Just got back, and Im surprised. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, the reviews I've read don't do it justice.
But jeez Marvel, how many secret shadow organizations have been secretly infiltrating Governments of the world? Between Hyrda, the Winter Soldier, the Red Room, Wakanda's wardogs, the Eternals and now the Ten Rings, does anyone in Government NOT work for a dark secret organization?! Fuck, Shield you guys were really bad at this.
I struggle with the fantasy tone too. Like I know, Marvel, its all fantasy, but I dunno...Iron Man in a robot suit or Captain America just being a buff guy feels different from literal magical dragons and dragon scale weapons and soul eaters. I dunno, I just can't see other Marvel heroes doing much cross over. This felt more like a Warhammer Fantasy or Lord of the Rings movie than modern day/future because of the time jump in Endgame, movie. And I know the new roster of characters need their own movies and to stand apart, but they're pushing pretty big scale events that the Avengers are ignoring. Giant soul eater dragon escapes hell to end the universe and no one bothered to show up?
Also Dr. Strange and the Sorccerer Supremes of old are really bad. Like Jedi Council levels of stupid. Didn't know who Thanos was, didn't know about the Wakandas, didn't know about the gate to the secret hell dimension in this movie, didn't help Wanda in Jersey, didn't stop Loki from breaking open the multiverse. For someone who is "protecting your reality, douchebag" Strange is really bad at protecting reality.
And I guess Abomination is a good guy now?
Everything else I thought was fine. Consider this praise by exception, in that everything I don't talk about is just fine and works. Also Nora Lum stole the movie. Every scene with her was great, even if some of the jokes were a little predictable.
Also sidenote the bad guy doesn't make much sense. He's an immortal, invulnerable, super powerful all but-God king super warrior with unbreakable magic rings of death, and his goal for a thousand years has been world domination. In the movie they even say he was Genghis Khan. They show him conquering tribes, cities, fight the plains people, fighting the Romans, the French during the Napoleonic wars and then it just smash cuts to like 1994, and he's the head of a shadow organization of ninjas. And its like what? Dude, you're all but the God Emperor of Mankind. Why did you stop the whole world conquering thing? Why aren't you sitting in a palace of pure gold and diamonds with the entire world under your rule? His whole thing was conquering the world, and it seems at some point he just stops. And not because of his wife, he stopped long before that and just accepted being just another Hydra, just without the excuse of Captain America blowing up his base.