Second post about the Avengers: Endgame. Spoilers.
Let's start from the beginning, that is, from the prolonged start of the film, which is in line with our expectations of what super heroes can do in the face of Thanos' victory. Personally, I'm delighted with how the Russo brothers played the story. On the one hand, the immediate action by the Avengers and the appearance of Captain Marvel was in line with what fans expected. But the fact that this simplest plan did not work and that for five years nobody came up with anything new - allows us to start the right movie in a completely different place. When the heroes are no longer in shock after what happened, and have already made some life decisions (even if their life decision would be doing nothing). Besides, in my opinion, this sequence is crucial for the character of Thor, who at the time of killing Thanos (however too late) seems to be a really broken hero.
Since I mentioned Captain Marvel - many people complain that there is not enough of her in the film. Personally, it does not surprise me. This is not her story. If she flew in and did everything herself, it would simply be too much for Deus ex Machina. Anyway, Carol is still used in this movie a little on such terms. Some viewers are storming, that the heroine should be on the Earth but the film itself says that only the Earth has its own Avengers. Generally, I'm not surprised that she is a secondary figure here because it would be emotionally no solution if after ten years of getting to know the characters, in the end all their problems were solved by the heroine whom the audience has known for a month. It is clear to me that this character who could not play a greater role here than she got.
Can I cruelly say that the Black Widow is lost in this film because the creators of the series ended up with ideas on how to still spoil her hairstyle? Seriously what the filmmakers have been doing over the years with the hair of Scarlett Johansson is calling for vengeance to heaven. But I do not hide it so seriously that the Black Widow's death is quite problematic here. Mainly because it somehow failed to play properly. When we watch a movie, we feel that Tony or Steve have gone a long way and that their stories will end - in the case of Black Widow, we do not feel it at all. Maybe because it really is a character who, despite her strong roots in the whole story, never got her own movie, so we only see her in the context of other heroes. If she gets her film now, it would be interesting to look at this character again.
And since we are dead - as I wrote - for me what is happening with Stark and Captain is a perfect summary of their paths through all films. Stark began as an absolute narcissist and egoist, he ends up as a man who sacrifices his life and happiness without thinking. Besides, I do not hide - unless the death of Stark alone caused me to be moved, it is the moment in which he hugs recovered Peter Parker, that's right. Perhaps it was because of such a lost caretaker who was playing paternity, Tony turned into an authentic father figure who is happy with his recovered son. In any case - the fact that Stark is prone to the greatest sacrifices in this film, and to literally get together with his own past - is a beautiful end to his story. But more interesting and actually less-ordinary seems to me what is happening with the Captain, who after a decade of life for others - with the assumption that his own path is closed and he must first serve, ultimately chooses himself. It's interesting when manifestation of the maturation of the character is not so standard maturing to empathy, but getting a little bit of selfishness. Steve learns that apart from his duty to others he also has the right to his own happy end. Anyway, you know what - eight years we've been waiting for Cap to kiss Peggy - I'm not surprised that they finished the movie that way.
The character that evokes a lot of controversy in this part of the story is Thor. Because a lot of jokes about him, and besides, many people read this character "it's funny because it's fat." I must admit that I looked completely differently at what is happening with Thor physically and mentally. I saw the hero who in the previous movie was literally equal to the gods, indestructible and omnipotent, and who suffered one bad thing too much. Showing the transformation of Thor - especially the physical one for me was a pretty good picture of what is happening to a broken man who can not, does not want and does not have to. Especially since it just resembles how much energy Thor really had to put in being Thor. It's clear jokes about drinking beer and looking like The Dude, but at the same time there's a scene where Thor says he's having a panic attack. Or the one in which he must talk to his mother, because otherwise he will not find the energy to act. And that makes Thor more human than all other heroes. I do not know, somehow, despite the excess of jokes, I'm impressed with what Thor is for this story.
By the way - I think we have the final confirmation that Thor is a Disney princess - lightnings not only give him armor, ax and hammer but also braid his beard. You know that he looks nicer. I consider it the most charming thing in the whole movie. And since we are at new hero stylish, I admire that the transformation of Hawkeye in Ronina took place without the beard of a mental breakdown. Generally, it seems that Clint mourned his wife half the time and spent half his time looking as good as possible when murdering members of the Japanese mafia. I admire finding time not only to learn how to fight with the Japanese sword, but also to come up with new outfits, hairstyles and tattoos. And seriously I agree with those who promised themselves more after Ronin and could be a little surprised by how much this character has not evolved. But for one thing we know about the Clint Burton - he could play in the professional American football league. He can run incredibly fast with something under his arm.
While watching the movie, I felt that it was the second part, so the heroes who did not have too many scenes in the previous film must now show. This is especially true of the Captain America, who in Infinity War was very much in the background. Here he has some great scenes. Of course, he has a fight with himself - interspersed with a comment about his outfit and ass. I admit honestly, it was the moment when I thought that if we had to re-write the Avengers poster long enough to replace all characters with Captain America, it would pay off in the end. The second thing, I feel that the reward for watching movies was the moment in which the Captain says "Hail Hydra" I do not know why but I felt as if someone gave me a present. And finally, I must say that the scene in which the Captain fights using Thor's hammer (another reward that we noticed then that the hammer shuddered) is one of the most satisfying battle scenes I've ever seen in Marvel's movie. It was just very beautiful.
When Dr. Strange appears in the film, I could not give up the thought of how strange it must have been to make the film for Benedict Cumberbatch. You appear on the set, you wave your hands, you hold water, then you speak one sentence, show one finger and you have a scene in a black suit. No less this deep analysis of this performance makes me point one more - the truth is that in these films there will always be too little time devoted to certain characters (personally it hurts me how little time was devoted to the key relationship Captain - Bucky) but it can not be otherwise. Because, in this film, there really is not enough room for them all. Even on half of these figures there is an average place. Generally, as a movie, such a project does not make sense - you can not play any full change of the hero and every thread is necessarily out of date, which is why I consider the Avengers more as a spectacle than as an independent film.
Thinking about the future of the characters, I am very happy with what promises to be in the Guardians of the Galaxy. You know - Rocket older by five years, which he devoted to the activities of the Avengers, Gamora who completely does not understand what Quill wants from her, Quill with all his feelings, or finally a completely different Nebula. This can be a really interesting story. I just hope that they'll blow up Thor somewhere on the way, because I get the impression that it's a character who still need has one more independent film and then it would be time to send him back to retirement. Because to poor Thor has already happened too much in his life. Let him sit on a nice planet with a view to the brewery. Another thing - I wonder if the transformation of Banner into an intelligent Hulk does not mean that the creators will want to make another film about the Hulk. What would be logical, because Mark Ruffalo as Hulk really deserved his own film. On the other hand, I have the impression that they will slowly extinguish this original team of heroes, so who knows.
I must admit that my favorite movie sequence is the one in which the heroes fly after the Avengers from 2012 (I must admit that Chris Hemsworth perfectly manages to play Thor from several movies and events). I love this sequence for many reasons but most of all because it answers the question - how it happened that Loki who is dead because he was murdered by Thanos and at the same time Disney Plus has just announced the series about him. As you can see, you can combine these two things together. Plus, we got one more scene in which Loki pretends to be Captain America and I admit - I needed it. Generally, it all turned out to be very good for themselves from a few years ago, which is not necessarily easy.
Can we at this point appreciate how many actors who played their roles and then left the world of the MCU decided to return to Endgame? Robert Redford, Tilda Swinton, Natalie Portman - these are just some people who I did not expect to see in this film anymore. I am very happy that it was taken care of by the end of this era not only the actors playing the main roles appeared in the film, but also those who were a bit on the side, for example, appeared in the series Agent Carter. What I enjoy the most is the role of Rene Russo. I always thought of the potential of this actress in the MCU was wasted. The fact that she returns in Endgame, and that she has something to say and turns out to be a key figure for Thor and a lot more knowing and seeing than it seems, in my opinion shows how the attitude towards women in the MCU changed over those few years.
A bit in contrast - I do not like the scene, which in one shot shows all the female actresses from the MCU. Why? Because in my opinion it is a scene that is supposed to show us that Captain Marvel is not the first and that there are really many fighting women in the MCU. Only first - this shot was so much removed from the whole situation of the final battle that it resembled a group photo. Secondly - for me it was rather a proof that something is seriously wrong, if we have so many female characters and only one of them has made her own film. For me, this approach confirmed that the female characters are almost exclusively an addition to masculine characters in the MCU. And that's not what it was about.
Many people complain about the time travel mechanism in this film and the appearance of time travel in general. First of all - for me travels in time are such a mandatory element of this thread. If we have X-men, then at some point Dark Phoenix will appear, if we have Spider-Man, then at some point Green Goblin will fall on his head if we have stones of infinity - sooner or later there will be time travels. I like to show their mechanics - because they make any sense. At the same time - I have a problem when the time travel logic does not get stuck in time travel movies. Endgame is not a movie about time travels but a movie that uses this theme. For me, this is a big difference. Ultimately, these are films that draw from comic books and in comics travel in time are the motif that appears frequently. The vision that super heroic films will not reach these ideas seems strange to me. Another thing - in my opinion it was relatively straightforwardly shown and not over-invented, and most importantly - the film itself was not focused solely on jumping in time. I would even say that it devotes half an act to it.
I have two remarks about the age of the heroes. I do not know how physically it is possible that Robert Downey Jr. was only four years older than Paul Rudd, because Paul Rudd is so eternally in his forties and maybe even a little before. The second thing - was it only me, Captain America, who reminded Joe Biden so much? Seriously, when I left the cinema and read that Joe Biden was running for the presidency of the United States, I began to seriously dismiss that whether this whole movie was not supposed to set us well in his facial features, so that he would be associated with Captain America. This will be my little conspiracy theory for the upcoming presidential election in the States.
While not every MCU movie is suitable for watching it twice so in the case of Endgame, I would like to see it again very much. Mainly because I know the ending, focus on all those smaller and larger supporting threads and scenes in which nothing bad happens and you can simply enjoy watching cool production. I have a feeling that the creators of this film are perfectly aware that after we weave off all the tears and we laugh a bit, we will go back to the cinema to watch all the hidden gifts for fans. Maybe it's a good way to increase viewership? Although the Avengers will not have a problem with selling tickets.
In the end, if someone would ask me - it's a movie that gave me more pure glee at the time of watching than Infinity War, but in my opinion it is much more shallow. Possibly, we make a mistake in treating these two films as separate works and we should watch them as a whole. Then Endgame appears as the last emotional act of a long story, from which we require less when it comes to building the motivation of heroes or villains, and we expect that in the end we will be able to feel all the emotions that we have been holding back through these years without feeling embarrassing. I'm reconciled with it. Endgame is not the best MCU movie but it is one of the best screenings of the MCU movie on which I was. Because as I wrote - it's more an event and an experience than a film as such.
Okay, that's probably all my remarks for today. I am satisfied with these Avengers - I enjoyed it, I have a feeling that there is a lot of material that you can both love and hate. I do not think that I would have to feel anything other than the enthusiasm that accompanied me in the cinema. And some hope that the next productions will be able to build new characters, conflicts and threats, which Marvel does not lack in the world. And farewell to actors and characters is not so final to me because in the world of Marvel, only Uncle Ben remains dead forever. Any other character can come back, be reborn or find a worthy deputy. And that's why I love comics, among other things.