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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2018 8:42:54 GMT -8
Just a friendly request from your ever-so-humble administrator to please keep your thoughts on Infinity War confined to this thread. The management thanks you.
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Post by nathan on Apr 27, 2018 22:11:41 GMT -8
:Spoilers: Maybe (Nothing for Infinity War)
Re-watch of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians 2: On second viewing I enjoyed both these movies more. At first they were not good now they have jumped up to good and better. Spider-Man still has many confusing parts (The Vulture should have just been stopped by Iron Man) and Guardians 2 is still trying too hard to be the first movie with no real plot (Rocket is responsible for most of the story) and only succeeding slightly. I swear, I liked them better.......
Doctor Strange: Apart from Benedict's accent here-and-there, it was an enjoyable ride. I had doubts as I had never heard of the character (I'm no comic knower) and was afraid it would be a let-down. Glad I was wrong. It was an easy couple of hours.
Thor 3: Pretty darn funny. Valkyrie was a great addition and I hope she stays a while. Taika was hilarious with his cameo and, as an Australian, a Kiwi accent is always fun to do. Hela just seemed to stand around for much of it and wait for the end and Jeff Goldblum was great playing himself again. I have heard some people think there is too much comedy in it and I have to agree somewhat. It could have been toned down a bit and still been funny. Still the best 'Thor' movie.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 28, 2018 20:31:33 GMT -8
Though it features a fair amount of relatively generic CGI carnage, and nighttime set pieces remain underlit (as in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther), Avengers: Infinity War is filled with charismatic performers doing their thing, and a world-destroying supervillain with a greater degree of nuance than most viewers would expect. Give credit to Josh Brolin for slightly underplaying the Thanos role, allowing dramatic beats to resonate by not being overly theatrical. The Russo brothers juggle an enormous cast in far-ranging locations quite well, with virtually every notable character being given a moment to shine. The convoluted mystical nature of the plot does have the tendency to undercut potential character deaths, but by-and-large, the beats still land, regardless of such impermanence. Given the somewhat polarized reception by moviegoers to the latest Star Wars installment, this being far and away the darkest MCU film may limit replay value for the younger set, keeping the movie from record box office heights in the long run. But it stays true to its universe and world-building, and is pretty consistent in balancing and contrasting the powers and technology of its many heroes. Its enormous scale was always going to limit attempts at overall thematic unity, but as large-scale spectacle goes, the film mostly delivers what it promises. The question now is whether next year's installment will offer anything that the first half didn't already serve up.
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Post by Zarnium on Apr 30, 2018 8:31:52 GMT -8
Infinity War was pretty great. SPOILERS! It juggled its loads and loads of characters and separate plotlines very well, and it added a lot of depth to Thanos as a character that I wasn't expecting to be there. I was genuinely surprised by the ending, though its impact was dampened somewhat by the fact that several of the dead characters are slated to have more movies in the future. I'm wondering how Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel will fit into this, since they're coming out before the Infinity War plot is resolved in the next Avengers movie.
My one big complaint is that the intro to the movie is kind of a downer ending to Thor: Ragnorak, where everyone who escaped the destruction of Asgard is apparently dead just a few days later.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 30, 2018 16:40:40 GMT -8
My one big complaint is that the intro to the movie is kind of a downer ending to Thor: Ragnorak, where everyone who escaped the destruction of Asgard is apparently dead just a few days later. Well, you know, it's all fun and games...until someone loses an eye.
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Post by buffyholic on May 2, 2018 8:17:48 GMT -8
I just saw the movie yesterday and it didn´t work for me at all. It had some moments but I just thought the movie was a complete mess and the overload of characters hurt the movie a lot. I mean, I couldn´t focus on anything because the characters didn´t stop to take a beat. Hell, besides Thor and Stark, I even felt these characters were a shell and had no life at all. And the whole thing with Bruce and Hulk? Pretty weak. The comedy was forced and I didn´t even care for the villain because the plot just kept moving along and I just felt... I don´t even know how I felt, to be honest. I didn´t even feel anything and the ending... what the hell was that? This for me was a major disappointment.
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Post by otherscott on May 2, 2018 8:57:26 GMT -8
I thought it was fine. It was not amazing. It was not bad. There were funny bits, there were exciting bits, there were times I was looking at my watch. The ending was affecting though it was an undermined affect.
It's more or less exactly what I expect going in and watching a Marvel movie. So it didn't screw up a massive movie and massive storyline. I guess that's laudable!
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Post by Zarnium on May 2, 2018 9:41:14 GMT -8
I'm happy as long as we get more Drax and Mantis. Kicking names and taking ass!
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Post by ThirdMan on May 2, 2018 18:19:30 GMT -8
I couldn´t focus on anything because the characters didn´t stop to take a beat. Hmmm...I didn't have that experience at all. I was actually kind of expecting wall-to-wall action, but this mostly resembled other blockbusters in having a few scattered skirmishes before the big final battles in multiple locations. Thought they lingered on Thanos and Gamora, on Thor and Rocket Raccoon (the stealth MVP of the picture), the GotG crew, on Tony, Peter and Dr. Strange, and on Vision and Scarlet Witch. Black Panther didn't get a ton of play, but he just had his movie, so whatever. Nah, I thought they handled the material about as well as could be expected. It was never going to be totally lean and organic, and it was always going to be a visual effects orgy. That said, I expect the second half to be a bit more streamlined in nature, given the events of the final stretch of this flick, and for characters that got less emphasis here to get more in Part 2.
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Post by Jeremy on May 2, 2018 19:17:46 GMT -8
Just saw the film. Overall, I think I agree with J.C.'s thoughts above. It's not one of Marvel's strongest films - throughout Phase Three, the studio's strength has been more on solo films than on team-ups, but given the scope of the film and the sheer number of characters it had to juggle and story threads it needed to address, it did a pretty admirable job. What surprised me the most was that Thanos, the character I expected to be the least interesting thing about the film, was actually one of the best. Given that he's spent the last six years popping up in occasional cameos to deliver hackneyed overlord dialogue, there was every reason to expect that he would just be written here as another generic baddie (particularly given Marvel's track record and all the other factors this film needed to focus on). But he actually received a surprising amount of depth, and provided a clear and cogent thematic through-line for the universe-spanning film. I was also surprised by the general lack of comic-book in-jokes - outside of the Iron Spider suit and the obligatory Lee cameo, there weren't very many I could find. But the film clearly had a lot of other stuff on its plate, and was probably too dramatically heavy to withstand a lot of geeky references, anyhow. I'm wondering how Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel will fit into this, since they're coming out before the Infinity War plot is resolved in the next Avengers movie. Not totally sure about Ant-Man and the Wasp, but Captain Marvel will be a period piece, set a few decades in the past. Given the post-credits scene of Infinity War (and yes, I totally squeed like a little girl at that final image), I expect her solo film will layer in the necessary backstory, paving the way for her appearance in Avengers 4. (Given that she's arguably the most powerful superhero in the Marvel universe, I imagine that appearance will be significant.)
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Post by ThirdMan on May 2, 2018 20:03:29 GMT -8
I'm gonna laugh my ass off if Captain Marvel immediately lays the smackdown on Thanos, as Superman did to Steppenwolf in Justice League.
OK, now that Jeremy's seen it, I think we're clear for full-on spoilers.
I figure most of us can agree that every major character death that happened after the finger snap (where they crumbled into dust) will likely be undone, by reversing time or some other mystical means. I'd also like to think that Loki, Vision and Gamora, who all died prior to that, will remain dead, but given that the latter is the only main female member of the core GotG cast, I do wonder if they'll leave it alone. That said, I think either Tony or Cap will end up sacrificing their life in Part 2, possibly as some sort of mystical price for bringing their fellow superheroes back. The question is, while I could definitely see Evans wanting to move on, would Downey want to give up those sizable paychecks? Regardless, thematically, it would seem appropriate that the character who started the MCU take a final bow there. But Cap existed earlier in the timeline, and he's gotten three films with his name on them, so he'd be a suitable choice as well.
Cap and Tony will unquestionably get the emphasis again in Part 2: that's pretty much a certainty.
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Post by Jeremy on May 3, 2018 4:44:28 GMT -8
I think Iron Man's flagship status in the MCU guarantees his franchise immortality, although I can imagine the next film will give him some sort of send off as the series continues to move on to the next generation.
And while it seems clear that Loki is gone for good, I somehow can't buy into the idea that Marvel would let the Russos kill off Gamora, particularly in a non-GotG film. She's the most prominent female character in the studio's most runaway popular franchise (sorry, Mantis), and I'm banking on her resurrection in the next film.
Speaking of resurrections, the fact that the dusted characters will likely all be revived in Avengers 4 somewhat cheapened what should have been a devastating climax. It guaranteed that fans would be back for the sequel, but the puppet strings could not have been more visible.
(I also wonder how MCU TV shows like Luke Cage or Runaways - both of which are set to return before next spring - will deal with the fallout of this film. Given that Marvel's film division doesn't have power over the TV division, they don't need to feel pressured to address it, but... it'd be kinda weird if they don't.)
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Post by otherscott on May 3, 2018 5:55:23 GMT -8
I don't really watch any Marvel TV shows at this point, I might watch S2 of Jessica Jones at some point in time. But my guess is that they won't even mention it. I think the Marvel Universe has really turned very similar to the comics, where something big might go down in one comic series that should affect all the other ones being made by these other writers, but those other comics don't acknowledge it at all even though they're technically in the same universe.
I think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. dealing with the fallout of The Winter Soldier is going to be looked back on as an aberration, not the norm.
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Post by Jeremy on May 3, 2018 6:26:35 GMT -8
Marvel Comics actually used to do a lot of universe-wide crossover series back in the '80s and '90s - Secret Wars being the most famous. (I also remember one storyline where New York City was turned into a medieval world for several issues, and every superhero was brainwashed into believing they lived in the Dark Ages. Except Spider-Man, for some reason.)
I haven't watched Agents of SHIELD in a while, but at least that show needs to address the Infinity War fallout somehow.
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Post by Jeremy on May 4, 2018 13:17:58 GMT -8
So, I've been giving it some thought, and... the ending to Infinity War is really troubling. Not just for the fallout in Avengers 4, but for the general MCU going forward. Just posted an article about it, so go have a read. (Spoilers, obvy.)
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