Tag Archives: mcu

Avengers: Endgame *Spoilers*

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Some spoilers ahead. You have been warned

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Holy cow. Up there among my favorites without a doubt. I’ve never seen anything with this much buildup, this much going into it, something that had to be handled so well because it was the payoff for so much. And they did it as well as you could ever hope.

I went into it having mostly successfully avoided seeing anything about it. I had seen some images, but avoided watching any footage. So, while I had some guesses I was pretty sure about (like time travel), I had no idea what the story as a whole was going to be. I was worried they were just going to undo the whole last movie or more. I was very pleasantly surprised with how it went. These last two Avengers movies really felt like wonderful pieces of writing to me. They go against the typical superhero and Disney stories to be dark and have real consequences and real conflict within each side. Some serious twists I truly didn’t expect. And all with a healthy dose of humor. And callbacks. It felt like half the script was references and callbacks, but done in a way that felt natural while giving us the memories.

I really liked seeing how each character handled what had happened. Each one was different and felt very true and real. I really did not expect the time jump, so seeing how they settled into their new reality was a truly pleasant surprise for me.

Seeing the characters past and present, was wonderful and a great way of wrapping up their stories. Seeing how they had changed (and how they hadn’t) emphasized their arcs and made us really feel for them and the time we had with them. And at the end I feel like each one got what they needed, all (or at least the vast majority) of their arcs came to a natural and fulfilling conclusion, or new jumping off point for the characters that will keep going.

And I just have to say how much I loved Cap getting to use Mjolnir. Everyone is saying it, but for real, that was just awesome. And he and Thor’s interactions after that were fantastic.

I’ve heard complaints about some of the characters not getting enough screen time and Cap and Tony getting too much. But I disagree. While this movie was an ending for the original Avengers as a whole, it was really for those two. They were the bedrock of the Avengers. Cap was “The First Avenger” and their leader. Tony was the first we saw on screen and the other driving force for so long. They deserved the biggest sendoff. They deserved to have the last movie be about their arcs. That’s my two cents on the subject.

I was extremely worried that Captain Marvel would be a deus ex machina and ruin the whole movie. But they handled it well. When she got decked by Thanos I almost cheered, just because that was a moment of relief for me; I knew then that it would be a struggle even with her and that the victory could go to one of our orginal beloved characters. When she joined the MCU I was very worried she would ruin it with the Superman-effect. But they managed to avoid it, which I am very grateful for.

I had a couple of minor complaints, but nothing big. One was I couldn’t figure out Ronin’s bow. Like, it seemed to come out of nowhere, then he threw it aside, next thing I knew he had it again. Maybe I missed something, but I was a little confused.
Another was that moment where the women all came together to help Captain Marvel get to the van. I appreciate the moment, but the way it was set up felt forced. My first thought when they said she’s not alone was “yeah, but does she really need you? She could just flame on and plow through the enemy or fly over.” It was a cool moment that, from a story perspective, had zero effect, because she ended up doing exactly what I said she could have. But I understand why they did it and that I’m not who it was for anyway. I just feel they maybe could have made it more impactful to the story and more organic.

Overall, I think it was a truly great way to wrap up the original Avengers’ story. I loved almost every minute of it. It didn’t feel nearly as long as it was. I am sad it is over, but don’t feel robbed or unfulfilled at all.

How many different synonyms for “great” did I use in this review?
And I didn’t even get into the visuals and acting. This review barely touched this awesome, long movie. So just go see it. Not that I think anyone is unsure about whether they will watch it or not or that I would sway them if they were.

Captain Marvel

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Hey, I’m reviewing something again! Would you look at that?

I am trying a more in-depth review this time, so [MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Honestly? Better than I expected. I admit, I went into it not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. It isn’t the strongest entry in the MCU, but it is leagues above the DCEU (sorry, not sorry).
Overall, it had a fairly strong, if mostly predictable story. Some of it was a little clunky. It had a problem with exposition in the beginning, but the later info dumps actually felt reasonably natural and a part of the story.
There were a couple of places where it felt like there was no payoff to a seed that was planted. Specifically, I am thinking about during the escape, Talos told his wife to cover their kid’s eyes before shooting someone, but the kid sees. Then absolutely nothing came of it. Had they left it with him saying to cover the eyes, then it would have been a good moment of seeing his protectiveness of his child. But they showed us the kid seeing the bodies. Which should have meant it would affect the kid in some way. And it didn’t seem to, so it was superfluous.
There were a couple of other scenes that didn’t really make sense. Like in the montage of seeing her stand after falling all those times, one of the scenes we saw in its entirety before, and I don’t recall her doing any such standing that time, which leaves me confused about whether she is remembering or imagining these scenes.
The climax suffered from Superman syndrome, in that, especially one her full power was released, she was never in any danger. I never feared for her life. Never even feared she would fail. Even when the danger wasn’t to her directly, I wasn’t afraid, because I knew she would show up and save the day. Part of that is because they didn’t ramp up the tension at all. When the big danger showed up, I never wondered if she would succeed. Then it was over. The big danger was defeated so fast after it showed up and without any problems that it felt like a waste. No surprise there, as I knew going in that she was going to be way overpowered.
They did, however, subvert my expectations a couple of times, in a good way, namely with Fury’s eye. I expected it to be this big plot point. Then they went a completely unexpected route with it. I especially appreciate that because I think too many prequel-like stories try too hard to explain things that don’t really need explaining. In most cases I wish they woukd let mysteries be mysteries, but I think this one was superbly under-played, liie they were laughing at those other prequel-like stories. It also wasn’t as in-your-face pro-woman, anti-man as I honestly expected it to be. It didnt sacrifice story for moral, which I really appreciate. Nothing should take precedence over story in a story, in my opinion.
Characters. I liked Talos, I like Fury obviously. And Coulson. Maria and Monica were great, and the other supporting characters were nothing to complain about, but I personally did not really like Carol Danvers. Being unlikable doesn’t make a bad character, so I don’t dock any points for that (and I’m sure plenty of people really like her), but she did have a few problems with delivery of some lines that were not very well written and several of her lines felt forced. Her actions also sometimes came across a little flat to me. I don’t know how much of that was Brie Larson, how much was the writing, how much was the direction. It just didn’t work real well for me. When the main and title character is the worst part of the movie, I feel like that’s a problem.
The rest of the acting was good, however. I always love Samuel L. Jackson. I am a fan of Ben Mendelsohn as well. Clark Gregg doesn’t disappoint. Jude Law also deserves props. All around, I had no problems with any characters or acting besides Danvers/Larson.
In terms of being an addition to the MCU, I think it fits pretty well. There were a couple of continuity errors that I caught, and I’m sure more superfans will find. But that is to be expected in any addition to a large universe, particularly with a prequel-like story.
I would say this movie deserves a good 7/10. I would recommend it.

Justice League

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Been a while since I’ve done one of these. Let’s see if I remember how.
I think this was a step up for the DCEU. It started out weak, but got stronger. Still not a super great movie, but leagues (heh) ahead of the previous DCEU movies. Story wise, it was alright. I like that they brought in a family near the source of things so that we could have an emotional investment in what was happening. It wasn’t just a random city being destroyed, there was someone we cared about there. There wasn’t anything really special or new about the story otherwise, but it wasn’t terrible. The telling of it suffered at first. Too many characters without a backstory in place already, so they tried to force too much in in a small amount of time. It came off as awkward and expository. But, once that was out of the way it got easier to get lost in the movie. I do take issue with the ending. It was a classic alien cop-out. I hate alien cop-outs. Almost as much as “it was all a dream” cop-outs. At least this one set up for it throughout the movie.

In terms of characters, I like the new additions. Their characters felt more natural, like actually people. Their dialogue felt more real and natural. They were easier to connect to and like than Batman or Superman. Wonder Woman stands her own with the new guys in that area. I do like the new direction with Superman though. I was not a big fan of his last two movies and, even though I tend to like the darker, grittier stuff, I think this lighter, smiley-er direction is better. They could stand to make some of his (and Batman’s) dialogue less cheesy however. Still better than Suicide Squad’s Enchantress by a mile. 

I think the actors played the characters well. Again, I think the newcomers deserve the most praise. Jason Mamoa and Ezra Miller in particular. I think they were cast very well for their characters. 

The direction was alright. There was not quite as much slo-mo and the like, or it was done more tastefully at least. It wasn’t distracting and cringe-worthy like the rest of the DCEU movies. I wouldn’t say I loved it or anything.

Overall, it wasn’t an MCU movie. That is not a compliment. But it was enjoyable. One of the top two DCEU movies for sure.