Post by Atom(ica) Discord on May 5, 2017 20:30:36 GMT
Sometimes, being No. 1 makes you a target.
For the piles of money that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has earned since 2008 — more than $11 billion worldwide — and for all the positive reviews that its films have garnered — all of them hold fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes — there still seems to have grown a feeling among some viewers that these films aren't quite as great as those indicators would suggest.
Sure, fans turn up in droves to watch them, but in more and more pockets of the internet it's also become commonplace for people to complain (often lovingly and intelligently) about what they've just watched. Even positive reviews of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are tempered with phrases like "definitely doesn’t recapture the sweet and singular silliness of the original" or "so many people are likely to forget Vol. 2 before they’ve even left the theater."
Sometimes, being No. 1 makes you a target, and even I've taken part in this. And sure, many of these complaints aren’t without merit. Marvel films do tend to include recycled character and action beats. They contain a similar visual look, and are often afraid to deviate too far from a formula that has, time and again, proven its box office worth.
Even so, what Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and indeed the whole of the MCU, continues to do absolutely deserves to be seen as more than a fanboy’s guilt pleasure. There are so many things the MCU continues to do better than anyone else in the movie business. These are just a few of them — and they may sound counterintuitive at first.
Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it. Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong no [person].