Thoughts on Endgame

Some thoughts on Endgame:

-This is an epic movie that uses every bit of its 3+ hour runtime. It doesn't move nearly as quickly as Infinity War did but that doesn't mean it's slow, it just feels like events that happened 30 minutes earlier seem like a very long time ago.

-The expectations for this film were impossible and it manages to exceed them. You can come up with some minor complaints, and there is one scene that I found very contrived that took me out of the movie for a bit, but the thing as a whole is as near perfect as a movie can be, especially one that has so much to do. It's immensely satisfying.

-It's not as funny as even Infinity War though there is plenty of humor. That's largely because the film wants you to feel the weight of loss in a universe that's lost half its population, and it's heavy. It's not dreary or depressing necessarily, just more serious.

-Besides just dealing with loss there are a lot of emotional scenes in the movie. If you are invested in these characters you're probably going to get choked up at least five times.

-The movie really celebrates and honors the past eleven years of the MCU. You might get confused if you don't remember everything exactly but you'll probably be able to follow along.

-The finale is probably the best thing the MCU has put on screen. There is so much good there and one moment in particular that I pumped my fist in the air and exclaimed out loud.

-Honestly, I'm a little worried about the future of the MCU, but this was a fitting way to end the first 11 years.

Thoughts on Infinity War

It's hard to say too much about this movie without spoilers so this might be short and vague.

-One you need to know: This movie isn't a full story. If you remember, early on the plan was to film Avengers 3 and 4 together. When it was decided not to do that Marvel emphasized the idea that this wasn't necessarily one continuous story. That may have done a disservice to fan expectations, though it's probably technically true. This movie is very much like a jaw-dropping season finale that ends with a cliffhanger and leaves you desperate for the next season to start, so set your expectations appropriately.

-I've seen reviewers write that this movie is pretty demanding of fans as far as expecting you to know things. That's reasonably true. If you haven't seen Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Civil War, and Black Panther you're probably going to be slightly confused along the way.

-This movie should be called Thanos because he owns it, he's basically the protagonist and gets the most screen time. The CGI is really impressive and makes him into a character, not an effect. Josh Brolin said the other day when someone asked him which character he preferred playing, Thanos or Cable, he said Thanos because he was so amazed that you could see his performance in this hulking purple monster. It's amazing, and well worth the years of build up. As hard as it is to believe he's almost sympathetic. Some people complain about Marvel villains, they won't get any more ammunition from this movie.

-The interactions between the different sets of characters is a lot of fun and everything I hoped for. The only drawback is there's not more of it. The characters are also very consistent with their past appearances, especially the Guardians who feel like they stepped out of their own movie.

-The movie has a 2 hour and 40 min runtime and it flies by. That does mean you may want to take it easy on the soda though.

-There were a lot of young children in the showing I went to. While this isn't any more violent than other Marvel movies it feels more intense. I definitely wouldn't bring kids.

-That said, the movie is still very funny at times. There were a few lines that had the audience laughing so hard I couldn't hear the next line of dialogue.

-There are also more emotional scenes than in any other Marvel movie I can think of. There's one in particular between Thor and Rocket that brought everyone to tears and is the best thing Chris Hemsworth has ever done, it also makes up for the humor undercutting the drama in Ragnarok.

-There's no mid-credit scene and one post-credit scene. It does help set up the next movie a little, but unless you're reasonably familiar with the comics it won't mean much to you. So, basically, if you feel like you need to get out of the theater, go ahead because you might not understand it anyway.

-As usual, this will require a rewatch or two to determine my final ranking but it's hard to imagine putting it below any other Marvel movie, but it's such an achievement it's difficult to think of it as just a movie.

Perfectly Balanced

Infinity War

Infinity War

Thoughts on Civil War

I meant to post these earlier but I really wanted to see the movie a second time to help focus my thoughts and some scheduling issues pushed that back. Anyway, some impressions from the movie:

-The movie is very good. I might have to think on this a bit yet but I think it's probably in a tie for the top spot.

-As for tone, I'd say this is about 65% Winter Soldier and 35% Age of Ultron. There's definitely a lot of the slightly darker and more serious feel of Winter Soldier but the extended cast and much of the humor feels like an Avengers movie.

-The action is top-notch. The main fight scene between all the heroes at the airport is the best piece of superhero action committed to film so far. Bucky also has a bit with a motorcycle earlier in the film which is one of the coolest scenes in the whole MCU.

-Ant-Man steals the show. And when he's not stealing it Spider-Man is.

-I never realized how far off the previous versions of Spider-Man were until Tom Holland showed up. He's great and his scenes with Robert Downey Jr. are fantastic.

-Black Panther is quite good too. I was unsure about him but now I'm really interested to see what they do with him in his solo film.

-Considering how stuffed with characters this film is it's amazing that everyone gets some attention, and it manages to do so without feeling overstuffed like Age of Ultron did. The screenwriters deserve a lot of credit.

-I know people are calling this Avengers 2.5 but it really is a Cap movie first, though it's fair to say Stark is the co-lead. 

-The interactions between Falcon and the Winter Soldier are especially good. These are some of my favorite moments from the movie.

-The villain in this is pretty low-key but I think he's effective and interesting. Certainly he's one of the best villains Marvel has done, though that's not necessarily huge praise.

-The final fight in the movie is brutal.

-There is a scene after the credits. It's fun but not essential if you're pressed for time or need to use the restroom, which is possible since the movie is 2 hours and 26 minutes long.

Civil War

Captain America: Civil War

Phase 3

Marvel made a ton of announcements today:

-Captain America: Civil War releases on May 6, 2016. Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. will star.

-Dr. Strange hits theaters November 4, 2016. The current rumor is that Benedict Cumberbatch will star.

-Guardians of the Galaxy 2 has been moved up to May 5, 2017.

-Thor: Ragnarok comes out July 28, 2017.

-Black Panther premieres November 3, 2017. Chadwick Boseman (played Jackie Robinson in 42) has been cast as the lead.

-Avengers: Infinity War will be two movies. Part 1 releases May 4, 2018 with Part 2 following a year later on May 3, 2019.

-Captain Marvel debuts July 6, 2018. There have been a number of characters that have used the name but the film will feature Carol Danvers.

-Inhumans releases November 2, 2018.

That's a lot to react to. Outside of the potential of having Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and the fact that the GotG sequel is going to be slightly earlier I'm not too excited about any of these announcements. I have a lot of faith in Marvel, but I see a lot of ways for them to screw things up with this slate. Hopefully it all works out.

Busted

While I feel like I should be writing something about the NCAA Tourney since it tips off tomorrow I don't really have anything interesting to say. Well, besides that my brackets is awfully similar to the President's, which would be one of the few times we've agreed on anything. Anyway, if you were watching ABC last night they ran a special called "Marvel Studios: Assembling A Universe." It was mostly a lot of patting themselves on the back for the success of their movies (and they do deserve a lot of credit), but they did show some new material from the two upcoming films and some concept art from Avengers: Age of Ultron. You can see most of it here at Marvel's site, but they did leave out one important image:

Iron Man is wearing the "Hulkbuster" armor. It debuted back in Iron Man #304 (May 1994, and yes, I know everyone really appreciates that detail):

It's been something of a fan favorite since it was introduced and often finds its way into toy lines, cartoons, and pretty much anywhere they can make an excuse to use it. Because it's awesome. One more picture:

I'm not sure exactly how it will fit into the movie, but Marvel's really pulling out all the stops if they can find a way to make it work in the movie.

Tony Stark will return...

...for Avengers 2 & 3 and he will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who has signed a new agreement with Marvel to appear in both films. No word on compensation, but it's likely in the "more money than you can imagine" range.

Thoughts on Iron Man 3

A few thoughts on Iron Man 3:

-I liked it quite a bit. I doubt anything this summer will be better. I would say it's at least as good as the first Iron Man, possibly better than anything but Avengers. I'll probably need to see it again to cement my opinion on the ranking.

-No Thor trailer at my theater. Actually, I don't think there was a Man of Steel trailer either. How can you not run those before this movie?

-It is, however, probably not the movie you're expecting. This is much more about Stark than Iron Man and is totally the Robert Downey Jr. show.

-There's a major twist that has upset some comic fans. I think normal audience members will love it. Actually, I think this is one superhero movie that non-comic fans might like much better than comic fans.

-A kid does play a role which I thought would be groan-inducing, but they played it differently than you might expect and works very well. It's also pretty funny.

-Guy Pearce should be more well-known than he is. He's a terrific actor.

-Still not impressed by most of the suit designs in the movie.

-No AC/DC songs in the movie.

-Probably the best soundtrack of the major Marvel movies so far. Not near as good as a Hanz Zimmer soundtrack, but decent.

-The Rhodey-Stark buddy moments in the film are pretty great. We did need more Iron Patriot though, despite him not being as cool as War Machine.

-The post-credit sequence is more along the lines of the one in Avengers (shawarma joint), it doesn't tease another film. I thought it was worth staying for though.

-The film wraps up Robert Downey Jr.'s contract with Marvel. They need to do whatever it takes to bring him back for at least Avengers 2 and hopefully another film beyond. It's nearly impossible to imagine another actor successfully pulling off Tony Stark.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3

I am Iron Man

Read this story and this one and tell me Robert Downey Jr. doesn't absolutely love being Tony Stark. If there's any doubt about him coming back for more after Iron Man 3 Marvel needs to make absolutely sure it happens.

Mark VIII

The new armor from Iron Man 3 has been unveiled as San Diego Comic Con, you can see it at Marvel.com. My thoughts? It's really gold.

Avengers: Iron Man

RE: Sneaky End Credits

Yeah, if it wasn't explained well enough, the hammer you see at the end is the same as in this picture from Thor:


There's also a post-credit sequence at the end of Hulk that features Tony Stark. And, if you look carefully, you can see news footage from Hulk playing on TV screens in Iron Man 2.

Sneaky End Credits

For whatever reason, I decided to watch or fast-forward through the entire end credits of "Iron Man 2." I get to the end and there is a 45 second clip. I'm not a comic book guy and I don't really understand "Iron Man" and "The Avengers," so I went to the IMDB for some clarification. Then I thought, I wonder if they pulled the same stunt at the end of the first "Iron Man?" Sure enough, they did. But I'm not going to spend the money to rent the movie just for 45 seconds. Thankfully "YouTube" had me covered.

Comic Cover of the Week: Iron Man: Legacy #6