times, but not enough for me. For example towards the end of the movie right before Colossus fights the Juggernaut, Deadpool proclaims that a big CGI fight is coming up, which means the film is well aware that this is a dumb annoying trope that gets tiresome, but then they still go ahead and have a big dumb CGI fight that looks dreadful and goes on forever, just like the movies they're making fun of. So again, it's not really a unique spin that would make the fight scene interesting to me. Surely it will be much funnier to use the anticipation of a big dumb CGI fight for a punchline of some kind. Like having Colossus beat Juggernaut in a single anti-climactic punch, followed by Deadpool saying something about how anti-climactic and shit that was. There's just something that erks me about a movie that knows it's wasting my time. In this same line of thought it's bizarre to me how they don't use Deadpool to alleviate some of the terrible shit about the movie. Namely the special effects are mostly pretty bad. The worst example being when a CG Prius drives into a gas station and explodes and it looks like a video game cutscene from ten years ago. When Monty Python figured it would be too expensive and difficult to use real horses for the Holy Grail, they just ran around like fools and used coconuts to make the horse clop noise to compensate. That's taking a constraint and turning it into comedy that's witty and absurd. If you don't have the money to recreate the type of excess that usual superhero movies delve in, then think of a way to mock the tropes without just being a worse self-aware version of the movies you're supposed to be a satire of. Those are most of my major issues with the movie. I thought the action choreography was actually pretty good for the most part. It's a shame they blow their loads so early with an action sequence which is far more entertaining than the one that is supposed to be the climax of the film though. I also particularly liked the character of Domino, whose superpower is that she's just really lucky. It was used to full effect in some creative action scenes. It's details like this that I think are more entertaining and clever that I think these movies could benefit from having more of. When it's at its best Deadpool 2 is mad with childish cartoonish jokes, family values hilarious violence sound effects and pretty cool action. But when I said its worst it can be grating feel bloated and overly long cocky arrogant. There's a strange air of cheapness to the movie in a way I don't think was intended. Overall I think the film is probably better than the original movie, which is already aged horribly, but not much for me. Well, that was a lazy last paragraph summary for this movie. Well, whatever. I use self-deprecation to shield myself from any criticism of my writing because I know it's bad lol. Black panther is fascinating to me as a movie. I really did not particularly Enjoy on my first viewing but appreciated a lot more on my second watch I think I still got a ton of sizeable issues that bogged down the experience though. I appreciate the cultural significance of the movie It's important for a lot of people even in my white-bread County They were ecstatic black families taking pictures with the poster outside the movie theater Which was awesome to see I already have plenty of superheroes. They look like me in the Marvel Universe So it's cool that others might get to experience that in fact, here's a picture I took of myself last night I know I don't normally show my face, but honestly, look how hot I am I basically look identical to Captain America, which is pretty cool I'm also just as strong and ripped as him probably I think the biggest problem I have with Black Panther Is that the main character doesn't have anything? Interesting happen in his journey as a protagonist Until an hour and 40 minutes into the movie where he finally learned something and changes for the better His personality isn't strong enough to carry the plot on its own So it suffers until he's given something interesting to do which obviously makes most of the movie feel like a waste of time They probably kicked themselves after robbing black panther of his perfect introductory arc in civil war Which is basically a better Black Panther movie already so much effort went into designing these ornate costumes and building the secret hidden world But it's largely uninteresting for such a large chunk of the movie because it feels aimless and what it's trying to do the story is so committed to telling this grand tale of two extreme political ideals butting heads until some kind of Compromises met but its implementation is clumsy at best. I start by talking about the action in the movie. It's strangely terrible It's normally the one thing you can count on being well Storyboarded and intense in marvel movies even at man and the wasp probably as better more consistent action sequences and I really can't stand that film not only is black panther uninteresting to watch fight because this suit is so ridiculously overpowered and can basically protect him from any peril that would add the necessary tension to make a fight scene engaging But the visual effects work is so embarrassing at points that it nearly looks as bad as the Star Wars prequels I don't know if this is just because the director isn't familiar with working on these effects-heavy high concept blockbusters well Because every animator on the planet was furiously rendering out shots for infinity war so they had to get the norm of the North Animators to shit out a couple rhinos and a goofy final fight that shows how little has actually been learned since the first Ironman I already complained earlier in this video about villains who are just a superhero But a baddie version of them and amazingly they do it yet again I know that's robbing it of the minutia But the conflict still just ends in one black panther Fighting another black panther and the real black panther only really wins because he's more familiar with Wakanda I guess he doesn't win the day because of him learning anything or growing as a person He just stabs him through the fucking chest and kills him The entire premise of the story is also stupidly heavily reliant on his MacGuffins like flower juice and vibranium which the former only seems to be written in as a way to somehow make Black Panther actually take some kind of damage in a Fight scene because they made him too overpowered. Oh wait. No this has been in the comics since the 60s god, they're stupid and the issue I have of vibranium the super metal that has allowed the wakandans to leap decades ahead in terms of Technological advancement is that it is also too Overpowered everything in this movie is too strong not only is vibranium the strongest metal ever found, but it's also a potent energy source It's how Black Panther has his powers and it's how he has a goo suit that can form from a necklace. When will the Versatility of this super metal end I know all of these superhero flicks are packed with MacGuffins like this But this time it's just too far for me because of how crucial it is for having any of this story makes sense We're supposed to be in awe of Wakanda for how futuristic they are But they're only that way because they happen to live near a mountain that is full of a metal that can do literally anything The film is so packed with elongated scenes of clumsy Exposition that have to explain these ridiculous comic-book ideas while also pushing for this extremely adult story of race relations murder Betrayal and tradition that only highlights how ridiculous and corny at all is it just doesn't work A lot of this probably wouldn't bug me if the film wasn't so visually uninteresting This is a great example of a film that would be considerably better if it was fully animated You wouldn't even question some of the wackiest stuff because people wouldn't have to try and believe that a real person is Interacting with the CG Rhino general audiences think animation is just for little babies this or whatever Another simple detail that ways the movie down or that already dated memes and references They awkwardly shove in to try and be funny. What are those whip my hair? what is love and SoundCloud will get unfunny shoutouts for some reason Marvel humor has always had a tendency to go a bit too far sometimes But Jesus this is like a parody of itself at this point I suppose this films a bit of a victim of how all these Marvel movies have to be shot with the same camera and have The same carefree tone to give the universe some consistency but there are just small changes that can improve the Flair of certain scenes a considerable amount a great example of this would be the first time there is one of those black panther challenge fights on the Waterfall for some reason they decided to set the scene in the ugliest most overly lit time of day as possible. So the green-screen soundstage escapades show up so much clearer than if it was set say at sunrise or Sundown where the beautiful African Sun could be used to establish a better sense of mood Atmosphere or visually enforce the idea that black panther is risen to power. I don't know I'm just spitballing here the Sun set at the end of the movie looks stunning So it's not like they're not capable on the same note The climactic battle scene is completely ruined for me simply by else stupid Everything looks actually basically every action scene is ruined by the visuals Even the opening fight is so dark that you can barely tell what is happening if there was less awful ugly Action and more time spent establishing and explaining the rules and regulations of Wakanda Then I probably would have liked it more the film simply requires you to turn your brain off to a point where I just get Bored top it off of Martin Freeman's terrible American accent and you're left with a largely forgettable movie with noble ambitious themes But not a single key factor that can stand strong enough to make the movie and entertaining watch throughout Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm racist and that's why I don't really like the movie I guess this is the movie. I'm supposed to hate I've never seen a Teen Titans go TV show because I don't watch baby shows But I used to like the original Teen Titans when I was a kid, but this film isn't bad It's a neat self-aware animated flick that is more creative than it looks the story of the movie is literally that Robin is upset that everyone else except Him is getting superhero movies made about them mocking the mere existence of itself from that description. You can imagine the kind of tone It's going for nothing's too serious. The stakes remain pretty low and it's all about the gags I was surprised that I was finding myself laughing a fair amount. Maybe it was the surprise that it wasn't complete trash I don't know. I will say that I did get pretty tired of it after about 40 minutes Not that it was doing anything particularly bad, but my mind was starting to wander because I wasn't really being engaged by anything It's the problem with these hyper self-aware movies Sometimes it gets to a point where it feels like nothing Particularly matters because they constantly remind you that you're watching a movie the humor works best when it's lovingly making fun of DC characters but a lot of the other jokes fall flat to me for every laugh I did get there are one or two missed jokes that Really didn't land the animation kind of feels TV worthy a lot of the time but there are a few Instances where different animation techniques are used that are much more entertaining The standout is a Lion King parody that was animated in a Disney kind of style Don't really have much more to say on this movie is fine. I'll never watch it again It's not really worth hating or particularly loving in my books Aquaman is terrible So terrible that it goes from being laughably bad to boring and uninteresting then back to being laughable to me but then weirdly creative and cool and then it ends and you're just like The fuck did I just watch you're probably amazed that I have Aquaman this high on this list But I simply can't express how much fun I have watching this stupid-ass movie The director James Wan is the expert at making these bloated brain-dead substance less action movies But at the same time making them thoroughly enjoyable throughout say we you want about it, but the film does have a personality It's so vibrant colorful and energetic that at points. I couldn't believe how simply epic it was It's a movie that is so much greater than the sum of its parts because so much of it is blatantly terrible The dialogue is corny as hell the acting ranges from glorious chewing of the scenery killed my father To actually being so bad that it's hard to watch The visual effects can be surprisingly decent but there are also plenty of instances where it looks like total garbage it's a film that combines the inspiration knowingly or not with other movies like black panther with them both being their own universe is equivalent of Atlantis having Ritualistic battles for the throne the Thor ragnaroks in there with the 80s tone and synth music Coliseum battles and the breaking of the main characters weapon a bit of Tron legacies in there with the extreme use of light and color It becomes fast and furious out of nowhere for a little bit then Indiana Jones then a horror movie Then Jurassic Park and they're probably more. I'm not even thinking off point is it's just fucking epic, dude I also appreciate how the main character about command does actually learn something by the end of the movie It's not exactly a new or fresh take on the reluctant hero but the fact is that the character is more noble and heroic by the end of the movie compared to how cocky and arrogant he Starts off as and they do this without making out command feel like his power is a burden He actually loves every second of being a superhero Which in itself makes her an enjoyable character to watch the cartoonish melodrama of it All is the key as to why it works for me. It's either intentionally not taking itself, too Seriously at all or it thinks it's so incredible and grand that that makes it funny to watch because of how lame it is Honestly, I think it's the only way to pull off such a joke of a character the outcome Annies. I'm sorry Aquaman fans He'll never be taken seriously by General Order chances So he needs to get the fast and furious treatment to stand a chance at being enjoyable and profitable It's just so stupid that you can't help but love and to give credit where credit is due out of the movies I've talked about so far. Our man has the most memorable cinematography camera movement action choreography stunt work and art direction It reminds me of what I like so much about the tone of the Sam Raimi spider-man movies or of a video game like the Resident Evil 2 remake or even going as far as early Doctor Who which rides the line so beautifully and being so Cartoonish and bad that they kind of become goodbye how over and lacking in subtlety there. Sounds like my wife another aspect I genuinely feel is quite good as the motivation of the main villain who hates humanity because of how they polluted the ocean sure it Has no subtlety at all But given the context that's actually a pretty solid reason to have a problem with humans if you had to live in the ocean I just like how they weren't afraid to get weird and spend 160 million dollars on a movie with all this crazy shit thrown in goofy little details like Jellyfish being the light source in certain scenes or how hair looked in the underwater Sequences are so charming to me in an over-the-top way It is so unfiltered in its stupidity that before Aquaman fights ocean master in the Coliseum ocean master They literally show the stats of each other like a video game. I mean, come on I will say I think Amber Heard in this movie is unforgivably bad There is no charm or charisma to her performance and she has next to no chemistry or that command I think it would have been better if they had replaced her with the CG octopus that was playing the drums in that one scene Let's all agree that that would be much more epic How commands not a film I would blame anyone for hating with a passion Trust me when I say that every terrible negative you have about this movie will have me nodding along with you saying yep That's totally true But I simply cannot ignore the ridiculous amount of work that went into a fucking Aquaman movie that actually wound up being fun is held To watch and until another movie can show me a crab person jumping out of a crab drop ship which then lands on a shark But then a different shark goes beast mode on the crab Which is followed by an underwater fire Catapult exploding a ship which then ends with what looks like a like florid on biting another crab person Then I will stick to calling this film the epic king of excess that it is. Thank you very much Incredibles 2 is a solid sequel to the classic 2004 movie that stays true to its core cast of relatable likable characters while showcasing a master class of character design animation and action storyboarding The smart thing about The Incredibles family is that there is gonna be some aspect of the characters relationships Personality once needs or goals that will resonate with you in some way that helps ground them an assist in connecting with them as people Whether you're a dad who struggled with helping your kid with their maths homework an excited young boy who has his whole life ahead of him A nervous young lady who's still trying to figure out her place in the world or a baby that can turn into a demon chances Are there's a character that will speak to you. It really helps the Parr family feel like they are a real family Despite the pulpy 60s cartoon aesthetic with Goofy superpowers and a villain who was basically plankton from the Spongebob movie I was expecting to like this film a lot less the second time around because I'd heard the complaints of other haters like Ralph the Movie minion and your mama sucks but as hard as I tried to get on the same level I just find the film to be too enjoyable and well made to Get angry over, of course There is a level of sequel Isis to the whole thing while it doesn't come close to the original movie I think its essence stays true to what the original is all about overcoming and growing as a family the best thing about the movie is easily the art direction and overall atmosphere the expressive music use of color and 60s aesthetic design of Everything keeps the film visually stimulating the animation is obviously wonderful But it's still worth mentioning because a lot of work clearly went into making it as striking as possible Hell the main reason I guess the villain revealed twist towards the end of the movie before it happened was because I noticed the effort That went into the aloof character design that clearly expressed some kind of mal intent to me It's also not that surprising if you've ever seen a movie before but you get what I mean The villain is easily the weakest aspect of the movie but its surface level development is pretty similar to syndrome from the first movie I never saw The Incredibles is a film about Complex interesting villains but more so an obstacle for the family to overcome and grow together I mentioned earlier in this video how action is extremely important to me in dumb superhero movies and how it can completely ruin a film Like this if it sucks another thing as much to ask to have an action movie have good Action here. We are luckily The action in Incredibles 2 is on point They make full use of the variety of characters and their various powers with clear flowing action that is never too busy or confusing to keep track of if In such a way that it feels effortless despite the obvious amount of work, that would have to go into making Sequences like this as thrilling as they are one thing I will know is how I think the final action sequence of the movie kind Of feels less climactic than the movie thinks it is this might simply be because it's set on a boat that's kind of removed from any immediate peril, which Contrasted with the climax of the first movie feels almost trivial in comparison I appreciate how despite being thought of as a kids movie The main thrust of the film is about vigilantes basically changing the law for the better With a lot of interesting themes that Brad Bird clearly likes to juggle in his movies that elevate what otherwise would be pretty substance less Flock substance list is such a hard word to say I barely had any notes when we watching this movie because nothing was particularly Irritating me it's just solid not groundbreaking or particularly special but above average, especially if we're comparing the superhero movies for the year I cannot believe how much I enjoy infinity war. There were so many warning signs how on earth does a movie with this many characters not feel like a muddled mess this clusterfuck of a poster kind of resembles My greatest fear of what the film might have been a busy overly packed nightmare explosion a pointless action and a goofy mustache twirling purple Homer Simpson villain however The end product came together in a strangely poignant showcase of how to do an ensemble movie of an in samba movie of an in Samba movie it's like five ensembles at once but what really carries the film is an interesting foreboding quotable ruthless villain who was effectively the main character of the movie who might wind up being a modern-day Darth Vader by the time This is all done the opening moments with fan OHS set the scene So beautifully not only does he have a literal God cowering before him But he also gets to show his physical capability by decimating the Hulk right before our eyes It's a great way of showing us why we should be fearful of him after so much build-up over years and years of teasing that He's this all-powerful monster. We should care about the movie kind of rectifies a lot of issues I've had with previous Marvel Affairs that feel like they're all linked and part of the cohesive universe but lack Consequence that is required to keep me invested I'm not saying that characters dying should be the be-all end-all of drama in these movies but the plot armor does get exhausting after a while infinity war was the first time I was actually Fearful for the main cast of characters, they establish early on in the film that they're willing to murder Not only one but two major players so the constant guessing games with who's gonna make it out alive not only Enhances the power of Thanos as a villain but massively builds the stakes in tension to the point where you really don't know who's safe And who isn't some people have an issue with Thanos his plan to kill half of the universe but to me the plan isn't even what's important about his character what works about him is that you never doubt for a second that He believes that what he's doing is just his conviction to his cause is what makes him compelling Especially considering the insane lengths and sacrifice He's willing to go to to complete his mission the scale of the whole thing. Never fails to be impressive to me There are points where the action is So ridiculously over-the-top in a good way that it really makes the film feel like a world ending galaxy-wide important event The action scenes have a good progression to them. So by the end, it feels evenly weighted in terms of how epic they are They're sprinkled in a thoughtful way throughout the movie that keep you raising the bar every time a new one starts you start with relatively small scale fist fights and end with moons being thrown at each other the variety and creative if the planning and Storyboarding keeps it fresh and interesting for most of the film It also does a great job of balancing the tone the emotional beats hit when they need to the film is funny when it needs To be and it's a badass action movie when it needs to be - so much thought was put into our to pair up each Group of characters to make for the most interesting drama and chemistry and it somehow never feels too outlandish within the context of the movie I also liked how there was this Consistent theme of letting go of your loved ones and we get to see a variety of different reactions to the same idea Thanos has heartbroken in a very different way - Chris Pratt's character for war deals with death in a very different way - skull at Which the contrast of how all these people deal with grief is fun to watch and shows how distinct the roster of characters are one Thing I very much appreciate it was the cinematography by Trent Opel lock up pull up Open lock. Sorry who previously worked on films such as district 9 and other Blomkamp movies Which is notable for how expertly the camera is used to ground. Otherwise Fantastical elements of fiction into what feels like a real world. This was so crucial to making a character like Stannis work He's obviously a computer-generated effect So physical presence was key to making him effective in dramatic scenes with real human actors and unlike in a lesser more incompetent Films such as Justice League where the CG villain looks like plastic and has no command or presence over the screen Thanos always feels like a character first and a visual effects second I believe this is mostly down to the smart use of camerawork and the way they chose to implement the special effects a great example Of what I mean is when the camera follows Tony Stark outside in an intimate handheld perspective that never cuts away Until after we've been shown the mighty scale and size of what is invading earth So when we do cut to a wide shot that shows us what the spaceship looks like We have a reference point from a human perspective that enhances the impact and in fact of the invasion Considering just how many visual effect heavy shots there are I'd say the quality of them is mostly impressive and consistent I know a lot of people have a problem with our characters look when their heads are showing from Mac type Outfits and I do agree. It looks bizarre. Why does it look like that for the most part though? The effects work is very impressive throughout one aspect of the movie. I'm not particularly keen on as the battle sequence in Wakanda I like the payoff at the end But the action is considerably more messy and all over the place compared to the laser focused intensity of the Avengers fight with Thanos which has such a clever combination of powers that it stays tense and interesting compared to thousands of creatures with no personality that are just Fought to be exploded it also has the same problem I have with Wakanda and Black Panther with a color palette of the movie is soap washed out and overcast Compared to the vibrant color usage of the scenes set in space This is probably an intentional decision to have a notable visual difference between the two but it just makes one half of the climactic battle Significantly less impressive than the other instead of having a nice balance The only other real negative I have is the fear of the next movie robbing the impact of this one it would kind of be A shame if endgame made this film feel superfluous and pointless, but obviously I haven't seen the movie yet So I can't comment on what they're gonna do overall though the films probably my favorite Marvel movie. It makes characters I don't normally care for fun and interesting. The action is very impressive. The villain is the best in the franchise The comedy is less hit and miss for me the whole package feels like a payoff for the time investment of the previous movies I don't know if they're going to be able to hold my attention after endgame for much longer But we've basically got on a season of a TV show where each episode is a gigantic Blockbuster and that's neat as hell for the time being Congrats Oni for making both the worst and best superhero movie of 2018 you dinguses into the spider-verse isn't just a fantastic Superhero movie but a fantastic movie it perfectly juggles a somewhat formulaic hero's journey with a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness that feels true to the character to both casual and hardcore Fans the charm and wit is endless and impressive and while most of the discussion about this movie is focused on how beautiful it is Which it is? It's the entire package that makes it so special to me the writing original score' voice acting storyboarding color palette action emotional resonance character design and practically every Creative element has been crafted with such care and attention to detail that I believe this is far and away the greatest Superhero movie ever made. This film was practically made for me His sense of humor is so similar to my own and the art style is so expressive and drop-dead gorgeous that I've been thinking about screenshotting some of my favorite frames from the movie and hanging them on my wall to pay respect to the immense amount of talent that went into every second of animation some movies have tried and Failed to capture the tone of a comic book before that always came across as too on-the-nose or cheesy, but here it fits so beautifully Proving. Once again how versatile animation is not as a genre but as a medium of telling any kind of story in a refreshing and unique outlook, however, the backbone of the movie is the writing of Phil Lord and his team who are basically the kings of taking terrible ideas and making Films that have no right being as good as they are They clearly seem to understand what works and what doesn't about the usual formulas that Blockbusters fall into but instead of trying to reinvent the wheel they approach the trite and familiar Blueprints of these kind of movies with an original outlook and refined unto death story tropes into unpredictable narratives that are somehow both familiar But new and satisfying every character as a distinct voice whether it be the character design or the performance of the actors I massively appreciate how the film manages to be So inclusive without beating you over the head with some kind of obvious ham-fisted agenda The main cast of Heroes will have a character that you connect with no matter who you are or where you come from Which comes around to reinforce the central theme of heroism being more than just a suit but a philosophy or idea? It's a gleeful celebration of how good overcomes evil how optimism and bravery are worth fighting for we all do our part My biggest fear with the movie before I saw it was how they'd make the different Spider Men not feel like OneNote Caricatures who would ruin the consistent see of the story for the sake of a throwaway gag But while they are certainly goofy and silly they add so much levity and fun to the hero's journey that even spider-ham Was having me crack up with the bizarre references to classic animation tropes The fact that this film is yet another Spiderman origin story and that isn't a- shows how much they nailed it to me in fact The film is so aware of how tired we are seeing radioactive spiders biting people that the protagonist Barely even reacts when it happens with three of the superhero movies of 2018 having fourth wall breaking self-aware meta humor This is the only one I would say succeeds at elevating its material through the use of that kind of comedy where Deadpool and Teen Titans go to the movies and mocking the Conventions we are so sick of with a kind of cynical outlook spite of us takes the same ideas but instead of forthrightly breaking the consistency of the movie to proclaim how smart and meta they are gives the audience enough credit to figure out the commentary through subtlety that Also builds character and adds to the story One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie is a pretty simple Exposition done between miles and Peter B Parker where they're having a discussion while casually walking on the side of a building It is such an ingenious and creative way of making something that could otherwise be pretty dull and uninteresting Completely fascinating to watch while also reinforcing character motives and setups for later in the movie It's a film that is so brilliantly constructed that I just sit incomplete or every time I watch it It is such a simple story told in a creative humorous and human way earlier I mentioned the insane level of detail whether it be a bagel hitting into someone's head in the background for the shading and line work On kingpins hand when he clicks a pen for the jaw-dropping final confrontation Which is such a perfect climax on both an emotional and visual level that reinforces the drama in the scene without ever becoming too Distracting it's a film that becomes better and better every time I rewatch it. There's so much to appreciate that I could put this film on at any time and happily watch the entire thing the pacing is immaculate for scenes linger no longer than absolutely Necessary to advance the story or evolve a character's relationship The original score is not getting enough love as it deserves Daniel Pemberton did such an impressive job nailing the themes and sound of the movie perfectly Complementing and accentuating when and where it's necessary A lot of people don't like the choice to use pop music within certain scenes of the movie and while I did find it distracting The first time I saw it on subsequent reward I can't say it really bothers me at all anymore at the very least You can make a case for it being Consistent with the type of music that miles is established to enjoy and listen to so doesn't particularly bug me There's actually very little I don't like about the movie I think it succeeds that everything is going for and then some Because of how ingenious the visual style is if you have a bit of spare time I'd have to recommend giving the trivia section on IMDB Oh look It's full of so many interesting details about how they achieve the look and feel of the movie we could have me droning on for Days, this is a film I'll be revisiting for years to come so refreshing and inspiring to me the while I'm known for being a hateful Commotion who complains all the time this films like this so remind me why I adore nerdy movies in the first place and clearly not alone either the Universal acclaim for the movie speaks for itself in the same way the striking visuals do this is the only movie on this list I would recommend you give a try even if you don't like superhero movies I'm sure there's something you'll get out of it The fact that this is the same animation service responsible for the emoji movie speaks volumes to me I think it's wonderful that the hard-working animators working at Sony animation now have this on their resume? It's a film I'd be thrilled to be a part of and I'm glad they were able to get weird and creative with it They cannot recommend it enough So there will the superhero movies from 2018 a pretty mixed bunch Honestly, I think 2017 was more consistent in terms of quality But spider-verse and Avengers kind of makes 2018 or worth it to me as far as 2019 is shaping up though Well, the superhero train still seems to be going full steam ahead with what looks to be about eight or nine movies coming up It's going to be fascinating what the landscape is like post Avengers endgame Surely it cannot keep growing and being as successful as it is without fault. All it takes is for one Spectacularly bad movie for the perception to swing back around into the negative like how I felt about these movies three or so years ago But clearly what I think isn't stopping these movies making billions of dollars So let me know what your version of the 2018 list would look like in the comments below Thanks for watching and sticking around for these types of videos that take a stupidly long time to put together I think I underestimated. Just how many of these movies there are a year Be sure to check out my movie podcast with Ralph the movie maker and YMS If you like this kind of content - we'll probably be talking about Avengers endgame in the near future. I'll see you next time. Bye
It's ridiculous how I get this feeling that you're about to drop a video the same day you actually do.
I really enjoyed this one. The analysis of Infinity War reminds me of why I look to you for most of my movie expertise. I'm definitely in agreement with the order of your list and can safely say that I'm very immensely excited to watch your 2020 list in a year's time.
Owen Willson WOW at 5:03, 5:13, & 7:08
For the life of me, I cannot see the resemblance between Black Panther and Norm of the North.
Believe it or not, you can tell a lot about a person simply be asking them what their favourite superhero movie of 2018 is.
Infinity War: Has spent the last 365 days reading Endgame theories on Reddit. Will write 5 page essays on why Thanos did Nothing Wrong.
Black Panther: No doubt an SJW shill paid by Disney!...either that or his favourite movie of 2017 was Get Out.
Ant man and the wasp: Only watches movies that are playing on the tv on Sunday afternoons. Has a crush on Paul Rudd.
Deadpool 2: LMAO DEADPOOL IS SO EPIC! HE SAID THE F WORD 😎
Venom: Gets turned on by black goo. Ships Eddie and Venom on Tumblr. Listens to that Eminem song once a day.
Aquaman: Either loves DC so much that they praise everything they do....or his favourite song is Ocean Man.
Incredibles 2: Extremely nostalgic for the first movie. May or may not jerk off to Elastigirl.
Teen Titans Go: You enjoy seeing 20 something year old manchildren get bent out of shape over a show made for literal children because it "ruined their childhood", in spite of the fact that the original Teen Titans cartoon was also aimed at children and also had many, many episodes based around silly, absurdist comedy.
Spiderverse: Congratulations, you're a true cinephile!
Lol the Aquaman thing is overdone at this point, the movie is nowhere near as bad as you’re saying it is imo and it is legitimately a better made film than Deadpool 2 to me. It’s a movie that’s just light hearted and doesn’t take itself seriously at all, the visuals are amazing and the story, although predictable, is still coherent . Your thoughts on black panther I can’t relate with at all, it’s not the greatest movie ever but it certainly isn’t as bad as you’re making it out to sound.
And btw James Wan is the guy who directed Saw 1&2 and Conjuring 1&2, if you think big budget action movies are all he does you probably didn’t even search his filmography before making this video.
Btw didn’t make $1.15B because people were “laughing at how stupid it is”. It has good audience scores everywhere, cinemascore, IMDb, RT etc. A “so bad it’s good” movie would be something like The Room or....Venom in fact, and you can see from the ratings of those 2 movies and Aquaman that there’s a massive difference in audience reception between them.