Yeah, this is bottom tier MCU. I'm so checked out of the franchise.
I said this on twitter, but it feels like after The Infinity Saga ended and Feige saw the mandate of not only 3-4 movies per year, but also 3-4 shows, it forced him to delegate more, meaning he isn't hands on and able to control things or fix minor things that may be tonally wrong
such as literally the first scene in Love and Thunder. Bale is doing a great dramatic performance as Gorr, just having lost his daughter, and some rando God who we're seeing for the first time basically craps all over him. It was like two completely different movies stuffed in one scene.
The delegation and more hands off approach has caused Phase Four to feel like it's just Feige f'n around and experimenting with a bunch of different concepts after great success. Ironically, the best film of the phase isn't even a Disney release, but Sony. This Phase has just been so mediocre (at best, really). I went in with low expectations last night and those were pretty much met, but only because I liked Jane as Mighty Thor.
The worst part is it just all seems directionless even though we know more or less where it's going. It doesn't feel like these movies need to be connected and honestly, I wish Marvel Studios would do what DC is doing. have a shared universe, but also do stand alone films based on some of your most popular/profitable characters. It would be a way to do another Iron Man film, for example.
If I had to rank phase four, it would be:
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home
2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
4. Black Widow
5. Eternals
6. Thor: Love and Thunder
I was very, very close to putting Black Widow at #3, but MoM is just more fun, despite not getting as solid of performances. Harbour, Pugh and Weicz were absolute standouts and there was some great family moments throughout the film, especially between Harbour and Pugh and Johansson and Pugh.
Multiverse of Madness is just a much more impactful film to the future whereas Black Widow was a fun action adventure film, but no one wanted a prequel film. The should've made a Black Widow film right after Winter Soldier. 2015-ish would've been perfect timing, possibly as the movie after Age of Ultron that summer (in the spot where Ant-Man released)