ayojerkinskarega

Production: Great script. The writing on this series is excellently nuanced. Good smooth editing. Excellent musical score. The Loki theme song matches the mysteriousness of the show. Solid sets, but sometimes you can tell that the characters are in front of a green screen. Also, during some of the fighting scenes you can tell when their stunt double is in. 9/10.

On screen: Great acting overall. Tom Hiddleston's performance is nuanced and believable as Loki. Additionally, Owen Wilson (Mobius), Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ravonna Renslayer) and Jonathan Majors (He Who Remains) performances are also fantastic. Solid cinematography. I can't get past how some scenes bookmark the actors are in front of green screens. 9/10.

Content/Impact: Kate Herron is the director of this series and she did a wonderful job. Hopefully, her work will help inspire other women to want more roles behind the scenes. Also, hopefully this will open doors for more production agencies to be open to hire more women directors. As you well know, Loki is the first LBGT+ character introduced into the Marvel Universe. Although this is good for diversity, the mentioning of his sexuality didn't really add anything to this particular story. Lastly, of course they make the boastful Loki black. This portrayal just adds on to the many stereotypes the media likes to portray black men. 6/10.

Overall: Good series with great performances that impacts the next phase of the MCU. 8/10.

Production: Solid writing. Solid script, but at times, the film's tone is off. This is because the moments that are supposed to be serious and/or heartfelt are underdeveloped. Solid editing. One less "cool" slow motion shot would've been better. Also, again with the location font telling us where we are. When is that going to stop? It's like filmmakers think that the audience is too stupid to follow the story without them. 7/10.

On screen: The actors and actresses did all they could do with that undeveloped script and that was pretty good. They were believable for the most part. If the serious/heartfelt scenes were developed better, then the acting could've been better. Cinematography is good enough. 6.5/ 10.

Content/Impact: I really don't like Amanda Waller as a character at all in any of the DC mediums. Her character is a reinforcement of the sapphire Black Woman stereotype, more currently dubbed Angry Black woman. She's forceful, angry, stubborn, and malicious. Also, they don't give any backstory to this character which creates this belief that she's born a "ABW." This portrayal is problematic because it dehumanizes black women by teaching the viewers that this is all black women are, the Angry Black Woman. Also, I wasn't feeling the scene with other black man in prison (Bloodshot played by Iris Elba) screaming curse words to his daughter (Tyla played by Storm Reid) through the prison glass. Terrible reinforcing stereotypical imagery. 1/10.

Overall: Decent movie would've been better without reinforcing stereotypes. 4.8/10.

Production: Good script even though certain scenes were predictable. Solid editing, but yet again too much slow motion to try to make action scenes look good. Decent CGI, it can be a little too much at times. Good set pieces and wardrobe. 7/10.

On screen: Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) and Awkwafina (Katy) acting was great. They have good chemistry throughout the movie which made their characters believable. Decent acting from the rest of the cast, some of it was cookie-cutter. Solid Cinematography overall. 7/10.

Content/Impact: It's great to see Asian leads in American cinema that's not stereotypical, especially at a time when we see anti-Asian hate during COVID. Also, the range of imagery of powerful Asian women is great to see because it combats the "docile" Asian women motif. Also, the fact that the Asian woman wasn't sexualized helps combat those stereotypes. Lastly, the infusion of Asian culture in popular films is not only good for getting more diverse filmmaking on and behind the camera, it's also a step in having more diverse visibility which leads to more acceptance of each other. 10/10.

Overall: Good introduction to new characters Shang-Chi and Ruiwen's place in the new phase of the MCU. 8/10.