Overhyped

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2018)

I swear I'm not a cynic that wants to watch the world burn. I liked the movie; in fact, I might see it again, but is it deserving of the box-office Hulk smashing and saying it is the best Marvel film over the past decade? Well, I don't think so. I've contemplated doing a ranking of the Marvel films, but we can save that for later. Also, with so much going on and so much safeguarding that has happened, I'll do my initial review and then clearly mark a spoiler section afterward where we really discuss the juicy stuff if you're one of the 12 people left that hasn't seen this film. I saw it a week ago, and I still felt like I was late to it.
So many characters. It hurts trying to think of everybody that appeared in this film. Some shined more than others. The directors did a wonderful job of making sure the tone of each franchise was appropriate. The improv heavy Thor: Ragnarok shown through with Thor and Hulk, the galaxy guards felt right, and Black Panther and Wakanda all made sense. So they got the vibe down. But not all individual characters were consistent. Let's try to go down the list:
Iron Man: Tony is mostly a success in this film
Thor: I'd argue that Thor is the star and is given some of the greatest moments. I do have to say, however, that there is a fight scene where Thor flies up and the half second shot of him was the most egregious CGI in awhile.
Captain America: He does his part. Nothing else to note really
Bruce Banner: Really tried putting on the cheese, and I think of all the humor, his missed the most.
Doctor Strange: Plays a nice role, but Tony Stark honestly does overshadow him.
Spider-Man: More hit or miss than in Civil War, but I'm still a Spidey fan.
Black Widow: Would be totally forgettable except that it's impossible to forget Scarlett Johansson. God bless.
The Guardians: We'll discuss controversy with Star-Lord later, and despite some good moments, he also had his own missteps. Drax was the best part about Vol. 2, and he was the funniest thing about this movie as well-love the big dude, especially when he plays comedically off of Mantis (one of Drax's funniest lines about Gamora was also improvised, just fyi). Groot and Rocket Rabbit Raccoon are great. I like Gamora, but I was hoping for more depth.
Vision: I'm a Paul Bettany fan, and he dominated the previous Avengers film, but he was trash in this film.
Scarlet Witch: She brings good contrast to Vision.
Black Panther: Not given enough screen time, but he's a bright side.
There are others like Nebula and Falcon, but I just can't do anymore. Oh, but one more character of note is Peter Dinklage. That guy is great. Okay, enough about the heroes. I'm looking forward to seeing Cable in Deadpool 2, but Josh Brolin is fantastic as Thanos in this film. I do get a bit tired of his motion-capture face with all the other CGI that goes on during the impressive film, but he represents a real threat-and as a fully realized character. It's truly a joy to watch, and you never know what to expect when he appears in a scene.
Look, here's what I'm most upset about the film. It didn't quite bring the magic I wanted (not talking about Strange either). When The Avengers came out and we watched that cast save New York, that was a blast. There are glimpses during some of the fights of enjoying what can happen when all these heroes come and fight together, but it never fully engaged me. And the way the story plays out, there was never really a chance for it.
I could tell there were some strange transitions due to trying to cut the film down, but I was mostly impressed by the editing. It's a gargantuan film and not an easy task. Like refrain from the large soda because it is a long movie, but it works out decently well. I will discuss more in detail the spoiler section below, but I had problems with the opening, and the ending did not affect me all that much. It's a long, CGI filled movie with so many stars that mostly are balanced out. It's entertaining, and it really is fun to watch in theaters. But is it still overhyped? Yeah. Yeah, it kinda is.
--SPOILERS-
I hate what happened in the opening scene. The idea behind it is obviously that hey, Thanos easily attacks the remains of the Asgardians, and it is supposed to set the tone for the rest of the film. RIP to Idris Elba, a great part about the Thor trilogy, but I'm not 100% yet that Loki is dead. He's died before, and even Thor contemplates about it. But anyways, 2 big players die in the opening. That's supposed to set the tone for the rest of the movie and wants to say to the audience, hey, this is the kind of Avengers film this is going to be. Get ready to say bye-bye to many of your heroes... But then, that didn't really happen. Gamora had her green blood spilt, and Vision was destroyed, but that was really it. One of those was a latter half death and the other was in the climax. They almost killed Tony, but they chickened out of that death and made Doctor Strange give in (a nice emotional moment, but no deaths). If they don't clean up their act and actually kill big people off next year, I will be upset.
People are speculating all over the ending, but I'm honestly just a bit meh over it. Firstly, after thinking it over, I don't blame Star-Lord for going berserk on Titan and ruining the plan. Like the love of his life was murdered, so I don't blame his reaction. Side note-the biggest glimmer I talked about earlier with the fight scenes was the fight with Thanos on Titan. Like Spidey jumping through Strange's portals and delivering blows with one-liners is fun. And earlier seeing him use Stark gadgets to aid him in the fight is cool too. But alas. The biggest reason I'm not concerned over what the ending really means or what will happen is that Black Panther is one of the ones that dissolved. We all know for a fact that Black Panther isn't actually dead, and that alone is enough to convince me not to worry about half the population being disintegrated. And since I wasn't all that worried, it didn't really hit the emotional level it wanted me too; however, of all the characters, Tom Holland's disappearance was really well done. Also, when Doctor Strange was looking at all those futures, he mentions that of the millions of possibilities, they only won once. And right before he disappears, he tells Tony that this was the only way. So again, I have no idea how the Avengers manages to fix this, but I know it will happen somehow, and as the end credits tell, we're not done with Thanos yet-even if he is currently watching his sunset on his summer break.
Predictions for Avengers 4: I honestly have done very little thinking on this, but here goes. Unlike popular belief, Captain America won't die; he will probably hang up his shield though. Since they scared us once in this film, Iron Man won't die either. Maybe someone like Bucky, er Winter Soldier, er White Wolf will sacrifice himself. Uh, Black Widow still hasn't gotten a solo film, and I think the origin films are getting a little old, so maybe she won't die. I think Marky Mark Ruffalo will get some moments as the big green guy, but he ultimately dies. I'm not sure how stuff gets reversed, but it could have something to do with the Time Stone. What I'm really trying to say is that I have no idea what will happen. I'm not losing any sleep over it, but I will be sure to check it out next year.
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