Is Secret Invasion Worth It? That’s how good Samuel L. Jackson’s Marvel comeback is on Disney+

The MCU is in a (minor) crisis: success at the box office, with fans and the trade press is no longer guaranteed, and there are problems behind the scenes, such as with Kang actor Jonathan Majors and producer Victoria Alonso. So it’s no wonder that Marvel architect Kevin Feige has already promised changes and that the planned MCU schedule has been jettisoned several times recently (although the current Hollywood strike has also played a role).

Eight months after the last episode of She-Hulk, Secret Invasion is ready to head to Disney+. There’s never been this long wait between MCU series. Still, the effects of Marvel’s change of direction aren’t really felt here – after all, it wasn’t undertaken until after Secret Invasion was in production. And so “Secret Invasion” takes on the Avengers universe in the first two episodes we previewed, albeit in an exciting, dark, mature direction. The first episode in particular is unlikely to convert anyone who already believes in Marvel’s demise after “Thor 4” and “Ant-Man 3”.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has spent several years in space and on the SABER space station, but after the death of Soren, the wife of his Skull friend Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), he reluctantly returns to the earth – and finds himself in the middle in a far-reaching conspiracy:

Attacks are taking place all over the world, with only seemingly different organizations behind them. In reality, the Skrull leader Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) is responsible for this, who has gathered many of the alien shapeshifters around him, including Talos’ daughter G’iah (Emilia Clarke). The Skrulls are frustrated because they’ve lived on Earth for 30 years and still haven’t found a new home. Together with Talos and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Nick Fury takes on Gravik and his minions. But these have taken up many positions of power over the years and always seem to be two steps ahead of the former SHIELD director…

Agent thriller à la Marvel

“Secret Invasion” opens with a so-called cold open, throwing the audience into the middle of the action: Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), of “Captain America: Civil War” and “Black Panther” fame, prowls the streets of Moscow, receives explosive information from another agent and is pursued by a mysterious pursuer – including a course on the Rooftops or the Russian metropolis and a double final twist.

But the promise of this opening sequence is not consistently delivered by lead authors Kyle Bradstreet and Brian Tucker and director Ali Selim, at least in the first episode: the cop and conspiracy thriller’s great role models are called upon again and again, but remember the qualities of the “bournes“series, those responsible in this first episode can rarely go on.

The plot seems too confusingbecause important information keeps missing, which is then handed in later with some flashbacks from episode 2, and the characters’ overly erratic and reckless behaviorSignificantly, veteran Secret Agent Nick Fury, now embodied by Samuel L. Jackson with a bushy, gray beard, sometimes seems like a complete novice and allows himself to be fooled by Gravik – with quite tragic consequences.

While an attempt at explanation is made in the first episode, it’s later handed in rather hastily and isn’t told nearly enough in detail: ever since Thanos’s finger clippings and the blip, Nick Fury carries with him a trauma that he (unsuccessfully) ) suppressed during its space vacation or . This remains pure assertion in the first episode, as it has never been discussed in the MCU before.

Fantastic actors

So the first episode lives off the cast almost entirely – and they’re really fantastic, aside from those already mentioned Samuel L. Jackson, who is always on top form, even if the script doesn’t always make it easy for him. Even though his character Nick Fury can be a little too reckless at times, Jackson’s acting is still as casual and confident as usual.

In addition to Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos and Oscar winner Olivia Colman are especially convincingwho, as Officer Sonya Falsworth, has more fun on camera than she has since her stellar performance as a town cop in Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz.”

Jackson and Mendelsohn, on the other hand, have already proven their great chemistry in “Captain Marvel” and can now play it out again in “Secret Invasion”. The climax of the first two episodes is a simple conversation between Talos and Fury aboard a trainin which Fury talks about his childhood and Talos shares a shocking revelation about the Skrulls.

Likewise a fantastically played discussion between Fury and Rhodey aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), which includes everything from the two men’s long-standing friendship to structural racism in the United States to their differing views on how to deal with the Skrulls. The fact that we highlight two dialogue scenes here already gives a good idea of ​​the strengths and weaknesses of the MCU series.

Episode 2 is much better

With episode 2, in which these two conversations also take place, “Secret Invasion” picks up a lot more momentum: as mentioned at the beginning, some flashbacks slowly give a clearer picture of the plot, the motivation of the characters worked out better, there are more twists and the (few!) action sequences have a touch of “John Wick” of.

Additionally, fans of the “Secret Invasion” comic template and Marvel comics in general will also get their money’s worth in Episode 2. After all, learn more about the approach of the Skrulls, who not only want to take over the world, but also already have a plan how they want to deal with the Avengers – who are deliberately absent from the first two episodes…

Conclusion: Battling through the slightly convoluted first installment is rewarded with a powerful second installment that reveals the potential for one of Marvel’s most unusual and exciting franchises. Especially Samuel L. Jackson is on top form in “Secret Invasion”, but Olivia Colman and Ben Mendelsohn are also outstanding so far.