The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen its fair share of criticism in recent years, especially regarding the quality of its visual effects. Fans have been vocal about their disappointment in some of the MCU’s latest projects, and two films that have received particular scrutiny are Ant-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2.
A recent tweet by Zach Silberberg reignited the debate about the quality of MCU’s narrative structure. In his tweet, Silberberg expressed his disappointment with the ending of Doctor Strange 2, where the narrative was deflated within minutes.
Doctor Strange 2‘s Third Eye Debacle
Silberberg noted how Doctor Strange’s horrific consequences were completely overlooked in the mid-credits scene, where he was seen “vibing” with his third eye as a new power. Silberberg’s tweet received numerous responses, with many fans agreeing that the MCU has had this problem since the beginning.
i still think it's so funny that dr strange 2 ended with him experiencing the horrific consequences of his actions, & then less than 2 minutes later we get a mid-credits scene where he is just vibing and his 3rd eye is like a new power or whatever. just total narrative deflation. pic.twitter.com/pDWGm6ivtD
— zach silberberg (@zachsilberberg) March 2, 2023
One Twitter user, Jim Henshin, points out a long-standing issue of inconsistency in narrative continuity in the MCU.
The MCU has had this problem since the beginning. Thor 1 ends with Thor stuck in Asgard, unable to return to Earth. But the very next time we see him, in Avengers, he's already back on Earth to capture Loki.
— Jim Henshin (@JimHenshin) March 2, 2023
Another user, @fanvcritic, expressed their belief that Doctor Strange 2 should have been released before No Way Home to avoid the need for rethinking the story’s direction.
I still stand by the fact that the release of the movie should have stayed before No Way Home. They should have been better connected. The fact that they decided to release it after I feel is what made them have to rethink where this story was going and how to get there.
— fanvcritic (@fanvcritic) March 3, 2023
@EmperorChris446 had a different take on the ending of Doctor Strange 2, suggesting that it was a “horror trope.”
I think since this was supposed to be “horror” ish they decided to do the horror trope ending. Like in my mind first ending = Raimi then the post Credit Was Marvel butting in and shoving in a set up teaser.
— Chris (@EmperorChris446) March 3, 2023
Meanwhile, @PugUglyYo had a hilarious idea for Doctor Strange 3, suggesting that the third “eye becomes its own character.”
In Dr.Strange 3 the eye becomes its own character, “Eyebee”
Several scenes will be dedicated to Eyebee’s confidence/anger issues
Movie will end with Dr.Strange giving brain birth to a new form of Eyebee who is revealed to be Shuma-Gorath
Shuma-Gorath becomes series long villain— pug-ugly | 🍔🫀👁🦷 (@PugUglyYo) March 3, 2023
However, not all responses were optimistic. @DBHughes94 suggested that Doctor Strange 2 may have been two films edited together, with “the original intention being that the evil Doctor Strange” was “the one that escaped.”
I think it’s film from two different movies getting edited together.
I believe the original intention was that evil Doctor Strange is the one that escaped (which is why he was acting like he was early on in Spider-man). The mid-credits scene was evil Strange as originally filmed
— DBHughes (@DBHughes94) March 3, 2023
@riiiccchhhh expressed a lack of enthusiasm for Phase 4.
They’ve really dropped the ball post End Game. With the exception of No Way Home all the films have been pretty crap. These 2 scenes would only work if there was 1 of them. Together they’re just nonsense. Phase 4 was just a mess
— Rich (@riiiccchhhh) March 3, 2023
The criticism of the MCU’s VFX has been a long-standing issue, with fans often pointing out the lack of realism in CGI. The latest film to receive criticism for its VFX is Ant-Man 3, which some fans call a CGI slaughter-fest. Many fans have criticized the underwhelming use of CGI in the film, which they say has diminished the impact of the action scenes.
Ant-Man 3 VFX Team Speak Up
Despite being the start of the MCU’s fifth phase, the Ant-Man 3 has received some seriously mixed reviews, with a meager 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is the second-worst-rated MCU film, just above The Eternals.
So what’s the deal? Well, it turns out that the VFX team was seriously overworked and undervalued during production. In recent years, many VFX artists have been speaking out about the grueling workload and the need for a VFX union, and it seems like Ant-Man 3 fell victim to these issues.
One anonymous VFX artist, Jim spilled the beans on the situation to Vulture. According to Jim, the editorial team changed the film during the latter stages of production, negatively impacting the final product. These changes were made too late in the game, causing tension and turmoil among the VFX team.
Jim revealed that Marvel should invest more in hiring additional VFX artists to produce better-quality work. However, the executive team at the top is more concerned with their bank numbers than with the well-being of the artists. The situation resulted in a film that failed to live up to its potential, despite the hype surrounding the exploration of the Quantum Realm.
It’s a shame that Marvel is doubling down on constricting quality and squeezing blood out of stones. Still, with new plans to slow down their output and Disney’s decision to cut back on spending, we’re hoping that future MCU films will be able to deliver the quality work that fans expect and deserve.
