The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase I Boxed set is the big promotional release containing all of the (current) canonical movies leading up to the release of Avengers that was captained by Joss Whedon. These are: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Marvel's The Avengers. This series sets up the first half of Whedon's vision for the Marvel cinematic future, with the Thanos (the purple-skinned bad guy that was finally revealed at the end of the Avengers) being the series' primary antagonist in coming features. (Whedon seems to be leading things up to Marvel's classic Infinity Gauntlet cross-over in the second half.) I'm going to be reviewing the special edition packaging (Each of the individual movies already has a number of great reviews if you haven't seen any of the individual productions).You'll probably note some sour reviews about this particular set being cancelled (which is finally not true). The set was originally slated to release in in 2012 (with an original preorder of summer 2012). Long story short (as far as I can tell) is that the company that designed the original case did so believing that it was intended to be a one-time promotional piece rather than a mass-produced limited edition item. Rather than get caught up in legal troubles over this, Marvel decided to redesign the case and rerelease it. The new case finally delivered in April 2013.
The redesigned case is pretty neat with a look that resembles brushed aluminum (its plastic), with a shield decal (that lights up when you hit a button on the top) and a recessed handle. I've seen some complaints about how durable the case seems to be, but I don't have a problem with it. It is light as you would expect, however I never planned to use it as a checked bag in an airport. It feels like it will last perfectly fine as a shelf-piece in your collection if that is what you intend.
When you open the case you get a plastic replica tesseract set inside a plastic mount that looks sort of like the one in the movie. The opened case lights up the shield logo and a glow behind the tesseract. The tesseract also comes out and lights up on its own (if you didn't find the card you have to give it a firm smack with the palm of your hand before it lights up).
The movies are in simple cardboard sleeves with cool art-deco renditions of the characters involved. There are a total of 7 packages including the following 10 discs:
Avengers Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray
Thor Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray
Captain America Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray
Iron Man Blu-ray
Iron Man 2 Blu-ray
Incredible Hulk Blu-ray
S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers Initiative bonus disc
I didn't have all of the movies (I held off when I saw this set was coming out), but if you have the single versions I did you're only going to be missing the digital copies and DVD copies (neither of which I have any need for). If you really like special features, they are at least missing the second (bonus) disc from the Iron Man 2 disc Blu-ray set (one of the few that I did already have).
The case also comes with a series of folders filled with fictional bios, and some trinkets from the movies (some of which are fairly detailed replicas from the film--newspaper clippings, sketches, blu-prints, ID-cards, etc.).
My personal verdict:
You probably already know if you are the intended audience of the briefcase Phase I set. I've got a couple of limited edition movie collectables and in terms of quality I would rank this as being on par with most of them. If you don't have the movies and currently want them, it's honestly not a huge splurge from your entertainment budget. Even if you aren't considering the case, included extras, 3D copies, and special features disc the cost at the time of this writing is $150/6 blu-ray movies = $25 per movie.
If you are thinking of purchasing the set for young children I would rethink the expense; I think the durability of the case is just fine, but it most likely wouldn't hold up long to the punishment of young children.
Note: (If you're confused by some of the comments to this review) When Marvel withdrew the first version of the set the Amazon page went blank. In order to thank those who had already pre-ordered Amazon offered a free copy of Marvel's The Avengers (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) as a "thank you" to many of the earliest preorders (roughly summer of 2012). I think it was handled as well as could be expected by Amazon, so I've got no real complaints there.
The retail price of this didn't change. Those who pre-ordered early got discounted pricing. Deep discounted pricing. If you weren't able to pre-order early or read the retail listing to determine your purchase date, don't complain through a review.
Amazon and Marvel did not screw us with a delay. Those who ordered before the lawsuit got the blu-ray of Avengers FOR FREE. That was fantastic service on their part. It shows that they weren't interested in ripping money from us. We didn't have to buy Avengers twice while waiting. Thank you!
You're not paying a lot per movie. If you want the movies, go buy them separately. I'm sure there's plenty good sales on them this month. If you want a COLLECTOR'S SET, buy this. Your money is paying for useless, fun, fanboy crap. And for fanboys, it's awesome.
As for the new stuff they added; you already were going to pay for the other stuff. Now, you're getting a bit extra. Between that and the free blu-ray, we are not getting screwed and there's no way you can rate the quality of that material without seeing it.
If you love the movies and are a fanboy with some extra cash, I can't see the downside. Whatever happened between the parties of the lawsuit doesn't matter at this point. I feel that Amazon and Marvel are offering a great collector's set aimed at the right audience and are making good with us fans for the delay. Can't wait for the Marvel marathon in April. Whoooo!To preface this review, let me state that it is in no way a comment about the films themselves. They are all wonderful. The two stars are for the packaging and content of the Collector's Set, which arrived at my door about half an hour ago.
I've had this on pre-order since it first appeared back in July of 2012. I never canceled my pre-order, so I ended up getting it for $139.99 (plus tax, now that Amazon has to comply with tax code). Would I buy it again for this price? Well, probably, because purchasing each of the film versions included individually would cost almost $200, so you're getting a great price cut on the whole set. With a savings of nearly $60, why would I only "probably" buy it again? Each of the discs is packaged in a glossy cardboard sleeve, and on delivery, some of my discs were already scratched from sliding. All of the disc sleeves are inserted with the sleeve openings angled towards the back of the case, resulting in sliding during shipment and storage. You can save money with this set, compared to buying each film individually, but you may end up spending more money by having to replace scratched discs. If you look at the product image, the two gaps on either side of the cosmic cube are where the film inserts slide in for storage (again, at an angle).
That brings me to the cosmic cube itself. Again, if you look at the product image, you see a very bright, solid light coming from a semi-transparent cosmic cube. The cosmic cube itself is very cheap plastic, and is heavily frosted, to the point that it looks like a solid white cube. As for the light, it emits nothing close to what is pictured. While mounted in the case, the cube is lit from below by two blue LED lights when the case is open, or when the button near the case handle is pressed (which is only useful when the case is closed, to backlight the SHIELD frosted logo on the case front, and the button must remain pressed for the backlight to activate rather than acting as an on/off switch for sustained illumination). Being backlit when mounted provides a very dim, almost imperceptible blue hue to the cube itself. When removed, the cube can be activated by "tapping the cube firmly once against your palm" for the first stage, and "tapping the cube firmly a few times against your palm" for the second stage. The first stage is never activated by a single tap, and the second stage is never activated by a few taps. Quite a few hard slaps will result in the first stage activating, which is simply a blue strobe from within the cube. The second stage is also a blue strobe, but with a faster pattern. Activation of either stage will result in a sore palm and severe disappointment.
The case itself seems sturdy, but if you're expecting it to be metallic in any way, you will be disappointed (which is a common theme with this collector's set). The case is a strong plastic, but does not have the shine and heft of a metallic case. As I said earlier, you do have a frosted SHIELD logo window on the front of the case that can be illuminated by pressing a button located near the case handle (the "Avengers" button seen in the product image), but it is again only illuminated when pressure on the button is maintained. It can not be turned on and set on a shelf for display purposes. The clasps have no hinge, but are simply hard plastic that must be pulled on to release. This will inevitably result in snapped clasps, as hard plastic can only be manipulated for so long before weakening. Last for the case itself, the panel that mounts the cosmic cube and the discs is a very cheap plastic. The buttons on the keypad have absolutely no give to them, as they are hard cast. There is also not as much of a color difference between the buttons and the pad itself as can be seen in the product image.
Finally for the product as a whole comes the dossiers. The dossiers are stored in the top of the case, against the frosted SHIELD window, held in place by the black panel with the "A" logo. This set of documents includes a "Confidential" sealed envelope (not pictured) that contains a "Field Agent Access Code" on a hard card, the size of a gift card, and a 4x6-ish holo-card with some blanked out information. I have not yet solved this puzzle, but I assume it directs you to a website where your access code can be used for additional content. The first dossier folder contains pictures and a info sheet on the cosmic cube (or the Tesseract as they call it in all of the documentation), personnel files for Hawkeye and Black Widow, and Agent Phillip Coulson's SHIELD business card. The following dossiers contain information on Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk, in that order. The dossiers vary by character, with references and items from each film. For example: Steve Rogers' dossier includes his 4F stamped application, physical exam sheet, some Captain America trading cards, and his drawing of Captain America as a performing monkey; Tony Stark's dossier includes a newspaper clipping, his original schematics for the Iron Man suit, a large folded schematic for the original arc reactor designed by Anton Vanko and Howard Stark, a ticket stub and guide to the Stark World Expo, and a bar napkin announcement to Stark Industries regarding the end of weapons development; Thor's dossier includes his medical bracelet, the drawing he did of the realms, Jane Foster's work badge, Thor's fake driver's license (Dr. Donald Blake), and a torn page from a children's book about Bifrost; Bruce Banner's dossier includes newspaper clippings and various other items (it's the weakest of the bunch). A certificate of authenticity is also included. Honestly, the dossiers are the most well developed and presented part of the entire collector's set.
So, back to the top: would I buy this again? Now that I've really gone through it all, I might not. I could buy the Avengers Six Disc Blu-ray Collection for $109 and save myself $30+ dollars. 3D Blu-Rays are not something I particularly need, so I wouldn't even notice the Six Disc's lack of them. I'd appreciate the protected mounting of the discs more than the scratch-prone cardboard sleeves. I'd miss the dossiers, and perhaps some of the extra material included in the set (that I haven't yet delved into), but I wouldn't miss re-purchasing films that become unwatchable due to damage. I also wouldn't miss the absolute disappointment that this Collector's Set has given me with the case and, most of all, the cosmic cube.
I can't tell you if you should buy it or not, because different people have different priorities and opinions. I can only tell you what I would do, and at this point, I have a feeling I'd do things differently, given the opportunity.Having waited over eight months to finally receive my set, I was pleased when it arrived a day earlier than the scheduled release date. I immediately went through everything in detail.
First, the packaging. It's plastic. It's a solid plastic and while I've seen other people talk about how "cheap" it looks, I feel that for something that's going to sit on a Blu-Ray shelf, it does the job and looks rather impressive. On the outside there's a button that says "Avengers" that allows you to press it and light up the SHIELD logo in the center of the briefcase. When you open it up, everything immediately lights up and stays lit up while the case is open. I would have liked to have an option to turn this off, but really, who is keeping this open for extended periods of time? (Me.) Anyway, the case runs on a couple of AAA batteries, which are included. Inside, a layer of molded plastic covers the briefcase that holds the discs in place as well as resemble the way the case looked in the movie, including "keypad", and "wires". It's all part of one large molded plastic piece, so it's only for show but it's a decent enough construction.
The discs themselves are in little slip sleeves with some fantastic art that wrap around the entire sleeve along with a synopsis of each movie next to the disc. Captain America, Thor, and Avengers are two disc sleeves housed on the left side of the case that include the movie and its 3D counterpart. Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and the SHIELD files are in one disc sleeves and are on the right side of the case. The movie discs are the same ones that have been available for months and years and contain the exact same special features, save for the special editions of both Iron Man movies, whose second discs are both missing here. If you're a special feature completist, you'll want to make sure you acquire those discs.
The memorabilia in this set is very well done. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Hulk all have their own file that includes things such as newspaper clippings, SHIELD files, drawings the characters did in the movie, and various other fun pieces. There's a "Donald Blake" drivers license in Thor, as well as his hospital bracelet. In Iron Man's file, there are the four see-through pieces of paper he put together to form the Mark I armor in the cave as well as stuff like a brochure for the Stark Expo '64 and his press release napkin saying he's done making weapons, among other things. Captain America's file has a few trading cards, a newspaper picture cut out of Peggy Carter, and the drawing he did of himself as a monkey Captain America, just to name a few of the best pieces. Hulk's file is kind of sparse as there's an article about the Culver University explosion and an article about Betty Ross as the most interesting things.
There's a fifth, black file that includes some stuff about SHIELD that includes dossiers on Hawkeye and Black Widow, information about Item 47, and some various other SHIELD related material. In this file, you will also find a page that is meant to be used with the decoder that's packaged in a small envelope. That message leads you to a website where you type in a code that's found on a tag within the envelope. Once you enter that code, you are shown a five minute video that advertises Phase Two. A couple interviews with the cast and crew with Iron Man 3 are included, followed by some short looks at some behind the scenes from Thor: The Dark World. No footage is shown from any other movies, but each subsequent director (Joe and Anthony Russo from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Edgar Wright for Ant-Man, and Joss Whedon for Avengers 2) gives a short little update about what their movie is going to be about.
The biggest downside to this set is the 10th disc. The vast majority of these special features consist of Pre-Viz and Animatics stuff, which I honestly don't find all that interesting. There are a few deleted scenes and some very small featurettes, but I was hoping that there was going to be a bit more solid information that gave true insight into the making of Phase One as a whole. I'm sure that Kevin Feige and the directors of Phase One all would have had something to say about what it was like to steer this massive ship to the success that was Avengers, but apparently they thought that we wouldn't care. Well, we do. That's why this set lost a star for me because if there were some better special features on that disc, this easily would have been a five star collection.
So should you get this? That depends. If you are interested in the aesthetic value of the set, then yes, absolutely. I don't see something getting any more comprehensive packaging other than this briefcase. But if that stuff is just fluff for you, and you already own most of these movies, then probably not. There's not much included here that isn't on any other set, and you're actually losing special features from the Iron Man sets. Unless you're a HUGE fan of pre-viz. Then you'll be in heaven.
But if this is your first time buying these movies, then I'd say go for it. It's a fantastic, well constructed set that offers superfans the opportunity to feel like they are looking through top secret files of SHIELD. The special features on most discs are pretty solid (which you can determine by reading the reviews of the individual discs) and it's awesome to be able to own these in one large collection. I only hope that I can wait to see what they come up with for Phase Two.
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