Avengers: Endgame (second-pass / 2D / SPOILERS)
Cert: 12A / 181 mins / Dir. Joe Russo & Anthony Russo / Trailer
Well, this isn't the review I expected to be writing about the second-most anticipated movie of 2019. My first-pass of Endgame is here. My thoughts on the film haven't changed since then, I absolutely adore it. Every single frame. Even if the already-gargantuan runtime still isn't enough to properly accommodate the number of characters involved. Even if the film's approach to time-travel is elastic, self-contradictory yet absolutely textbook all at the same time. Even if the God of Thunder is effectively reduced to a fat-joke for two and half hours because the screenplay doesn't want to close his character arc just yet but doesn't have anything for him to actually do.
BLOWN I love Avengers: Endgame. It's just that…
…why am I not blown away by Avengers: Endgame? I left the cinema satisfied from character (okay mostly), narrative, script and visuals points of view. But I didn't have that buzz. That 'shit, I'm so excited I need to see this film again as soon as possible'. That feeling of utter childlike joy I had after Spider-Man: Homecoming, after Guardians Of The Galaxy, after Iron Man 3.
Ant-Man & The Wasp is the (relatively) low stakes palate-cleanser following the literal genocide of Infinity War. Likewise, Captain Marvel is a retro lead-in, but was never going to attempt to match the absolute fucking armageddon required to close this chapter. Both enormous fun, but deliberately light on dramatic gravity.
Yet with Endgame I was more 'that was utterly fantastic, now let me see if I've got everything straight here, let me just refer to my spreadsheet'. Because a lot of this movie is admin. Great admin, important admin, but still*1. That's only to be expected when you're wrapping things up, twenty two chapters into a continuous flow. And hey, my day-job is in Quality Assurance, I fucking love admin (and spreadsheets). But a fair amount of time here spent is ticking off names and ensuring the audience is reminded of secondary characters from earlier movies.
RANGON Maybe it's just because I've been waving the flag for the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008*2, and my many years spent immersed in Star Wars continuity means that by this point I'm slightly less caught up in the emotional swell, and more preconditioned to connecting story-dots as we go? That's certainly true of the first time I watch an MCU flick (as well as any/all Star Wars, obviously), and I'd wanted a close second-pass to take in all the plot details I'd missed the first time round. But there turned out to be surprisingly few of those - a testament to how well written the screenplay is.
It's not that I wasn't thoroughly engaged for every single frame of Endgame, and it's certainly not that the film doesn't have its fair share of goosebumps-moments. But most of these are things which I'd been either hoping for or flat-out anticipating for some time, not things that I couldn't believe had just happened. While the Russo brothers are spinning many plates here, there are few actual surprises. But again, if this were the 22nd level of a tower block, no matter how accomplished it was it would still have to conform to the rules laid out in the floors below it*3.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICON
Perhaps I'm not overwhelmed because I know this isn't the end of the line for the franchise? The title itself seems to have led to several people (in the actual, offline world) referring to this as "the last Avengers movie". Which it very much isn't. The fact that Spider-Man, Black Panther and Doctor Strange all have officially announced sequels in the pipeline did remove some of Infinity War's punch, somewhat. And if there are more individual hero-films on the way, you can bet your bottom Disney-token that there will be future Avengers team-ups, too. The supergroup hasn't ended, it's just shifted membership. Not unlike The Drifters or the Sugababes, you can't just kill them off, apparently*4.
But, anyway. To clarify, because this reads back like a really negative appraisal, I absolutely love Avengers: Endgame, I'm not finished with it by a long shot and think it's very almost the best film it could be. But that best film was probably never going to surprise me.
And I don't mind that. Even if it sounds like I do...
*1 Although mentioning the film casually to a colleague at work, he referred to another colleague (not present at the time) who'd said that the three hours wasn't a problem as there were plenty of opportunities to nip out to the toilet because not that much was happening. Still, it's nice to know that the notional idiots who we imagine only turn up for the explosions and the LOLZ really do exist. [ BACK ]
*2 This sounds like bragging or gatekeeping - it's not, I assure you. Besides, everybody knows I can't really get into a franchise unless I'm there at ground-level. I get the fan-version of impostor syndrome if I try. [ BACK ]
*3 Seriously kids, when you're in Quality Assurance that shit is for life. [ BACK ]
*4 And on a side-note, I've long maintained that Marvel is terrified of actually killing its heroes. Think of the roll-call of good guys in Endgame. Now think of how many of those are gone by the end credits. The goodbyes we say in this movie are significant, but not particularly numerous.
There is a separate issue surrounding the exit of Black Widow and whether she was 'fridged'. It's covered very well in this article here, although I'd point out that at least Natasha's death meant something. Had Clint won the race to the bottom of the cliff, his exit would have been as shrug-inducing as the rest of the poor bastard's characterisation, frankly… [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Avengers: Endgame (first-pass / 2D / SPOILER-FREE)
Cert: 12A / 181 mins / Dir. Joe Russo & Anthony Russo / Trailer
And so, here we are 11 years, 11 TV series and 22 movies down the line, and the Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to its theatrical finale. The weight of expectation hadn't been this great in screen 5 of my local since December 2015.
So you know the score by now, this will be short and sweet - first fleeting reactions and general notes of approval. Marvel Studios' movies are always too much to take in on a first-pass and Endgame is absolutely no exception. The three-hour runtime is used well in terms of pacing, but there's always something going on. And there's no intermission, so maybe sip that drink of yours instead of gulping…
CENTRAL So how do you solve a problem like Thanos? The answer, it turns out, is as convoluted as the central plot structure itself. To the target audience demographic, this should present no significant problems, but be prepared for a surfeit of "Endgame plot EXPLAINED!!" clickbait posts lighting up the socials in the next week. For best results, watch Infinity War again shortly beforehand. Like all stories of this ilk, Endgame explains its own rules, pretty much abides by them and even enjoys poking fun at wider pop-culture in the process.
The problem faced by the Russo brothers is, of course, how to tie up as many threads as possible, without making the resulting bow too neat or, more importantly, too predictable. The multiple story arcs achieve varying success on these fronts, but nearly all of them feel deserving of their characters and more satisfying as a result. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely pull off the twin feats of keeping all of the beats to a familiar rhythm, but throwing off audience preconceptions at regular intervals (an excellent case-in-point being Act I's 'shit, what now?' moment).
CARLTON Perhaps another reason for that extended runtime is the roster of performers on call. While many are admittedly at 'brief cameo' level and only appear to add a sense of wider continuity, the returning cast list here is off. the. fucking. chart. The end result of this is a few scenes which feel a little like crowd-pleasers and a few returners who feel underused, but the writing's there to support their presence and there's little doubt your favourite MCU movie will get a nod.
On the whole, Endgame is satisfying on both a narrative and emotional level. The sweeping story is as clear as it can be given the ground it has to cover (repeat-viewings should fill any gaps), and should please long-term fans no end. Several spontaneous rounds of applause broke out in screen 5 tonight (okay, this morning), including one over the closing credits - a definite rarity in the 21st century.
KAVANAGH Is this the end of the line? You jest. Marvel's published cinematic schedule has predetermined several of the Endgame's outcomes for some time now, and there's a good chance that some viewers will still think there are too many heroes left standing by the time the credits roll. But it all feels (largely) right, and there are no glaring inconsistencies in the final moments. Can Marvel top this? Not in the near future. Should they try? That's another discussion entirely.
In fact, one of the only definite downsides I picked up in all of this is the migraine-inducing mix of typefaces, positioning and sizing used for the onscreen captions throughout. A very minor point I know, but designers in the audience will be exhaling loudly…
The business-end (not spoilers, but highlight-to-read anyway):
• Is there a Wilhelm Scream? I don't think so. • Is there a Stan Lee cameo? There is. • Is there a mid-credits scene? There is not. • Is there a post-credits scene? There is not.
Difficult to say in such a crowded battlefield, but plenty get their moment to shine - including the Russo brothers.
Obviously.
Not that I heard. Help me out, here.
Level 1: Mace Windu's in this. Mate, that's not a spoiler, he's like furniture in these flicks. Awesome furniture, but still...
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Avengers: Infinity War (3D / first-pass / SPOILER-FREE)
Cert: 12A / 149 mins / Dir. Joe Russo & Anthony Russo / Trailer
Short and sweet; no spoilers; only broad opinions; you know the drill.
Ten years. Nineteen movies. Good lord. Even in this age of media-saturation, the combination of consistent quality and sheer volume that Marvel have achieved with their Cinematic Universe is otherwise unheard of. Even the weaker entries are better than most of their rivals can produce. But have the comic connoisseurs set a bar that only they can reach, or made a vibranium rod for their own backs?
Following directly on from Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of a decade's worth of interconnected storytelling - and the third 'crossover' entry whereby the heroes and villains get together for an almighty two-hour-plus fight scene. This is also the third saga-entry directed by the Russo brothers, Joe and Anthony, after helming Captain America's second and third outings (the latter of which was basically an Avengers movie anyway, to be fair).
So, things come to a head when Thanos finally makes a play to collect all six infinity stones - the reality-bending gems which have been our MacGuffins throughout the story so far. Crossing the galaxy and causing various factions of our favourite heroes to cross paths in the process, alliances are forged, bonds are tested and lines are crossed. This is the supergroup to end all supergroups.
Now it's no spoiler to say that with a run-time of 'only' two and a half hours, there's a lot of plate spinning going on, here. By necessity, Infinity War is a series of separated vignettes, pulling towards a connected conclusion (although again, that's what the whole series has been). The Russos hold things together well and keep everything focused, but the story is - and I mean this in the nicest possible way - absolute mayhem. Other than bursts of reminder-exposition in the first act, there's little in the way of spoon-feeding, and the film relies on its audience being up to speed with the state of the MCU. Every frame of every scene matters, nothing is wasted, and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's screenplay deftly combines action, humour and genuine emotion, all soundtracked by Alan Silvestri's majestic score.
The writers' decision to spread events across the cosmos is a wise (and fitting) one, and means that even at its most chaotic, the viewer never loses sight of who's in a scene and why. Little that happens here will necessarily cast a new light on the old movies, but characteristics and relationships we've previously seen are built upon, not just wheeled out for the sake of audience recognition.
And most importantly of all, there is a sense of consequence and finality in this movie. Maybe not all of it, but that's the nature of the beast*1. Crucially, this feels like some questions finally being answered, rather than another episode in a super-soap opera. The MCU can - and will - continue to expand after this, but the ramifications of Thanos will be felt for years to come...
Best bit: "WE WILL DEEP FRY YOUR KEBAB."
The business-end (not spoilers, but highlight-to-read anyway):
Is there a Wilhelm Scream?If there is, it's not obvious. Is there a Stan Lee cameo?There is a one, yes. Is there a mid-credits scene?There isn't a one, no. Is there a post-credits scene?Yes, there is. Stay for this.
*1 Because Marvel Studios' announced scheduling-plans are out there for all to see, and I defy anyone to not have a rough idea of that list in the back of their minds while watching Infinity War. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Well, this isn't the first time I've seen a Marvel movie for the second time, but it's probably the first where I've left it for two weeks between initial viewings. That wasn't completely intentional, but I'd definitely made a point of not rushing back within 48 hours of the original midnight screening. As much as I'd loved Civil War (and after a second-pass, I still do), I have to admit that the spark of urgency to go straight back just wasn't there. Maybe I'd essentially 'got everything' the first time? Maybe I'd been (uncharacteristically) fatigued after an eight-hour cinema marathon? Or maybe I just know that the film will almost certainly be screened as part of future double/triple bills, and I've finally realised that this cinema-run won't be my only chance to see the movie*1. To a greater or lesser degree, it was all of these things which led to the delay; so what would I make of Cap's third solo-outing once the dust had settled..?
Well, first and foremost I stand by my previous assertion that Civil War is too damned long. more to the point, it's too long with not enough downtime in the pacing and is trying to cover too many in-universe story-threads, like some spandex-wielding soap-opera. As great as both characters are, Black Panther and Spider-Man don't need to be part of the 'Sokovia Accords' storyline, and their inclusion creates detours which offer no breathing space from the main narrative. I'm very much looking forward to their respective standalone movies, but I think making these before their induction into the Avengers would have benefitted Civil War greatly.
One thing which tickled me was that Steve Rogers writes Tony Stark a letter toward the end of the film; an actual handwritten letter. Not only is this a subtle callback to Roosevelt's pen from earlier, it also shows that after everything which has happened since he awoke in the present-day, either a) Rogers still doesn't quite get digital communication, so doesn't trust it, or b) Rogers understands digital communication only too well, so doesn't trust it. It's a lovely bit of character building that takes less than a minute and says more than any amount of explosions and broken glass.
It also occurred to me that Scarlet Witch and Vision seem to be getting short shrift in terms of screen-time. The seeds of the relationship which were planted towards the end of Age of Ultron are barely even watered here, never mind nurtured. Let me get this straight, Marvel, you've got an emotionally conflicted young woman who can use magic (actual magic, mind), forming an emotional and spiritual bond with a naive, space-gem-powered robot… and you made a two and a half hour movie about a contract dispute? Hey, I love admin more than the average cinema-goer, but even I want to see more of Wanda and Vision's development, thanks.
But all this says more about me than the film, I think. I seem to have reached the point where, much like Star Wars, I can love each MCU installment almost unconditionally, while still picking holes in the overall thing. And 'overall' probably describes my approach to enjoying Civil War. The film adds progression and detail to the ongoing saga, but the largely unresolved tensions within the Avengers and amount of storyline plate-spinning mean that I enjoy this as a background piece, rather than a standout feature (and that's never been the MCU's style, so far).
I wouldn't class Captain America: Civil War as 'filler' by any means, but it's certainly a sort of continuity-admin. And like I said, I love admin…
The MCU, to be fair. This film is not a starting point for the new inductee.
If you can, do.
It sets out to do slightly too much, but largely achieves what it can, yes.
Jury's still out on that one.
Probably not..
Fairly sure I heard half a Wilhelm buried in there, but that could be projection on my part.
Level 2: Well, pretty much all of the Avengers here who've been in previous movies in the timeline did so alongside Sam 'Windu' Jackson, but let's go for Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman who appears in the upcoming Gods of Egypt, as does Bruce 'Tion Medon' Spence.
And while I'm on the subject, I studied the poster for Gods of Egypt for about a minute whilst standing in a cinema foyer yesterday, and I think I've already written the review of the film in my head…
*1 Although don't bother trying to remind me of that when Rogue One lands this December and I'm putting in more hours at my local cinema than some of the staff...
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Godzilla (3D)
Cert: 12A / 123 mins / Dir. Gareth Edwards
In a way, I was a cinematically spoilt kid. The first film I remember seeing at the cinema was Star Wars, and while I went on to have a very sci-fi-centric childhood, A New Hope set a bar that many franchises (especially TV-based ones) couldn't really compete with. Blake's 7, Space 1999, The Black Hole; they look naff and shonky to us now, but they looked pretty much like that to me then. Call me snobbish, but I don't have the time to waste on media in the "so bad, it's good" bracket. To me, there's no such thing. And I think it was this infant elitism that meant I never connected with the Godzilla franchise (cartoon excluded, obvs). The very hallmarks that to millions were (are) its charm; corny dialogue, bad acting, rooting for the 'good' monster and booing at the 'bad' one, disregarding basic rules of biology and evolution… I file them all under "not good enough".
In that respect, 2014's Godzilla is a wonderful homage to its forebears.
A brief opening scene, slightly reminiscent of Jurassic Park, filled me with some hope that this may be the movie to change my mind, but once Bryan Cranston arrives and begins delivering his part with more ham than Miss Piggy firing a sausage chaingun at the Three Little Pigs, it's all downhill (even his wigs look embarrassed to be there). Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen seem to have no fucking clue what they're doing, while Watanabe, Binoche, Strathairn and Hawkins almost stare directly into the camera and mouth the words "don't judge me".
Every page in the disaster-movie-rulebook has been copied into what's meant to be a screenplay, seemingly verbatim.
• Wow, that reactor-meltdown's expanding at the speed of roughly just-faster than a running human!
• He's not a crazy old man, he knows the truth!
• You can't kill the dog (but can apparently wipe out thousands of people at regular intervals).
• Will the kids be alright though? The ones on the schoolbus where the driver has decided that in the wake of a monster being in the river and the army being everywhere, he's still going to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge?
• Hey, it's a good job that this ace bomb-disposal expert happens to be passing through town just as the army are semi-ineptly loading a clockwork nuclear device onto a rickety cargo train!
• Hey, he helped that kid who got lost, he's such a nice guy! I wonder if he'll see his own wife and child again, though?
• If you can't have the monster trashing the Eiffel Tower, have it trash the small version in Vegas!
• Yeah, have the monster absolutely fuck Vegas!
• We caused this with evil mankindedness and horrible science!
• Should we explain how he breathes lightning-fire out of his mouth when we've attempted to shoehorn in every other bit of exposition? …no. No, we shouldn't.
• LET'S END THE MOVIE WITH A TICKING COUNTDOWN CLOCK, I DON"T THINK ANYONE'S THOUGHT OF DOING THAT BEFORE!
• Oh look, Gozdilla's just going back into the sea like the surprisingly anthropomorphic pseudo-ally he is instead of continuing to trash the fuck out of the city!
• THREE CHEERS!
I call bullshit.
Like some sort of bastard hybrid of Pacific Rim and Battleship, Godzilla can't even be a convincing version of the thing it clearly loves. The only (only) saving grace is that the lizard himself looks and sounds fantastic, but the titular beast has so little screen-time that even that's no comfort. As is becoming a trend, the film's remarkably boring considering how much stuff gets blown up. Oh, and it's in 3D. Whatever.
To quote the wonderful Michael Legge: "Well, I can tell you now that Godzilla isn't the worst Godzilla movie anymore. Godzilla is."
What he said.
I don't know how to answer that.
No.
If it does, I need a serious word with someone at Warner Bros.
Go away.
Yes. Yes I will.
No. No I won't.
I heard one early on, and it's no consolation.
How do we go about redacting all the good things which have been said about Bryan Cranston's carreer as penance for the face-palmingly shit performance he gives in this film? Is there a form I fill in?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
