Here’s a not-so-fun fact for you: Thanks to
some stupid virus that you’ve most likely heard of by now, 2020 was the first
year since 2009 to not have a new Marvel Cinematic Universe property released.
At this point it feels like the heat death of the (real life) universe will
happen before we get to see the perennially delayed Black
Widow, and that’s being generous. With theaters shuttered and the box
office on life support, we depend even more on streaming services these days
for our entertainment, and wouldn’t you know it, but Disney and Marvel had just
the thing lined up to ensure small screen dominance: a plethora of
cinematic-quality miniseries that tie into their big-screen juggernauts in ways
that previous Marvel shows could only dream of. WandaVision,
a nine-episode explosion of style and weirdness featuring the perpetually
second-string Avengers Scarlet Witch and Vision, is the first of these
miniseries, and it is a homerun.
If
the words I just wrote mean very little to you, then you’re probably not a fan
of the MCU (or baseball, if “homerun” was tripping you up) and probably won’t
appreciate the show as much as your nerdy brethren. But even without the sense
of duty that many of us have to ingest everything this universe has to offer, the
show shines. Creatively shot and brilliantly acted, WandaVision manages
to capture the feel of numerous sitcoms (why? I feel like that might be a
spoiler…) while simultaneously fitting in quite well with the movies and comics
that have come before it. Elizabeth Olsen in particular is quite stunning,
seamlessly fitting in with each era of television with an ease that makes you
think she has been doing each “show” for hundreds of episodes already. Another
clear standout is Kathryn Hahn as Wanda and Vision’s neighbor Agnes, who… well,
let’s not get into that right now.
There
is an inherent catch to this authentic flavoring, however; if you are not a fan
of certain eras of television and sitcoms in general, some moments might be a
bit of a chore to get through. I found the first couple of episodes in
particular a bit slow, as the dark mystery that makes up the bulk of the story
takes a while to make itself known. But just when I was starting to get bored
of 50s and 60s sitcom antics, something creepy and weird would happen, which
drew me right back in. And by the time I was on episode three, I was fully
invested, purposefully lame sitcom jokes or not.
Kevin
Feige, the mastermind behind the MCU, has insisted that the Disney+ miniseries
will not be required watching for future movies and vice versa, and it will be
interesting to see how they pull this off. Because WandaVision feels
pretty dang important to what will happen next, and it has already been said
that it feeds into both Spider-Man:
No Way Home and Doctor
Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t
trust Kevin. Assume this show is important to the MCU just in case, and by the
time you’re finished watching you’ll at the very least get some good insights
into a couple of Avengers who have been playing second fiddle for far too long.
Excelsior.
All
nine episodes of WandaVision are
now available on Disney+.
This review was first published in The Keizertimes on March 12th, 2021. Visit at http://keizertimes.com/
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