Right. Here are all my spoilery thought about Avengers: Endgame, I highly recommend not reading this if you haven’t seen the film. My spoiler-free review is here.
I probably haven’t mentioned everything I noticed or wanted to say because there was so much and I see new things every time I see it. I’ve seen Endgame three times now and still think it’s an incredible end to a series of 22 films. My comments are a mixture of stuff that happened in order, and character focussed stuff. This post is probably a mess so you’ve been warned. (more…)
Have I told you lately how much I love Tony Stark? Because I love him a lot. Every now and then I think about the ways he’s such a great and interesting character and then I go on a little Twitter rant. As a part of Jumpcut Online’s Infinity Saga retrospective of the MCU I wrote pieces on Iron Man and Iron Man 3 which are two of my favourite films in the MCU and I’d recommend checking them out because they end up being mainly focused on why Tony Stark (and Robert Downey Jr.) is so brilliant.
But why do I love Tony Stark so much? That’s a good question. I love how much he’s grown over the course of the MCU. Like, I get why someone wouldn’t necessarily like him in the first Iron Man film (though he still has a good character arc in it) but if they still don’t like him by the time Infinity War has rolled around then they’re still judging him on who he was and not what he’s become.
The thing about Tony Stark is that he wears bravado and the “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” title like a suit of armour. He can court the media like a pro, but it doesn’t mean he enjoys it. He is confident and at times full of himself, but he also has anxieties and a deep need to protect those he cares about and fix his mistakes.
Tony Stark has a heart and it’s full of love. He loves his robots and his AI (don’t tell me losing JARVIS first to Ultron and then as a part of Vision wouldn’t have hurt him), he loves Pepper, he loves Rhodey, and Happy, and Peter, and he definitely loved, or at least cared about, the rest of the Avengers. Tony Stark is the guy who designed a floor for each of the Avengers in his tower after knowing them for less than 48 hours. The guy didn’t have a conventional upbringing, or a solid family, so he tries to make a family from his friends.
Tony is incredibly smart and incredibly brave. He’s had anxiety, nightmares and PTSD from going through a wormhole into space, but that didn’t stop him trying to save Spider-Man and Doctor Strange when they were kidnapped by a spaceship. Space, and the threat that’s out there, is one of his biggest fears but he still went to try and save the world.
Tony is often a mess, but he’s a mess that is trying his best. He is someone who when presented with a couple of options he doesn’t like, will find a different way to do something, to fix a problem. Accountability and learning from one’s mistakes are major parts of Tony’s character arc, and his need to be held accountable, for people to be safe and secure, is one of his major driving forces. That can, and does, mean he clashes with some people, but he will get through it.
Tony Stark is funny, smart and heroic. He’s the guy who made a miniaturised arc reactor in a cave with a box of scraps. And he’s the guy that won’t ever give up.
There’s me thinking, “Oh dear I haven’t got a post for blogmas planned for today, will have to write something when I get home from work.” And what do you know, the first trailer for the next Avengers film was released earlier today and I have a lot to say about it.
First of all, beware spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp and my thoughts and predictions on what might happen in Endgame – which probably won’t be in any real order and I’ll have probably forgotten some stuff. I loved this trailer, and to be honest I think it’s going to be the only trailer for the film I watch. I want to know as little as possible before seeing this film.
I loved the way it started with Tony seemingly alone in space (I say seemingly as he’s going to be with Nebula and my hopes that they will bond in space and become besties haven’t been dashed yet) leaving a farewell message for Pepper. His message makes me so sad, he’s one of my favourite characters and he’s been through so much. He had nightmares and suffers from PTSD from his first trip into space, and now he’s stuck floating through space, running out of oxygen. There’s a sort of symmetry with the trailer starting with Tony as he is the character that started the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I predict either Carol, aka Captain Marvel, will find and save Tony and Nebula as she’s on her way to Earth to answer Fury’s message, or Pepper is going to come to Tony’s rescue. I think it could be Pepper mainly because of Tony’s use of the word “Rescue” as that’s the name of the armour Pepper has worn in the comics.
I love that Clint is shown in the trailer, especially as I spent so long trying to spot him in the Infinity Ware trailer and he was never there! It looks like he’s taken up the role of Ronin which means that his family has almost certainly turned to dust. I predict a very different Clint Barton to what we’ve seen before, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he fits in with the rest of the Avengers that are left.
When Bruce looked at the wall of missing heroes, aka people who may have turned to dust, Shuri was on there! That was a surprise and then leaves me wondering if she has turned to dust, or is generally MIA, who’s now leading Wakanda. Okoye and M’Baku both survived Infinity War so maybe between them they’re trying to keep the country together?
Also, because none of the heroes on Earth know what happen to Tony, does that mean his face is going to be on that wall of missing people? Because if it is I’ll probably cry. But then it makes me think about how all those who are still alive, Thor, Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey, will react when Tony does get back to Earth presumably with Nebula and Carol in tow.
Then there’s the ending with Scott! I have so many questions right now about him. How the hell did he get out of the quantum realm if everyone who knew where he was turned to dust? Does he know what’s happened to the rest of the world? Because he’s quite cheerful if he does! What about his daughter?
I really liked the vibe this trailer gave off. Here’s a bunch of heroes, the original Avengers, all at their lowest point, but they’re still going to try and find a way to fight. I love that it doesn’t show that much, mainly just shots of the characters, and that there’s no real scenes of action. I don’t need that. I know I’m going to see Endgame as soon as it’s out and I know there’s a good chance I’m going to love it. These characters have been a part of my life for 10 years now. I’ve written two dissertations on Marvel Studios. My love for these characters and this whole universe is a big part of me. And while I know there’s a good chance that some of these characters will die – the most likely of them being Steve and/or Tony – I don’t want them to. Even if at the same time I think that narratively speaking it might be kind of poetic if they do die, especially Tony because as I said, he started it all.
There’re rumours that there’s going to be a trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home released soon, but I’m not going to watch it and do my best to avoid everything to do with it. Like, I know that everyone who turned to dust is going to come back somehow, so it’s the how that’s interesting to me, but I still don’t want to see a trailer of Peter Parker swinging around all OK.
If you’ve watched the trailer for Avengers: End Game, do let me know what you think. I definitely feel the MCU won’t be the same after this film. After this, it’ll be the start of a new roster of “Avengers” and the older ones take a step back, in whatever shape or form that may be.
WARNING! This is my spoiler-filled review of Infinity War, if you haven’t seen the film or just generally don’t want any spoilers my spoiler-free review is here.
Now I don’t think this will be in any particular order and I definitely won’t manage to talk about everything, these are the things that stuck with me the most that I wanted to talk about. (more…)
I posted my spoiler-free review of Captain America: Civil War a few days ago and you can read that here. This my spoiler review and it’s kind of ended up in any old order where I mostly talk about each character and what I liked about them. Be warned this is a long post – it’s over 1,800 words! Now below is all my spoiler-filled thoughts on the movie so once again you have been warned! I really advise you not to read any further if you haven’t seen the film. (more…)
After a string of dangerous and deadly missions that put the public at risk, the Avengers are told they must be regulated by the U.N. While Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) agrees with these measures, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn’t trust them. This causes a divide between the team that’s only exasperated when Steve’s best friend and former assassin Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) resurfaces.
Anthony and Joe Russo return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the way they put together this film is great. The action sequences are well-shot, there’s only a few instances of shaky-cam and most of the time fight scenes are framed in a wide shot so you can see exactly what’s going on. Also the way they manage to film multiple characters fighting but you never lose focus of where each character is and what they are doing is truly commendable.
A big part of the film is obviously this conflict between Steve and Tony and the sides various characters choose. The great thing about Captain America: Civil War is that you understand why these characters disagree and as the viewer you can see it’s not black and white and there’s pros and cons to both sides of the argument. At the beginning of the film there’s a sit down discussion between a lot of the characters and you get why the stakes are so high and what these regulations mean to them all.
The tension builds between all the characters as the film progresses and in many ways it’s similar to a Bourne thriller as characters go on the run and try to figure out the truth. While I won’t go into any depth of the different characters motivations, I can’t not mention Prince T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). He is a guy who has the weight of a country on his shoulders but he is still fallible. He isn’t particularly on anyone’s side, he is on his own side and it makes him an interesting third party to this conflict. Civil War gives Black Panther a brilliant introduction and there’s going to be many people excited about his solo film.
There are a lot of characters in this movie but thanks to a great script, they all get their moment in the spotlight though some may have that moment longer than others. Really while Civil War is in a way both a sequel to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, at the heart of it, it is a Captain America movie. It’s the relationship between Steve and Bucky that drives a lot of their character motivations, and the motivations of a lot of the characters around them. the two of them are the heart of the film and it’s a good job Evans and Stan have such a good understanding of their characters and give such great performances because if they didn’t, Captain America: Civil War really wouldn’t be as good as it is.
Captain America: Civil War is a phenomenal film. While there’s all this conflict and amazing action sequences, at the heart of the film is the characters and their relationships. It’s what drives the plot and makes the film so great. 5/5.
This review is full of spoilers. It’s all my thoughts about the characters and the plot, and all the things I loved and the stuff I wasn’t over keen on. You can read my spoiler-free review here. I wasn’t sure of the best way to go about this – it turned into a weird episodic structure where I talked about each character in turn and the things I liked/disliked about what they did. It also ended up being rather long, seriously it’s over 1,800 words! Last warning for SPOILERS! (more…)
Elena Square Eyes 