Marvel Movie Marathon, Part 1

(Image:  Marvel Movies)

For the past handful of days I've been binge-watching Marvel Movies.

Normally, I'd post individual movie reviews.  However, after watching half-a-dozen movies straight and being way behind on my webcomic and wargame projects, I'm feeling both overwhelmed and lazy.

So for this post I'll just write a few lines about each movie, consisting of each movie's plot synopsis, along with what I liked and where I thought the films fell short.

This post will cover the first four movies, which averaged 3.5 to 4-star ratings that I don't have any disagreements over.  My next post will cover the last two movies in this Marvel Movie Marathon.

For now, I'll start things off with:

(Image:  Guardians of the Galaxy)

In this fun flick, a ragtag bunch of misfits try to keep an artifact of doom, in the form of Infinity Stone from falling into the hands of Ronan the Accuser, who decides to defy his boss Thanos.

I loved the Awesome Mix Vol 1 soundtrack, which I've heard some say make the movie.  On the flip-side, I thought the badguys/badgirls were too melodramatic, as if they were participating in a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) match, instead of implementing galactic conquest.

(Image: X-Men: Days of Future Past)

While the Guardians of the Galaxy are groovin' to 70s music, the mutants face extinction sometime in a Bad Future.  As the Sentinels close-in, Wolverine's consciousness is sent time travelling back to 1973, to prevent shape-shifting Mystique from assassinating the Sentinel creator.

Why? 

Because Mystique gets captured and her DNA was used to create the Sentinels.

When all is said and done, Wolverine wakes up to find himself back at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as he did during the first X-Men movie, but is now the only one who remembers what happened.  Even the characters who were killed-off in the previous movies are "brought back to life."

Time travel appears to be movie studios method of choice to reboot a franchise.

(Image: Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Wolverine isn't the only fish out of temporal water.  While still getting use to life in the 21st Century, Captain America finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy.  He and Black Widow discover their employer S.H.I.E.L.D. has been thoroughly penetrated and compromised by HYDRA. 

In order to destroy HYDRA, our heroes and their allies are forced to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D. as well.

This movie's central theme centered on the dilemma of freedom vs. security, or who watches the watchmen? 

(Image: Thor: The Dark World)

While S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYRDA lay in ruins--for now--Thor's love-interest, Jane Foster, finds herself teleported to the dark world of Svartalfheim, accidently opens the Sealed Evil in a Can and is possessed by "The Ether."

To stop Malekith the Accursed (presumed dead) and his dark elf mooks (presumed extinct); Thor, Jane and their pals on Earth and Asgard, spring Loki from prison and attempt to thwart the impending World Wrecking Wave from braking over the Nine Realms.

I don't have any patience for recurring villains, but Loki is the most entertaining-but-exasperating of the Marvel Studios cast-pool.

Wrap-Up:

I enjoyed all four movies and they did well enough at the box office that sequels are in the making.

Now all I have to do is get around to seeing the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, along with the TV Shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter.