THREAD - As you may have noticed, I'm often hard on the MCU when it comes to storytelling and thematic resonance. I do this because, well, because it's the thing I most like talking about. And there's incredibly valid reasons to really hammer on those fronts. But...
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1. Charm and Cast - It sounds so simple "cast charming and likable people and let them be fun!" But one look around at the landscape of other movies and you'll see the way that this intention can easily fall flat. Marvel makes it look easy, but it's NOT easy.
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They understand that charm is a rogueish quality. They probably lucked out with RDJ unlocking the formula, but everyone that gets cast has a bit of that RDJ energy. They can command a room, but with a dash of irreverence, the ability to play along, and be self-depreciating.
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Everyone's in on the joke. All while invoking the qualities that make their character "different," (cap's integrity, Thor's boisterousness, etc). But they also can all do it while also showing a sliver of vulnerability. But they never truly step outside that box.
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Trust me, there's so many times they turned down bigger actors that couldn't play as light on their feet. And when you look back at every effort it's so easy to see that, "marvel brand charm" is what build this empire. But that's not all...
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2. The Tone Zone - I often comment about how the movies seem to have unlocked this "baseline" entertainment value. It's part of the charm thing, but maybe they took Wilder's advice to heart that a good movie has "three good scenes and no bad ones."
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So they're not going to let duds fly by, they'll reshoot half a movie, and they're rarely going to let a movie be too much of anything but funny. I guess you could call it the "Fiegeian touch," but that means so much depends on the relationship with the filmmakers.
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Look I've seen first hand how Marvel can butcher a lot of creative control when it's not going the way they want. There's a reason they do well with team players. Folks like Taika and Gunn excel in the system because they're so great at playing along / playing to Marvel strengths
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And more importantly, have voices that fit in real well with the rogueish charm thing. (PS - this is where I say a Black Panther is brilliant outlier because it both exemplifies a lot of these qualities, while transcending them into something thematically brilliant, etc.)
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And now after dragging their heels for a damn decade, they're finally getting the idea that "huh, weird maybe these films with different representation can be profitable???" (even though the fast films have been proving that since 2001)
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There were many many many bumps and bad decisions along the way when it came to dealing with voices, but it finally seems like Marvel has finally learned the right lessons of which hands to have on and which hands to have off.
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3. Marketing - Again, it's another thing so many people take for granted, but the way Marvel comes at all of this is just so finely tuned. They practically created the modern hollywood comic-con culture when they made waves at SDCC in 2006.
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Moreover, they're so good selling the idea that everything is different when in reality it's similar. I'm not just talking about music choices and digital effects (they sure have a house style). It's right down into the DNA of plotting their action movies with touches of genre.
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They sell winter soldier is "a 70's paranoid thriller," but there's just like one scene with a dude is like "quiet, we can't talk on the phone!" They sell Dr. Strange as an acid trip but there's like one weird out of body sequence.
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I'm not really ragging on that, I'm saying it's good salesmanship. Because they're so good at giving you the same thing you want while gussying the little corners and images and ideas and characters to make it seem like its really new.
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And after my reaction yesterday, I wonder if they're just getting better at it...
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End of conversation
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