Secret Invasion Episode 1 Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs
7. Up - The Tone
One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the vast range of genres you get underneath the same umbrella. The First Avenger is a war movie, Ant-Man is a comedy heist movie, and so on.
However, Thor: Love and Thunder took things too far in the 'comedy' direction. Too far in fact, that it was no longer funny at all, something that has actually been alluded to by Chris Hemsworth himself. With this fresh in the mind, even after almost a year and several different projects, maybe going back to something darker is what the franchise needed.
Enter Secret Invasion. Viewers had been promised something closer in tone to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and episode one delivered. The second Captain America movie is a masterpiece of grit, suspense, and espionage, and this feels like exactly what the franchise needs right now.
There is a danger that the franchise will try and overcorrect, as going too dark and humourless would take things too close to the realms of the early DCEU. However, the odd quip from Nick Fury right now feels enough to keep things balanced moving forward.