Let's Talk About the MCU · 4:25pm Jan 20th, 2021
With 2020 over and 2021 while not off to a good start it is starting to get better. Attack On Titan's final season getting dubbed, Yugioh Abridged starting on the final season, the Covid vaccine getting shipped out faster, and a few other well things to look forward to later down the road. So to somewhat celebrate I've made a blog talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now I'm not going into a lot of detail about these movies just the plot and what I think. If you want more detailed opinions read blogs by my friend LightningSword. When Disney bought Marvel we had no idea of the universe of awesomeness that was coming our way, Also I won't be talking about all of the movies just from the Infinity Saga (which is about 99% at this point) for a reason I'll explain when I get too the end. This is kind of my late Christmas gift to you all so let's not waste anymore time and unwrap it.
Iron Man- The grand start of the MCU where Tony Stark a genius inventor billionaire playboy gets captured and forced to build a deadly weapon by terrorists, who have his weapons from his company. But he outsmarts them by building a suit of armor allowing himself to escape and then builds a more advance version to use it for good. As he does that he get the attention of Shield and fights a guy that runs his company or whatever.
Robert Downey Jr plays Tony Stark and he's absolutely perfect like the time Jack Nickelson got to play the Joker, or John Goodman played Fred Flintstone. On top of that the action is good, the effects are great, most of the characters are memorable, and there's good comedy as well making it a very well balanced movie. The only downside is that the villain is pretty 1 dimensional, the ice problem scene was funny but he doesn't really stand out. Oh well I'm sure that won't be a common problem in these movies right? Right?
The Incredible Hulk-Bruce Banner after an experiment (of course) goes horribly wrong he becomes the Hulk and now tries to find a cure while avoiding a general who on top of being the one that made him the Hulk is his love interest's father. However things don't go so well and Bruce must learn not to fear Hulk, but to embrace him. To control him and know when and when not to let him out. Pretty good metaphor for anger huh, wait was that always the idea with the Hulk?
Much like Iron Man the effects are good and the action is fun but there's not so much comedy which is fine if they wanted to take a more serious approach, which I admire for taking that risk. Also I admire the nice touches in this movie like when Bruce talking to someone online his online name is Mr. Green, though while Iron Man had memorable characters here, not so much. Honestly they're kind of forgettable. Does that make this movie bad? No this is still part of the MCU, their worst is just okay. Which is a good way to describe this movie okay, It's not bad it's just not particularly interesting. Also am I crazy or does Ed Norton (Bruce Banner) look and sound like David Spade in this movie?
Iron Man 2-This an another movie that gets thrown into the okay pile but I think this movie deserves more. A lot, well maybe not a lot more. Tony Stark deals with quite a lot in this movie not only does the government want him to hand over his Iron Man suit because as you know only the government is allowed to have dangerous weapons. But on top of that he's dying and Whiplash (though he's never called that in the movie) has come to get revenge on Tony for what his father did and his best friend steals a suit to become War Machine but it kind of works as a compromise between Tony and the government. And they have to work together to take down the bad guy and save the day.
The court hearing is my favorite part of the movie, you found out later that the senator in charge of it is actually a member of Hydra but I still thought the scene had rather good commentary. There's also good emotional moments, like Tony learning more about his father and the comedy is still great. Whiplash is a lot better villain or at least has a better motivation but unfortunately he's not in the movie very long because it focuses on another villain that's kind of just a carbon copy of the last one that aside this is still a really fun movie and if you just think it's okay maybe give it another look.
Thor-As hinted at the end of the last movie, it's Thor's turn to shine. After a fight with the frost giants Thor is banished to Earth or Midgard by his father Odin and even though his trusted hammer Mjolnir comes as well now Odin made it so only someone worthy can wield it. So now Thor has to redeem himself as he spends time on Earth with some new friends while his brother Loki who learns he's a frost giant sends his plans in motion.
Thor is very likeable and charming even when he's acting like a dick and Loki is a fun villain clever, manipulative, and a little sympathetic. The climax gets a little confusing when it turns Loki isn't on the side of the giants but wanted to take them down to impress his father. But it does make sense he's want to do that as he's felt inferior to Thor and it does have a good fight between the brothers and ends by cementing that what people thought was coming was indeed coming.
Captain America: The First Avenger-If he's the 1st Avenger why wasn't his movie 1st? Captain America is found frozen in ice and most of the movie shows just how that happened. Steve Rogers is a feeble man that wants to serve his country so he undergoes a scientific experiment to become a super soldier and fight the Nazis. However the scientist is killed by a member of Hydra a division of the Nazis and Captain America sets out to take them down and their leader, the Red Skull. Who plans on using the Space Stone to his advantage.
Yeah, I know it's not called that in the movie but it's the Space Stone. The movie is a fun adventure and Captain America is about as likeable as Thor, plus the side characters are fun too like the scientist who is German, a love interest that can hold her ground, and a best friend Bucky Barns who will play a role later.
Marvel's The Avengers- Wrapping up the 1st phase of the MCU is the movie that all the others before it built up. Loki is going to attack and conquer Earth with an army and the Avengers have to get together and learn to work together in order to defeat him, and yeah that's more or less the whole story.
But it works as getting together proves to be a little harder with Loki's mind games and when they are together it's like the Looney Tunes or Friendship is Magic, the personalities of the Avengers are so different and so well developed you just need to put them all together for great comedy and character moments. That moment before the climax where you see all 6 of them together that alone makes this movie great plus this part.
Captain America: Hulk, (Hulk turns to him) smash. 
People went nuts for this movie and for good reason it's so awesome to have see all the hard work into building this up and adapting one of the greatest superhero teams in all of comics to the live action big screen, it's everything the Justice League movie could have been, and would have been if they let the people who made the cartoon work on it. As epic as this was for people though, this was just the appetizer get ready for the main course, Thanos is coming.
Iron Man 3-The start of the MCU also starts off the 2nd phase, and much like the last Iron Man movie Tony Stark deals with a lot. After the fight with Loki and his army Tony tries to prepare for what might come next. Leading him to deal with several anxiety attacks and fighting a dangerous terrorist known as the Mandarin. After revealing his home address and daring the Mandarin to attack several helicopters arrive and he just barely gets away and afterwards his suit is out of commission. So for actually a majority of the movie Tony has to fight using just his wits and what's at hand, plus the help of several characters like a young boy that actually works off Tony quite well.
The Mandarin I thought was going to be a great villain but then, well it's disappointing to say the least, it's this fake out where it turns out the real bad guy is just this guy who wants Tony to help him with this thing that works as a healing/recovery factor for humans as well as enhance their physical abilities, if it doesn't blow you up. I am so sick of these movies giving us such boring villains I mean really why couldn't they just use the Mandarin? Other than that this is still a good movie with a really great climax as a bunch of Iron Man suits come to fight plus the movie takes place around Christmas sort of making this the Die Hard of the MCU.
Thor: The Dark World- Malekith a dark elf who planned to return the universe to darkness but was thwarted by Odin's father, now as the realms start to come together he's return and now it's Thor's turn to stop him. But he's gonna need some help from Loki of all people, yeah it gets that bad. The characters from the 1st movie return as well to help and they're more fun than they were in the 1st Thor movie. Together along with a few of Thor's friends they must stop Malekith before he puts his plans into action with the Reality Stone, again it's called something else but it's the Reality Stone.
Malekith is once again a boring villain which is too bad because he kind of had a lot of potential at first like the Mandarin, he kind of gives off some Lord of the Rings baddie vibes that would been cool to see that in an MCU movie right? That said there's still good stuff in this movie the comedy, the characters, the effects, as well as a few hints of things to come.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier-You know what this movie could of used more of? THE WINTER SOLDIER! That said this is still a good movie, after Nick Fury is shot and nearly killed Captain America and Black Widow discover the conspiracy to end all conspiracies. Not only has Hydra managed to stay around all these years but they've infiltrated Shield and are setting a master plan into action. On top of that the Winter Soldier turns out to be none other than Bucky Barns, Captain America's childhood friend now brainwashed by Hydra. So now with help of Falcon they have to stop Hydra in their tracks which involves another great climax as well as bringing Hydra and Shield into the light and bringing rather big changes.
It kind of drags in some areas but sometimes a movie is allowed to do that like when you know you'll get to the better stuff later or in this case when you're telling quite the epic and plot twisting story that has a lot to tell. Hydra is also a good villain yes the members aren't all that interesting but that's the idea of Hydra it's not the individual it's the group and they length they'll go to achieve their goal or how they die rather than talk about Hydra. (for the most part)
Guardians of the Galaxy-You ever see a movie where a group of misfits come together, this is one of those movies but the misfits are also superheroes. (ish) Peter Quill aka Star Lord meets up with Rocket a talking racoon, Groot a talking tree, Drax, an alien that doesn't understand metaphors, and Gamora the "adopted" daughter of Thanos, (who is coming) turned alien warrior all come together. Or rather forced together and have to work together to stop Ronan from using the Power Stone to destroy the home planet of the Nova Core. Along the way they have to escape a prison and avoid Yondu, the ravager that took Peter from Earth after his mother died.
These are very funny characters and much like the Avengers they're even funnier when they're all together and work off each other, and the story give us a really fun space adventure. Ronan is another 1 dimensional villain, even Thanos kind of points it out but to the movie's credit I think it kind of knows it and sort of has fun with it, plus he does get in a good line here and there. The climax is kind of long but it's loads of fun and it's level of great is up there with Iron Man 3 and Captain America Winter Soldier. This is a fun movie with a good balance of action, comedy, story, and again very funny as well as likeable characters.
Avengers: Age of Ultron- Possibly the most underrated part of the MCU, while attacking one of Hydra's remaining bases the Avengers come across the staff Loki had during the attack of the 1st Avengers movie as well as Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch. The latter of whom messes with Tony's mind and would later do that to the other Avengers causing them to confront their insecurities, among other things. In fact she messes with Hulk's mind so much Tony has to bring out his Hulk Buster suit to stop him. When Tony gets the staff which is later revealed to have the Mind Stone in it he uses it to create Ultron a machine that could protect the Earth. But things go wrong right at the start actually and he sees the Avengers as a threat and teams up with Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch who help the Avengers when they learn he's planning on whipping out humanity.
Ultron is actually kind of a great villain he's not just a Terminator like humanity is bad robot, he actually has a personality as well as a pretty good sense of humor while helping with the movie's commentary. We also see the birth of Vision who was supposed to be Ultron's new body that's powered by the Mind Stone and becomes another new member of the Avengers and the key to stopping Ultron. Tony worried about the world in this movie actually makes sense since he dealt with anxiety in Iron Man 3 and the commentary in this movie is rather good too talking about human nature, how far someone should go to protect others, and despite our flaws humans are really awesome. And like the previous Avengers movie it builds up things to come, Thanos is coming.
Ant-Man-A rather interesting movie to end the 2nd phase on to say the least. Scott Lang an ex con is trying to start over but things get rough when it looks like he won't be able to pay his child support. So he goes back to crime with a crew that leads him to meet Hank Pym a brilliant man who discovered how to build a shrink suit with the help of his daughter Hope. They want to train Scott so he can sneak in and steal another shrink suit the Yellow Jacket before Darren Cross who for me is kind of in the middle of a fun villain and not so fun villain, can use it for not so virtuous reasons. So a superhero that shrinks who's an ex criminal may not sound all that good but much like Guardians of the Galaxy it's a comedy over substance kind of movie, which rather helps it.
This movie is filled with great and often hilarious visual gags and again like GOTG the characters are very likeable too Scott isn't really a bad guy he went to prison for getting back at a company screwing people over. Plus he was only stealing again in order to pay child support, that doesn't make it right but life is morally grey. Also his crew is likeable and funny too, like this one guy Luis who when he's telling a story can never get to the point. The climax as great mix of action and comedy and it mixes in good emotional moments with the characters like Hank and Hope concerning what happened to Hank's wife and how there may be a way to bring her back. So if you didn't think this movie would be all that good from just the concept give it a look.
Captain America: Civil War-The start of the 3rd phase and what a start, inspired by the comic of the same name during a mission when Scarlett Witch accidentally kills people the government wants to put the Avengers on a tighter leash. Some Avengers are for it but others are against it and things only get worse when the Winter Soldier apparently attacks the UN and Captain America tries to take him in alive, but sort of fights the cops to do it. Only for him to fight his old friend again when he gets brainwashed by a guy who "wants to see an empire fall." which leads to several fights with the Avengers against each other that get more and more intense with new members such as Black Panther and SPIDER-MAN! Yes the web slinger at long last makes it to the MCU.
What I liked about the arguments between the Avengers in this movie is that it's not 1 side is wrong and the other is right, part sides of an argument can have good points. The villain doesn't have much screen time and isn't given much development but here it actually really works. He has to go around without being notice so it makes sense that he doesn't get much focus and his motive is actually understandable, he lost his family during an fight the Avengers were in and wants to take them down from the inside for revenge. Also the damage done by the Avengers, both physical and emotional doesn't just go away. They know there's work to do to fix after all this. Definitely one of the MCU's best, not the best though but we'll get to that when we get to that, Thanos is coming.
Doctor Strange- LightningSword said this in his blog and I feel I should say it too, Doctor Strange is pretty much Iron Man but with magic is that a bad thing? No actually. Steven Strange (gotta love that name) is a brilliant doctor but is arrogant and self centered until one day he gets into a car crash because he forgot the number 1 rule of the road, always watch where you're going. His hands which are key to a surgeon get wrecked and he wastes his fortune trying to fix them. In a final hope he seeks a person know as the Ancient One who teaches him the ways of the mystical arts which could eventually help him fix his hands himself. Along the way he must fight a fallen master (who is yet another boring villain) that seeks to free Dormammu, an ancient evil that concurs worlds and wants to add Earth to his collection. The fallen master wants this because in Dormammu's realm time and death don't exist, but the movie explains the importance of death without being too morbid about it.
We also learn the Ancient One draws power from the dark dimension but uses it for the greater good, so the movie kind of talks about how sometimes life is morally grey. In the end Dr. Strange has to defeat Dormammu with the Eye of Agamotto which is actually the Time Stone in actually a really clever anti-climax. Steven Strange is likeable, though not a whole lot of the side characters leave much of an impression, this movie actually reminded me of an animated Dr. Strange movie that actually fleshed out the characters a little better. That said this is still a fun flick with interesting themes, again a great anti-climax, it has magic so that's always fun, and those visuals. I mean just wow I'll have to remember to rewatch this movie if I ever decide to take acid. So probably never.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2- So I hear people either like the 1st better than the sequel or the other way around, me I'm the other way around. After a job gone bad the guardians meet Ego a Celestial that just happens to be Peter's father that Yondu was supposed to deliver when he took him from Earth. This got him into trouble with other Ravagers as that broke the code and things get worse for him when part of his crew turns on him with help from Nebula, Gamora's sister and another "adopted" daughter of Thanos who did I mention is coming? So while Rocket and Groot help Yondu the others stay at Ego's world but not only learn he's planning to whip out all life, but he killed all his other children who unlike Peter couldn't awaken his celestial power as well as Peter's mother. In fact Yondu found out about that and that's why he never brought Peter to his father, who needs another Celestial to help him in his plan.
Yondu also helps Rocket with what he's going through since the death of his friend in the previous film, yeah the Groot in this movie isn't the same one it's his son something LightningSword pointed out that this movie's director said. So yeah that sounds like a lot for one film but it balances it out pretty well with it's characters new and old and of course the comedy. The climax is also great they have to fight a whole planet and it and Ego are 1 and the same and Peter must awaken his full power to stop his father with help from his father figure Yondu. Some may think they doesn't fit with the 1st movie but it kind of works, they spent so much time together and he always had a soft spot for Peter. It's everything from the 1st movie and better.
Spider-Man Homecoming- At long that Marvel's Spider-Man gets his own movie in the MCU who's doing his usual thing of trying to balance his superhero life with his regular life. He makes mistakes along the way but tries to learn from them as well as prove himself to Tony Stark who he sees as a bit of a father figure. Yeah they don't talk about Uncle Ben in this movie but I guess they figured they didn't need to since a lot of people already know the origin of Spider-Man, and this way they can jump right into the middle of things like the stuff I mentioned already. While that's going on a man played by Michael Keaton uses alien tech to become the Vulture allowing him to steal and provide for his family because he feels like he's getting screwed over by the fat cats.
Much like Ego he's a rather fun bad guy plus it's Michael Keaton isn't he always great? and Tom Holland does a great job as Spider-Man as well. There's quite a few funny parts the side characters stand out as well with an homage or 2 to the comics such as Spider-Man's greatest feat of strength. It has pretty much everything great about Spider-Man it may have taken a while for Spider-Man to get his own movie in the MCU, but it was well worth the wait.
Thor: Ragnarok- Thor wasn't present during Civil War and hears why. After stopping a fire giant and exposing his brother Loki, they find their father with a little help from Dr. Strange who passes away right before Hela appears. Thor and Loki's sister that neither of them knew they had who's so strong she shatters Mjolnir with her bare hands, then when they retreat the brothers are sent to Sakaar a garbage planet run by the Grandmaster who forces people to fight like gladiators. So yeah, 2 good villains for the price of 1 Hela is kind of the typical evil conqueror that will stop at nothing to get what she wants but has a bit of a sense of humor and a complex backstory, while the Grandmaster has such a unique and fun personality that he can't help but standout. While Thor is stuck he runs into a literal rock-man that can't help but be funny, a fallen Valkyrie that's the last of her kind because of Hela, and the Grandmaster's champion who is none other than the Hulk that came here after Age of Ultron and has been Hulk since. So while Hela tears Asgard a new one with an army of the dead, a giant dog, and Skurge a warrior that reluctantly follows her but earns his redemption in the end, (which I really liked by the way) Thor with the others as well as Loki start a resistance to take down the Grandmaster and escape. So they can defeat Hela and save Asgard from her.
The new characters are great and the old ones as usual work off each other great on top of that the story is loads of fun, the comedy is great as usual, and what I found interesting about this movie is that neither of the villains are directly defeated by the main characters, the Grandmaster gets overthrown by the rebels while Hela is killed by the revived fire giant who also destroys Asgard. Fortunately most of the Asgardians manage to escape Asgard's destruction, however they stumble onto something even worse, Thanos is here. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Black Panther- And now it's time for the prince of Wakanda who like Spider-Man first appeared in Civil War, to get his own movie. Wakanda on the outside seems like a 3rd world country but in actuality is a secret paradise and has been ever since a meteorite made purely of vibranium, the strongest metal in the world thousands of years ago. Since his father has passed away T'Challa has become king, after defeating the leader of the mountain tribe M'Baku in ritual combat. Now king he becomes the Black Panther truly and even talks with his late father then sets out to capture Ulysses Klaue, a thug from Age of Ultron who lost an arm to him and was stolen from Wakanda. But he gets away and a CIA agent is taken to Wakanda to be treated for taking a bullet for Nakia, T'Challa's former lover and then Klaue who we think is going to be the bad guy of this movie is killed by the true villain Killmonger, T'Challa's cousin and the best villain in the MCU. (so far)
T'Challa's father killed his own brother who was working undercover because he was stealing vibranium to help his people that are struggling fight back. When he was killed the former king left his nephew there in order to keep his secret, and now he's come at last to get the throne. Because if there's one thing bad guys love, it's power. After he's presumed dead Killmonger gets ready to wage war on the world to help his people everywhere, so T'Challa must stop him in yet another great climax with not just Black Panther and Killmonger but between an army or 2. Wow that is a lot for 1 movie.
Killmonger is not only a great villian but also kind of works as a dark mirror for Black Panther and helps him see what he should do that being bringing Wakanda out in the open and use it's resources to help people in need. Speaking of which there's also commentary about that and it does a great job showing the Wakanda culture with great effects and memorable characters and another great addition to the MCU's pantheon of stories that are all about to come together.
Avengers Infinity War- And now the moment we've all been waiting for, and has been built up since the Avengers, let me tell you it was well worth the wait. Thanos is here at long last Thanos is here and he was well worth the wait as well, you know how I've mentioned quite a few of the MCU villains aren't all that good? Thanos, is the exact opposite this is an awesome villain, I know I talked about him quite a bit in a former blog but, screw it I'm gonna talk about him again. THANOS IS AWESOME!!!
Up there with the Health Ledger Joker as one of the best villains in all of cinema he manages to be both the threat and the heart of this movie and we see his awesomeness right at the start. He slaps the Hulk silly without even trying and then he murders Loki, FREAKING LOKI! Subtle, loud, intelligent, good in a fight, sympathetic, a bit on a the funny side, and filled with thought provoking half truths, he's everything you love in a villain. Throughout the course of the MCU the 6 Infinity Stones have slowly but surely revealed themselves and Thanos is out to collect them, if he does he could snap his fingers and half of all life would vanish. Which is exactly his goal, in the comics he does this to please death because he's literally in love death, the movie though makes him a bit more complex. Dealing with themes of overpopulation which connects to his tragic backstory just another thing to add to the long list of what makes him an awesome villain. So he goes out to collect the stones along with his minions and the heroes try to stop him. the key word being try. Along the way he meets not only the Avengers, but Dr. Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Basically they're Roger Rabbiting it up in here. Which also deals with unique characters interactions Ironman with Dr. Strange, them and Spider Man with the Guardians the Guardians, the guardians with Thor it's great. All leading to a fight in Wakanda with them fighting Thanos in yet another great climax ending with my favorite line from Thanos. Well actually it's tie with "That's why you're so bad at it."
This movie teaches a tough lesson, sometimes the bad guy wins and you just gotta deal. Leaving those who survived the snap to try and figure out what to do next. All in all this was an amazing movie, 99% perfect. (Thor calling Rocket a rabbit got a little old)
Ant-Man and the Wasp-Another movie that I talked about before in a previous blog and not much as changed I think, it's still quite a fun movie. After his involvement in Civil War Scott has been put under house arrest and his former partners Hank and Hope haven't talk to him since. What's great is all that is explained very well, none of that feels like forced exposition. Scott also has an FBI agent that's always checking up on him and he's actually kind of fun, he's not just the typical stick in the mud he's actually kind of a goofball. After a strange dream Scott contacts Hope and Hank who come get him because they believe he holds the secret to getting Hank's wife and Hope's mom back after all these years. But as they put their plan into action Hope is double crossed by Sonny Burch, a secondary antagonist that still has quite the personality and the lab is stolen by the main villain Ghost who has quite the sympathetic backstory to say the least. So on top of trying to rescue Janet the 3 have to stop Ghost who is getting help from Hank's former partner who believes using quantum energy can cure Ghost or Ava but Hank believes this will kill Janet.
All this and more leads to a climax that's funny as well as action packed, there's also this part in the movie I like where Janet takes over Scott's mind for a second and reunites with Hank and Hope. It's touching but it's also really funny. Speaking of which the comedy is just as good as the last movie and the characters are great still as well, they do the same joke with Luis not getting to the point but they don't just needlessly repeat it, they work it into the story. Lastly it ends on quite the cliffhanger as Scott is sent to the quantum realm but gets stuck there as his outside crew are the victims of a certain snap. Rather big spoiler but you'll need that info in a minute or 2.
Captain Marvel-Probably the most okay of the MCU movies, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Carol Danvers or Vers works for the Kree empire and fights with them to defeat the Skrull, alien shapeshifters but after getting captured by them who try to get in her head and escaping she lands on Earth. There she meets up with a younger Nick Fury that decides to help her fight the Skrulls, which leads to her running into her family and regaining her memory. Which leads to her remembering just how she got her powers and that the people she's been helping are the real enemy. Yeah the Skrulls are actually the good guys, that was a pretty good twist.
But not a whole lot really stands out about this movie this is the 2nd to last movie of the MCU's 3rd phase but it feels like it should have been in the 1st. A movie showing a hero's origin who has a lot of potential for good, but also a lot to learn and along the journey fights a bad guy that's not really interesting or fun. The boring villain is really especially frustrating since the MCU has come a long way with their baddies Vulture, Killmonger, Hela, Ultron, and a certain purple giant that embodiments pure awesomeness that I may have mentioned before. But to be fair there some good things in this movie like I said the Skrulls being the good guys was good, it was kind of nice to see Nick Fury as a field agent who loses his eye in actually a pretty funny way, there's a good joke here and there my favorite being how Captain Marvel beats Yon Rogg, we get to see Ronan again that was kind of nice, and I liked that 1 scene where we see here memories and falling down but getting back up every single time. There's not a whole lot that sticks out in this movie but if you're an MCU fan and haven't seen this movie yet it's worth watching. Maybe.
Avengers Endgame- Avengers was the appetizer, Infinity War is the main course, and Endgame is the sweet sweet dessert at the end of the meal everyone looks forward to that has now become the highest grossing movie IN THE WORRRLD! (excluding inflation). After Thanos wins the remains of the Avengers & Captain Marvel, and Rocket manage to track him down in hopes of using the Infinity Stones to undo the snap. But by the time they get there, Thanos had destroyed the stones with the stones, no matter what they do he's always 1 step ahead. Even though Thor manages to kill him this time this is yet another win for Thanos. 5 years have passed since & people are adapting, some better than others. Ironman is married and has a kid, Hulk and Bruce have become 1, and Thor has a beer belly, like I said some better than others. Suddenly Scott leaves the Quantum Realm after 5 years but to him it was only 5 hours leading others to think about using time travel to get the stones, use them real quick, then put them back.
This leads to them splitting up, Loki getting a show on Disney +, and quite a few interesting character interactions. There's an episode of Animaniacs where they switch up the usual cast of characters this movie is like that 1 great personality working off another. Thor with Rocket who helps him get his act together, Tony with his father and learning maybe he wasn't so bad like in Ironman 2, Black Widow and Hawkeye getting the Soul Stone while Black Widow hasn't gotten her own movie (yet) she has a series of great moments with the other Avengers. Also I just love this part, that and "Bucky is Alive."
This might be more clever than you think, it's a play on a not so popular idea from the comics. All this and more leads to the final fight against past Thanos who tracked them to the future. You know how I keep saying these movies have great climaxes', this climax eats all of those other ones for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When this movie came out I was a little nervous they'd just reverse the snap that would be nice, but it's just the whole characters dying and coming back to life is a very tired cliché, especially in comics. But they make it work because some characters die in the process or stay dead. I know this is longer than the rest but so's the movie and there's a lot to talk I don't have a single problem with this movie I had one or 2 before like this line.
Banner Hulk: If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future and your former present becomes the past which can't now be changed by your new future.
It's like he was trying to make it confusing, but in all fairness when is time travel not confusing. Speaking of time travel Captain America is the one that returns the stones but takes the long way back to the present to be with his love Peggy. Yeah there where quite a few changes to the timeline but since he has the stones you can argue that he sets everything right including reluctantly reviving Thanos so there's no time paradoxs. If fact I would love to see another Captain America movie where we see him traveling through time and resetting everything. This movie is like this line from Anastasia.
"It's a perfect ending."
"No it's a perfect beginning."
It doesn't just wrap up the 3rd phase, it presents a series of new beginnings for the MCU. What's next, we'll just have to see until then I'm the Pioneer of Imagination and Avengers, Assemble.
You are a Cultured Being 👍
Ah, yes, Wakanda culture. Where they decide who's king by who punches people best, and give the magic punch-people-better juice and indestructible armor to... their king, but not the soldiers who, you know. Need to do soldier things like punch people and not die. That's what you get when your only good scientist is a teenager I guess.
Anyway. I haven't seen many of these recently and I've no desire to change that, so, you know. Can't say much. I'll have to disagree with you badly on Endgame, I think that one's... well, I would say emotionally satisfying but mechanically an absolute clusterfuck of nonsense and inconsistency, but I wasn't a fan at all of what they did with Thor, Thanos, Hulk or Hawkeye, all of whom I liked quite a lot going in, so even that first bit is iffy for me.
Proofreading and paragraphs would make this a lot more easily digestible, by the way. As it is this is really quite a slog to get through.
5439234 Yeah the whole combat thing. Honestly it doesn't matter what system you use to choose leaders it'll shoot out good and bad ones alike. As for the solders perhaps they're isn't enough but that could be a cool idea for the sequel.
Funny thing about the paragraph suggestion I was thinking of doing that but thought my thoughts already were since paragraphs can be more than 5 sentences. I think I'll do some editing but either way this would have been a long blog and for whatever end result I can say I stuck it out and finished what I started.
5441231
I mean, sure, I don't disagree with that. But the system they use lets a blatantly unhinged psycho (Doesn't he, like, basically murder the fight's moderator in front of everyone, or something?) become an essentially unquestionable dictator. Like that's actually worse than a brainless popularity contest would be?
Sure, I can believe there's not enough for the entire army. But they use at least three doses of it throughout the movie, and T'challa's shown operating with... hmm, two guards? Seems like they'd be much better at their jobs if they had panther juice too.
They can be, but it's just a lot easier to make sense of things when they're broken up more, and it's also just less monotonous. Like, at the very least I'd consider maybe, you know, one paragraph for a summary of the film and another for your thoughts on it. That might not be a big change, but I think it'd do a lot.
That's a nicely positive outlook. Good on you for getting it done, man, that's a good habit to be building. Now do it some more :P