Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! Mere days ago, Marvel Studios unleashed the trailer for its latest venture into cinematic carnage, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Can it ever hope to live up to the excitement of Eternals? Only time will tell.
The first thing that hits me, from it, is that Cambuslang Splungiepatch is still doing his, "Hugh Laurie is House," voice. I must confess it's a fact which aggravates me greatly, as he sounds all wrong doing it. For that matter, why is he even doing it? If any American Marvel character could get away with having an English accent it's Dr Strange. It's not like he's Captain America or The Thing who'd sound ridiculous with an English accent.
The second thing that strikes me is it's massively CGI-heavy. Given the nature of the character, that's inevitable but the question is always can CGI ever genuinely be compelling?
The third thing that strikes me is it would appear we get a bus fight between the sorcerer supreme and Shuma-Gorath, which is not a thing I ever thought I'd live to see. Still, I'm always happy to have a bit of Lovecraftian vehicle-flinging in my life.
And the fourth thing that strikes me is it's directed by Sam Raimi. As I loved Raimi's first two Spider-Man films, it gives me great pleasure to see him being let loose on an official Marvel Studios movie.
The Scarlet Witch is in it but I managed to totally miss WandaVision So, that doesn't really provoke any great emotional response in me.
What does provoke a response is my assumption that the character who shows up at the end is Nightmare. I've always loved Nightmare and will be highly delighted if it is indeed he.
But wait! What's that? Halfway through the trailer? The mystery voice? Could it belong to the star of a certain franchise that exists in the strange and alien dimension they know as The 20th Century Foxyverse? And, if so, how does it affect the already tangled continuity of that series?
Only you can decide.
Well, no, admittedly, you can't. And neither can I. Only the big film studios can decide that. What we can do is decide whether we like it or not.
And we can do that in the comments section below.
Oh, you haven't done one of these for a while Steve.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't much care for Bananadick Cucumbersnatch whatever accent he uses, and agree with you on CGI, so that somewhat spoilt the first Doc film for me and doesn't make this one seem very promising either.
Which is a shame, as his was probably my favourite reasonably long running Marvel series back in the day. Mind you, the Marvel-type films I really enjoyed all the way through were both Deadpools and I've not read any of the comics, so that probably doesn't count for anything.
Didn't they use characters and actors from the earlier pre-Marvel flicks in a recent Spidey film? That makes the Foxyverse thing plausible... but on the other hand, the voice could be a deliberate red herring to generate pre-release speculation.
You'll just have to wait and see.
-sean
Can any regulars here report back on Shang-Chi and/or The Eternals?
ReplyDelete(I mean someone who's seen them, rather than just thinks they're political correctness gone mad based on the casting)
-sean
The subject of Mr. Cumberbatch’s ‘Mid-Western / American’ accent is actually fairly controversial. Just Google ‘Cumberbatch American Accent’ and you’ll see the entire spectrum of opinions, from ‘Why is his American accent so bad?’ — to ‘How come Henry Cavill, Christian Bale and Tom Holland can all manage to sound like native-born Yankees but Benedict Cumberbatch always sounds like a bad parody?’ — to ‘You shut up, his accent is PERFECT!!!’
ReplyDeleteI just watched him in the Netflix Movie ‘The Power of the Dog’, where he plays (God help us) aYale-educated cattle rancher in 1920s Montana. His performance has been nominated for an Oscar, but honestly I found his All Over The Place accent so incredibly distracting, I couldn’t really focus on his acting. Throughout the movie, he’s constantly belittling and making fun of his brother George, several times calling him ‘Georgie’ or ‘Georgie Boy’ and it comes out sounding like ‘Jaaaaw-gie’ and ‘Jaaaaw-gie Bah’ — like the character is suddenly supposed to be from Louisiana or something. Or maybe the character is deliberately affecting an exaggerated Deep South accent for some reason? All I know for sure is that it’s Laugh Out Loud funny.
It really is kind of mind-boggling why they didn’t just go with his Brit accent for Dr. Strange. Totally would have worked.
The new movie looks kinda groovy. Yeah, Shuma-Gorath showing up in a mainstream Big-Ass Budget movie Part of me thinks this whole ‘multiverse’ thing with actors from previous iterations of the various franchises crossing-over Willy-nilly is quickly becoming an overused gimmick. I suppose the basic idea of Michael Keaton playing Old Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Flash movie is kinda-sorta cool, but also, frankly, a bit old-hat by now. And Patrick Stewart’s disembodied voice in the new Dr. Strange trailer is meant to signal that the Fox X-men continuity will be ‘officially’ merging with the MCU? Yay….I guess? Now, if Patrick Stewart showed up in the next Dune movie as Old Gurney Halleck, THAT would be cool….
b.t.
Crap, didn’t finish my clever Shuma-Gorath comment. Ah well, wasn’t really all that clever anyway.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
OK... Some thoughts from Charlie who was born and raised in the midwest of the USA.
ReplyDelete- Charlie would not have had a thought about Strange's accent had the subject not been mentioned. Had it been his English accent, assuming he has one, would have been cool.
(After watching David Tennant in Broad Church where his accent was thick and Scotch, and then something else US-based where he had no accent, Charlie was curious as to who the real David Tennant's voice was.)
- Charlie did not pick up anything about the Foxy-verse? Charlie assumed it was a reference to perhaps the Fantastic Four b/c Fox holds / held their movie rights?
- Actually the movie doesn't seem the least bit interesting. Charlie was probably mentioned a few times that the "end of the world / galaxy / universe" shtick has grown old in his opinion (unless it involves Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the Universe).
- Charlie didn't see the Eternals b/c Charlie got confused after reading FF 116 with the Overlord and the Stranger and learning the Stranger was the sum of all Eternals... but not THOSE Eternals.
SEAN, B.T. - Charlie was laughing hard at your twists on BC's name. SO hard that he had to sit and type this out and will now arrive like 15 minutes late for a very important date!!! Youse guys are something!!!
Although I was born in Texas & lived / raised in The Midwest since I was 3 years old -- speaking of Mr. Stewart, having re-watched "Logan" just a week (or so) back, I think REALLY COOL thing would be for Hugh Jackman to reprise his Wolverine role in a new movie of some kind...any thoughts from anybody?
ReplyDeleteNot keen on the X-Men/Wolvie films, but fwiw I thought Jackman was the best thing about them. He's not getting any younger, but if he could still do it, maybe turning up as Wolverine in a third Deadpool flick could be entertaining...?
ReplyDelete-sean
I enjoyed the first Dr Strange movie and I thought the trailer here looked pretty interesting as well. Can't really say I noticed his accent, then again I thought BC was American. I bought the Eternals on DVD ( old school stuff) but haven't gotten around to watching it yet, and been out off by some poor reviews.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what anybody says! If they make a Doc Strange movie with Shuma Gorath in it I'm gonna watch it, just on general principle.
ReplyDelete...Eventually. Just as soon as it shows up on one of my cable channels, about a year or so from now.
-MattVA, I liked "Logan", but I think that flick was the last coffin nail in Jackman's version. They kinda burned their bridges in that one, and it was clearly intentional. Still, I could see him showing up in a cameo or two, because, I guess, the, uh, "Multiverse" being what it is. The fans love them cameos, and I gotta confess, I perk up when I see 'em. M.P. is a sentimental cat!
I dunno. Sean, did you like the Logan movie? It wasn't half bad. No teenagers with angst running around in spandex, anyway.
Kind of an un-X-Men like movie, which for me is good, because I hate the X-Men.
It was refreshing to hear Professor X engaging in rampant profanity.
I would if I was him.
M.P.
I've watched both Shang Chi and The Eternals on Disney plus. Shang Chi was enjoyable and fast paced. I just checked and am surprised it comes in at 132 minutes, as it seemed to go quite quickly. A good thing.
ReplyDeleteEternals had some nice set pieces but was overall slow and bloated. The CGI seemed more in-your-face and I felt it closer to a DC movie than the other Marvel movies. Wiki suggests 156 minutes however it seemed to go on longer.
I've only seen each once and so solely subjective.
DW
I was just thinking… back in the 80s, there was a Dr. Strange story by Roger Stern and Mike Golden that I don’t remember the main plot of — but at some point, Doc ended up in a parallel universe, one where he was a fictional character. In the story, he realized that was the case when he saw a cinema marquee displaying the title ‘DOCTOR STRANGE II : BEYOND RAGGADORR’. It was kind of a throw-away gag, IIRC, not all that important to the plot, but it sure fired up my imagination. I distinctly remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to live in a world where they had a series of Dr. Strange movies in theatres, not just one low-budget, blink-and-you-missed-it-that-one-time-it-aired TV movie?’
ReplyDeleteAnd now, here it is — I actually do live in a world where Dr. Strange is a successful movie franchise character. And y’know, it IS pretty dang cool.
b.t.
b.t.-
ReplyDeleteI remember that issue! Doc Strange was horribly depressed because Clea had left. Then he was attacked by the demon D'spayre (not exactly subtle, eh?) and became temporarily delusional.
I remember reading it and thinking, "The idea of a movie about Dr. Strange is pretty far-fetched. That would never happen."
I could accept demons and alternate dimensions, but that was just ridiculous.
Look how comic-book characters were treated by Hollywood at that time? (except for Superman, maybe)
And now they're getting around to Moon Knight.
Can Ambush Bug be far behind?
M.P.
Logan was about as good as those films got M.P.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that it kind of finished off that cycle of films (although that didn't stop them making Dark Phoenix). But thats why Deadpool is really the only way Jackman could do another extended turn as Wolverine, as the films already have in-jokes about him and the Fox X-Men in them.
Although I guess he could turn up in a Marvel multiverse cameo...?
I saw the first Dr Strange flick - the one with John Mills as the Ancient One - when it was shown on tv here in (I think) '79, and enjoyed it. So it does seem a bit ridiculous to be down on the Buttercup Cummerbund version.
But there you go - I am old now.
DW, thanks - it does seem like Shang-Chi was more likely to make for a better film, but I'm curious about the Eternals so I'll try to see that as well anyway.
Mind you, I've been curious to read the Neil Gaiman version for ages, and I still haven't got round to that yet, so...
-sean
You know, on the subject of 'Yankvoice', it occurs to me that if the main character in a film has to have an American accent, an American actor could probably do it fairly well.
ReplyDeleteIs there a shortage?
-sean
Paul, you thought Benedict Cumberbatch was American???
ReplyDeleteA few years ago he and his mother were interviewed on Radio 2 (by Dawn French I think).
Sean, apparently British actors are preferred because they are considered to be better actors.
ReplyDeleteCanadian accents are often passable, too. Segue to...
ReplyDeleteCumberbatch's 'nightmare waking scene' left me unimpressed. To see how it should be done, watch the season opener of season 3 of T.J.Hooker. The opening scene in which Shatner wakes from a nightmare, screaming, is an over-the-top masterpiece. Cumberbatch could take lessons from Shatner. Nor was Cumberbatch that good in 'Sherlock' - Moriarty acted him off the screen!
Phillip
Brits make better actors?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Benadryl Crumpetpatch backs up that theory particularly well, Colin.
-sean
Btw Charlie, I believe David Tennant's 'real' accent is indeed uh, Scotch.
ReplyDelete-sean
SEAN - you missed your calling with stand up comedy? LOL.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Scotch I did indulge last night b/c today is President's Day in the USA. I drank b/c I was happy and drank b/c I was sad, lol.
COLIN - It may indeed be a fair statement that English actors are superior to American. Lord knows our PBS networks are basically only airing UK serials, besides the usual documentaries.
By the way, CUCUMBERPATCH was excellent in SHERLOCK! Sure Moriarity steals the show but only b/c he plays the weirdo in those few episodes. Anyone playing the weirdo is seen as superior to the "straight man." Were Sherlock to have behaved like Moriarity, or Batman to have behaved like the Joker, or whatever the stories would not work b/c then you'd have two weirdos running around.
That Scotch actor Micky O'Rourke was seen as a great actor until I think even he pointed out that he always plays the "larger than life" character and it's easy compared to playing a normal person. He said it's hard to bring attention to yourself when you are normal.
Steve, apparently the Russians have recognized the peoples republic of Donetsk today.
ReplyDeleteHow does that affect Sheffield? Whats happening on the ground at Asda?
-sean
One of my favorite UK actors who’s been been specializing in playing Yankees for awhile is Matthew Rhys. First came to my attention on THÉ AMERICANS, playing a Russian sleeper agent under deep cover in Washington DC . His American accent is so rock-solid, I often forget that he’s Welsh, so whenever I see him speaking with his ‘natural’ accent, it always startles me :)
ReplyDeleteb.t.
ReplyDeleteCharlie: Mickey O'Rourke is American with Irish and Scots decent ( on his dad and mum's side respectively). He was a great actor indeed until he ended with his face, it's hard to take him serious imho now
Now you knew I was gonna comment on this but in general Scots is the preferred name for a person from Scotland, Scotch ( while not wrong) is more for whiskey, beef etc. Ulster/Scotch being the exception but that's more an Irish thing
MCSCOTTY - just seeing if you were out there, lol!
DeleteLol
DeleteOooh Paul - controversial. The Ulster Scotch don't generally consider themselves Irish.
ReplyDeleteWhich is obviously ridiculous, but there you go. You can't really expect much logic from people who voted for Brexit to prove they were British and then all got Irish passports to keep their right to free movement in Europe.
-sean
Sean; I just didn't want to go there at all lol
ReplyDeleteSean, I hear Lidl is imposing heavy sanctions and supplying Asda with extra shopping trolleys.
ReplyDeleteSean Connery was Scottish? Whether he truly was (or not) -- one of the TOP actors, even when he got older...
ReplyDeleteTalking about Benedict Cumberbatch, (or Blunderdict Cabbagepatch or whatever Sean is currently calling him) I thought about Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the Oldman version.
ReplyDeleteI love that movie, but I couldn't help but notice how many of these esteemed actors had played comic-book characters.
Lessee, there's Arnim Zola, Dr. Sivana, Commissioner Gordon, Dr. Strange, John Hurt played a character in V for Vendetta, and Tom Hardy was Bane and Venom.
It just strikes me as weird.
M.P.
Personally, I think it’s a bit childish and déclassé to make fun of people’s names, so I will respectfully refrain from teasing poor Benzedrine Curdlespazz about his unfortunate monicker. It’s not like he CHOSE to be called Bentmydick Crappedmypants, you know. Seriously, who WOULD?
ReplyDeleteSo — tsk tsk.
Though, to be fair…if my parents had saddled me with a name like Buggerall Cumburglar, you can bet I’d get it legally changed to something more innocuous just as soon as humanly possible.
b.t.
I first became aware of Benedi...er, I mean Bendydick Cucumbersnatch when he was still a little-known radio actor in BBC Radio 4's excellent comedy series 'Cabin Pressure' - by the time the series ended in 2014 Bendy had become famous as a movie/TV actor but he still continued in his radio role.
ReplyDeleteJeez, there's a lotta these.
ReplyDelete"Burnt Pumpkinpatch" is one of my favorites.
We are terrible people, aren't we. I'm kinda ashamed of myself!
M.P.
That last one of b.t.'s was pretty good though.
ReplyDelete-sean
Btw, the accent thing goes the other way too - British readers maybe surprised to learn that Dick Van Dyke is actually American!
ReplyDeleteAnd lets not forget the Australians, and Russell Crowe's Robin Hood.
He famously - well, 'famously' might be a bit of an overstatement - walked out on a Radio 4 interviewer who asked why he did an Irish accent. Which to be fair to Crowe I couldn't hear, but he didn't sound very south Yorkie either.
Yeah, apparently they were going with the Robin Hood was from Sheffield theory (why didn't they just get Sean Bean for the part?)
-sean
Sean - For a long time, Dick Van Dyke's supposed cockney accent in Mary Poppins was notorious for being one of the most unconvincing accents in movie history. I don't think anyone would believe he is English.
ReplyDeletePhillip
And yet actors from the U.K. or Australia can do American accents (even regional American accents) with aplomb and apparent ease.
ReplyDeleteM.P.
Thats probably because you're an economic super-power M.P. (not you personally - so far as I know - but America).
ReplyDeleteYour films, tv shows and other media are everywhere, so we all grew up hearing your voices a lot.
Seems to me most people who learn English as a second language speak it with a bit of an American accent...? (Hey, I even phrased that as a question so it has a rising inflection at the end)
-sean
The weird thing is i seldom hear acxents in the USA except for southern drawls and the bostonian / philly thing i dont notice.
ReplyDeleteFor example i doubt MP or I would perceive each ither as having an accent of any sort?
Same sith b.t…. I am not aware of a California accent either?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason the American (generic) accent is easier for overseas actors and people in general to pick-up is because we have been spoon-fed US TV shows and films for years, so its easier to pick up the tones and subtle mannerisms. I know of some younger folk I work with now call their mobile phones cell phones - sacrilege.
ReplyDeleteRegarding others picking up UK accents I always remember Frankie Boyles comment on Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Willian Wallace in Braveheart after his then recent rant on the Jewish community: “Nobody thought Mel Gibson could play a Scot but look at him now! Alcoholic and a racist!” –:) brilliant stuff!
Charlie is in mourning (again). He perceived Scotland via Oor Wullie and The Broons. To learn otherwise…. Charlie is calling in sick to work and staying in bed.
ReplyDeleteFirst Golden Brown, now Scotland…. Oooh the humanity…
Is it time for one of those mythical, legendary "Steve Does Comics Polls?"
ReplyDeleteSurely we could take all the variations on Badbreath Crackscratch above and vote on our favorite?