Marvel's What If...? Trailer + discussion when it comes out I suppose

Gergar12

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What just fucking happened with Ep 4.

Also, note to self we ever get a hold of something that can alter the fabric of the universe, it should be in a locked vault inside another one, inside another one.
 
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gorfias

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What just fucking happened with Ep 4.

Also, note to self we ever get a hold of something that can alter the fabric of the universe, it should be in a locked vault inside another one, inside another one.
And Episode 5 had an even odder, harder circle to square.
It was Disney cute with the horror of a zombie appocolypse. Not like "Zombieland". More like tonal all over the place. Dawn of the Dead mixed with Dude, Where's My Car
Still not a bad way to spend 1/2 an hour.
 

Bob_McMillan

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And Episode 5 had an even odder, harder circle to square.
It was Disney cute with the horror of a zombie appocolypse. Not like "Zombieland". More like tonal all over the place. Dawn of the Dead mixed with Dude, Where's My Car
Still not a bad way to spend 1/2 an hour.
I concur. Tone was zipping back and forth between extremes. Was still fun enough though, I didn't expect them to be that dark and gory at times.

This episode also has me thinking of when and how they're going to come back to these universes. It ended on such a cliffhanger, no way they don't have plans for zombies again in the future.
 
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SilentPony

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So Ive been watching these episodes, and...they're just bad. Like just not well made. The animation is cheap, the lips don't sync with the voice work, and I don't know who was the recording studio director, but their advice that all actors be 100% emotionless and talk like a text-to-speech translator was a bad idea. Like I don't get it, I've heard these actors in other animated roles and they, you know, acted. But for whatever reason no one at the studio said "Great job Mark Ruffalo, but just for the sake of it, lets take that line again."

Haven't seen the newest one yet, but the zombie one was just awful. Like really really bad. Heroes are dying all over the place, but everyone is just on pain medication so they just can't be bothered to care. Also how the fuck does a virus infect someone already at the molecular level? They're already smaller than the smallest known organisms, where did this even small infection come from? What is there a molecular level underneath the molecular level? And how did Thanos with the reality stone get infected?

Just 0/10 Marvel, this was a bad idea poorly executed.
 

Bob_McMillan

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So they're really just building up to some big finale with universe hopping Dr Strange huh? I still more or less enjoy the episodes, but the last few have been ending on random cliffhangers and it's getting old.
 

Piscian

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My general disappointment with the series has been increasing with each episode, the sole exception being the Doctor Strange one. It not only doesn't look very good the voice acting and script is pretty rough. The stories have waffled between weak and atrocious. I really hated this last one with Killmonger, it was just a series of really stupid, contrived events to get from point A to B be. MBJ sounded like he was falling asleep reading his lines. More depressingly - I could be crazy, but it seemed like Chadwicks voice was definitely starting to go. It was a sad reminder like when they'd trot out the three stooges in their elderly years. Like man I appreciate what Chads stood for, but being in this series isn't helping him or anyone else.

I think it also really suffers from this MCU syndrome. Like Marvel zombies is infinitely less enjoyable with only the MCU characters. Its the multiverse man, this is exactly the time to throw in a bunch of random comicbook characters. Its going to hurt the multiverse storyline if they don't start adding more characters from the comics.

I hate that the animation is also weirdly cheap. The action stuff sometimes looks great, then the rest of it looks like pure shit.

The only episode I can solidly recommend watching is the Doctor Strange. It had some faults but it was pretty deep vault of horror stuff. I like the logic and storytelling. It at least made sense. I really dug the ending.
 
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Chimpzy

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So. Another MCU tv show done. Verdict is the same as the others: interesting premise, meh execution.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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So at this point everybody knows Marvel products are made in an assembly line so large it sifts the artistry and personality away. The animation is so cheap looking probably because it is, and it was probably finished long before they determined the rhyme or reason behind it. Actors probably literally phoned in their lines with little or no context. And even if there was a solid script behind this... Who the hell brings their A game to the premise of "bunch of dropped storylines that won't go anywhere"?
 

Bob_McMillan

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And even if there was a solid script behind this... Who the hell brings their A game to the premise of "bunch of dropped storylines that won't go anywhere"?
I think plenty of writers would be interested to have a go at "storylines that won't go anywhere". Problem is, that's not at all what What If is. I went into the show with the expectation that each episode would be a standalone story. Nope, majority of them will end up being smooshed together by the Watcher.

Very few "What If" stories are good enough to actually expand on. So to try and do whole show where each episode has a story that is meant to go on and tie into a larger narrative... Ambitious, probably stupid.
 

gorfias

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My general disappointment with the series has been increasing with each episode, the sole exception being the Doctor Strange one. It not only doesn't look very good the voice acting and script is pretty rough. The stories have waffled between weak and atrocious. I really hated this last one with Killmonger, it was just a series of really stupid, contrived events to get from point A to B be. MBJ sounded like he was falling asleep reading his lines. More depressingly - I could be crazy, but it seemed like Chadwicks voice was definitely starting to go. It was a sad reminder like when they'd trot out the three stooges in their elderly years. Like man I appreciate what Chads stood for, but being in this series isn't helping him or anyone else.

I think it also really suffers from this MCU syndrome. Like Marvel zombies is infinitely less enjoyable with only the MCU characters. Its the multiverse man, this is exactly the time to throw in a bunch of random comicbook characters. Its going to hurt the multiverse storyline if they don't start adding more characters from the comics.

I hate that the animation is also weirdly cheap. The action stuff sometimes looks great, then the rest of it looks like pure shit.

The only episode I can solidly recommend watching is the Doctor Strange. It had some faults but it was pretty deep vault of horror stuff. I like the logic and storytelling. It at least made sense. I really dug the ending.
So far, I'm enjoying the What If show more than the 3 Disney+ shows that proceeded it. Doc Strange was good, Zombies mixed: odd plucky humor mixed with gruesome apocalypse, but I'm glad I saw it. This latest one was enjoyable. My favorite is the murder mystery one. That truly felt like a complete, worthwhile story.
 

Bob_McMillan

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Thor episode was definitely one of the worst so far. Almost every character looks nothing like their live action version. I didn't mind at all a lighthearted episode, but the comedic timing was totally off. Chris Hemsworth is a funny guy, and he's not a bad voice actor, but the editing and script completely let him down.

And Marvel really isn't trying to get people to come around on Captain Marvel huh? She's still the most unlikeable character in the MCU. I did laugh though when Thor told her to smile more, kudos to the writer who was willing to volley kick that hornet's nest.
 
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SilentPony

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Thor episode was definitely one of the worst so far. Almost every character looks nothing like their live action version. I didn't mind at all a lighthearted episode, but the comedic timing was totally off. Chris Hemsworth is a funny guy, and he's not a bad voice actor, but the editing and script completely let him down.

And Marvel really isn't trying to get people to come around on Captain Marvel huh? She's still the most unlikeable character in the MCU. I did laugh though when Thor told her to smile more, kudos to the writer who was willing to volley kick that hornet's nest.
I've said it before, but these don't feel like "What if..." stories, because the premise of that has to be the characters are same, but the situations are different. That's not what we're getting. We're getting completely new characters with completely new personalities, just voiced by the same actors some times.
I mean T'Challa becomes StarLord, still called StarLord, even though Quill's mom gave him that name and T'Challa has no reason to come up with it. Or Nebula is blonde with a 100% different backstory and personality. It doesn't count as a clever take on a character if its a completely different character. 42 isn't a What If movie about T'Challa, but he's a 1940s American black baseball player. Both rolls just happen to be Chadwick Boseman.
 
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Chimpzy

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So Thor episode. It's really really stupid, but at least didn't leave me bored. Barely adequate, in a second tier saturday morning cartoon sort of way.
 
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laggyteabag

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I haven't watched this one.

My intention was to wait until they were all out, then binge them all at once, but aside from the Doctor Strange episode, I've mostly heard bad things about the show.

I think I watched a small clip from the Captain Carter episode, and immediately cringed at the dialogue, which I suppose wasn't really all that good of a sign.

Maybe I will get around to this, even if it is just for curiosity's sake.
 
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gorfias

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I'm wondering if the newest one is supposed to be a 2 parter? If not, really strange.
What if Ultron Won. He gets the Infinity Stones. They then show him waging war on the sentient Thanos style... when Thanos didn't have the stones. Can't he just unmake all life with a snap? That is what Thanos threatened in End Game. We spend much of our time and energy with Black Widow and Hawkeye trying to get Arnem Zola into Ultron. Arnem Zola with Infinity Stones sounds pretty dang scary itself. This comes to nothing so far in the episode. If not a 2 parter, then... just nothing. Watcher ends up with Evil Dr. Strange to help. Now that might be something I'd like to watch.
Over all, liked it MUCH better than Loki. Only one really good episode that is a murder mystery. So far, Disney isn't taking my breath away. Ah me. $70 for a year.
 

Bob_McMillan

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I'm wondering if the newest one is supposed to be a 2 parter? If not, really strange.
Over all, liked it MUCH better than Loki. Only one really good episode that is a murder mystery. So far, Disney isn't taking my breath away. Ah me. $70 for a year.
They weren't able to finish the whole season apparently, they were supposed to have one more episode. I haven't watched yet, but I'm guessing that they weren't quite able to make up for it.

Are you a Star Wars fan at least? That's pretty much the only other thing I would have paid the subscription fee for.
 
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gorfias

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They weren't able to finish the whole season apparently, they were supposed to have one more episode. I haven't watched yet, but I'm guessing that they weren't quite able to make up for it.

Are you a Star Wars fan at least? That's pretty much the only other thing I would have paid the subscription fee for.
Yes, and I really like the Mandalorian series. A Boba Fett show is up next I think. The most use I've gotten out of it is rewatching older Marvel Movies. But I bought the thing (not a huge investment) for the Marvel shows and on the whole, I think they under-performed, especially Loki which I was really excited about. Wandavision my favorite, though very morally confused.
 
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Bob_McMillan

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Yes, and I really like the Mandalorian series. A Boba Fett show is up next I think. The most use I've gotten out of it is rewatching older Marvel Movies. But I bought the thing (not a huge investment) for the Marvel shows and on the whole, I think they under-performed, especially Loki which I was really excited about. Wandavision my favorite, though very morally confused.
They released the first poster for Boba Fett the other day. Lord knows why they're releasing it on December 29.

I'd say Wandavision was the one I enjoyed the most as well, though yes it had plenty of problems. I haven't genuinely enjoyed MCU content since Far From Home, which sucks. I've gone back and watched a few of the older ones as well, to make sure I haven't become a cranky old man in just two years.
 
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Piscian

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Very odd. The last two episodes were magnitudes better than the rest of the series. Thoroughly enjoy both the party boy Thor episode and the Ultron one. So far the only three episodes I can confidently say I thought were good were those two and Evil Strange. The rest were pretty blah-terrible. I feel like you can tell which episodes had writers that were really invested in the story and filler ones.

I can't get over how in the Killmonger episode they jumped through a 100 hoops and over 30 sharks to get to the same point in the movie where Killmonger just walks in and demands right of challenge for leadership. Still makes me angry, like they had a crack team of 5 year olds writing that one.
 
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