Marvel returns to Disney+ with the premiere of Secret Invasion, the first new episode of MCU TV in 251 days. If you think that’s a long wait, think about how long it’s taken for Marvel to let Nick Fury take the lead. It’s been 5,528 days since he asked Tony Stark about the Avenger Initiative in Iron Man’s post-credits scene, and here we are.
However, the main question is: Is the show worth watching?
Yes, Secret Invasion is worth the wait.
The latest Marvel projects have met with lukewarm audiences and reviews. So, neither “Woman Hulk Lawyer” nor “Miss Marvel” nor feature films like “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania” caused joy. Their grades on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s less than half “fresh” in places.
Secret Invasion is the first MCU TV series since She-Hulk: Attorney at Law aired its season finale on October 13, 2022. The long layoff has added to the anticipation behind Secret Invasion.
The Secret Invasion trailers have the same gritty feel of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another spy thriller and one of the more successful entries in the MCU. Marvel is at a crossroads coming off Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a box-office disappointment, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the trilogy’s end.
Seeing how Secret Invasion shapes future entries in the MCU will be an intriguing development and one worth watching.
The first two episodes of Secret Invasion have received mainly positive reviews, with the darker tone and Jackson’s performance being praised. Secret Invasion opened with a 66% on the Tomatometer and a 66 Metascore and an audience score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While it might not be perfect, it is worth the wait, with the show trying to explore different themes.
So far, only two episodes have been released on Disney+. They will release one episode per week. The authors try to grab the viewer’s attention not with strong gags and graphics but with black elements, a dark spy theme, and a deeper disclosure of favorite characters who have long remained in the shadows.
Is Secret Invasion Risky for Marvel?
In general, Marvel’s experiments with different genres have been successful: the “WandaVision” series in sitcom format or “Moon Knight”, reminiscent of both “The Mummy” and “Glass”. If the plot continues to enter into a noir structure and detective theme, it could claim to be this year’s most brilliant MCU project.
Either way, Secret Invasion will surely please longtime Marvel fans waiting for a solo project on the SHIELD director.
And that’s the underlying tension in Secret Invasion, between the show you know it could be and the show it is. The lead is excellent. This is Jackson’s best all-around performance as Fury, as all the disparate temperaments we’ve seen in 15 years of movies coalesce into a satisfying whole.
The premise is excellent. Are we getting a bunch of shape-shifty switcheroo spy stuff with a tinge of 1950s pulpy sci-fi? Hell yeah.
Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn have a tremendous and visually unlikely partnership considering their average IRL age is 64. In the first episode, the villain is mostly a non-entity, but Ben-Adir plays Gravik with a stoic, almost James Dean-esque cool. Everything is almost there.
The “I can’t believe we did this” moments are even better, where you can feel the creative team’s excitement through the screen. Instances like Megan Thee Stallion agreeing to do a She-Hulk cameo or James Gunn getting to do a full-blown Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special with Kevin Bacon are proof of that.
The Winter Soldier Chase has that feeling because it’s Anthony and Joe Russo taking their giddy love of ’70s thrillers and Marvel comics and smashing them together for actual superheroes to play in, not just the cast of Community. A tense spy thriller is a hard sell when there’s no tension or thrills.
All that being said, Secret Invasion still has plenty going for it. As I said, the cast is fantastic and turns out great performances.
And as an MCU superfan, it’s fun seeing the universe spread out just a little more and bring in a few elements of other genres. And how great Samuel L. Jackson is here.
He’s 15 years into this gig, and he’s having more fun than ever. Like, I’m still thinking of a passing bit of business where Fury offers Maria Hill popcorn.
The show is worth the hype, and Episode 2 is better than Episode 1, which gives me hope that Alien Invasion will become more suspenseful, and wonder filled.
About Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is an upcoming television show on Disney+. It is based on the Marvel comic of the same name and will be a part of Marvel’s Phase Five.
The show will focus on Nick Fury and the alien race of the Skrulls, who have been infiltrating the Earth for years.
Cast members include Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Colbie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, and Kingsley Ben-Adir. It will be released on June 21, 2023.
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