Avengers Endgame delivers satisfying emotional moments but the plot doesn't withstand a lot of scrutiny. In the end that doesn't matter too much as the whole thing is a greatest hits review and a symphony of fanservice.
There are some shocking ends for some central characters, including at least three who have upcoming movies or tie-in series. Curious to see where that goes.
I think its a strategic mistake to jettison all the MCU tie-in material such as Agents of Shield, Defenders and Punisher. Those lower decks episodes served to humanize and make relevant some of the more cosmic events. They are mediating characters like the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings.
For Phase II, now with Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, and Doctor Strange, we are at a power level where even the mighty original Avengers are really just Elite Mooks for some of the later-introduced characters. It puts a lot of pressure on Spider-Man if he becomes the only commoner among a galaxy of beings with godlike powers in Phase II.
I guess as a reader of the original Starlin Infinity Gauntlet back in the day, the main element missing from the story is the protagonist, Adam Warlock. If they bring him in now in Phase II, as is teased in Guardians II, how will that work?
I wish that they had not introduced the whole Timey-Wimey Ball mess, it was a clever narrative device to revisit best hits, and The Dark World for some reason, but they broke their own time travel rules already by the end of the movie. Hopefully that will be a one-time thing, so to speak, and will never be spoken of again.
But these are quibbles.
As far as the character arcs, I thought all the characters were handled well except Thor. I don't get how Thor is worthy of Mjolnir if he abandoned his throne and his people, and became a slob and a drunk and an internet troll doing stuff like threatening to tear the arms off some random fortnight player. Sort of funny but really did we need that? I would much rather have seen Thor being awesome and heroic and a true King of Asgard.
First night audience was surprisingly quiet except during emotional points, mostly low points and then final last stand and the glorious climax.
Cinematography was surprisingly dark and muddy. That and the close focus on individual vignettes in the The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny made it difficult to understand the progress of the battle and robbed the last hour of any real sense of suspense or strategy. Everyone scream and charge at once isn't a great strategy when you have normal squishy humans on the field with gods and superhumans. There was no sense of clarity, speed, direction, terrain, and momentum as in some of the car battles in Fury Road. I'd put the final battle more in the DCU Justice League category and that's not a compliment.
Definitely go see this in a theater as soon as possible. 4/5 stars.
Avengers: Endgame delivers satisfying emotional moments but the plot doesn't withstand a lot of scrutiny.
Avengers Endgame delivers satisfying emotional moments but the plot doesn't withstand a lot of scrutiny. In the end that doesn't matter too much as the whole thing is a greatest hits review and a symphony of fanservice.
There are some shocking ends for some central characters, including at least three who have upcoming movies or tie-in series. Curious to see where that goes.
I think its a strategic mistake to jettison all the MCU tie-in material such as Agents of Shield, Defenders and Punisher. Those lower decks episodes served to humanize and make relevant some of the more cosmic events. They are mediating characters like the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings.
For Phase II, now with Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, and Doctor Strange, we are at a power level where even the mighty original Avengers are really just Elite Mooks for some of the later-introduced characters. It puts a lot of pressure on Spider-Man if he becomes the only commoner among a galaxy of beings with godlike powers in Phase II.
I guess as a reader of the original Starlin Infinity Gauntlet back in the day, the main element missing from the story is the protagonist, Adam Warlock. If they bring him in now in Phase II, as is teased in Guardians II, how will that work?
I wish that they had not introduced the whole Timey-Wimey Ball mess, it was a clever narrative device to revisit best hits, and The Dark World for some reason, but they broke their own time travel rules already by the end of the movie. Hopefully that will be a one-time thing, so to speak, and will never be spoken of again.
But these are quibbles.
As far as the character arcs, I thought all the characters were handled well except Thor. I don't get how Thor is worthy of Mjolnir if he abandoned his throne and his people, and became a slob and a drunk and an internet troll doing stuff like threatening to tear the arms off some random fortnight player. Sort of funny but really did we need that? I would much rather have seen Thor being awesome and heroic and a true King of Asgard.
First night audience was surprisingly quiet except during emotional points, mostly low points and then final last stand and the glorious climax.
Cinematography was surprisingly dark and muddy. That and the close focus on individual vignettes in the The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny made it difficult to understand the progress of the battle and robbed the last hour of any real sense of suspense or strategy. Everyone scream and charge at once isn't a great strategy when you have normal squishy humans on the field with gods and superhumans. There was no sense of clarity, speed, direction, terrain, and momentum as in some of the car battles in Fury Road. I'd put the final battle more in the DCU Justice League category and that's not a compliment.
Definitely go see this in a theater as soon as possible. 4/5 stars.