[ad_1]
Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has provided plenty of the franchise’s signature snappy humor. Thor: Love and Thunder is one of Taika Waititi’s silliest movies (in spite of its dark themes), Spider-Man: No Way Home has plenty of hilarious banter between its trio of Peter Parkers, and Black Widow has a lot of fun with its bickering estranged sisters Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova.
But Phase Four also has its share of heartbreaking moments, like Wenwu’s delusions about his deceased wife in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to Phastos declaring humanity to be beyond salvation in Eternals to Stephen Strange feeling depressed all throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
6 Black Widow – “It Was Real To Me.”
Yelena Belova spends most of the Black Widow movie callously taking human lives and firing off deadpan one-liners. But she has a couple of vulnerable moments throughout the film. After reuniting with fellow Black Widow Natasha, they reassemble the Soviet plant family they grew up in, with the man who raised them, Alexei “Red Guardian” Shostakov, and the woman who raised them, Melina Vostokoff (yet another Black Widow).
Nat, Alexei, and Melina all insist that the family unit they pretended to be wasn’t real. But Yelena explains that she grew up thinking it was real: “It was real to me. You are my mother. You were my real mother. The closest thing I ever had to one. The best part of my life was fake. And none of you told me.”
5 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings – “I Have To Save Her! She’s Calling To Me.”
Wenwu is the latest in a long line of sympathetic MCU villains after Loki, Nebula, Baron Zemo, the Vulture, Erik Killmonger, and Thanos. All these characters are undeniably bad guys, but their motivation is understandable. In the case of Wenwu, his love for his wife inspired him to give up his life as the fearsome warmonger known as “The Mandarin.” But when she died, he was so heartbroken and full of vengeful rage that he went right back to killing.
He lures his estranged son back home in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings when he’s contacted by demonic spirits posing as his wife. Wenwu’s downfall is his delusion that he can save his wife. He believes what the demons are telling him because he wants to believe she isn’t really dead and can be brought back to life.
4 Eternals – “These People… They’re Not Worth Saving.”
The slow pacing, bloated runtime, and underdeveloped characters of Eternals made it one of the MCU’s most polarizing entries to date. The movie’s abundance of exposition explains that the eponymous ancient aliens were sent to Earth to lay low and avoid intervening in human conflicts unless the Deviants are involved. While Eternals was criticized for lacking humor, it does have some moving emotional moments. The most harrowing sequence takes place in the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Standing in the ruins of the Japanese city after the U.S. military destroyed it with a nuclear bomb, an emotionally devastated Phastos declares, “Druig was right. Our mission was a mistake. These people… They’re not worth saving.”
3 Spider-Man: No Way Home – “With Great Power, There Must Also Come Great Responsibility.”
Spidey fans were always a little disappointed that Tom Holland’s arc in the role of Peter Parker never acknowledged his father figure from the comics, Uncle Ben. But Spider-Man: No Way Home went a long way toward making up for that by having Aunt May impart the most important lesson that Ben passed on to Peter. After being struck by the Green Goblin’s glider, May collapses in Peter’s arms.
Marisa Tomei nails the tragedy of May’s final moments. Before succumbing to her fatal injury, she tells Peter the full version of Ben’s dying words from the comics: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”
2 Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – “Are You Happy?”
Stephen Strange goes on a wild adventure throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He saves an interdimensional teenage superhero from a one-eyed octopus demon, he tumbles through a succession of gonzo alternate realities, he gets arrested by a real-life Illuminati, and he dream-walks into his own corpse to confront an evil witch on top of a mountain with the help of the souls of the damned.
But the emotional arc running through the whole movie is Strange’s ill-fated quest to find real happiness. Even after saving the world, Strange doesn’t feel truly happy. He asks Wong, “Are you happy?” Wong poignantly replies, “Sometimes, I do wonder about my other lives. But I’m still grateful for this one, even with its own tribulations.” Everyone can learn a lesson from Wong’s inner peace.
1 Thor: Love And Thunder – “Why Should I Spend My Last Moments With You When I Can Spend Them With Her?”
Taika Waititi has brought two of the God of Thunder’s solo adventures to the screen now. One common thread between the two is that Thor has achieved victory in the final battle by accepting defeat. When Hela invaded Asgard, he allowed Asgard to be destroyed by Surtur to get rid of her. And when Gorr the God Butcher made it to the gates of Eternity and planned to use his one wish to wipe out all the gods, Thor appealed to what remained of his humanity.
Gorr scorns Thor for turning his back on him, but Thor simply says, “You’ve won. Why should I spend my last moments with you when I can spend them with her?” He instead plans to spend the precious final seconds of his life at Jane Foster’s side. This inspires Gorr to use his one wish for what he really wants: to bring back his daughter, Love.
[ad_2]
Source link
(This article is generated through syndicated feeds, Financetin doesn’t own any part of this content)
