MOVIE REVIEW: AVENGERS END GAME (2019)

Avengers: End Game had big shoes to fill. Following up from Infinity War (which I regarded as the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie at the time), End Game had the task of wrapping up Phase 3 of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, rather than continuing Infinity War and taking any risks, End Game feels like a corporate paint-by-numbers movie.

End Game starts a little after the end of Infinity War. The trailers built up several mysteries (such as how Tony Stark is saved), but these are quickly resolved. The Avengers than go about the task of trying to undo the damage caused by Thanos and his snap. What follows next is an underwhelming, self-indulgent movie that the 'nothing matters' superhero movie criticisms can be applied to.

The main problems I have with it isn't that it is mediocre (which it definitely is). It is (like Captain Marvel before it) how it retroactively makes some of the best lines and scenes of the previous movies worse. Thor getting Stormbreaker and his nobility are thrown away into making him the comic relief. Hulk becomes Hulk again with just a quick handwave. The Soul Stone no longer requires sacrificing that which you love the most. They give an out for Loki to reappear. And the list goes on as they want to have their cake and eat it for future merchandising.

It all ends in a largely inconsequential fight at the end. You know the ending. The ending has been rumored since before Infinity War. It is very predictable. All you need to do is look at the upcoming movie releases and the most popular movies to know how it is going to resolve itself. No risks were taken and some of the big risks of previous movies were undone. However, the worst is done to Thanos and his fearsome and formidable Black Order, who are reduced to a generic villain and cannon fodder.

Infinity War took allot of risks for a superhero movie and is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also ended perfectly and would've have been a suitably epic end for the Marvel movies. Unfortunately, End Game fails and instead gets stuck in corporate mediocrity. I wonder when the dust settles on the hype if this movie will be fondly remembered. For me, I always prefer the twisted father-figure that was Infinity War Thanos and suspect that, like Transformers, it won't be remembered too fondly in the future.

2 out of 5 ending stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: INFINITY WAR

Infinity War is the latest Marvel movie in their cinematic universe. It was also the most secretive, with very late review embargoes on everything. Luckily, it might also be their best movie. 

The movie is an ensemble. Everyone is in it as they face off against Thanos and his chosen warriors. Inspired by the comics, Thanos is trying to complete his goal of killing half the universe. His tools- 6 infinity stones. 

This movie is very well done. It never feels jarring or too spread thin. All major characters get good chances to shine. All the characters are given a spot or two to show why the marvel cinematic universe is so loved. This is definitely a movie that you need to be at least familiar with the characters, though.

There are very few downpoints. There are a couple of jarring moments. One is when Black Panthers talks to another character, as if the filmmakers were trying to prove she is smarter than the resident named brains of the universe. This felt jarring instead of just getting the job done. Other characters are also required to take some small steps backward to get everyone back on the same page, but nothing that breaks the movie flow as bad as this. 

The other weaker point is Thanos himself. In he comics, he is a very cerebral villain (when done well), using brains over brawn. Here, he is much more a bruiser. Also, his power, despite seeming vast, seems to be inconsistent. He seems to struggle in some situations, which is a head scratcher considering how he is introduced. This is similar for Thanos’ chosen guard, Thor, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and others. The power scaling is a bit off. 

Thanos is still one of the better villains. He has depth similar to Killmonger or Loki (although not quite as strong or compelling as them), and is given time to be fleshed out. Considering that the two pillars this movie was resting on were Thanos and the balance of having so many characters, I think Marvel can hang their hats up on this as a success and how the cinematic universe is letting them push forward more and more. 

5 out of 5 infinite waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: THOR RAGNAROK

Major marvel movie releases have a baseline level of quality (ignoring their television shows) that seems hard to break. When your biggest criticism of a movie is that it is too fun in some minor places or the trailers may have revealed a bit too much, then you know that it has been a real winner. 

Thor Ragnarok follows the story of Thor after the end Avengers: Age of Ultron. He is out searching for the infinity stones and along the way has to fight Hela, the goddess of death. In all fairness, the infinity stone plot doesn’t really feature too much in the movie with the main focus being on saving Asgard. 

Thor feels allot like Guardians of the Galaxy or Iron Man. It is a movie that doesn’t take itself overly seriously with each character having a stack of wit and personality about them. Yet there is an underlying seriousness about it that when things are thought about, you realise they make sense. 

I thought the trailers may have given away too much and, in some parts they have. Some of the best surprises have been tarnished by the trailers, although things don’t resolve the way you think for allot of them. There is definitely a bit of misdirection in the trailers. 

The only other criticism is that occasionally the movie doesn’t take itself seriously enough. However this is a minor complain int and only really relevant in one or two scenes. Otherwise the story is great, the movie looks great, and the characters are awesome. This is definitely a movie to go see. 

5 our of 5 Sparking Waffles.