Avengers: Doomsday Has Fixed One Of The Biggest Criticisms Of The Russo Brothers' MCU Movies
Marvel Studios has put Avengers: Doomsday in safe hands by bringing Anthony and Joe Russo back to direct. The brothers are responsible for helming some of the biggest and best Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Their previous MCU releases have helped set the stage for what audiences expect from Avengers: Doomsday. Smoothly handling large ensembles, delivering epic action sequences, paying off major MCU plotlines, recreating iconic comic moments, and more are customary with the Russo brothers. Despite how beloved each of their Marvel movies is, there are also plenty of criticisms that have been levied against them over the years. Judging by the footage shown of Avengers: Doomsday so far, the Russos have already fixed one key complaint.
Perhaps the biggest criticism of the Russos' MCU entries (if not all the movies they've directed) is how they look. They've created plenty of memorable shots or moments, but it's often highlighted how bland they are overall. The directors' films frequently have a muted color grading that can often deliver sequences that are too dark or blend among the murky visuals. This approach made sense for something like The Winter Soldier, which leaned into the gritty, realistic look for a grounded political thriller story. But when the scale jumped to Civil War's size, something like the airport fight between Team Cap and Team Iron Man stood out for being so visually unappealing. Those criticisms continued with Infinity War (just look at the Nidavellir section) or Endgame during the final battle. The poor color grading and over-reliance on CGI settings/backgrounds held back many of these films from a visual standpoint. And with the Russos back for Doomsday, it was understandable to think that it would have a similar look as their past films. Luckily, every glimpse at the movie has provided more evidence that they've corrected the issue. Between the post-credits scenes on Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (both of which the Russos directed) and the four Avengers: Doomsday trailers, one of the biggest takeaways is how great the footage looks. There's a bigger emphasis on physical sets, which can then utilize proper lighting, staging, and so on to make the film pop visually.
One other reason for the noticeable improvement on the visuals is that the Russos are using a new cinematographer. Rather than bring back Trent Opalach (who they used on their previous four MCU movies), Newton Thomas Sigel has been behind the camera this time around. They worked together on Cherry, but Sigel has done award-nominated work in Drive, Da 5 Bloods, and Bohemian Rhapsody previously. Sigel was also the cinematographer on the first two X-Men movies and X-Men: Days of Future Past (as well as X-Men: Apocalypse). His work on Days of Future Past was exceptional. It appears he's cooking up another visual feast in the superhero movie genre with Avengers: Doomsday. While we still have to wait and see if the film's story ultimately works, there is reason to believe it will be a much better-looking movie if nothing else.
Release Date
December 18, 2026
Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing
