Infinity War
So I took myself to Infinity War today.
I had fully spoiled myself for the deaths in the movie but didn't know much else in specific in terms of plot beyond the gifset of the Steve/Bucky hug that passed by my dash on Tumblr. Since I knew how the movie was going to end and that there will be the second half of the story next year, I just let myself enjoy the narrative ride. I knew it would feel unresolved. In that regard, I mostly had a good time. I laughed and cheered, fell in love with sulky, heroic teenage Groot (and adored the fact that Thor could understand him), was appropriately sad in various spots, and made a game of picking up what seem to be unsubtle clues to what comes next. Steve Rogers singlehandedly pushing back against the Infinity Gauntlet with his bare hands was just so damn Steve I wanted to cry. I even enjoyed Dr. Strange in small quantities, but then he was often with Tony, and I can't help but continue to be delighted to have Tony Stark on my screen.
(Oh my god, the end for Tony where everyone around him dies and he's left and heaven help me I think that's when I was the saddest, since we didn't get enough Steve. Although Loki's death was also heroic in a way I didn't expect, with him calling himself Odin's son, and that was a pleasant burst of sadness for me, too.)
I mean, I would have liked it to be paced differently (fewer big battles, more stuff driven by characters, a very different balance of who was dominating the screen time), I care pretty much zero percent about the GotG crew, I care even less about Wanda and Vision (though I love watching Wanda do her thing), and I feel like way too many characters had fewer than ten lines of dialogue (Steve, Bucky, Nat, Sam, everyone from Wakanda, etc.). Obviously Thanos is not just horrible but also abusive and icky, and his feelings about Gamora supposedly being love... I just... didn't buy him as an actual, full character overall, I guess. And the way the film changes the narratives of both Wakanda and the refugees from Asgard makes me bitter.
It is definitely not the movie I wanted or needed. I would change a million things if it were mine.
But as a vehicle for fanfic? It's solid. There's tons of time for Steve and Bucky to reconnect in Wakanda, for Steve-Sam-Nat hijinks, and for speculation about what comes next in the 'verse to fix the end of the movie. Plus, there's so much hand-wave-y magic going on that anything can happen and anyone can reappear anywhere. As a fan, I can't ask for more. I hope fanfic writers take the ball and run with it!
(And now I shall spend the next year gritting my teeth over whether I think Tony or Steve or both will die to save everyone else in the next movie. Aagh, can't we just keep them all?)
This entry was originally posted at https://flaming-muse.dreamwidth.org/625638.html. Feel free to comment on either site.
I had fully spoiled myself for the deaths in the movie but didn't know much else in specific in terms of plot beyond the gifset of the Steve/Bucky hug that passed by my dash on Tumblr. Since I knew how the movie was going to end and that there will be the second half of the story next year, I just let myself enjoy the narrative ride. I knew it would feel unresolved. In that regard, I mostly had a good time. I laughed and cheered, fell in love with sulky, heroic teenage Groot (and adored the fact that Thor could understand him), was appropriately sad in various spots, and made a game of picking up what seem to be unsubtle clues to what comes next. Steve Rogers singlehandedly pushing back against the Infinity Gauntlet with his bare hands was just so damn Steve I wanted to cry. I even enjoyed Dr. Strange in small quantities, but then he was often with Tony, and I can't help but continue to be delighted to have Tony Stark on my screen.
(Oh my god, the end for Tony where everyone around him dies and he's left and heaven help me I think that's when I was the saddest, since we didn't get enough Steve. Although Loki's death was also heroic in a way I didn't expect, with him calling himself Odin's son, and that was a pleasant burst of sadness for me, too.)
I mean, I would have liked it to be paced differently (fewer big battles, more stuff driven by characters, a very different balance of who was dominating the screen time), I care pretty much zero percent about the GotG crew, I care even less about Wanda and Vision (though I love watching Wanda do her thing), and I feel like way too many characters had fewer than ten lines of dialogue (Steve, Bucky, Nat, Sam, everyone from Wakanda, etc.). Obviously Thanos is not just horrible but also abusive and icky, and his feelings about Gamora supposedly being love... I just... didn't buy him as an actual, full character overall, I guess. And the way the film changes the narratives of both Wakanda and the refugees from Asgard makes me bitter.
It is definitely not the movie I wanted or needed. I would change a million things if it were mine.
But as a vehicle for fanfic? It's solid. There's tons of time for Steve and Bucky to reconnect in Wakanda, for Steve-Sam-Nat hijinks, and for speculation about what comes next in the 'verse to fix the end of the movie. Plus, there's so much hand-wave-y magic going on that anything can happen and anyone can reappear anywhere. As a fan, I can't ask for more. I hope fanfic writers take the ball and run with it!
(And now I shall spend the next year gritting my teeth over whether I think Tony or Steve or both will die to save everyone else in the next movie. Aagh, can't we just keep them all?)
This entry was originally posted at https://flaming-muse.dreamwidth.org/625638.html. Feel free to comment on either site.