Avis des critiques

The gradual winding-down of the sitcom nightmare in favour of more conventional superheroic elements... means a shift away from the quirkiness of the decade-specific pastiches... Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman (who has handled the whole series) have compensated by ramping up the emotional underpinning...

It’s admirable how sharply WandaVision deviates from what most viewers might expect from the first Marvel series to hit a streaming service. The fine line that it toes, between the sitcom sendup’s near-cloying cuteness and the unnerving jolts of its interruptions, is eccentric enough to almost make viewers forget that they’re watching a flagship series inheriting the billion-dollar legacy of the Marvel IP.

WandaVision is telling a story not about an epic struggle to save humanity, but about one woman’s efforts to save herself from her sadness. She’s not the first superhero to be affected acutely by emotional pain; everyone knows that quote about great power and great responsibility. Yet for an MCU project, the choice to focus on Wanda’s inner life is revolutionary.

As a loving pastiche of creaky American sitcoms WandaVision is endearing. And Olsen and Bettany are clearly having a hoot in their retro frocks and dad sweaters. But it’s that rising dread – with the mystery it portends – that will bring Marvel fans scrambling back for more.

Even if you don't possess an encyclopedic knowledge of this franchise, or if you don't have time to watch the final "Avengers" films to remind you of where the MCU left Wanda and Vision's story, don't let that put you off from watching "WandaVision" now and checking out the films later.

Each episode is a pitch-perfect – from script, to delivery, to lighting, to cinematography, to aspect ratio – but loving parody of classic sitcoms.

Olsen and Bettany’s characters were often treated like benchwarmers on an all-star team in the Avengers movies. Here, they really shine. Both actors are known primarily for their dramatic work, in and outside of the MCU, so it’s a treat to watch them leap uninhibited into broad comedy.

It’s not even sufficient, anymore, to see every feature on the big screen; you also have to keep up with Disney+, where WandaVision will kick off a slate of 10 shows due out in the next few years that will sync up Marvel’s film and TV output for the first time. There’s something kind of unsettling about an entertainment monolith demanding such fierce loyalty of fans across all media. It’s practically an ultimatum. Marvel Cinematic Universe: you’re either with us or against us.

For those of you excited by the prospect of disassembling Marvel’s formula, which can occasionally taste flavorless, WandaVision is the remedy. It’s a fantastical, time-hopping conspiracy at an intimate scale—off-beat and low-stakes in comparison to the recent Avengers saga.

This is in all ways a better acting vehicle for Olsen and Bettany than anything they've been given to do previously in the MCU. If you were looking for charming stars to convey a Mary Tyler Moore/Dick Van Dyke vibe, you couldn't do much better as Olsen and Bettany get to spell out the sweet chemistry that the movies have only hinted at.

Despite its character and dialogue beats, “WandaVision” isn’t a sitcom; it’s a sinister thriller wearing respectable clothes and an unnervingly bright grin. It’s “Pleasantville,” if “Pleasantville” opened with the characters stuck inside the black and white television.

For all its invention, the ever so slightly gnawing tedium of WandaVision suggests that Marvel’s reach has not yet become so total that it can plug its characters into literally anything. Which may come as something of a relief for people weary of the brand’s hegemony. But, the show is a good enough that it ought to be a big hit.