I find the conversation about Marvel's Phase 4 somewhat exhausting. There's a perception that Marvel have lost their way but that seems like nonsense to me. Sure, at least a few of the films have not been the studios' best output but looking back there are plenty of other stinkers. The standard of the TV shows has generally been quite high even if perhaps the finales have often felt rushed. I think one of the biggest reason for criticism is that they are trying new things and some of their recent output has not been aimed at the male superhero fan in the same way as much of their previous work.
She-Hulk is Marvel's first proper sitcom. Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) accidentally gains Hulk powers from her cousin Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) but decides to remain a lawyer. As she is involved in a variety of superhero-related court cases she struggles with how the world now perceives her.
I think the show is really funny. We get to see a different side to the guests stars of the show from the wider MCU like Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), Wong (Benedict Wong) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox). There are plenty of original characters that are hilarious too. Like in the comic books, Jen breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience which really works too.
I like that the show never quite does what you expect it to. For a while it feels like it is setting up a over-arching villain but then things aren't quite what they seem. The most recurring villains are the online trolls who say exactly the sort of horrible things that people in real life are actually saying about the show.
Indeed, I really like the way that this is show about a female character and deals with lots of issues around that. She-Hulk is really sexualised and admired by men but no-one is interested in 'just Jen' and that's a really interesting idea to follow. The series also touches on other issues like the threat of violence towards women and more general misogyny and does so pretty well.
I especially loved the finale which is perhaps the thing that feels most like a comic-book which the MCU has done so far. The show literally says we are not going down the traditional route and chooses to have some fun at the MCU's expense whilst doing so. It's a great idea from the writers and it's brilliant that Kevin Feige and Marvel allowed them to go with it.
The most-talked about thing when the first trailers were released was the CGI. Whilst it is often better rendered than the footage we first saw there are definitely times when it does not look good. Having a CG main character is something even a Marvel budget struggles to stretch to, though at least the show recognises this and has fun with it. My other criticism is that there is definitely an episode or two around the middle of the season which feel somewhat unnecessary that don't add much to Jen's character development.
A unique addition to the MCU which manages to do something different and have lots of fun whilst doing it. It's not for everyone but that's fine- I loved it.
Comments
Post a Comment