Summary
Spoilers ahead for Beef and Thunderbolts*.
On a lark,Ironheartexecutive producer Ryan Coogler has just confirmed that Jake Schreier will helm the new MCUX-Menreboot for Marvel Studios, according toComing Soon. Despite his recent turn as the helmer behindThunderbolts*(orThe New Avengers), Schreier’s resume doesn’t exactly jump off the page as X-Men-worthy (although, that’s an uneven bar to clear as of late).
Thunderbolts*was a relatively mature entry into the MCU, dealing with dark tonal subjects such as abandonment and suicide, and trending lighter on action sequences because of it. While the movie saw some dark action, it didn’t feature violent death sequences like the ones found in Schreier’s earlier episodic work. The action-forwardX-Mencould use some of that.
Schreier was responsible for delivering the most praised episode of2023’s best limited series, according to both the Emmys and Golden Globes. Scheier was also personally nominated for an Emmy forBeefon Netflix for his direction on Episode 9 of the show, which involved some crunchy death to go along with its slick visuals. As a music video director, Jake Schreier displays a knack for emotional narratives and well-choreographed violence. Here are some of the ways his winningBeefepisode complimentsThunderbolts* in displaying his MCUX-Mencapabilities.
Jake Schreier’s Emmy-NominatedBeefEpisode Is Promising
X-Menis a comic book series defined by socio-political conflicts,enthralling characters, and over-the-top ensemble fights. All of these attributes are at play in Jake Schreier’s most decorated work as a director.Beefwon five Emmys in 2024 for outstanding work on a limited series, and Schreier was a significant factor in the show’s success, as he directed six of the show’s ten installments.
AlthoughBeefisn’t a film, limited series also lend themselves to concentrated budget allotments and greater focus on story and cinematics. These variables shine among Schreier’s efforts on this show about road-rage gone too far, andBeefEpisode 9 ‘The Great Fabricator’ is a perfect example.
Episode 9 sees a meeting between the show’s anti-hero protagonist, Amy (Ali Wong), and her morally-equal adversary, Danny (Steven Yeun). Amy’s visit to the home of a distastefully wealthy dynamo, Jordan, comes to a head when a masked man shows up with a gun and henchmen to rob the house.
The scene containsBeef’s most shocking, violently propulsive sequence by a country mile. The show depicts considerable violence following this scene, but the key to this particular event’s relevance toX-Menis in its visceral, bone-crunching carnage while maintaining a significant lack of actual gore. The scene was easily among streaming’s most inventive deaths of the year.
Violence inBeefvs.Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* did a lot of things right. This article won’t allege that it did anything particularly wrong, or even poorly. But, the film didn’t ultimately deliver anything gruesome. Schreier’sX-Mendoesn’t need to be disturbingly violent, but it could flirt with some extra oomph in the action as the comic franchise is historically raucous. It’s most famous for a guy with razor-pointed spears excruciatingly protruding from his knuckles, which he uses as maiming weapons. Sure, the movie’s likely going to be PG-13, but this is whereBeefcomes in.
Thunderbolts* didn’t necessarily lack shock valuewhen it came to sleek kills and general action, with a standout moment(*spoiler alert*)involving Sentry’s sudden vaporization of a child during its climactic New York City fight. The scene was disturbing in its own right, but not brutal. There was one brutal scene involving repeated punches to the face, but that’s standard issue for superhero films and vengeance-based action fare in general, along with the rest of the film’s fisticuffs.
InBeef’s episode ‘The Great Fabricator,’ a woman’s lower half is crushed by a heavy mechanical panic room door. Her mid-to-lower section is crunched and mangled over and over again as life escapes her eyes and her comrades look on in resolute horror. All the while, a swat team is invading the massive property while the survivors are pursued by robbers. Minimal gore is shown by way of a small pool of blood from the dead woman’s open mouth, yet the event’s terror is fully communicated through excellent camera work and savvy sound engineering.
In an interview with Collider, Schreier revealed that the script didn’t call for the woman to be cut in half by the doors, saying that the text described her merely being crushed by the weight of the mechanism. He went on to state his willingness to leave a good amount of the gore to the imagination. Instead, he leans on camera work and sound design to do the bulk of the work, along with the onlooking characters' reactions.
Later, more blood and viscera litter the show, but this death scene demonstrated Schreier’s mastery of gravitas within guard rails, and his ability as a director to understand the weight of his depictions. Beef’s amazing death scene shows that he knows how to make his characters' stories pay off in a satisfying manner, especially when audiences need to feel the violent impact in order to make this happen. Here’s looking forward toanX-Menentry that packs a punch.
