***THIS IS A SPOILER FILLED EPISODE***
In our MCU Review 1, we discuss Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, & Iron Man 2 with full spoilers in play.  Although there may be foreshadowing, we avoid spoilers for future MCU films.


MCU Review Format - 2:50

Iron Man:
Specs - 4:55
Story Recap - 9:21
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 14:17
Yinsen Issues - 22:50
Screenwriting Going Against Convention - 24:10
The Oscars Lens on Iron Man - 26:35
Best Scene/Worst Scene - 28:35

The Incredible Hulk:
Specs - 31:27
Story Recap - 37:16
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 40:57
The Oscar Lens on The Incredible Hulk - 45:25
Worst Scenes/Best Scenes - 46:22

Iron Man 2:
Specs - 50:49
Story Recap - 53:26
Movie’s Fit in the MCU - 55:24
Best Scene/Oscar Lens on Iron Man 2 - 1:01:42
Worst Scenes - 1:05:27

Episode Recap/Final Thoughts - 1:11:13

You wanted it, Mike needed it, and the other Mike is happily along for the ride.  We at MMO are continuing the diverse programming of the Oscar Off-Season by diving into a 6 Part Series on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  We’ll take the 18 films and review them in order, 3 films per episode in the lead up to The Avengers: Infinity War, premiering April 27th.  

Today’s episode covers Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2.  The format for each review includes a Specs segment that recaps the Box Office, Critical Reception, Awards, and a production note or two.  Then we zip through a plot summary and analyze the highs & lows from our usual best scene / worst scene segment before completing these reviews with an Oscar Lens, where we compare the elements of the MCU film with those nominated at that year’s Academy Awards.

Iron Man launches the Robert Downey Jr led franchise as well as it grounds the MCU with star power.  Showcasing one of the better executed origin stories in the superhero genre, the film also admits some weakness regarding the series wide villain problem and attempts to make up for it with trickery, and one might say, a scary tone of voice.  Did they succeed?  We also fight over the wigs AND bald caps in this film.

The Incredible Hulk begs questions about whether it’s a sequel or a reboot or a seboot or a requel.  All we really know is that it’s Edward Norton’s first & only turn as Bruce Banner, and sadly his last starring role as the protagonist in a big budget Hollywood film.  As we get into our review, that villain problem isn’t exactly solved in this film either.  But there are some fun moments & callbacks to Hulk lore, and we wonder if the box office failure might have been a blessing in disguise.

Iron Man 2 both manages to elevate it’s star and round out the ensemble.  We get more agency for Pepper Potts, more screen time for Nick Fury, a lot more Rhodie, and we’re introduced to Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow.  So this money making sequel had many highlights going for it.  But we also debate how and why it missed the high marks set by the original and how the MCU missed the great opportunities for other films that demanded their own stories.

Our MCU Review Part 2 will review the rest of Phase One including Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Marvel’s The Avengers.  So stay tuned.

Other programming will include another Hollywood News episode, some upcoming movie reviews of new releases about to hit theaters, a Netflix Quarterly with an overview of all the Netflix Original Movies released since we our last 2017 review of the streaming service, and we’ll get back to our retrospectives on former Oscar races.

As always, thanks for listening.  We’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  Do chat with us on social media, and if you can, please help us spread the word about our show with a few clicks, a positive review, or simply by telling some people to tune into MMO.

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MCU Review #1 - Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 - Ep 56 - Avengers: Infinity War Leadup

MMO is talk radio for movie fans with weekly news shows, reviews, previews, and special guests. We celebrate the Oscars by making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. If you love cinema, if you love showbiz, welcome home.

MCU Review #1 - Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 - Ep 56 - Avengers: Infinity War Leadup

Mike, Mike, and Oscar