Marvel One-Shot: Item 47

Watching the MCU in release date order, and with Thor (6/10) being the best one for me so far in Phase 1 - most of the others ranging from actual garbage to just "ok" - this one really surprised me with how it closed the Phase.

The two main characters are funny, they click, and honestly, they're kinda cute together. It's just fun. The whole aftermath of the Battle of New York was a blast to watch. Clever idea, well executed.

I really hope they show up again in Agents of SHIELD or maybe some later installment. Would love to see where their story goes.

Honestly? Not just the best MCU short up to this point, but low-key the best film of Phase 1, period.

Keep that energy for Phase 2 - I hope it gets better!

Final Score: 7/10.

At first I thought this was just another "ride the hype" after The Avengers production but gladly I was mistaken. The story is tight and the runtime 12 min, but I learned today that short is not always a bad thing.

The effects are cool and rates high, the acting is really good and the diversity between the persona's of the actors works in harmony. What can I say except it made my cup of coffee in the morning taste a lot better.

The only problem is how to fill 10 lines of review of a short very good movie, when there literally ain't nothing to complain about.

Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford play a young couple who shortly after the attack on New York (Avengers 2012) come across an alien weapon. They proceed to use this to rob banks but Shield is on their tale.

Featuring a couple of semi-recurring characters from the television series Agents Of Shield (2013) this well cast little 8 minutes is fun enough but you need to go in remembering these things aren't exactly stories.

They are more like scenes ripped out of films, thankfully usually pretty passable ones.

The fact this fits in so well with the Marvel universes continuity really helps as does Caplan, Bradford and the two Shield agents.

Passable stuff that can be used as filler inbetween actual feature films.

The Good:

Great soundtrack

Lizzy Caplan

Agents Of Shield cast members

The Bad:

Really not much to it

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

An assistant who cannot make coffee should be fired on the spot

After last seeing Caplan in True Blood I almost didn't recognise her clothed

Saw it. Liked it. So, this short got everything you can think of - effects, characters, action + charisma. The intro was quite lame, but then things started to fire up. It was pretty good. Plus, the final replica is quite funny. I let you find which it is. :)

Two regular people, adorably out of their league, put to use a Chitauri rifle to achieve the American dream.

This is the kind of thing that basically must happen every so often in the MCU. There's no way the massive bombastic climaxes can always be cleaned up. This has amazing use of licensed music. Everyone gives a memorable performance, in addition to being written in a way that feels very natural. The tension and action are great. Running time is 8 minutes, or 11 and a half including end credits.

This is currently available on Disney Plus. I recommend it to fans of the franchise. 7/10.