Latest news with #PhaseFive
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Ironheart' Review: Dominique Thorne Soars in Marvel's Solid Wakanda-Inspired Spinoff
Late in 'Ironheart,' during a bad guy's menacing monologue, our villain doesn't like what he's hearing from one of his henchman. A recent mission was completed a little too quickly, and the ensuing explanation isn't ringing true. 'You know what this story lacks?,' the Big Bad tells his lying goon. 'Drama. And a story with no drama, no emotion, no detail — it lacks believability.' The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't exactly thrive on believability, either — nor should it. These are superheroes! They fly through the sky, travel to other dimensions, and battle with gods. But lately, they haven't done well with drama. Portraying personal- and galactic-level crises through spectacle used to be Kevin Feige & Co.'s speciality — sewing so much turmoil that not only did each new movie/mission feel momentous, but it could extend and twist through satisfying sequels and side characters, trilogies and team-ups. Now, the MCU struggles to sustain enough energy for a single outing, let alone whatever comes after Phase Five. More from IndieWire 'Nobu' Review: A Mouth-Watering but Flavorless Documentary About One of the World's Most Famous Sushi Chefs 'Ice Road: Vengeance' Review: Liam Neeson Heads to Nepal in a Bloated Sequel with Depressingly Few Icy Roads 'Ironheart' isn't going to fix those issues, nor does it reverse a few unfortunate trademarks of MCU's TV offerings. The six-episode limited series feels like a long movie broken into arbitrary episodes, its ending is mired by digital gobbledygook, and Marvel still doesn't know how magic makes sense in a universe ruled by advanced technology and literal gods. But head writer Chinaka Hodge does right by her characters' emotions and the surrounding details, rooting her MCU entry in a dynamically conflicted lead, an affecting lead performance to match, and a strong sense of place, be it the city of Chicago or our hero's home there. After so many MCU entries biffed the basics, 'Ironheart' is a nice reminder that good drama is still enough to help a Marvel series take flight. Meet Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)— OK, wait. Technically, you may have already met her, since she co-starred in 2022's 'Black Panther' sequel, 'Wakanda Forever.' But since 'Ironheart' doesn't feel like homework — aka, it doesn't make you feel bad about forgetting a side character's arc from a movie you haven't watched in over two years — let's take our cue from the series and reintroduce her, sans nagging. Riri is an exceedingly brilliant MIT student who's nevertheless about to be expelled. She wants to be the 'greatest inventor of her generation,' better even than Tony Stark (whom she calls Mr. Stark out of deference to a fallen hero), but since she's not a billionaire, she needs to work that much harder to bring her ideas to life. On one hand, that means pushing the school's equipment past its limits (which, in the latest trial run, caused an on-campus explosion). On the other hand, it means earning her own money to procure what she needs, make what she wants, and own what she makes — and the quickest way to earn money when you're a hyper-intelligent grinder surrounded by dumb-dumbs with rich parents is to 'help' her fellow students get good grades. So yes, when 'Ironheart' starts, Riri is kicked out of college for causing numerous accidents and helping kids cheat on their homework. No matter. She's not interested in getting her degree so she can snag a cushy desk job at a nameless corporation or teach classes to youths who don't actually give a shit about science. She's already built another (super-)powered exoskeleton (a la Mr. Stark's) — a prototype of sorts she hopes can 'revolutionize safety' by providing speed and protection to first responders, firefighters, and more do-gooders — and she flies it out of Cambridge all the way to Chicago, her (home) sweet home. There, her mother Ronnie (Anji White) isn't exactly thrilled to hear what she's been up to — 'That damn suit again. … Why do you insist on building your own death trap?' — but she's still generally supportive, in part, because Riri is still grieving. Before she left for college, her step-dad and best friend were both killed, and our lone-wolf hero hasn't exactly dealt with either loss. Instead, she stays hyper-focused on her science project, which leads her to Parker (Anthony Ramos). Now, we know Parker is bad news from the jump because he's introduced while his team breaks into a fancy mansion to steal a secret 'asset' — that, and he goes by 'Hood' because he likes to wear a weird hooded cape thing — and Riri should clock his dicey vibes, too. (That hood is… hideous.) But when she's recruited to replace a subpar colleague (Eric Andre, for some reason), Parker promises they don't hurt people, the money is great, and there's a twisted sense of justice to what they're doing. Ethics asserts itself as a definitive theme when Riri goes hunting for gear to complete her near-functional suit and comes across Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich), a self-described 'tech ethicist' who also happens to horde black market electronics. Just as his dubious surname evokes doubts about his real identity, Joe's outward-facing persona doesn't exactly line up with his dangerous hobby. He is, to put it nicely, a white, millennial, beta suburbanite. He's extremely sensitive (crying just because he needs to cry), casually racist (assuming Riri is an 'under-privileged youth'), and easily intimidated. Joe doesn't build anything with his impressive accumulation of tech goods — he's even wary of touching his own contraptions — which makes him Riri's ideal supplier and, you would think, her moral sentry. As Riri helps out with Parker's mysterious quest, she's forced to repeatedly reckon with the ramifications of her own brilliance. The suit has a way of turning well-intentioned theories into complicated realities, which challenges her to rethink her approach to saving the world. Much like Tony Stark before her, Riri's ambition can overtake her common sense, and avoiding traumatic memories only further isolates her focus. At first, the ends justify the means: Just like in college, when the money she made from helping others cheat on assignments went toward a suit meant to save countless lives, Riri believes stealing from a few Chicago fat-cats is fine, so long as she uses the filched funds for the greater good. But as each gig ups the risks along with the rewards, Riri faces increasingly pressing moral quandaries until she can't run away from them any longer. It's hard to say more without getting into the premiere episode's big twist, but even though 'Ironheart' isn't fully equipped to wrestle with the ethical arguments it introduces, the show's accessible approach still makes room for generalized lessons to sink in. Better yet, since it's focused on a twenty-something who's still coming into her own, her obviously misguided partnership with Parker is easier to forgive: She's still figuring things out, and Thorne embodies Riri's gradual growth with a potent blend of juvenile bullheadedness and aching vulnerability. Her losses sit right under the surface, and even though 'Ironheart' is a lot of fun, it never loses sight of the wayward soul going through a particularly difficult coming-of-age in a particularly difficult world. Thorne is the main reason to invest in Riri, just as Ramos gives greater dimension to Parker than his trimmed-down arc allows. The rest of the cast creates a convincing family, given and found, around our hero, and there are details aplenty that help the show stick: Jokes are peppered in consistently enough to recognize each character as much more than a vehicle for exposition. The soundtrack (courtesy of music supervisors Dave Jordan and Trygge Toven) avoids the obvious options while shaping a cohesive refrain. Real locations in Chicago help ground Riri's history in a distinct time and place. Each title card gets its own clever little flourish, the MCU tie-ins are kept to a bare minimum, and there are a handful of action set-pieces that come alive because of where the fighting goes down. (Riri often uses her STEM skills to build weapons out of found objects, which makes for a memorable fracas in a White Castle.) Given that 'Ironheart' is already being billed as a limited series and Marvel seems to be moving away from small-screen superhero stories, what should be a first season that only gets better is more than likely a flawed season that never gets a chance to grow. If that doesn't sum up the MCU's back-asswards approach to TV, nothing will, but this particular ending may actually be better for being cut off at the knees. (Just wait 'til you see it.) For once, instead of watching to make sure you understand what's going on in the movies, 'Ironheart' is worth watching to make sure you don't miss out on the messy little wonder that's right in front of you. 'Ironheart' premieres Tuesday, June 24 at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+ with three episodes. The final three episodes will be released Tuesday, July 1. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked Every IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade from Best to Worst
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Ironheart: Marvel show ‘review bombed' before it was out
Ironheart was negatively reviewed by users before anyone could even watch it 😫 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ironheart is the latest release from Marvel. The TV show has been the victim of 'review bombing' before it was even released. But what exactly does that mean? Ironheart has finally flown onto Disney Plus - five years after the Marvel show was first announced. The long-road to the screen has come to an end and it marks the end of the MCU's Phase Five. Unfortunately the series, fronted by Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, is the latest to suffer from a very modern phenomenon. Social media users spotted that it had been 'review bombed' by 'audiences' before anyone could even watch it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ironheart has debuted with a paltry 39 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes' popcorn meter - which is meant to correlate what viewers think of a show or movie. But it seems to have been the victim of so-called 'review bombing'. Ironheart hit by 'review bombing' campaign Ironheart on Disney Plus | Disney Plus Marvel's latest TV series has finally made its debut on Disney Plus today (June 25). Ironheart is being released over the course of two weeks, with the final three episodes out next Wednesday (July 2). However moments before the first episodes released, social media users quickly pointed out signs that the show had been review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes. Sharing a screenshot of its page on the website with an audience score of 32 per cent, one person wrote: 'This show isn't out yet and is already getting review bombed so please tell me how this isn't just racism, quickly.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Another added: 'The amount of loser behavior from the MCU fandom is unmatched. Instead of review bombing, just don't watch. It ain't hard.' Popular movie news page DiscussingFilm wrote: ''IRONHEART' debuts with 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. (Note: The audience score has been review-bombed by individuals who have not seen the show, as the first 3 episodes only released 20mins ago).' Others pointed out that it had also been review bombed on IMDb - with 44% of reviews being the lowest possible in the hours after release. Rotten Tomatoes appears to have resolved the initial review bombing issue - as the popcorn metre now sits at 70 per cent, which is much closer to the critical verdict. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at . It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.
Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Ironheart: Marvel show ‘review bombed' before it was out
Ironheart was negatively reviewed by users before anyone could even watch it 😫 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ironheart is the latest release from Marvel. The TV show has been the victim of 'review bombing' before it was even released. But what exactly does that mean? Ironheart has finally flown onto Disney Plus - five years after the Marvel show was first announced. The long-road to the screen has come to an end and it marks the end of the MCU's Phase Five. Unfortunately the series, fronted by Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, is the latest to suffer from a very modern phenomenon. Social media users spotted that it had been 'review bombed' by 'audiences' before anyone could even watch it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ironheart has debuted with a paltry 39 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes' popcorn meter - which is meant to correlate what viewers think of a show or movie. But it seems to have been the victim of so-called 'review bombing'. Ironheart hit by 'review bombing' campaign Ironheart on Disney Plus | Disney Plus Marvel's latest TV series has finally made its debut on Disney Plus today (June 25). Ironheart is being released over the course of two weeks, with the final three episodes out next Wednesday (July 2). However moments before the first episodes released, social media users quickly pointed out signs that the show had been review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes. Sharing a screenshot of its page on the website with an audience score of 32 per cent, one person wrote: 'This show isn't out yet and is already getting review bombed so please tell me how this isn't just racism, quickly.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Another added: 'The amount of loser behavior from the MCU fandom is unmatched. Instead of review bombing, just don't watch. It ain't hard.' Popular movie news page DiscussingFilm wrote: ''IRONHEART' debuts with 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. (Note: The audience score has been review-bombed by individuals who have not seen the show, as the first 3 episodes only released 20mins ago).' Others pointed out that it had also been review bombed on IMDb - with 44% of reviews being the lowest possible in the hours after release. Rotten Tomatoes appears to have resolved the initial review bombing issue - as the popcorn metre now sits at 70 per cent, which is much closer to the critical verdict. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
See - Sada Elbalad
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
"Thunderbolts" Sets Digital, 4K & Blu-ray Release Dates
Yara Sameh The New Avengers are coming home. Marvel's latest adventure, "Thunderbolts*", will hit video on demand on July 1 and get a 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD release on July 29, with preorders coming soon. "Thunderbolts*" stars Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbour as Red Gaurdian, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, a ragtag team of antiheroes who are pitted against each other by Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. While "Thunderbolts*" underperformed at the box office, it was well-received by fans and critics, and seen as a return to form after Marvel's at-best uneven Phase Five. The July 1 streaming date means fans who missed it in theaters will be able to rent or buy it at home, although there's no word yet on a Disney+ release date. The 4K Ultra HD digital and physical release will feature Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as bonus features like deleted scenes, a gag reel, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentary by director Jake Schreier. Marvel is also releasing collectable versions of the Blu-ray, including a SteelBook version featuring custom artwork, plus a Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray featuring pop-up artwork. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean News 3 Killed in Shooting Attack in Thailand
Gulf Weekly
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Weekly
On a dangerous adventure
THE first half of the new Marvel Studios miniseries Ironheart premieres on June 24 on Disney+. Actress Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams (Ironheart), a genius teenaged innovator who created an advanced suit of armour, rivalling the one built by Tony Stark (Iron Man). First introduced in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the six-episode series is set to take place following the film's events, diving into the character's background, upbringing and determination to make a mark on the world. The show will also introduce Parker Robbins aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos), an ally of Riri's who wears a hood that allows him to tap into dark arts and magic. In an interview, Dominique explained how her character differs from Tony Stark's, despite following his steps in terms of innovation and intelligence. The beloved character who kick-started the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) back in 2008 with the titular film had the resources and foundation which Riri does not have, leaving her fully dependent on herself and giving her different challenges to overcome. 'She does not have a billion dollars at her disposal. She does not have the resources... she doesn't have the mentorship, or the guidance,' Dominique said. 'And so what does it look like for someone like The Hood to enter her sphere now, where she is vulnerable and reflecting? It does set the stage for a very interesting journey ahead to see the people who pop up as she's working to get those answers and what the scale of their influence can be, if any?' she added. Ironheart is overall MCU'S 14th television project and is set to be the last series and conclusion of the Phase Five group of films and shows, which includes Ant-Man (2023) and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and Marvel's latest release Thunderbolts* this year.
