Avengers: Endgame reaction post/review
I had to go and see a showing an hour after I intended, and thought I got one of the last few seats, but it was a decent seat. When I took it, there were quite a few seats to my left that were really empty, which made me tense about when they'd turn up. Which was never.
Trailerwatch: X-Men: Dark Phoenix looks as if it might have interesting things to say about gender. I am trying to sit on those expectations until they are the realistic ‘is better than X-Men 3: The Last Stand’. Also, John Wick 3, how dare you look like my kind of film? I still refuse to go see a film trilogy hinging on a dead dog.
That was epic. (It’s three hours long!) Just to reiterate there is no mid-credits scene and no post-credits scene, which I’d heard, but I stayed in case there was an ‘X will return’. There wasn’t. When the long cast list starts scrolling, go.
After Infinity War, I was verklempt and stunned, now I think I’m satisfied, but verklempt. One thing was like a vice around my heart. I got sniffly over Steve seeing Peggy in 1970, especially as he was being stoic while Tony had a long natter with his dad, so his choice of life with her was lovely.
Is it a good film? Parts of it were very entertaining, contrasting the very dark shades. The final fight was no ‘as directed by Peter Jackson’ as in keeping track of everybody, but it did have great character moments - epitomised by everyone returning to help Cap. It certainly repaid our investment in the MCU (some of the audience applauded at the end) and our hope at the end of IW (even if Carol played a smaller role than I’d expected post the immediate Captain Marvel high). There were so many grace notes that I can’t quibble that Maria didn’t seem to be there at the funeral or Nakia with T’Chaila during Tony’s final voiceover, just note them. The actors were great - those who had least to do with CGI the most - and I had so many feels that I probably won’t cover them all.
I went in unspoiled, having come across a few fan theories - but for Natasha to die? I was hoping that both their willingness to sacrifice would cancel the other out, or that Clint would die. Sorry, dude, but I was even hoping for Natasha to return instead of Steve from the stone-returning journey. Apparently the list of characters I would sacrifice for Natasha is pretty much everyone, because she’s the heart and soul of the series for me (sorry, Cap). And I thought she was safe because we were getting a Black Widow movie. I hope they don’t turn around and say that was them trolling us, after all Johannsen’s successes and Captain Marvel’s box office and, perhaps more pertinently, Into the Spiderverse’s success. We know how she died, but we could have her backstory, or an alternate universe. Please. Something.
Because one of my most gleeful moments in this film was her and Clint agreeing that flying IN SPACE certainly wasn’t Budapest.
Just a quick point on Nat ships, I was disappointed that there was nothing about Nat/Bruce. Yes, I know the film was long already, but they put it out there in AoU and have never dealt with it. Presumably Natasha and Bruce had talked about what happened at the end of that film before the twentysomething days post-Snap point, they may even have tried and failed to have a relationship over the five years, with her not moving on from Avenging, <3 Nat, but I should be basing that on more than assumption. Nat’s bond with Steve got more airtime (although he made another choice, the Steve/Nat part of me was happy), and Nat and Clint’s relationship had everything it needed on Morag - forehead touching, fighting to be the sacrifice, OUTHEARTBREAKING Gamora’s death at Morag in IW, even the reversal of Nat pushing Bruce out.
Natasha. Natasha. Natasha. I was more upset at her death than at Tony’s, because with Stephen saving him (not to mention RDJ’s age and contract) that was always on the cards. And he got to leave a self-sacrificing hero, his last line was ace and spoke to the stubborn humans keep fighting back. The moment between Clint and Wanda after Tony’s funeral was lovely - I tend to think she was talking about Vision with ‘him’, because he was one of the few who couldn’t return. (Thank goodness Loki was one of the really gone group, although he was deployed well here.)
TIME TRAVEL. I loved that, I loved that it allowed this film to comment on and interact with the whole journey here, yes, with jokes, but also little nods like Cap in the lift - the ‘Heil HYDRA’ made me shiver. And big moments - I cared so much more about Thor getting extra time with Frigga than Tony-Howard (though I loved that he used Pepper’s surname.) Because she was the most radiant thing about Thor 2 (loved the lampshading of Thor talking about the events of the film like a drunken bore and everyone rolling their eyes at him, because it’s one of the weaker entries). And he was always her son as well as Odin’s. And this film celebrated that.
Chris Hemsworth continues to be a delight. I thought they were trolling Aquaman a bit, but there was so much more than that. Drunken, let-himself-go Thor went so much further than Valkyrie did. And then his redemption arc…
Another A goes to Paul Rudd who did some heavy lifting towards the beginning as we all scrambled to deal with the new reality, with the loss being new and fresh and different for Scott, and him bringing the hope of time travel. RDJ and Chris Evans were good, it shouldn’t go without saying. And Steve was trying to carry Sam’s flame alive, I thought. Our audience cheered when Mjolnir came to him and, for a bit, he was humanity’s stubborn representative.
Good deployment of Rocket (and if James Gunn wants Thor to join the Guardians for more than a cameo, he can feel free to do that). At least Gamora is alive now, even if Quill has to win her all over again with music and charming idiocy. Better yet was the Gamora-Nebula stuff. It hurt that abused, desperate past!Nebula helped bring Thanos back into the mix, but that the future!Nebula was able to make up for that and continue to show how she’d grown…SPACE SESTRAS.
There were always flaws with the time heist plan (but it amused me that it was Natasha with a notebook, not, say, Friday, who worked out when and where the stones were together) - I’d have thought avoiding meeting your past self was a good idea because even if you were avoiding some sci-fi staples, people might think you were Loki or you could give yourself away to your abusive father, but whatevs, I don’t have superpowers. I also thought when Tony was being belligerent that it would have been better to have Pepper around, because she makes him a bit more reasonable and reminds him of his conscience (well, in my head she does), but they probably couldn’t afford it, and the Tony-Morgan stuff and happyish five years for them was lovely, and yet another example of family feels all through the film. And the Avengers and the Guardians being FOUND FAMILY for Nat and Rocket. Guh.
The very end of Steve’s life with Peggy restarting with that dance was wonderful (though isn’t meeting Sharon going to be weird???) And his refusal to talk about it was spot on - that was an aged up Evans, somehow, right? And Bucky knowing somehow that that would be his choice? Aw. And fine, give the shield to Sam - I like Sam, even if he has no superpowers. (Others can probably answer this, but I’m presuming Agent Carter counts as canon, but Agents of SHIELD probably doesn’t.)
Other moments that pleased me included a Community lady cameo - Yvette Nicole Brown is credited as an Agent of SHIELD and the honour guard of LADIES for Carol. I must admit I didn’t recognise Pepper in her suit until after she came to Tony.
Where next? Peter and others have missed five years, while others haven’t. How will that play out in the next Spider-Man film and other films that have been announced? I’d expect the next Captain Marvel film to go back in time and further out in space. Will they do a new Avengers, with only Thor, Hulk and Clint (PS thanks for the trauma of the opening scene, reminding us of the tone of IW, Endgame. No thanks for his daft hairstyle, and I suppose his descent into being a ronin was a misdirect for Nat’s death) of the original flavour and the newish and new bunch, sans Tony-Steve beef? I’d love confirmation of a new Doctor Strange. There’s definitely more The Wasp and her pretty boyfriend.
So, icons I want are Nat with the red-blonde hair, unshaven Steve or Nat-Steve, and Paul Russ being pretty.
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/379201.html.
Trailerwatch: X-Men: Dark Phoenix looks as if it might have interesting things to say about gender. I am trying to sit on those expectations until they are the realistic ‘is better than X-Men 3: The Last Stand’. Also, John Wick 3, how dare you look like my kind of film? I still refuse to go see a film trilogy hinging on a dead dog.
That was epic. (It’s three hours long!) Just to reiterate there is no mid-credits scene and no post-credits scene, which I’d heard, but I stayed in case there was an ‘X will return’. There wasn’t. When the long cast list starts scrolling, go.
After Infinity War, I was verklempt and stunned, now I think I’m satisfied, but verklempt. One thing was like a vice around my heart. I got sniffly over Steve seeing Peggy in 1970, especially as he was being stoic while Tony had a long natter with his dad, so his choice of life with her was lovely.
Is it a good film? Parts of it were very entertaining, contrasting the very dark shades. The final fight was no ‘as directed by Peter Jackson’ as in keeping track of everybody, but it did have great character moments - epitomised by everyone returning to help Cap. It certainly repaid our investment in the MCU (some of the audience applauded at the end) and our hope at the end of IW (even if Carol played a smaller role than I’d expected post the immediate Captain Marvel high). There were so many grace notes that I can’t quibble that Maria didn’t seem to be there at the funeral or Nakia with T’Chaila during Tony’s final voiceover, just note them. The actors were great - those who had least to do with CGI the most - and I had so many feels that I probably won’t cover them all.
I went in unspoiled, having come across a few fan theories - but for Natasha to die? I was hoping that both their willingness to sacrifice would cancel the other out, or that Clint would die. Sorry, dude, but I was even hoping for Natasha to return instead of Steve from the stone-returning journey. Apparently the list of characters I would sacrifice for Natasha is pretty much everyone, because she’s the heart and soul of the series for me (sorry, Cap). And I thought she was safe because we were getting a Black Widow movie. I hope they don’t turn around and say that was them trolling us, after all Johannsen’s successes and Captain Marvel’s box office and, perhaps more pertinently, Into the Spiderverse’s success. We know how she died, but we could have her backstory, or an alternate universe. Please. Something.
Because one of my most gleeful moments in this film was her and Clint agreeing that flying IN SPACE certainly wasn’t Budapest.
Just a quick point on Nat ships, I was disappointed that there was nothing about Nat/Bruce. Yes, I know the film was long already, but they put it out there in AoU and have never dealt with it. Presumably Natasha and Bruce had talked about what happened at the end of that film before the twentysomething days post-Snap point, they may even have tried and failed to have a relationship over the five years, with her not moving on from Avenging, <3 Nat, but I should be basing that on more than assumption. Nat’s bond with Steve got more airtime (although he made another choice, the Steve/Nat part of me was happy), and Nat and Clint’s relationship had everything it needed on Morag - forehead touching, fighting to be the sacrifice, OUTHEARTBREAKING Gamora’s death at Morag in IW, even the reversal of Nat pushing Bruce out.
Natasha. Natasha. Natasha. I was more upset at her death than at Tony’s, because with Stephen saving him (not to mention RDJ’s age and contract) that was always on the cards. And he got to leave a self-sacrificing hero, his last line was ace and spoke to the stubborn humans keep fighting back. The moment between Clint and Wanda after Tony’s funeral was lovely - I tend to think she was talking about Vision with ‘him’, because he was one of the few who couldn’t return. (Thank goodness Loki was one of the really gone group, although he was deployed well here.)
TIME TRAVEL. I loved that, I loved that it allowed this film to comment on and interact with the whole journey here, yes, with jokes, but also little nods like Cap in the lift - the ‘Heil HYDRA’ made me shiver. And big moments - I cared so much more about Thor getting extra time with Frigga than Tony-Howard (though I loved that he used Pepper’s surname.) Because she was the most radiant thing about Thor 2 (loved the lampshading of Thor talking about the events of the film like a drunken bore and everyone rolling their eyes at him, because it’s one of the weaker entries). And he was always her son as well as Odin’s. And this film celebrated that.
Chris Hemsworth continues to be a delight. I thought they were trolling Aquaman a bit, but there was so much more than that. Drunken, let-himself-go Thor went so much further than Valkyrie did. And then his redemption arc…
Another A goes to Paul Rudd who did some heavy lifting towards the beginning as we all scrambled to deal with the new reality, with the loss being new and fresh and different for Scott, and him bringing the hope of time travel. RDJ and Chris Evans were good, it shouldn’t go without saying. And Steve was trying to carry Sam’s flame alive, I thought. Our audience cheered when Mjolnir came to him and, for a bit, he was humanity’s stubborn representative.
Good deployment of Rocket (and if James Gunn wants Thor to join the Guardians for more than a cameo, he can feel free to do that). At least Gamora is alive now, even if Quill has to win her all over again with music and charming idiocy. Better yet was the Gamora-Nebula stuff. It hurt that abused, desperate past!Nebula helped bring Thanos back into the mix, but that the future!Nebula was able to make up for that and continue to show how she’d grown…SPACE SESTRAS.
There were always flaws with the time heist plan (but it amused me that it was Natasha with a notebook, not, say, Friday, who worked out when and where the stones were together) - I’d have thought avoiding meeting your past self was a good idea because even if you were avoiding some sci-fi staples, people might think you were Loki or you could give yourself away to your abusive father, but whatevs, I don’t have superpowers. I also thought when Tony was being belligerent that it would have been better to have Pepper around, because she makes him a bit more reasonable and reminds him of his conscience (well, in my head she does), but they probably couldn’t afford it, and the Tony-Morgan stuff and happyish five years for them was lovely, and yet another example of family feels all through the film. And the Avengers and the Guardians being FOUND FAMILY for Nat and Rocket. Guh.
The very end of Steve’s life with Peggy restarting with that dance was wonderful (though isn’t meeting Sharon going to be weird???) And his refusal to talk about it was spot on - that was an aged up Evans, somehow, right? And Bucky knowing somehow that that would be his choice? Aw. And fine, give the shield to Sam - I like Sam, even if he has no superpowers. (Others can probably answer this, but I’m presuming Agent Carter counts as canon, but Agents of SHIELD probably doesn’t.)
Other moments that pleased me included a Community lady cameo - Yvette Nicole Brown is credited as an Agent of SHIELD and the honour guard of LADIES for Carol. I must admit I didn’t recognise Pepper in her suit until after she came to Tony.
Where next? Peter and others have missed five years, while others haven’t. How will that play out in the next Spider-Man film and other films that have been announced? I’d expect the next Captain Marvel film to go back in time and further out in space. Will they do a new Avengers, with only Thor, Hulk and Clint (PS thanks for the trauma of the opening scene, reminding us of the tone of IW, Endgame. No thanks for his daft hairstyle, and I suppose his descent into being a ronin was a misdirect for Nat’s death) of the original flavour and the newish and new bunch, sans Tony-Steve beef? I’d love confirmation of a new Doctor Strange. There’s definitely more The Wasp and her pretty boyfriend.
So, icons I want are Nat with the red-blonde hair, unshaven Steve or Nat-Steve, and Paul Russ being pretty.
This entry was originally posted at https://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/379201.html.