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March 28, 2024, 09:31:01 AM

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LOKI

Started by Butchers Blind, April 05, 2021, 08:48:03 PM

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Butchers Blind

https://youtu.be/nW948Va-l10

This looks more fun than the two other series so far.

mothman

Was bugging me who the other main character was played by. Owen Wilson. This does look like it could be fun. They appear to be making it plain right off the bat that he's an alternate Loki from a tangent/spin-off timeline, which could lead the way to his re-entering the MCU main sequence further down the line...

Butchers Blind

Starts tomorrow. Hoping this isn't just Marvel does Quantum Leap.

olliebean

But Quantum Leap with Loki in the Sam role would be awesome...

mjwilson

I can't think of anything better than Marvel does Quantum Leap.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Will it end with another special effects battle scene, or will it be more low key?

Lord Mandrake

Quote from: mothman on April 06, 2021, 12:34:37 AM
he's an alternate Loki from a tangent/spin-off timeline
Spoiler alert

He's the Loki from Avengers 1 that thanks to the Endgame time heist, escaped with the Tesseract
[close]

This is written by Rick & Morty head writer Michael Waldron.

Mister Six

^ Sold.

Quote from: mothman on April 06, 2021, 12:34:37 AM
Was bugging me who the other main character was played by. Owen Wilson. This does look like it could be fun. They appear to be making it plain right off the bat that he's an alternate Loki from a tangent/spin-off timeline, which could lead the way to his re-entering the MCU main sequence further down the line...

But they
Spoiler alert
already did that with Gamorra in Endgame
[close]
.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: Mister Six on June 08, 2021, 11:10:36 PMBut they
Spoiler alert
already did that with Gamorra in Endgame
[close]
.
They happily laid the ground for this in 'Endgame' with the whole "so Back to the Future was a bunch of bullshit?" routine.

Mister Six

Yeah, I know - I mean
Spoiler alert
they did the exact same thing being suggested here in Endgame. Don't really see the incentive to repeat it. Having Loki dead in "proper" continuity (to maintain Thor's character growth) but alive for a spin-off seems like having their cake and eating it. Don't see what's to be gained from reincorporating Loki into the main MCU line.
[close]

The Culture Bunker

I do think nothing happens in the shows that will be absolutely crucial to the films, which are the company's bread and butter. For example, 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' made an arc out of Sam taking up the Captain America mantle, but if he reappears in the films with the shield, non-streaming viewers will just think "ah, yes, because old Cap gave it to him at the end of Endgame".

It would be good if at the end of this Loki series,
Spoiler alert
this time authority body says 'well, thanks for that' to him after he completes the mission and then kills him because he's not meant to be alive.
[close]

Lord Mandrake

This is more like it, this has got legs. For a massive exposition dump that was very enjoyable, production design is off the scale for a tv show. Also, clearly this has massive implications for the entire MCU going forwards, backwards and sideways.

Fishfinger

Like that the Owen Wilson guy has a
Spoiler alert
J.J. Abrams cocknose
[close]
.

olliebean

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on June 09, 2021, 07:40:12 AMSam taking up the Captain America mantle

Misread that while skim-reading, and I now think "taking it up the Captain America" should absolutely be a thing.

bakabaka

Quote from: Lord Mandrake on June 09, 2021, 11:14:04 AM
Also, clearly this has massive implications for the entire MCU going forwards, backwards and sideways.
Yes, the idea that there is a massive army of power-mad, sadistic stormtroopers going around, every one of them armed with a nightstick that can instantly wipe anything from existence, even multiple Infinity Stones, backed by a power that is infinitely more powerful than any of the gods or magic in the MCU does make everything Marvel have done seem a bit underwhelming.

But the design aesthetic is lovely. The idea that they had all of time and space to choose from and they went for 1950's fascist USA ties in perfectly with the Time Bureau's stated aim of Manifest Destiny. All in all, it looks to be planning on becoming a paean to the glory days when the USA ruled the world. The Man in the High Castle, Marvel style (at least in design terms).

beanheadmcginty

Enjoyed that, although the idea of gods with old fashioned tech and an American-style legal system was already quite well covered in the Good Place. Much more entertaining leads than Wandavision or Falcon.

olliebean

Felt like it contained sly references to a lot of things, including Doctor Who and Hitch-Hiker's. Not Quantum Leap, though. Not yet, anyway.

Fishfinger

Quote from: Fishfinger on June 09, 2021, 12:15:33 PM
Like that the Owen Wilson guy has a
Spoiler alert
J.J. Abrams cocknose
[close]
.

FWIW, not an actual puerile joke (I know, I have form), I genuinely thought they'd done that deliberately. They have the same nose.

Anyway, I think it's good and thoughtful, at least as worthwhile as WandaVision, which I also enjoyed.

Lord Mandrake

He broke his hooter several times as a college football player. I think it's been an asset to his career, distinguishing him from his brothers. As an actor he has more range than just saying "Wow" but often gets typecast. Behind Enemy Lines is always worth a re-watch and of course his roles in Wes Anderson films.

colacentral

The line,
Spoiler alert
"The Tesseract? Sounds stupid"
[close]
made me laugh out loud. I noticed Jess Dweck credited as a supervising producer and I feel like that line could have come from her.

I've seen a few reviews complaining that the first episode is all exposition, but I don't really see that as a problem if it's delivered in an entertaining way, as it's done here. I enjoyed the
Spoiler alert
Flintstones / Jetsons style in the animated sequence.
[close]

beanheadmcginty

Only in Hollywood would they cast Eugene Cordero, a man so ripped that he presents a bodybuilding podcast, as a schlubby secretary.

SweetPomPom

Quote from: olliebean on June 09, 2021, 09:43:07 PM
Felt like it contained sly references to a lot of things, including Doctor Who and Hitch-Hiker's. Not Quantum Leap, though. Not yet, anyway.

The transcript scene, general admin of tickets and extreme prejudice punishment were very Gilliam/Brazil. They'll miss a trick if they don't pair him with the "death to all variants" woman for a mismatched 48hrs episode.

Mr_Simnock

That was just arse gravy, won't be watching any more

Mister Six

Thought that was tremendous fun - yeah, it's exposition, but delivered with a ton of jokes and a great couple of central turns. Well up for the rest now.

dissolute ocelot

It didn't really work for me. Hiddlestone's Loki is so good against Hemsworth's Thor because they are such opposites. Away from Asgard he's just crap and whiny: no sense of an evil genius of infinite appetite, he's got no motivation, no passions, nothing at stake.

It looked great, but the whole bureaucratic thing made no sense. It's far from Brazil's mix of the brutal and the absurd, the slapdash and the ruthlessly efficient; and far from Beetlejuice's very human bureaucracy. Things like the queuing scene just felt like lame 90s observational comedy: "You know when you go to the deli, and they make you take a ticket even though you're the only one there. What's that about?" It was a neat subversion in Endgame doing time travel via multiverses, but it removes any sense of jeopardy. The Wilson brother was easy-going but bland, when it needs some get-up-and-go against Hiddlestone's moping.

This didn't hold any interest for me, but I know for some people great production design and Hiddlestone's sad goth charm will be enough. Wandavision was always fascinating despite its shifts of style and tone. F&WS suffered from trying to cram too much stuff in. Maybe something will happen here, and something interesting will develop. But this feels like the series I won't watch.

Dr Rock

I think the TVA are talking a load of crap and it's some kind of trap. There's no sacred timeline bollocks. Probably Kang behind it.

frajer

Mixed bag for me.

Very slow to unfold, which I'll trust is due to it being the first ep, but I was surprised to find it left me bored a few times. The TVA feels like something seen a hundred times before in sci-fi/fantasy fiction and didn't have enough verve to make it feel fresh.

Like dissolute ocelot says, I'm not convinced Loki works on his own either. Especially when Mobius showed Loki's greatest hits package on timey-wimey YouTube, and tried to retcon him into being messed up but a good guy really.

If deep down he's a decent lad, why does the show go out of the way to remind us of the time that he violently removed a man's eye while smirking his arse off? An odd choice, and it felt like they're coasting a bit on "the fandom loves Loki" but forgetting why people love the character he'd developed into by Endgame.

I'll stick with it, but the lush score by Natalie Holt is my favourite thing so far.

Chairman Yang

It's very beige and not just literally.

I'll probably watch it all though, it'll be interesting to see when a second character turns up.

colacentral

Quote from: frajer on June 10, 2021, 11:28:25 AM
Mixed bag for me.

Very slow to unfold, which I'll trust is due to it being the first ep, but I was surprised to find it left me bored a few times. The TVA feels like something seen a hundred times before in sci-fi/fantasy fiction and didn't have enough verve to make it feel fresh.

Like dissolute ocelot says, I'm not convinced Loki works on his own either. Especially when Mobius showed Loki's greatest hits package on timey-wimey YouTube, and tried to retcon him into being messed up but a good guy really.

If deep down he's a decent lad, why does the show go out of the way to remind us of the time that he violently removed a man's eye while smirking his arse off? An odd choice, and it felt like they're coasting a bit on "the fandom loves Loki" but forgetting why people love the character he'd developed into by Endgame.

I'll stick with it, but the lush score by Natalie Holt is my favourite thing so far.

It's only episode one. There's obviously going to be something insincere in how Loki is being portrayed here, they're not reminding you that he's the god of mischief for no reason, and the obvious thing to happen here is that the evil loki they're after turns out to be our loki after he's tricked the TVA.

I wondered if him getting all weepy at the footage of IW was less "yeah, actually, I am a good guy at heart" and more him crying at what a wimp he turns into. I think it's possible that watching that will turn out to strengthen his resolve to not turn into good loki.

I think his characterisation is spot on. He's a cockroach and he'll go along with anything to survive and wait to get the upper hand down the road.

I also suspect, like Dr Rock said above, that a lot of what we've been told regarding the TVA is bollocks.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: frajer on June 10, 2021, 11:28:25 AM
Like dissolute ocelot says, I'm not convinced Loki works on his own either. Especially when Mobius showed Loki's greatest hits package on timey-wimey YouTube, and tried to retcon him into being messed up but a good guy really.

If deep down he's a decent lad, why does the show go out of the way to remind us of the time that he violently removed a man's eye while smirking his arse off? An odd choice, and it felt like they're coasting a bit on "the fandom loves Loki" but forgetting why people love the character he'd developed into by Endgame.
Yes, that was probably my biggest issue with the first episode. It's a Loki that only an hour or so earlier was waging war on Earth, but it's difficult to think of him as that version after nearly a decade[nb]Fucking hell[/nb] of subsequent appearances. Having him watch his own highlights reel seemed like a means to fast track him into being the more likeable, heroic (in his own way) version from later films. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing that the god of mischief is a slippery customer and he could be pulling a con job.

That aside, it was overall enjoyable, if a little slow. The final revelation was unexpected and interesting. I loved the whole atomic age style, particularly the animated sequence. Those who raged about WandaVision not being accurate enough to the period will presumably be cock-a-hoop over it.