MCU TVShows

As I’m sure you have heard, since the launch of Disney+ all Marvel TV shows on other networks are coming to an end.  This seems like a good time to have a quick look back at the TV shows based in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).  It is worth noting that none of these shows had any impact on the MCU; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Agent Carter has featured characters from the movies, but to the best of my knowledge, aside from a small appearance from James D’Arcy in Endgame (that has no impact on the plot), nobody has gone the other way.  Something that I understand is set to change.  In an interview with Bloomberg Marvel chief Kevin Feige said: “If you want to understand everything in future Marvel movies, he says, you’ll probably need a Disney+ subscription, because events from the new shows will factor into forthcoming films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” I was always disappointed that none of the key characters from the TV shows made it into the movies, but am not sure this isn’t a step too far.  Below is a quick synopsis of the shows and what I thought of the ones I watched:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (2013 – 2020) – S.H.I.E.L.D recruit new agents, have personal problems, and save the world numerous times, all under the watch of Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) resurrected from the dead following the events of The Avengers. I watched this from the start.  The events of Captain America, The Winter Soldier threw them a real curveball that derailed the plot.  Surprisingly they recovered from this and the series improved.  They have also had some memorable antagonists; Kyle MacLachlan, Powers Boothe, and Bill Paxton.  It was also the first time I had seen the amazing Ruth Negga.  I gave up early in the sixth season.  I understand there will be a seventh and final season next year.

Agent Carter (2015-2016) – After the end of WWII, British Agent  Peggy Carter is working in America for Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR), a forerunner to S.H.I.E.L.D.  She is mostly relegated to secretarial duties while the men in the office haplessly blunder around.  This series took forever to make it to the UK, I eventually saw it on Amazon, after it had been cancelled.  I watched both series, the pacing is a little up and down, but the period setting looks great and Hayley Atwell and James D’Arcy make likeable leads.

Daredevil (2015 -2018) – The first of the MCU shows made by Netflix.  Charlie Cox stars as Matt Murdock a blind lawyer who uses his superhuman senses to moonlight as the crime fighting masked vigilante Daredevil.  The first season was excellent, but lost its way in the second before returning for a fantastic third and final season.  I binged all three seasons as soon as they came out.

Jessica Jones (2015 – 2019) – The second Netfix show: Following a short stint as a superhero, with a tragic ending, Jessica Jones reinvents herself as a New York private detective with a drink problem.  Running for just 39 episodes over three seasons, this was my favourite  Marvel TV show.  Krysten Ritter was perfectly cast as the snarky, sarcastic lead, the supporting cast was also great.  The stories, particularly season one were amongst the strongest too.  As with Daredevil, I binged them all!

Luke Cage 2016 – 2018 – Having already been introduced in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) gets his own show.  Reluctant hero Cage is a former convict with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin.  Set in Harlem with a largely African American cast, the series made a refreshing change to the usual super hero shows and movies.  The villains are excellent, particularly Alfre Woodard, and a pre Oscar Mahershala Ali.  The supporting cast includes the always excellent Rosario Dawson, reprising her role from Daredevil.  It ran for 26 episodes over two seasons, I watched them all and largely enjoyed it.  The first season started really well but lost its way, the second season was up and down. 

Marvels Inhumans (2017) – I understand the plot goes something like this: After a military coup, the Inhuman Royal Family escape their home on the dark side of the moon, to Hawaii.  They must put aside personal differences to save the world!  The first two episodes were shot in IMAX and screened in cinemas.  I didn’t get around to seeing them, but understand they are terrible.  I didn’t bother with the series, and it seems no one else did either, it bombed and was swiftly cancelled, the eight completed episodes were retiled a mini-series

Iron Fist (2017 – 2018) – The weakest of the Netflix shows.  Finn Jones plays Danny Rand, A young man who returns to New York after being presumed dead for fifteen years following a plane crash. Rand has heightened martial arts abilities, and the ability to call upon the mystical power of the Iron Fist.  The character isn’t very well written, and the plots are less engaging than those  in the other series.  It is helped by a strong supporting cast most notably Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing.  I watched all 23 episodes (across two seasons) but took longer over it than any other Netfix/MCU show.  As a side note Danny Rand appears as a supporting character in a few episodes of Luke Cake, and works better as a supporting character.

The Defenders 2017 –  Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, join forces to fight a common enemy, the Hand.  It was been suggested that it was the least-viewed Marvel Netflix following mixed reviews and word of mouth.  I enjoyed it and watched all eight episodes in quick succession.

The Punisher (2017 – 2019) – The final MCU/Netflix show.  Probably the most consistently excellent MCU show, and at its best it is as good as Jessica Jones, and Daredevil.   Jon Bernthal plays Frank Castle a former cop turned vigilante “the Punisher”, after the loss of his family.  First introduced in Daredevil, the first season goes back to tell the well trodden origin of the character.  The second season is actually better.  Another show that deserves more than the 26 episodes it got.

Marvel’s Runaways (2017 – 2020) The plot (copied from wikipedia):  “Six teenagers from different backgrounds unite against a common enemy – their criminal parents” sounds interesting.  There are twenty episodes to date, with a final season of ten due out later this month.  I haven’t seen any of them yet, but may get around to it.

Cloak & Dagger (2018 – 2019) The unsung hero of the MCU TV.  Two very different teenagers  with seemingly unconnected powers find they are more effective when working together.  An excellent show that combines all the tropes of a teen romance, with a superhero show.  Sadly cancelled in the Disney+ cull of competing Marvel properties, it deserves a third and final season.  It has been rumoured that stars, Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph are reprising their characters in the supporting cast of the final season of Runaways, another reason to catch up with it.

So what does Disney+ have planned for us to replace everything that has been cancelled?  The following shows have all been slated and are at various stages of production.

• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Filming – due: late 2020)
• WandaVision (Filming -Due: early 2021)
• Loki (Pre Production – Due 2021)
• What If…? (In Production (animated) – Due: 2021)
• Hawkeye (Ordered – Due: 2021/2022)
• Ms. Marvel (Ordered – Due: TBA)
• Moon Knight (Ordered – Due: TBA)
• She-Hulk (Ordered – Due: TBA)

The interesting thing, the first three are only set to have six episode first seasons.  Is this because they are so expensive, or are Disney spreading their properties too thinly?  Are they a toe in the water before a longer full season is ordered, or are has this just been misreported? Given the level of the MCU movies, I expect the new shows to be top quality.  I’m just not convinced cancelling excellent shows that still have millage in them the best way to do it.  Maybe there is truth to the rumour of a Disney+ reprieve for Jessica Jones and Daredevil! 

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Le Mans ’66 aka Ford v Ferrari

Last night I attended Cineworld’s secret screening.  I was delighted by the choice of Le Mans 66, not only did it proved to be a really enjoyable film, but also one I was really interested in. This is not a review of the film but does contain some plot details that may be considered SPOILERS.

When I heard about Ford v Ferrari as it was originally billed (and is still called in other territories) I was excited. I had read about Carroll Shelby as a kid, and seen lot about him on TV.  The only driver to win Le Mans in a Aston Martin. A race he drove in against doctors orders knowing he could die at any time from a heart condition.  I’m pleased to report he survived the race, and lived for another 53 years until the age of 89, but that’s another story. He was the man responsible for the legendry AC Cobra, and the Shelby/Cobra versions of The Ford Mustang.  As this story tells, he was also the man behind Ford’s Le Man winning team, and the development of the GT40, the car that beat Ferrari.  A Le Mans Story only rivalled by the epic Bentley v Mercedes battle of 1930.

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The story started really started with Lee Iacocca (who passed away earlier this year aged 94), the man credited with saving Ford. In a bid to make Ford sporty and sexy (he had already been instrumental in the introduction of the Ford Mustang), Iacocca proposed purchasing Ferrari. A company second to none on the track, but nearing bankruptcy.  We will never know if Enzo Ferrari didn’t want his company owned by Americans, or if he always intended to sell to Fiat, and used the Ford deal to push the price up, or as is alluded to in the film it was a disagreement over total control of his racing team.  The film doesn’t dwell on this, it concentrates on what happened next.  The epic battle to beet Ferrari on the track, more on that to come.  When I heard the title was being changed from Ford v Ferrari to Le Mans ’66 I thought it was a mistake, as the original title was stronger, more evocative.  However, having seen the film, it makes sense.  As the film explains in its one (or possibly two) Basil Exposition moments, Ford were not really at war with Ferrari.  Ford were at war with Chevrolet; Ferrari was a battle they got into along the way.  Chevrolet were beating Ford, in the new key younger marketplace with the Chevelle, and were considered a more desirable and exciting brand thanks to the their success on track with the Corvette.

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All good stories, or at least interesting ones, are about people, not things, and this film is about people.  Not Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, but Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, played Christian Bale and Matt Damon.  What I didn’t expect was how much the film is about Ken Miles, possibly even more that Carroll  Shelby.  I knew a little of Ken Miles going into the movie, I had read about him, again as a kid, pre Internet, so didn’t know that much.  But what I did know, was like me he was from Sutton Coldfield, Then a small town in Warwickshire, now a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands. Nobody famous comes from Sutton so I was intrigued. The most notable thing I had read about him was the end of the 1966 Le Mans race, that I won’t spoil for those who don’t know.  There are so many movie “inspired” by real events where you find charters are composites, or creations of the film makers, as far as I can tell, the key characters here are all real.

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The film whips along at great pace making you forget the two and half hour runtime.  It also sticks firmly to the most important rule of cinema, show don’t tell! As mentioned, there is very little exposition or explanation.  One such thing is the actual origin of the car.  There is a moment in the film where a prototype is flow from England with no real explanation.  What actually happened: after the Ferrari deal fell through and before Shelby was onboard, Ford looked for a partner company who could help them.  They turned to the home of motorsport England, initially talking to Formula One teams Lotus (already a partner on other projects) and Cooper, but settling on Lola.  Lola had already built the “The Lola Mk6 GT”.  Three Mk6 GT’s were produced, taking many of the ideas Cooper had introduced to F1, most notably the mid mounted engine, and putting them into a V8 GT car.  One of the three cars actually competed at Le Mans in 1963, but crashed out.  The GT40 was developed in England by an American Ford team.  The car competed in various races in 1964 without success, notably retiring from Le Mans after 14 hours without being in contention.  This is where Carroll Shelby came in, and the origin of the car we see in the film.  At this time, Shelby’s Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe had just won its class, and finished fourth overall at the 1964 Le Mans.  His car started life out as the AC Ace, a lightweight British sports car, Shelby turned it into the AC Cobra with a stiffer body and a Ford V8, and for endurance racing a GT/Coupe body.  At the time, the road going version, the AC Cobra 427 was probably the fastest production car in the world. To find out what happened next, you will need to watch the film, and/or the excellent 2016 documentary The 24 Hour War.

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As mentioned, this isn’t a review, but I couldn’t end without a few thoughts.  Director James Mangold may not be the biggest household name, but his career highlights are pretty impressive: Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Logan (2017).  Two of his actors have won Oscars; Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line, Angelina Jolie for Girl, Interrupted. I mention this as the cast are all fantastic: Christian Bale (Ken Miles), Matt Damon (Carroll Shelby), Caitriona Balfe (Mollie Miles), Jon Bernthal (Lee Iacocca), Tracy Letts (Henry Ford II), Ray McKinnon (Phil Remington), and a special mention for Josh Lucas who does a great job as the films requisite hissable villain Leo Beebe.  Christian Bale even attempts a hint at a Birmingham accent, while Caitriona Balfe as his wife manages a very convincing one.  As mentioned the film is long, but it never feels that way, the story moves along never dwelling on a moment too long.  There are plenty of moments of tension and drama, and just as many of levity and comedy, largely thanks to Bale and Damon.   The film looks and sounds fantastic with extremely well shot and edited racing scenes that are and totally convincing.

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Going back to my earlier point, this is a film about people, but it is also a sports film, a film about fighting the odds.  This is why it works as a film, and not just a motor racing film.  If like me you are a bit of a nerd for motorsport, you will love it, but you don’t need to know the first thing about cars or racing to enjoy it as a film.

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Baby Driver

“My daddy was the family bassman

My mamma was an engineer

And I was born one dark gray morn

With music coming in my ears

In my ears”

Back in the mid 90’s I was a student of film, obsessed with every new idea whilst simultaneously being immersed in the movies of the past.  Just to confuse matters I also had one eye looking to the east; I was discovering films from both Europe and Asia in depth for the first time.  It was at this time that I first saw Quentin Tarantino’s first two movies Reservoir Dogs (a couple of years after its original release) and Pulp Fiction (on opening night).  As with many other people at the time I couldn’t decide if I should marvel at the originality or recoil at the plagiarism of Tarantino.  I soon came to realise what Tarantino was doing wasn’t plagiarism, it wasn’t even homage, it went so much deeper than that!  Quentin Tarantino was, and hopefully still is a sponge sucking up all that he comes into contact with; but when you squeeze that sponge, you don’t get what went in, you don’t even get a mixture of what went in, you get the best bits of what went in coloured by Tarantino’s own vision.  Why am I saying this? Because this week I have seen Baby Driver, written and directed by Edgar Wright, the British director I can’t help comparing to Tarantino. 

Yet to be released in the UK or USA, Baby Driver currently has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 100% based with an average rating of 8.5/10; to put it another way, its bloody good!  Is it Edgar Wright’s best film?  That is too subjective to answer, it is certainly his most accomplished, and I think it is my favourite.  For the uninitiated, here is the obligatory synopsis:

Baby (Ansel Elgort) has been a getaway driver since before he was old enough to drive.  Following a childhood accident we learn about as the narrative unfolds, Baby suffers from tinnitus.  To drown out the hum of his condition he listens to music on his IPod (other fruit and none fruit based devices are available).  Anything beyond this would be a spoiler, the trailer already gives too much away.

What is so good about what on the surface is a genre movie with a thin plot? The answer to that is both obvious and strangely intangible.  The largely recognisable cast (Ansel Elgort, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Bernthal and Jamie Foxx) are all fantastic, particularly a surprisingly understated Kevin Spacey.   His performance is as measured and deadpan as when he appeared in the David Mamet penned Glengarry Glen Ross a quarter of a century ago.  Elgort is a revelation displaying both more subtlety and likeability than in his more teen friendly movies.  Hamm and Foxx are clearly having the most fun with the most character roles.  But the brilliance goes so far beyond just the performances.  The characters anchor the movie but the sublime script keeps the movie ticking along perfectly keeping the audience in the palm of its metaphorical hand.  I wouldn’t go as far as calling the trailer bait and switch, but it is as wonderfully misleading as you would expect in a few subtle ways.

The aforementioned references to other movies are exactly subtle, but they aren’t heavy-handed either.   I can see Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Driver (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), Point Break (1991) and Heat (1995).  There is probably also a bit of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Drive (2011),not to mention Monsters, Inc. (2001) that is both seen and referenced. I haven’t even mentioned the music yet.  Edgar Wright has described writing a scene for every song used, a feat he really has accomplished.  It’s so easy slip a few classic tracks into a movie, Baby Driver does so much more than that.  The music choices aren’t always obvious, but they are always perfect, and perfectly fit the movie.  There are little moments of brilliance including scenes cut to the rhythm of the song, or rewinding a song to time with the robbery.  There are also moments we hear from Baby’s point of view with the drone of tinnitus.

This is Baby’s story so we only get as glimpse or a mention of the other characters when they are not interacting with Baby.  This works well for the film as a whole but does leave Lily James’ Debora a little thinly drawn.  This is a filmmaking choice rather than a mistake.  It actually works to the benefit of the other characters, namely; Doc (Kevin Spacey), Buddy and Darling (Jon Hamm and Eiza González) who we don’t always know what to expect from them.  The Atlanta setting is also key, set in LA, Chicago or Boston it would be a different film (It couldn’t be set in New York traffic) it also gives us marvellous southern accents and evokes the outlaw spirit of films from the 70’s and 80’s.

Fun, funny and charming, Baby Drive manages to be both original and familiar a totally joyous  experience and the perfect antidote to the soulless blockbusters and heavy counterprogramming of the summer.   

 

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