John Wick Chapter Three - Parabellum
Director: Chad Stahleski
Cast Headliners: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Halle Berry, many many others more than ever
Original Release Date: May 17th, 2019
The One... the Baba Yaga... the goer of the Excellent Adventure... the best hitman and dog avenger there is John Wick is back with John Wick Chapter Three – Parabellum. By a third film one may feel fatigue can set into any action franchise but John Wick is a series that not only surprised with how great it was in the first place but also how inventively great and fresh it continues to be. This is the biggest, craziest, most epic one yet and one will get exactly what they want out of it.
It really helps to have seen the others before this due to the characters and stakes involved although it could potentially work as a jump in due to the thrill of its opening. After the events of the second film assassin John Wick(Keanu Reeves) and his adorable pitbull are on the run as a 14million dollar “excommunicado” hit begins on him. The film is almost, but not quite, nonstop action and mistrust as he's constantly on the run and attacked. It's a bit of a unique format for a film and for any who saw the second one its like that one “enemy hitmen” sequence...on endless steroids.
The film goes even deeper into its lore and epic stakes of fictional assassin underground societies. It truly is bringing things into a global, epic war scale almost like a superhero or the 2008 “Wanted. There's various allegiances to these societies... there's the Manhattan Continental Hotel led by Winston(Ian McShane) and receptionist assistant Charon(Lance Reddick) who started the hit on John merely by following orders. These are the orders of the High Table who runs everything whether via their apparent leader in the Elder(Said Taghmaoui) or the Adjudicator(Asia Kate Dillion). There's the Bowery and its Bowery King(Laurence Fishburne) who have hobos-in-disguise like the Tick Tock Man(Jason Mantzoukas). There's also bit factions like the Russians led by the Director(Anjelica Huston), the smithing Moroccans under Berradda(Jerome Flynn), or a key enemy force of the Japanese under Zero(Mark Dacascos).
As mentioned its a lot more lore and ensemble cast characters to take in. It's become a film, and series, of a lot more of everything as a whole as it embraces its craziness. It's a bit like what Fast and Furious did although in an effective filmcraft of a way...perhaps learning from the Raid series's scale than anything(even including some people from that).
Through all these characters and places what is very much the shining star of this, as the past two, is the action itself. There's so, so much action and brutal killing that occurs(with some slight periods of downtime over its long runtime). The sequences have incredible choreography whether its fighting with knifes, guns, horses(especially their hooves), dogs(!), or motorcycles. There's so many times that one will be surprised and delighted by what occurs. Little details are paid attention to and not much goes unused. Multiple times some background thing will be hinted at...and then gloriously bloodily used or dealt with again.
Much praise to director Chad Stahleski for this. Even when it's not one of the many fights or climaxes going on he has a camera craft that's wonderful. This is perhaps a bit less noticed in dusty desert squares than it is in neon-soaked city streets or buildings but it all looks so gorgeous even if often grimly dark. This surreal neon touch is also what sets these films apart from peers aided by some amazing music by Tyler Bates.
There's so many characters now to really praise much in particular but those who are reliable continue to be. Reeve's Wick , or “Jardani” as we learn at one point, is as cool as ever. He's fierce in action scenes but with a subtle emotional and or fierce grit that entertains on his journey. The movie actually delves even further into his backstory and what others think of him which is interesting although some may have wished this was all more mysterious. No worries as it still is. McShane's Winston perhaps takes the most suave award with his cocktails and wisecracks as ever. Same goes for Reddick's Charon who even gets in on some more up close action this time. So too is Fisbhurne's King as humorous as he was last time and luckily has a bit more of a role.
The other A-list exposition deliverers may be a bit of a slight shlock but its only in the best way. Dillon's Adjudicator provides a mysterious, menacing villainous authority through her robotic delivery. Dacascos's Zero takes this film's “main up close” enemy spot and has his own combat skill that's nearly as fierce as Wick's. He brings more of a cocky rivalry than the past two films have had with a sense of respect that makes him interesting although it may be a bit much for some although there's certainly some rare moments of true and great humor.... it's all very “martial arts film” in that way.
All this has been said without talking of Sofia(Halle Berry) who is a very important although ultimately a bit of a minor part. She's just as fierce and cool as Wick himself is and when they fight together its a thing of glory. Her dogs are some of the fiercest doggos around and there's some slight backstory talked of between them but like most things its ready before it even starts. One hopes for her again in the future perhaps... It's definitely a film that ends on a cliffhanger too which may lack some closure after its twist but if they are this good one will gladly like them ahead for at least one more go as the stakes seem to be truly epic ahead.
As a whole it's exactly what the fans would want. Hours of brutal, surprising, inventive, moody dark action to thrilling new heights. Personally I don't mind the stakes that it's been raised to although there's a bit of feeling that some of it has been done before or better. However, when it does surprise it sure does leave an impression.... worth it for those by far and the way its handled. 8.7 out of 10
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Pokemon Detective Pikachu Review
Pokemon Detective Pikachu
Director: Rob Letterman
Cast Headliners: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe, many many pokemon
Original Release Date: May 10th, 2019
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a bit of a chaotically, sillily weird one. Pokemon as a franchise needs no introduction for anyone alive on this world from the 1990s onwards. There's been games, anime series, trading cards but never until now has there been a film that's not an anime film. That's probably for good reason as usually when games go live action or to films in general results are not quite the best(just ask Pikachu's company cousin Mario). They've also chosen not to adapt a classic Pokemon tale but instead create something new from...a semi-obscure 3DS spinoff game about a wisecracking noir-esque Pikachu. Turns out choosing to go for something so specific and distinct in tone helps it become smartly decent as can be.
On the offchance one has been living under a rock this is a world of sometimes adorable, sometimes colorul fierce cartoonish creatures called “Pokemon” who here live in an apparent utopia known as Ryme City. These creatures have an intelligence far beyond any other pet and even can have superpowers over elemental forces or magic and so on. However, most cannot talk. This movie makes one exception.
Tim Goodman(Justice Smith) is a mundane insurance worker who gets brought downtown after the apparent death of his father. While searching through his father's things he comes across the titular Detective Pikachu(Ryan Reynolds) who's a yellow electric mouse...that can speak English. They find themselves entangled in a criminal conspiracy of mysterious power-boosting gases, an experimental intelligent weapon pokemon known as Mewtwo, and shadowy figures.
The tone, and quality, of the flick is all over the place but kind of in a great way. It's strong at being some (hard PG into PG-13 turf) family, silly, chill wacky fun humor. Reynold's performance is perfect at this. It's much like his take on Deadpool of course but it works so amazingly well. The diminutive critter has as much sass and constant joking as that Merc With a Mouth with a bit more of a grumpy hardboiled wisened angle. He has some good stuff with Smith's Tim and well anyone really. Smith's lead isn't far quite as effective but he has his charms and quips aside generic / general “Woah there what's happening” kind of reactions. They're joined by Lucy(Kathyrn Newton) a blogger and her “bomb” avian Psyduck companion who must be kept calm (which leads to some great fun with Det. Pikachu). Unfortunately Newton's acting, along with some others, is not very good at all. Its cheesiness and amateur nature remind one of something like a Nickelodeon or Disney Channel original movie in quality but perhaps its its all ages kid-friendly nature.
The others too don't quite leave an impact although they managed to pull a couple of big names. Bill Nighy portrays wheelchair bound CEO and inventor Howard Clifford who has some importance to the plot although it's typical generic stuff. Ken Watanabe's police chief Detective Yoshida has an adorably grumpy pet Snubbull but just gives a couple of brief, slow bits of exposition. The same applies for anyone else who really isn't worth mentioning. A possible exception is a bit cameo by Karan Soni...Dopiner from Deadpool.As a fan of the source games Mewtwo(Rina Hoshino and Kotaro Watanabe) is handled very accurately which is nice although comes off as a bit hokey in reality.
Emphasis must be reminded on “hokey in reality”. That's both the incredible benefit but pitfall of this movie. So many game films have failed to actually capture the feeling , mechanics, or plots of the original. While this is a fresh take it does accurately (more or less) portray a glimpse into the world that's right out of the games. Some of the pokemon designs are incredibly cool looking and given a realistic, animal touch. However some of them do not hold up well in CGI or reality. These are usually the more colorful, supernatural, big eyed ones who's looks and powers can be a bit stupid to see but in a way it's what a fan would want although to non-fans it may seem...off in a way. It's more about charming than immersing.
There's actually a couple of intense action scenes and what it does right is having some surprises within. The plot is nothing to write home about although it's interesting to see a bit of a noir story for all ages. This is helped by the directorial efforts of Rob Letterman. The cityscapes and colors can sometimes be a bit of a gorgeous sci-fi cyberpunk palette when they aren't being cheesy and shaky. The music is often great too (kudos to Henry Jackman). The synths and strings add to that steamy detective noir mood...which makes the adult / cartoony contast that much more entertaining.
It's not too deep of a movie and some ridiclously silly cheesy stupid things occur. However for Pokemon fans its a slight bit of a must watch at some point just to see the dream come alive. It could have been a lot better but its about what one would expect. Simple silly Pika fun with a spy touch...for better or worse. 7.8 out of 10
Director: Rob Letterman
Cast Headliners: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe, many many pokemon
Original Release Date: May 10th, 2019
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a bit of a chaotically, sillily weird one. Pokemon as a franchise needs no introduction for anyone alive on this world from the 1990s onwards. There's been games, anime series, trading cards but never until now has there been a film that's not an anime film. That's probably for good reason as usually when games go live action or to films in general results are not quite the best(just ask Pikachu's company cousin Mario). They've also chosen not to adapt a classic Pokemon tale but instead create something new from...a semi-obscure 3DS spinoff game about a wisecracking noir-esque Pikachu. Turns out choosing to go for something so specific and distinct in tone helps it become smartly decent as can be.
On the offchance one has been living under a rock this is a world of sometimes adorable, sometimes colorul fierce cartoonish creatures called “Pokemon” who here live in an apparent utopia known as Ryme City. These creatures have an intelligence far beyond any other pet and even can have superpowers over elemental forces or magic and so on. However, most cannot talk. This movie makes one exception.
Tim Goodman(Justice Smith) is a mundane insurance worker who gets brought downtown after the apparent death of his father. While searching through his father's things he comes across the titular Detective Pikachu(Ryan Reynolds) who's a yellow electric mouse...that can speak English. They find themselves entangled in a criminal conspiracy of mysterious power-boosting gases, an experimental intelligent weapon pokemon known as Mewtwo, and shadowy figures.
The tone, and quality, of the flick is all over the place but kind of in a great way. It's strong at being some (hard PG into PG-13 turf) family, silly, chill wacky fun humor. Reynold's performance is perfect at this. It's much like his take on Deadpool of course but it works so amazingly well. The diminutive critter has as much sass and constant joking as that Merc With a Mouth with a bit more of a grumpy hardboiled wisened angle. He has some good stuff with Smith's Tim and well anyone really. Smith's lead isn't far quite as effective but he has his charms and quips aside generic / general “Woah there what's happening” kind of reactions. They're joined by Lucy(Kathyrn Newton) a blogger and her “bomb” avian Psyduck companion who must be kept calm (which leads to some great fun with Det. Pikachu). Unfortunately Newton's acting, along with some others, is not very good at all. Its cheesiness and amateur nature remind one of something like a Nickelodeon or Disney Channel original movie in quality but perhaps its its all ages kid-friendly nature.
The others too don't quite leave an impact although they managed to pull a couple of big names. Bill Nighy portrays wheelchair bound CEO and inventor Howard Clifford who has some importance to the plot although it's typical generic stuff. Ken Watanabe's police chief Detective Yoshida has an adorably grumpy pet Snubbull but just gives a couple of brief, slow bits of exposition. The same applies for anyone else who really isn't worth mentioning. A possible exception is a bit cameo by Karan Soni...Dopiner from Deadpool.As a fan of the source games Mewtwo(Rina Hoshino and Kotaro Watanabe) is handled very accurately which is nice although comes off as a bit hokey in reality.
Emphasis must be reminded on “hokey in reality”. That's both the incredible benefit but pitfall of this movie. So many game films have failed to actually capture the feeling , mechanics, or plots of the original. While this is a fresh take it does accurately (more or less) portray a glimpse into the world that's right out of the games. Some of the pokemon designs are incredibly cool looking and given a realistic, animal touch. However some of them do not hold up well in CGI or reality. These are usually the more colorful, supernatural, big eyed ones who's looks and powers can be a bit stupid to see but in a way it's what a fan would want although to non-fans it may seem...off in a way. It's more about charming than immersing.
There's actually a couple of intense action scenes and what it does right is having some surprises within. The plot is nothing to write home about although it's interesting to see a bit of a noir story for all ages. This is helped by the directorial efforts of Rob Letterman. The cityscapes and colors can sometimes be a bit of a gorgeous sci-fi cyberpunk palette when they aren't being cheesy and shaky. The music is often great too (kudos to Henry Jackman). The synths and strings add to that steamy detective noir mood...which makes the adult / cartoony contast that much more entertaining.
It's not too deep of a movie and some ridiclously silly cheesy stupid things occur. However for Pokemon fans its a slight bit of a must watch at some point just to see the dream come alive. It could have been a lot better but its about what one would expect. Simple silly Pika fun with a spy touch...for better or worse. 7.8 out of 10
Monday, May 6, 2019
Avengers: Endgame Review
Avengers: Endgame
Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Cast Headliners: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, any and all The Avengers left vs Josh Brolin Thanos, EVERYONE ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE EVER EVER EVER
Original Release Date: April 26th, 2019
It's very hard to encapsulate what Avengers: Endgame means to fans, comics, cinema, and perhaps even world history. This fourth Avengers film is not just another one of those but is very much an end. Literally, more or less, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe has led to the events of this film. It's part 2 of 2, it's the series finale for what it was. It's the start in some ways of something new but it will never be the same. Every answer, every person, every meaning, every moment all comes together here. Somehow there's so much more than ever has been nor will be again yet also it's as intimate as can be. There's so much it couldn't have been anything but messy yet also it's just about as perfect as it should have been.
Do not come to see this film if one has no idea what this series is. Even moreso than anything ever done before this is a send off for the fans. That makes it that much better as it gives the “true believers” references, charm, and closure. However until that part do recall that the cliffhanger situation from 2018's Infinity War is incredibly, incredibly dark(this review will try to remain as spoiler-light as possible although a.) who hasn't seen this by now and b.) Marvel themselves have dripped some good nuggets into post-release ads). It's a literal rollercoaster of tone and emotions from the darkest of depths to some possible hope of redemption.
Recall that Thanos(Josh Brolin) wiped out half of all living existence with the powerful Infinity Stones. It's interesting, and fitting, that the core survivors ended up being the “original 6” Avengers.... Steve/Captain America(Chris Evans), Tony/Iron Man(Robert Downey Jr), Bruce/Hulk-even-if-he's-stubborn(Mark Ruffalo), Thor(Chris Hemsworth), the proper return oh-so-sweetly of Clint/Hawkeye/”Ronin” to some (Jeremy Renner), and Nat/Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson). It doesn't take too long for them to properly be reunited and it's a good feeling amidst the depression since they've been separated for awhile in the MCU's timeline. There's also the space or otherwise straggler-ons of Rocket(Bradley Cooper), Nebula(Karen Gillian), Rhodey/War Machine(Don Cheadle), and the proper melding-ins to an Avengers film of Scott/Ant-Man(Paul Rudd) as well as freshest MCU member Carol/Captain Marvel(Brie Larson). Together they prepare to as they say “go get this son of a bitch”.
As mentioned it's a film that very much feels like part two to a larger whole as well as part 22 of 22 to the biggest possible ever whole. It is also as mentioned a film of such contrasting moods. Perhaps never before for this kind of film does it actually open so dark and depressingly. The situation is understandably dire and it gives this Earth a very unique, almost post-apocalyptic vibe that is only touched upon although however it's a great excuse for some profound character changes that must be seen firsthand. There's some somber moments to see the effect this has on Okoye(Danai Gurira), Pepper Potts(Gwyneth Paltrow) (with a special new addition to the world in tow), and even the luckily safe Valkyrie(Tessa Thompson), Korg(Taika Waititi), and Miek the bug from Thor's Asgardian refugees. There's so many, many, many many, many, many, many, many more characters to be seen ...all rightfully, surprisingly, wonderfully old that makes this feel like one last goodbye and reunion.
However one can imagine that the combined heroes can't hold back the humor and “woah” for long amidst the depressing stakes. This is actually an incredibly funny film in the same general ballpark of what's come before. Maybe it's because the levity is buried amidst darkness but it still feels great all this time later. Existing characters meeting each other in new ways or becoming new things lead to a middle portion that's filled with more bright adventure.
In that regard it's always been a series about characters and here it's that much more important. Friendships we missed and ones we never knew we wanted all work out wonderfully. Chris Evans's Cap has much more of a main role this time. It's fitting since well this is the end of an in-universe decades and our universe decade long journey as the main hero. It's a hero's closure (WITH WHATEVER THAT MEANS) with a rightfully central impact to match. He's somber, he's inspiring, he's awesome, he's funny, he's charming, he's fierce, he's powerful. This is Cap full circle now and forever. He's tied in this regard by the OTHER leading (and remember original film starrer) face in Robert Downey Jr's Stark. Ah how great it is to see him in this...thank you for all these years. His quips are at their quippiest, his fighting perhaps a bit less than last time but it's there, and his own emotional arc with Pepper and (others). It's so good, no so AMAZING, to see these two both get to interact with each other (and new people) again yet also confront their past along the hopes of the future. The performances here speak to their performances as a whole... SUPERheroes in every sense of the word. The other original core are also in great form. Hemsworth's Thor continues to be a bit of a broken man that here perhaps breaks even further...extremely powerful yet goes to a totally hilarious surprising new ...comedic ...direction with something that must be seen firsthand(what a journey all over the place he's had). ScarJo has some of her better material in awhile balancing a fine line of somber and charm. Ruffalo's Banner is....an interesting new comic direction of his whole that maybe feels a bit less than could have due to how much ELSE is going on(without giving us what we quite wanted) but he has his quips. He always was one for quips.
In the absence of others its characters like Renner's Clint who gets to shine. The opening scenes show he wasn't alone in losing his family to dust. This leads him down an emotional, dark edgy path. He becomes involved in some tangential side plots as “Ronin” which makes him a Punisher-esque vigilante from the streets of Japan to the darkest depths of space. He's joined in his family-loss sorrow with the also-missing-from-IW-but-main-now Scott Rudd Lang. Rudd fits perfectly in here(as he did with 2016's Civil War). He's got some great jokes and nativity. As he says he's the guy who doesn't know whats going on (hasn't he always been) but it works so well here. He actually helps propel certain aspects of the film in motion. It's nice to see more bit players like Cheadle's War Machine, Gillian's Nebula, and Cooper's Rocket get some more quips and character moments in with the literal extra space allowed to them. Some other (especially civilian) characters do get a bit more lost in the ruckus but more than ever it makes sense with the tapestry of tapestry of tapestries that goes down. One will laugh at Waititi's Korg or Thompson's Valkyrie or be slightly impressed by the (so brief considering the buildup) powers of Larson's Carol but there's so much else worthy to remember.
It's interesting that, as with its somber first portion and genre-hopping middle portion, this is a film that's almost antagonist free. Brolin's Thanos is great as ever but if Infinity War was him as a bit of an anti-hero its a slight remiss that he here's reduced in part to a MacGuffin. He has some great scenes of course and is menacing as ever but it's very much a Loki in other films to Loki in Avengers 1 comparision. He's fearsome, he's evil, he's got a couple of quips and sorrows but he only is in it as little as he needs to be. Through means that must be seen his relationship with daughter Gamora(Zoe Saldana) and of course Nebula isn't over yet but it's things that have been seen before. One may think this is almost combat-free at times but it delivers so well when it needs to.
To speak on this in brief a large portion of the fun comes through what the excuse for salvation is... time travel. Yes timelines, universes, what-ifs are all introduced in this film in a way that boggles an sometimes frustrates the mind for plot hole sakes but is an excuse for some hilariously and or intensely entertaining sequences. It's a clever way of offering tribute to the entire franchise to date in this ending huzzah. Sequences and settings from the likes of the 2012 Avengers , 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy, last year's Infinity War, and more are recreated perfectly. It's literally a trip down memory lane that leaves one feeling nostalgic when they're back in the Battle of New York or hearing the groovy “Come And Get Your Love” on a Guardians of the Galaxy world. One couldn't ask for a better recreation of the feelings these brought and it makes one appreciate this ending even more. Some fun twists happen along the way(heck they showed some Captain America vs himself ruckus in a recent ad) that give this a bright, silly, surprising ride along the way. It's also filled with some perfect retcons and lore from later films that give the past new context and depth which ties the series, and future, together. Bravo Marvel to that as bravo to many things.
In the end it all comes together for something that never quite will be done to the scale that it is in cinema ever again(perhaps only for the MCU itself to attempt...in time...). The ending climactic, universe saving-or-destroying showdowns between the heroes and Thanos are so incredible, so awe-inspiring, so important this writer gets chills even after three viewings. Credit more than ever should be given to directing brothers The Russos. The scale of how many combatants end up involved, where, how, why makes the franchise to date(or any) seem like some babies in a small sandbox in comparison. It's perhaps a bit of CGI overload but how else could it have been done. There's some crisp direction, some painting-like shots(that perhaps has been done before even in the past few films and movies), and so much happening that I'll need a 4th, 5th, and onwards viewing to truly understand who was where in each moment. It's a battle finale that perhaps is at times too short but is just the right amount of epic and satisfaction after the timey-wimey, dark depressing slowburn journey to the end. It's a three hour film but its so well paced it'll be over before one knows it. Big kudos to composer Alan Silvestri as well who of course remixes some past work again but in fitting, and emotional, new ways.
That's what it's all about...emotion. Get ready for the feels more and more by the end. Every viewing tears were shed...perhaps more each time and perhaps more than anything ever to this writer. It's a beautiful goodbye between the explosive color. It's a thank you and it's a lesson.
The real thanks are to be given to Marvel. Who would have thought that Tony Stark in the Middle East in the twilight of the Bush administration would one day lead to a fight for all of existence with dozens and dozens of allies and friends. Much less to think that it would work so amazingly well. They're the world's friends, the world's family. This was a comic team brought to life in epic ways but it was a comic style epic storyline at that. Well actually, it was a comic book dream and like one of those comic book golden age eras. We were blessed to live through it ...and blessed to have this end this way. What a ride it's been …. as a whole, at the end, I've loved it all 3000. Thanks and The End...or perhaps just The Beginning. 9.75 out of 10
Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Cast Headliners: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, any and all The Avengers left vs Josh Brolin Thanos, EVERYONE ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE EVER EVER EVER
Original Release Date: April 26th, 2019
It's very hard to encapsulate what Avengers: Endgame means to fans, comics, cinema, and perhaps even world history. This fourth Avengers film is not just another one of those but is very much an end. Literally, more or less, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe has led to the events of this film. It's part 2 of 2, it's the series finale for what it was. It's the start in some ways of something new but it will never be the same. Every answer, every person, every meaning, every moment all comes together here. Somehow there's so much more than ever has been nor will be again yet also it's as intimate as can be. There's so much it couldn't have been anything but messy yet also it's just about as perfect as it should have been.
Do not come to see this film if one has no idea what this series is. Even moreso than anything ever done before this is a send off for the fans. That makes it that much better as it gives the “true believers” references, charm, and closure. However until that part do recall that the cliffhanger situation from 2018's Infinity War is incredibly, incredibly dark(this review will try to remain as spoiler-light as possible although a.) who hasn't seen this by now and b.) Marvel themselves have dripped some good nuggets into post-release ads). It's a literal rollercoaster of tone and emotions from the darkest of depths to some possible hope of redemption.
Recall that Thanos(Josh Brolin) wiped out half of all living existence with the powerful Infinity Stones. It's interesting, and fitting, that the core survivors ended up being the “original 6” Avengers.... Steve/Captain America(Chris Evans), Tony/Iron Man(Robert Downey Jr), Bruce/Hulk-even-if-he's-stubborn(Mark Ruffalo), Thor(Chris Hemsworth), the proper return oh-so-sweetly of Clint/Hawkeye/”Ronin” to some (Jeremy Renner), and Nat/Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson). It doesn't take too long for them to properly be reunited and it's a good feeling amidst the depression since they've been separated for awhile in the MCU's timeline. There's also the space or otherwise straggler-ons of Rocket(Bradley Cooper), Nebula(Karen Gillian), Rhodey/War Machine(Don Cheadle), and the proper melding-ins to an Avengers film of Scott/Ant-Man(Paul Rudd) as well as freshest MCU member Carol/Captain Marvel(Brie Larson). Together they prepare to as they say “go get this son of a bitch”.
As mentioned it's a film that very much feels like part two to a larger whole as well as part 22 of 22 to the biggest possible ever whole. It is also as mentioned a film of such contrasting moods. Perhaps never before for this kind of film does it actually open so dark and depressingly. The situation is understandably dire and it gives this Earth a very unique, almost post-apocalyptic vibe that is only touched upon although however it's a great excuse for some profound character changes that must be seen firsthand. There's some somber moments to see the effect this has on Okoye(Danai Gurira), Pepper Potts(Gwyneth Paltrow) (with a special new addition to the world in tow), and even the luckily safe Valkyrie(Tessa Thompson), Korg(Taika Waititi), and Miek the bug from Thor's Asgardian refugees. There's so many, many, many many, many, many, many, many more characters to be seen ...all rightfully, surprisingly, wonderfully old that makes this feel like one last goodbye and reunion.
However one can imagine that the combined heroes can't hold back the humor and “woah” for long amidst the depressing stakes. This is actually an incredibly funny film in the same general ballpark of what's come before. Maybe it's because the levity is buried amidst darkness but it still feels great all this time later. Existing characters meeting each other in new ways or becoming new things lead to a middle portion that's filled with more bright adventure.
In that regard it's always been a series about characters and here it's that much more important. Friendships we missed and ones we never knew we wanted all work out wonderfully. Chris Evans's Cap has much more of a main role this time. It's fitting since well this is the end of an in-universe decades and our universe decade long journey as the main hero. It's a hero's closure (WITH WHATEVER THAT MEANS) with a rightfully central impact to match. He's somber, he's inspiring, he's awesome, he's funny, he's charming, he's fierce, he's powerful. This is Cap full circle now and forever. He's tied in this regard by the OTHER leading (and remember original film starrer) face in Robert Downey Jr's Stark. Ah how great it is to see him in this...thank you for all these years. His quips are at their quippiest, his fighting perhaps a bit less than last time but it's there, and his own emotional arc with Pepper and (others). It's so good, no so AMAZING, to see these two both get to interact with each other (and new people) again yet also confront their past along the hopes of the future. The performances here speak to their performances as a whole... SUPERheroes in every sense of the word. The other original core are also in great form. Hemsworth's Thor continues to be a bit of a broken man that here perhaps breaks even further...extremely powerful yet goes to a totally hilarious surprising new ...comedic ...direction with something that must be seen firsthand(what a journey all over the place he's had). ScarJo has some of her better material in awhile balancing a fine line of somber and charm. Ruffalo's Banner is....an interesting new comic direction of his whole that maybe feels a bit less than could have due to how much ELSE is going on(without giving us what we quite wanted) but he has his quips. He always was one for quips.
In the absence of others its characters like Renner's Clint who gets to shine. The opening scenes show he wasn't alone in losing his family to dust. This leads him down an emotional, dark edgy path. He becomes involved in some tangential side plots as “Ronin” which makes him a Punisher-esque vigilante from the streets of Japan to the darkest depths of space. He's joined in his family-loss sorrow with the also-missing-from-IW-but-main-now Scott Rudd Lang. Rudd fits perfectly in here(as he did with 2016's Civil War). He's got some great jokes and nativity. As he says he's the guy who doesn't know whats going on (hasn't he always been) but it works so well here. He actually helps propel certain aspects of the film in motion. It's nice to see more bit players like Cheadle's War Machine, Gillian's Nebula, and Cooper's Rocket get some more quips and character moments in with the literal extra space allowed to them. Some other (especially civilian) characters do get a bit more lost in the ruckus but more than ever it makes sense with the tapestry of tapestry of tapestries that goes down. One will laugh at Waititi's Korg or Thompson's Valkyrie or be slightly impressed by the (so brief considering the buildup) powers of Larson's Carol but there's so much else worthy to remember.
It's interesting that, as with its somber first portion and genre-hopping middle portion, this is a film that's almost antagonist free. Brolin's Thanos is great as ever but if Infinity War was him as a bit of an anti-hero its a slight remiss that he here's reduced in part to a MacGuffin. He has some great scenes of course and is menacing as ever but it's very much a Loki in other films to Loki in Avengers 1 comparision. He's fearsome, he's evil, he's got a couple of quips and sorrows but he only is in it as little as he needs to be. Through means that must be seen his relationship with daughter Gamora(Zoe Saldana) and of course Nebula isn't over yet but it's things that have been seen before. One may think this is almost combat-free at times but it delivers so well when it needs to.
To speak on this in brief a large portion of the fun comes through what the excuse for salvation is... time travel. Yes timelines, universes, what-ifs are all introduced in this film in a way that boggles an sometimes frustrates the mind for plot hole sakes but is an excuse for some hilariously and or intensely entertaining sequences. It's a clever way of offering tribute to the entire franchise to date in this ending huzzah. Sequences and settings from the likes of the 2012 Avengers , 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy, last year's Infinity War, and more are recreated perfectly. It's literally a trip down memory lane that leaves one feeling nostalgic when they're back in the Battle of New York or hearing the groovy “Come And Get Your Love” on a Guardians of the Galaxy world. One couldn't ask for a better recreation of the feelings these brought and it makes one appreciate this ending even more. Some fun twists happen along the way(heck they showed some Captain America vs himself ruckus in a recent ad) that give this a bright, silly, surprising ride along the way. It's also filled with some perfect retcons and lore from later films that give the past new context and depth which ties the series, and future, together. Bravo Marvel to that as bravo to many things.
In the end it all comes together for something that never quite will be done to the scale that it is in cinema ever again(perhaps only for the MCU itself to attempt...in time...). The ending climactic, universe saving-or-destroying showdowns between the heroes and Thanos are so incredible, so awe-inspiring, so important this writer gets chills even after three viewings. Credit more than ever should be given to directing brothers The Russos. The scale of how many combatants end up involved, where, how, why makes the franchise to date(or any) seem like some babies in a small sandbox in comparison. It's perhaps a bit of CGI overload but how else could it have been done. There's some crisp direction, some painting-like shots(that perhaps has been done before even in the past few films and movies), and so much happening that I'll need a 4th, 5th, and onwards viewing to truly understand who was where in each moment. It's a battle finale that perhaps is at times too short but is just the right amount of epic and satisfaction after the timey-wimey, dark depressing slowburn journey to the end. It's a three hour film but its so well paced it'll be over before one knows it. Big kudos to composer Alan Silvestri as well who of course remixes some past work again but in fitting, and emotional, new ways.
That's what it's all about...emotion. Get ready for the feels more and more by the end. Every viewing tears were shed...perhaps more each time and perhaps more than anything ever to this writer. It's a beautiful goodbye between the explosive color. It's a thank you and it's a lesson.
The real thanks are to be given to Marvel. Who would have thought that Tony Stark in the Middle East in the twilight of the Bush administration would one day lead to a fight for all of existence with dozens and dozens of allies and friends. Much less to think that it would work so amazingly well. They're the world's friends, the world's family. This was a comic team brought to life in epic ways but it was a comic style epic storyline at that. Well actually, it was a comic book dream and like one of those comic book golden age eras. We were blessed to live through it ...and blessed to have this end this way. What a ride it's been …. as a whole, at the end, I've loved it all 3000. Thanks and The End...or perhaps just The Beginning. 9.75 out of 10
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