Infinity war..best ever MCU movie

[synrgy]

I'm pleasantly surprised it worked as well as it did. The MCU has had a major problem giving us compelling villains (in 10 years and roughly 20 movies, we got two: Loki, and Killmonger), and based on his appearance in GOTG, I wasn't sold on Thanos in the MCU. In IW, though, Thanos lived up to the hype. On the one hand, we of course don't want him to succeed, and are horrified by his methods, but on the other hand, it's easy to understand his perspective, and why he desires to wipe out half of all life: On a macro scale, he's not being disingenuous when he calls it 'mercy'.

I mentioned this in the general movie thread, but this was my only real nit to pick after my first viewing:

Spoiler

'Giant-sized' Peter Dinklage didn't work for me at all. That whole scene was a fourth-wall breaking moment, for me. He's too recognizable, and they didn't do a great job with the forced-perspective shots, either.

 

[bostjan]

A lot of Marvel comic villains were less interesting than they could have been, IMO, but a lot of the films, especially (but not exclusively) prior to Marvel Studios, took perfectly good villains and botched them up.

I loved the character Galactus from the comics. The fact that Galactus was not at all inherently evil, just hungry, and the fact that his diet consisted of Earthlike planets meant that his very existence put him at odds with the heroes who wanted to save the world. Since he was nigh-invincible (IIRC, the only weapon that could destroy him would also destroy whomever wielded the weapon, and was incredibly valuable), the only way to defuse the situation was to reason with him. The movies turned that into a giant cloud of black smoke or something stupid.

IMO, the one Marvel themselves muffed up the hardest was the Mandarin. He was a powerful sorcerer with very evil intentions in the comics, and in the film, he was, well, what was he - nothing, really. I mean I admire what they tried to do there, but it just fell short.

When my interest in comic books was at its all-time peak, the Infinity Gauntlet series was released, and OMG, my head just about exploded when I first got my hands on them. All of the heroes, most of the villains, and all of the weird cosmic characters that wanted to remain neutral were all together in one storyline, and it was as incredibly well done as a young teenage kid could have ever demanded. Because of the hype, I am actually frightened of seeing the film. I know for a fact that it isn't going to follow the comics very closely, but still, my bar is set impossibly high for such a film. Knowing that Wolverine will be nowhere near this film is already kind of disappointing, since Thanos turning his skeleton into rubber was one of my favourite moments in the comic. The entire comic series based on an enemy who had complete control over altering reality at his whim was a task that necessarily took you into philosophical territory.

I mean, in no way am I not going to see this....

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

The MCU has had a major problem giving us compelling villains (in 10 years and roughly 20 movies, we got two: Loki, and Killmonger)

Pre Thanos, those 2 are the straight obvious choices. But I'll like to add Helmut Zemo and the villain from Guardians 2 as strong contenders. Sure neither are as grandiose as the top 3 but I thought both were great because they were more smaller and personal. In a sense, Kilmonger also falls into that category because of his own personal grievance and grows into a more developed character. Next tier down I'd add Red Skull and Hela, when straight evil one-dimensional villains can be fun too (especially Hela on this case).

Counting the TV series, I'd certainly add Kingpin, Purple Man and Cottonmouth into the mix, as all three are top tier villains, played brilliantly by their respective actors. Shame that Cottonmouth gets the short end of the stick being sub sequenced by a less interesting villain. To some extent, I'd add Mr Hyde on AOS season 2, as Kyle MacLachlan sells the hell out of the character.

It's also such a shame that the movies and TV series are becoming more and more distant than what they already are. Especially what they ended up doing with Inhumans. It'd be interesting to see future seasons of the TV shows address what happened in Infinity War, definitely in SHIELD as what they did during events of the Winter Soldier was the peak of the series.

 

[synrgy]

Damn. I'm not sure why - as CA:CW is one of my favorites of the bunch - but I keep forgetting about Zemo. Agreed on that count, for sure.

I genuinely loved GOTG2, but that was down mostly to the character threads; the stuff with Yondu hit especially close to home. That said, I was relatively disappointed/frustrated the portrayal of Ego. I mean, Russell did fine, I guess, but I found the character itself un-compelling. The weakest point of the movie for me was the 'climactic' battle against him, redeemed only by the aftermath in which Yondu saves Peter.

Definitely agreed on Kingpin, Killgrave, and Cottonmouth, too, but I was only referencing the films. So long as I'm here, though, I'll say that while Cottonmouth was super compelling, Diamondback was the opposite, and nearly ruined that season of Luke Cage for me.

Thanos aside, IW almost suffered, too:

Spoiler

I get that we 'need' big team-up fight scenes in movies like this, but I think my quota for 'heroes fight endless army of mindless droney things' is full for the next couple of decades. It's been a significant chunk of screen time in all three Avengers movies, so far.

 

[StevenC]

Was there a Community cameo in this one?

 

[MFB]

Was there a Community cameo in this one?

Nothing I can think of, but there is an Arrested Development cameo - and a great one at that

 

[StevenC]

Nothing I can think of, but there is an Arrested Development cameo - and a great one at that

Spoiler

Apparently that wasn't even David Cross. Had it been David Cross that would totally have been a Community reference, he was Annie's cousin

 

[MFB]

Spoiler

Apparently that wasn't even David Cross. Had it been David Cross that would totally have been a Community reference, he was Annie's cousin

Spoiler

Wouldn't doubt that for a second, it was a super quick cameo and since he's covered in blue, you need more the big visual cues - hair-style/mustache/jorts/glasses - so go for cheap and get some nobody

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

It'd be interesting to see future seasons of the TV shows address what happened in Infinity War, definitely in SHIELD as what they did during events of the Winter Soldier was the peak of the series.

Apparently the current season of Agents of SHIELD (assuming anyone still gives a damn about that series ) actually addresses the first act of Infinity War. Or at least hat tips it. Didn't expect to call that at all.

If the show follows suit with the the movie's ending, now that will definitely be interesting.

 

[bostjan]

Ok, finally saw it. Liked it quite a bit.

When I first heard about the film, I thought it was going to be a screenplay of The Infinity Gauntlet, but it really wasn't, so I wasn't as familiar with the source material.

There was a lot going on, but it seemed like the amount of fluff and bullshit origin story stuff usually in superhero films was refreshingly absent. The movie just drops you right into the action, and then just keeps you with the action the whole time.

 

[wankerness]

Ok, finally saw it. Liked it quite a bit.

When I first heard about the film, I thought it was going to be a screenplay of The Infinity Gauntlet, but it really wasn't, so I wasn't as familiar with the source material.

There was a lot going on, but it seemed like the amount of fluff and bullshit origin story stuff usually in superhero films was refreshingly absent. The movie just drops you right into the action, and then just keeps you with the action the whole time.

Right. There's no warmup to it at all. It's paced as if the first 30 minutes were just lopped off, and I think that was a brilliant move. Anyone who hasn't seen Civil War and Thor Ragnarok will probably be completely lost, but whatever, this one isn't making any concessions at all to trying to bring in new fans, unlike the first Avengers, which didn't need you to have seen ANYTHING before it.

I think there's some tonal whiplash with some of the jokes being too close to the heavy stuff, but other than that I don't really have any complaints other than the whole ending having all the impact of a muffled sneeze to me, who knew the upcoming release schedule and had read spoilers, but I don't know how much more it would have had regardless with the matter-of-fact way it happens.

Thanos is not only good in terms of characterization, they really sell the "oh F***" nature of his powers. That big fight scene on the ruined Titan is spectacular, and there was more than one move he used where I felt the "oh shit" feeling in my gut.

Star Lord is the real villain of this movie. He has more than one scene where he's single-handedly responsible for giving Thanos a big boost forward.

Thor's big entrance towards the end is the most awesome thing ever and I wish we'd seen more than 30 seconds of him kicking ass.

I won't know where it stands in the ranking until I see it again on home video, probably. That second action scene (Vision and Scarlet Witch being chased at night) was pretty much incoherent in the theater but will probably be fine on a TV set. Kind of like the opening action scene in Civil War. Plus I just couldn't hear some of the dialogue, it seems like theater sound systems around here are set up in such a way that you just hear all the explosions and the dialogue is way too low even in non-action scenes.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

When I first heard about the film, I thought it was going to be a screenplay of The Infinity Gauntlet, but it really wasn't, so I wasn't as familiar with the source material.

There was a lot going on, but it seemed like the amount of fluff and bullshit origin story stuff usually in superhero films was refreshingly absent. The movie just drops you right into the action, and then just keeps you with the action the whole time.

I think the 10 years of 20+ movies already doing the setup should be enough to trust the viewers that there's really no need for an full origin exposition dump here, especially when the focus is an inanimate McGuffin. Long term investment is required, yes, but that's the whole point of having continuity.

Star Lord is the real villain of this movie. He has more than one scene where he's single-handedly responsible for giving Thanos a big boost forward.

The pop culture collective certainly thinks that, but I believe we're being too harsh on the character. Star Lord is IW's ultimate personification of 'man child' with serious issues when it comes to dealing with loss (as dealt right off the first Guardians movie after the very end of the second) and still trying to grow what he thinks is an adult dealing with challenges in the most immature childish way possible (dance off, Pacman).

Spoiler

This is all brought together at the moment he pulls the trigger to kill Gomora as he promised. He's finally come to terms of the meanings of true loss and sacrifice, and brings his entire arc to an end, only to have Thanos take it away from him because Thanos is the star of this movie. This is a recurring theme for all the heroes, namely Vision and Scarlet Witch get their moment together, only to have Thanos rewind time and kill Vision anyway because Thanos.

Star Lord's emotional buildup is undercurrent to all the jokes and humor in the Guardians movies (or perhaps not), but with it leading towards to that critical moment, it's no wonder he reacted the way he did.

 

[wankerness]

I think everyone in the audience is supposed to react with rage towards his character in the part where the glove is actually half off of Thanos until he reacts by getting mad and punching Thanos while everyone yells at him to stop being an idiot.

The earlier scene, where he takes wayyyyy too long to shoot Gamora until it's too late and Thanos has control of the situation and makes bubbles come out, is arguable since maybe Thanos would have done that from the moment he had the chance. Plus, I guess it's showing that at least he tried to do the right thing. So I guess he's only the bad guy once?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I think everyone in the audience is supposed to react with rage towards his character in the part where the glove is actually half off of Thanos until he reacts by getting mad and punching Thanos while everyone yells at him to stop being an idiot.

The earlier scene, where he takes wayyyyy too long to shoot Gamora until it's too late and Thanos has control of the situation and makes bubbles come out, is arguable since maybe Thanos would have done that from the moment he had the chance. Plus, I guess it's showing that at least he tried to do the right thing. So I guess he's only the bad guy once?

I think in the context of the whole movie, thanos wouldn't have let starlord shoot gamora. He was genuinely attached to her and kind of loved her in his own way.
I was really hoping they'd flesh out his literal obsession with death, but I think they did a damn good job of turning thanos into a compelling/relatively nuanced villain. I'm curious how Capt. Marvel and Adam Warlock are going to play into the next couple of films, especially since Adam is one of the only beings that can legit beat Thanos.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

I'm curious how Capt. Marvel and Adam Warlock are going to play into the next couple of films, especially since Adam is one of the only beings that can legit beat Thanos.

James Gunn has stated that Adam won't be in Avengers 4 as he's too complex a character to introduce in the movie cold, and needs at least his own standalone movie before joining the continuity crossover cascade. And since Avengers 4 was filmed back to back with Infinity War (aka already finished filming), his appearance isn't happening here.

Chances are they'll give him the Hank Pym treatment and re-delegate his comic book role to someone else.

 

[bostjan]

James Gunn has stated that Adam won't be in Avengers 4 as he's too complex a character to introduce in the movie cold, and needs at least his own standalone movie before joining the continuity crossover cascade. And since Avengers 4 was filmed back to back with Infinity War (aka already finished filming), his appearance isn't happening here.

Chances are they'll give him the Hank Pym treatment and re-delegate his comic book role to someone else.

So... Avengers 4 will have no Silver Surfer, no Captain Marvel, and no Adam Warlock?!
I guess, since I already read the comics, I'm open to a new take on things, but if Adam Warlock is going to have no connection to the Infinity Gauntlet, then what's even the point of having him? We've already seen his cocoon a couple times in the Marvel Films...argh oh well

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

So... Avengers 4 will have no Silver Surfer, no Captain Marvel, and no Adam Warlock?!
I guess, since I already read the comics, I'm open to a new take on things, but if Adam Warlock is going to have no connection to the Infinity Gauntlet, then what's even the point of having him? We've already seen his cocoon a couple times in the Marvel Films...argh oh well

Silver Surfer, being part of the Fantastic 4 property is still owned by 20c Fox so there was absolutely no chance of him being in Infinity War, hence why Bruce Banner took his spot at crashing the Sanctum Santorum. Disney now recently buying Fox will get F4 and XMen back, but that won't be happening for another few more years. So don't hold your breath.

Adam Warlock... I've got nothing there. But from a movie development perspective, it makes sense. It'll even make less sense if he actually was introduced in the movies now from a story narrative perspective if the closest thing we have Adam in the movies was a name drop and a bunch of cocoons. The "he was important in the comics" doesn't hold as much water in the movies now, and to introduce him will be nothing more than pandering and winking reference for the comic book purists... a problem as exhibited multiple times by Batman V Superman.

As for Captain Marvel... did you stay for the post credits scene?

 

[wankerness]

Huh. I have no clue who Adam Warlock or Hank Pym is. Guess I should look this crap up.

I also have no clue what Captain Marvel is beyond having that symbol on her uniform and being military, or something. I might just wait for the movie to find out with that one. I hate that her name is Captain Marvel. I learned the other day that there's also a MS MARVEL, and everyone was talking about how she also might get a movie. Gimme a frickin break. I don't care if she's the best character ever, get a name change first!!

 

[bostjan]

Ms. Marvel is Captain Marvel.

 

[wankerness]

Ms. Marvel is Captain Marvel.

??? Is she a reboot or something? Everyone was saying they should ALSO make a movie of her cause she's a muslim teenager and that would be a new thing.

EDIT: Now that I looked it up, Feige himself said they're tossing the idea around. And apparently she's just a girl INSPIRED by Captain Marvel. Argh. Get a namechange, lady!

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/05...rvel-movie-is-definitely-sort-of-in-the-works