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ryanmeft · 6 years ago

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What Not To Do in Avengers: Endgame

There’s a lot of theories floating around about what might happen in Avengers: Endgame, the just trailer-ized sequel/part II thingy to Avengers: Infinity War, and the end of the line one way or another for a lot of MCU characters. Some of these theories are wishful thinking and some are a little out there, but few are talking about the biggest issue concerning this movie: it would be very, very easy to ruin it. The hype is huge at this point, and Marvel and the Russo brothers need to deliver a movie that feels like it has impact, even if it IS all grown adults in tights punching other grown adults in tights.

To wit, here’s what needs to NOT happen in Avengers: Endgame. Don’t... Return the “really” dead characters to life

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos managed to accomplish his most cherished goal: figuring out which insurance provider really does offer the best choices for himself and his family. He was so happy about this that he was all eureka and snapped his fingers, and half the population of the universe died. This included most of the heroes in the MCU. A few people, however, died without being subjected to The Decimation (that’s what Marvel’s calling it, a fact we know because apparently two or three people actually read tie-in novels). Of those, Idris Elba’s Heimdall will certainly not be back; he’s become a big star since he took the role, and a scepter through the chest was his ticket out of a bit part he’s outgrown. Vision will probably return in some capacity; the planned Scarlet Witch mini-series would be kind of bland without him as her partner, and his death came near the end of the movie, anyway.

Loki and Gamora had a bit more dramatic exit. Loki was choked to death slowly in front of his brother Thor in a surprisingly gruesome scene, having just made a brave-but-poorly-thought-out attempt to assassinate Thanos. He’s got a mini-series coming, too, but it really needs to be set in the past: his death was the perfect ending for his popular character, who always made the cold and calculating decision but ultimately died due to an act of emotional anger for his people and brother. Tom Hiddleston’s been seen on set, either because Marvel is faking us out or because a younger version of him is seen via time travel, but to undo his perfect demise would irreversibly cheapen his character arc. A lot of people expected Loki to eat dirt in Infinity War, as he’d been taken about as far in his story as he could be. Gamora was another matter; pretty much nobody expected the death of the second-in-command of the Guardians of the Galaxy (she’s really the boss, of course, but it’s better to let a guy who calls himself Star-Lord have his fantasy). Even as she fell, we were all expecting a last-minute rescue. That it didn’t come shocked audiences, and should be left that way, especially considering her presence factored into the surprisingly emotional finale of IW.

Get too lazy with the time travel stuff…

Sure, the idea that the remaining Avengers will pull a McFly and go back in time to reverse the Decisnappation COULD just be what Marvel and the Russo bros want you to think is happening…but it seems likely it’s a factor. There’s no realistic way to fix what Thanos did, and time travel is the least bonkers unrealistic way, at least by movie logic. Now, pretty much everyone wants a cameo from Doc Brown. Right? No? That’s just me? But you could make a joke with Thor and the clock tower and the lightn…ok, moving on.

Maybe Chris Lloyd popping in is unlikely, but what is indisputable is time travel could really wreck the already sort-of-thin idea that we should care what becomes of these characters on a long-term basis. If Marvel isn’t kind of careful with the rules they set up, what’s to stop the characters from just bobbing around in time and undoing any serious failures? The extent to which the Avengers can toss time’s salad should be controlled within the narrative, so that they can’t just freely re-write the script.

…but don’t spend a ton of time on it, either

The time travel aspects should be both limited so as not to royally screw with the sense any of this matters, and not overly complicated. This will be the last appearance for Iron Man, Cap and probably Thor, Hulk and Robin Hood. While we don’t want their last bows to take a wheat thresher to the continuity, we also don’t want to get mired down in psuedo-science.

Give us a lame explanation for why Hulk is absent

I think it’s fair to say that Marvel has played incredibly loose in the way Bruce Banner’s relationship with his big green inner metaphor works. In Avengers he switched from the equivalent of a premature orgasm to total control when it was convenient to the plot, and “because the script says so” has pretty much dictated when Banner is and isn’t at the wheel ever since. I actually see this as one of the few really lazy weak spots in their characters: Hulk at his best has always been a metaphor for the monster inside, but the MCU has dropped the ball on that one in favor of more rah-rah moments.

In IW, you may recall the Hulk was turned into the equivalent of a stubborn turd, refusing to come out no matter how much Banner pushed. I speculated that it may be due to Hulk’s animal instincts telling him something about the situation Banner’s more controlled mind doesn’t know…but either way, there needs to be an explanation in Endgame, and it needs to be better than “because we said so”. There’s no indication of any more solo Hulk films or series, so this might be the last we see of the Jolly Green Giant. If Marvel were ever going to make his character halfway consistent, now’s the time.

Spend too much effort on the romances

By far, the most consistent example of “We don’t know where the hell we’re going with this” in the MCU has involved characters gettin’ it on. Thor’s Jane Foster got unceremoniously dropped because she was a very meh character and the person playing her realized she was Natalie Portman and had better things to do, while Valkyrie showed promise as a tougher lover for the Thunder God only to be written out of the movies off-screen. Hulk and Black Widow made enough sense but was poorly set up, came out of nowhere, and nothing was made of it in IW. Cap’s thing with Peggy Carter’s niece was forced and a little weird. And if you can tell me the name of Black Panther’s woman, you officially know more about this stuff than a guy who writes about it on the regular; she was so barely there they didn’t even bother to mention her in Avengers, and no one cared. Only Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have had anything like a relationship that makes sense, and they nearly dismissed that with an off-screen explanation, as well.

The next iteration of the MCU, with younger, fresher characters, should put more effort into developing lasting character relationships that aren’t bromances, and in fact could stand to give the female supporting characters a lot more development, in general. For now, though, they should write off the romantic histories of most of the old guard as a loss. I doubt anyone will notice.

Overemphasize Ant-Man and Captain Marvel

It’s always been clear, and the post-credits scene made it more so, that Captain Marvel, who will make her debut in her own movie in March, will be important in whatever plan is in place to stop Thanos. And the trailer for Endgame lets us know Ant-Man, or at least his access to the Deus Ex Machina that is the Quantum Realm, will also be vital. And both should be vital---to get the other heroes where they need to be. Although I like Anty Boy, he’s not the biggest name in Marvel, and Captain Brie Marvel Larsen is likely just starting her arc in the universe; there will be plenty of time for her later. This movie needs to focus on the last stands and swan songs of characters who have been with us almost since the beginning.

De-emphasize Hawkeye

If you’ve watched the trailer, by now you know Jeremy Renner’s Robin Hood (I think I made that joke already), who was totally absent from Infinity War, is back with a new, darker costume and what looks like a serious hate boner. In fact, he seems to have straight-up murdered the holy crap what is this out of a whole bunch of Yakuza goons in the middle of the street, which judging by Black Widow’s expression is either terrifying or shockingly arousing. For many, including myself, it was the most interesting reveal in the trailer, and the conclusion was immediately reached that his wife and children must have been Thanos-snapped. What else could cause the normally unflappable special forces dude to go goth and start shooting down people like dogs? He’s always been the most under-appreciated Avenger (check him in the first movie; he’s way more bad-ass than the others despite having no super-powers). This one needs to give him a proper send-off.

Avoid the consequences

Throughout this column, I’ve been emphasizing that the classic Avengers need to have a proper exit from the franchise. The most important aspect of that is to make sure that exit involves a heavy toll. They aren’t fighting for this city or even that planet, but for the whole of existence. Although most-if-not-all of their snapped friends will be returning, they need to pay the price to get that done; otherwise, this whole Thanos thing is basically a cartoon with no permanent consequences. This is completely essential to doing this movie right. Don’t chicken out, guys.

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roseisread · 6 years ago

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My Year in Movies: Favorite Non-2018 Feature Films (Part 1)

I watched a LOT of movies this year. At last count, I had logged 229 features and 126 shorts; and that doesn’t count rewatches--only movies that were new to me.

I set a few challenges for myself as well this year. The first one was to watch at least one non-English language/US release per week--this exposed me to so much world cinema and some really amazing filmmakers. Anyone who avoids foreign films because “I don’t like subtitles” is really missing out, and I found myself craving these narratives from voices I don’t ordinarily get exposed to in my everyday life.

Other personal challenges: Watching as many horror movies as possible in October (with horror defined pretty loosely so I could include entries from silent era and onward, as well as some comedy cult classics that have horror/thriller elements); participating in Noirvember (in addition to attending Noir City in Chicago); crossing off some major blindspots from my list (such as Bicycle Thieves, The Producers, Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men, Grease, Home Alone 2, Brazil, and Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom); and trying to watch movies and short films from every decade that motion pictures have existed.

In 2019, I hope to do similar personal challenges with a focus on movies made by women, LGBTQ+, and people of color, in addition to filling in the gaps of my classical/canonical movie knowledge.

OK, so that’s enough preamble. Let’s get to the list! For this list, I’m excluding movies that were released in 2018--that’s coming but this is for movies released before that.

50. Linda Linda Linda (2005, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, country of origin: Japan)

High school girls recruit the Korean exchange student (Doona Bae, of Cloud Atlas and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) to join their rock band a few days before the school talent show. This is just a feel good film, recommended if you enjoyed the likes of Sing Street, We Are The Best!, and The Runaways. Unfortunately, it’s out of print in physical form; but last I checked someone had uploaded it to YouTube so you might want to get on that before it’s removed. You can watch the trailer here.

49. The Blue Dahlia (1946, directed by George Marshall, country of origin: US)

This film noir stars Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, and like any good noir, it deals with dark subjects including murder, blackmail, political corruption, and PTSD. It’s been on my watchlist for a long time, and thanks to Noir City Chicago, I got to see it on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre. For small screen viewing, you can catch up with it via rental on Vudu, Amazon, iTunes... the usual suspects.

48. Siren of the Tropics (1927, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Etievant, country of origin: France)

My dearly departed Filmstruck had a spotlight on the films of Josephine Baker, and this was among them. I fell in love instantly with the lively, beautiful Baker, here playing a woman named Papitou who deals with some super scummy dudes but manages to be herself in the face of all that nonsense. Silent films can sometimes be tougher to engage with for modern audiences, but this one flies by and contains some unexpectedly racy sequences for the time. Its racial politics don’t meet today’s cultural standards, but considering Baker’s parents were former slaves and their daughter went on to become the first woman of color to star in a major motion picture, this is still a landmark film worthy of our consideration. She broke down many barriers and contributed a great deal to both the entertainment world and the Civil Rights movement, and this serves as a nice entry point into her career. It’s available on DVD through Kino Lorber, and hopefully one day soon it’ll pop up on another streaming service that carries on the Filmstruck legacy.

47. I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore (2017, directed by Macon Blair, country of origin: US)

Here’s a film that goes to some unexpected places. I had no idea what to expect from Macon Blair, who frequently appears in the movies of Jeremy Saulnier; but in his debut feature for Netflix, he pulled out all the stops. Hilarious, violent, and intense, with memorable performances from stars Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood, this is a movie about getting in over your head and just going for it anyway. I don’t want to tell you about the plot because it’s best discovered through watching--just go to your nearest device and add it to your Netflix queue.

46. Song of the Sea (2014, directed by Tomm Moore, country of origin: Ireland)

Absolutely gorgeous animation from the team that previously brought us The Secret of Kells, and a touching story that combines family and mythology. I adored this one. Watch it on Netflix or rent on the usual streaming sources--for a preview, click here.

45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I always watch Independence Day on the Fourth of July; but in 2018, I decided to mix it up and cross this patriotic musical off the watchlist. I’d seen James Cagney’s gangster movies like White Heat and The Public Enemy, but seeing him sing and dance was a whole new joyous discovery. This movie is entertaining, funny, touching, and full of iconic sequences that other films would go on to borrow from. I absolutely loved it. Pretty sure I saw this on Filmstruck originally, but since that’s no longer possible you should be able to find it at your local public library or you can rent it for a couple bucks on Amazon, YouTube, iTunes, and the like.

44. The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950, directed by Felix Feist, country of origin: US)

This tightly wound noir thriller pits brother against brother against the backdrop of 1950s San Francisco. Lee Cobb plays an aging bachelor and an accomplished police detective who falls for the wrong dame. His younger brother, played by John Dall (Gun Crazy, Rope), has just joined the police force and idolizes his older brother. Trouble strikes when the dame murders her no good husband and needs help from Cobb to cover it up. Naturally, Dall gets assigned to the case and as he begins to piece together the clues, he doesn’t like where they’re leading him. The climactic sequence is one of my favorite endings to a noir film, and I’ve seen a lot of them. Watch it for free if you have Amazon Prime; otherwise, there are a few versions uploaded to YouTube of varying quality or you could wait for it to pop up on TCM.

43. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003, directed by Thom Andersen, country of origin: US)

This documentary edits together clips from movies of every era that were filmed or set in Los Angeles, and explains through voiceover narration the significance of each location and the history of the motion pictures in LA. That’s it--very simple concept but also fascinating. I split this up over a couple nights because it’s pretty long, but if you’re a film fan or a Los Angeles native, this is well worth your time. The voiceover is kind of hilariously flat in its delivery--kind of a Steven Wright sound actually--but that sort of adds to the charm for me. Get a taste by watching the trailer, and then you can rent it on YouTube for $1.99.

42. A Simple Plan (1998, directed by Sam Raimi, country of origin: US)

It’s been almost two years since we lost Bill Paxton; I don’t know about you but I don’t think any other actor can really fill those shoes. This year I caught up with three films that showcased his talent: A Simple Plan, One False Move, and Frailty. He plays very different characters in each one but in many ways they all start off with a similar premise: Ordinary guy dreams of becoming more. What that “more” is for each character is what sets each film and performance apart, but Paxton provided a great canvas to paint these unique characters onto. He inhabited the ordinary man better than just about anyone.

In this film, which I watched during Noirvember, Paxton plays Hank, a college-educated guy working a blue collar job in a small town, trying to make a better life for himself and his family. He’d like to get away from those small town roots, but his socially awkward brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) relies on him. Unfortunately, Jacob is often accompanied by the hard-drinking loose canon Lou (Brent Briscoe). When the unlikely trio discover a crashed plane in the woods containing a suitcase full of cash, they each have ideas for how to handle the situation. Of course things escalate from there, and the way the movie explores human nature and family ties set this story apart. Available for online rental on the usual platforms.

41. The Iron Giant (1999, directed by Brad Bird, country of origin: US)

Given my obsession with Vin Diesel in the early 2000s, it’s pretty shocking I never saw this movie til now--sure, he and his glorious muscles don’t appear on screen, but he does provide the voice of the title character after all. When the Iron Giant made a controversial cameo in this year’s film adaptation of Ready Player One, I decided it was time I saw the source material for myself.

This gorgeously animated fable unfolds during the Cold War era, and features an ET-inspired story arc of a young boy befriending an unlikely being that the government is looking for. If you’ve never seen it, this is definitely a must-watch. Currently available on Netflix, but rentable on other platforms too.

40. The Unsuspected (1947, directed by Michael Curtiz, country of origin: US)

I adore Claude Rains, star of this film and supporting actor in Curtiz’s more famous work, Casablanca. Here, he plays the host and narrator of a popular radio show that revolves around tales of murder--basically the Law and Order: SVU of its day. We learn early on that he sometimes draws inspiration for his broadcasts from real life criminals. When people in his own life start dropping dead, the plot thickens and he finds himself at the center of the action. A very suspenseful and well-plotted film noir, which is available from the Warner Archive collection on DVD. I got to see it at Noir City Chicago, and loved every second of it.

That’s all for this entry--stay tuned for part two of this list, posting soon!

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theprocrastinatingalien · 7 years ago

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Beyond Avengers 4 (looking ahead at Phase 4 of the MCU)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

We currently know very little about what comes after AVENGERS 4. This makes sense, as we really don't (officially) know that much about the follow up to INFINITY WAR.

We DO know that head honcho Kevin Feige has stated that there will soon be a divide In the MCU... everything before AVENGERS 4, and everything after. The face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is changing... we don't even know if we'll get a 'Phase 4'. Personally, I hope we do. I think it's nice to have a group of films. It helps with marketing. It helps when charting character arcs. You don't end up with an endless mash of movie titles (I'm looking at you DCEU!). It helps gives direction.

For the moment, let's assume it IS called Phase 4. if only to keep me happy. What can we expect from it? Well, boss man Kevin has apparently plans for 20 more films after AVENGERS 4. That's basically as much as the first three phases put together. It will be a mixture of sequels and new titles.

Let's start with what we know.

SPIDER-MAN: THE NEXT AVENGER

Okay, so I've made up the title, but it's better that HOMECOMING 2 (and there's already been a SPIDER-MAN 2). Okay, so let's get this straight - yes Peter Parker crumbled to dust following Thanos' click, but we already know we have this movie coming. It'll be the first movie in Phase 4. Obviously Marvel co-runs Spideyflicks with Sony, so they'd want a follow up as soon as possible... and that's in mid 2019! What's more, it's been guaranteed that an Avenger will appear. Now, it won't be Iron Man again (and I doubt Happy Hogan will feature either)... and whilst it could easily be one of the newer characters, I predict (and have done before), that it'll be Mark Ruffalo's Dr Bruce Banner and the Hulk. He's sciency, and more importantly, Ruffalo is meant to have one more film on his contract following AVENGERS 4. I could be wrong about Ruffalo, but Tom Holland will definitely be back (there'll be no switch over to Miles Morales), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Zendaya (Michelle) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) will all surely return too.. It'll be interesting to see which villains they use. A VENOM movie is coming out, entirely Sony, starring Tom Hardy (which may or may not cameo Hollan), as well as BlackCat and Silver Sable movie coming too. Will the MCU decide to use more characters that Sony haven't used before, or now start reusing known characters such as Green Goblin or Dr Octopus? Filming will start later this year, so casting news will surely have to start hitting... giving away that Spider-Man isn't really dead...

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3

James Gunn confirmed this, and has apparently finished the script. It's definitely coming in 2020, and will likely be the first movie of three that year - probably around May time. Now, obviously, there's a small matter that all but one guardian have died. Will the film be entirely about Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper)? Of course not. Just as sure as I am that Spidey will be safe, I think all the others that disappeared from the click will be back. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) will all be back. The big question mark for me is Gamora (Zoe Saldana). She died a different way, and that could be a permanent. Whilst I'm sure Saldana's back in AVENGERS 4, that could just be a tie to the soul stone and Thanos. beyond that, I really don't know. It could be that, just how VOL 2 came right after the first movie, VOL 3 could follow that... it might all be set before INFINITY WAR, in which case Gamora will be as right as rain. If the movie truly follows on from AVENGERS 4, then we won't really know until that movie has come out... or VOL 3 starts filming before that movie comes out as we see Saldana on set. Karen Gillan's Nebula survived the most recent movie, but I personally believe she'll die in AVENGERS 4... so don't think she'll be in VOL 3. If I'm wrong though, she will be...depending on whether Gamora is. (I think Nebula's storyline is pretty tied to her 'sister'). Mid credits in VOL 2 told us that Ayesha had created Adam Warlock, so he could well be a main focus of the sequel - despite Gunn suggesting otherwise. Sly Stallone's Stakar Ogord assemble his older generation of guardians too... so they could play a part. And what happened to Sean Gunn's Kraglin? It's possibly, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could join the team following AVENGERS 4, whilst she waits to be given her own sequel. Maybe Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) could play a bigger part than a cameo. No, I didn't think so either. For me the biggest question here is the time placement... before INFINITY WAR or after AVENGERS 4. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be before...

BLACK WIDOW

Okay, so we don't know this is happening... officially. But it IS totally happening. Writers have been assigned and Chris Evans pretty much confirmed it. However, unlike the previous movies I've talked about so far, this film does NOT mean Scarlett Johansson survives AVENGERS 4. It's highly expected that the movie will be a prequel, going back into her history as a spy. There's a lot they can do with this, and it also means a lot of characters could pop up. There's already been speculation that Sebastian Stan could feature as The Winter Soldier (back when he was still under Hydra control). Obviously everyone expects (and will probably be disappointed if not) Clint Barton to appear. It sort of feels like Jeremy Renner has got a bum deal, so flashing out their friendship would work wonders. There's also the suspicion that Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) could appear... about what about fellow agents Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Any of them could feature to some degree. After playing a supporting character since IRON MAN 2 (back in 2010), it'll be nice for Johansson to headline a film in the MCU, finally. In a year, Marvel like to have at least one sequel and one new film. I expect BLACK WIDOW will likely act as the 'new' movie that year, probably sandwiched between the two sequels GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 and...

DOCTOR STRANGE 2

You see, this is the problem... another character who disappeared at the end of INFINITY WAR... back for a sequel. I suppose it's possible the sequel could be set between the first movie and INFINITY WAR, but I doubt it. Now all the sequels can be set before, and I feel Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) will a major force going forward in the MCU. Both Kevin Feige and James Gunn have stated the franchise will be a lot more 'cosmic' going forward, and Strange's magic, and use of different realms, will likely play a strong part in that. I think DOCTOR STRANGE 2 will round off 2020, with Benedict Wong returning as Wong, Rachel McAdams getting more screentime as Christine Palmer and Chiwetel Ejiofor playing a much bigger role as Mordo edged towards what could well be the 'new Loki'. I don't know much about the comics for this particular character, but word is Nightmare will be the primary villain this time around. No word on who might play him though... but with Cumberbatch and Ejiofor at the front line, it'll need to be someone impressive.

BLACK PANTHER 2

Obviously the first movie was a massive hit. Obviously there's going to be a sequel. Obviously there's a problem because the title character died at the fingerclick in INFINITY WAR. However, unlike with Strange or Spider-Man, the sequel doesn't necessarily need T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to live to go ahead. In the comics, Shuri (Letitia Wright) becomes Black Panther, and Queen of Wakanda. Now, if T'Challa's death was 'real'... that should already have happened before/during AVENGERS 4. Wright could be the new BP! Shuri was certainly popular enough, and Boseman could still appear via a spirit walk-thing. You know, that thing they do. He apparently has 5 movies on his contract. Now that could work as CIVIL WAR , BLACK PANTHER, INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS 4 and... BLACK PANTHER 2. It could. Of course, I don't think that's the case. Well, actually, in the comics, both T'Challa and Shuri are Black Panthers... and I reckon that might be where they take it - but Chadwick Boseman's character will be the lead, and alive. I also expect Danai Gurira's Okoye, Luputa Nyong'O's Nakia, Angela Bassett's Ramonda all to return. Probably Winston Duke's M'Baku. Possibly Martin Freeman's Everett K Ross. I also predict Marvel will place the movie around the opening of May in 2021. That's where they put all the films they're confident in.

ANT-MAN 3 (aka ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 2)

We haven't seen ANT-MAN AND THE WASP yet, but you have to assume Marvel are working on the assumption there will be a sequel. When they announced their third phase slate, an ANT-MAN sequel wasn't included. They waited to see how the first would do . By the time they finally get around to announcing Phase 4, I expect they'll known whether ANT-MAN 3 will be on the table. My guess is, it will be. Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, with Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne will probably head-line again. Beyond that, with both ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and AVENGERS 4 to come, I wouldn't like to predict more than that. Other than I think it'll be released in 2021 - although it's worth pointing out that both ANT-MAN movies have been released AFTER an AVENGERS movie... so it could be held back until after...

AVENGERS 5

We know there'll be one... the question is, when. Typically AVENGERS movies are released at the start of may, three years apart. THE AVENGERS came out in 2012, AGE OF ULTRON in 2015 and now INFINITY WAR in 2018. Obviously, we're breaking that tradition with AVENGERS 4 in 2019. The earliest I expect AVENGERS 5 will be May 2022, but with an expanding slate of sequels, and the intention of including new titles, they might push it back a year to 2023. It will, in theory, be the first to not feature the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Nor might it include Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). I mean, it might, but it's unlikely. So who will it include? Personally, I have no idea who the villain will be but as for heroes... I guarantee it'll feature Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Black Panther (probably Chadwick Boseman, possibly Letitia Wright). It'll probably feature Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). There's also someone else it might feature. You'll notice I missed out Steve Rogers from the earlier list? Well, as far as Chris Evans goes, he'll not be back after AVENGERS 4, but I doubt that can be said for...

CAPTAIN AMERICA 4

In the comics, the mantle of 'Captain America' has been used by several people - most notably Bucky Barnes. Whilst Evans only had 6 films on his contract (extended to 7 to encompass AVENGERS 4), Sebastian Stan signed up for 12 movies. Right now, he's only spent four of those - the CAPTAIN AMERICA trilogy, and INFINITY WAR. AVENGERS 4 takes him to five and if the rumoured appearance in BLACK WIDOW happens, that's only half of his contract. That leaves (potentially) three more Cap movies, and three more Avenger movies. I've no idea who the villains will be in a fourth Cap movie, unless the movie itself is a 'Battle for the Shield', an idea I came up with that I'm taken with. Anthony Mackie is already Falcon in the franchise, and in the comics, Sam Wilson becomes Cap also. There's also the potential for Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) to take on the shield. There could be a three-way tussle for the mantle. Ultimately Stan will probably take the lead, as it seems to be the order of things. As a side note, Wilson's Cap is trained under an older Steve Rogers, his age caught up with him. It's possible, rather that outright killing Chris Evans' character, they swap him out for an older actor, to train the younger successor. Possibly not, but it's an option. The biggest question here is, when do they roll out this new Cap? Before or after AVENGERS 5? THE FIRST AVENGER lead into the first film to unite the characters, and a new character picking up the shield could do the same. We'll just ignore that both Bucky and Wilson turned to dust. They'll be back. Extra note - despite the title, with a new actor headlining, Marvel might treat the movie as a new franchise.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2

The trickiest one on the list really... as the first CAPTAIN MARVEL comes out next year, certainly less than two months before AVENGERS 4. That will probably be enough time for Marvel to figure out if the movie deserves a sequel. So far, only THE INCREDIBLE HULK has stood alone, with no sequels to speak of. I'll lay money on it staying that way, and CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 will be in the Phase 4 slate. If the first is set in the 90s, then a sequel could be set in the 00s. More likely though it'll be present, so she can lead the Avengers. As I mentioned earlier though, it's possible (rather than shoehorning a sequel into the slate) Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could find herself back in space, now with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3... possibly filling the void left by Gamora.

NEWBIES

This is where we get really sketchy. There's been rumbles of a film for THE ETERNALS, it might be time NAMOR gets some underwater adventures, or if the day-walking vampire BLADE comes in on the actions. Let's also not forget that the deal with Fox will mean the X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR and DEADPOOL can crossover into the MCU. It won't be yet... but look how quickly Spider-Man entered the area.

If I had to predict Phase 4, I'd go with the following:

July 2019 - SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 (confirmed) - May 2020 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (basically confirmed) July 2020 - BLACK WIDOW (sort of new) November 2020 - DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - May 2021 - BLACK PANTHER 2 July 2021 - CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 November 2021 - NEW FRANCHISE (example BLADE or NAMOR) - February 2022 - CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 (sort of new) May 2022 - AVENGERS 5 July 2022 - ANT-MAN 3 / ANT-MAN & THE WASP 2 So there we are, those are my predictions for Phase 4. How wrong am I? I expect we'll have an idea come Comic Con 2019!

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disappointingyet · 6 years ago

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Some thoughts after watching Avengers: Endgame

[Spoilers, possibly, probably]

Johansson stuck on misery duty this time

1) Character-based comedy is almost certainly the best thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During the 22(!!) movies, there’s been stirling work from Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson and Chris Pratt, latterly Paul Rudd, and the great Mark Ruffalo. Scarlett Johansson had some fine deadpan moments in the earlier movies before she got the double burden of her character being heaped with angst plus having to do a bunch of supposedly emotional scenes with squidgy-faced bore Jeremy Renner. By compensation, Endgame even has a quick cameo from the marvellous John Slattery. And Chris Hemsworth, especially, is hilarious in this movie, craftily reworking his portrayal of boozy posh Formula 1 star James Hunt from Rush to play Thor as a heavy-drinking burnout.

2) That Endgame is quite often funny is a pleasant surprise, because after the zippy Avengers Assemble, the subsequent collective gatherings – Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Infinity Wars (I gather, I haven’t seen it) – have been gloomier (read: boring) affairs.

Ah, the daywalker!

3) By contrast, and weirdly enough for the most successful action franchise in movie history, a lot of the fight scenes are awful. I stick to my contention that most CGI battle scenes are terrible – cheap-looking (even though they are expensive), with their lack of physicallity depriving them of any sense of peril. The climatic battle in Endgame might just be the worst yet, even shoddier than the one that mars the end of Black Panther – endless, ugly (in a rubbish video game way, not in a true-horrors of war way), choreographed around the need to give each of the characters their moment rather than creating something dynamic and visceral. As purely action movies, Blade and Blade II, for instance, are effortlessly superior to any of the MCU films (and something like 13 Assassins is in a different class altogether). That may be partly because the Marvel movies have to pass the film classification boards as suitable for kids.

4) Can I say again just how much better Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse looks than any and all of the MCU films?

5) Also, as in recent Star Wars movies, characters tend to do really dumb things just so there can be a big boring battle rather than a more focussed showdown (avoiding that was maybe the sole virtue of the deary CA: CW).

The chronically dull Bucky Barnes, presumably appearing in multiple films due to those (I'm guessing) middle-aged female viewers who like to imagine Captain America getting some dude action

5) More is definitely less as far as I’m concerned with these films: the group efforts are usually worse than the solo efforts, overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters, and stretched to cram them all in. This is made worse for me by the MCU production team’s affection for characters I find pretty unwatchable: Bucky Barnes (why? just why?), Hawkeye, Dr Strange (not so much the character as the ever-dreadful acting of Benedict Cumberbatch). Endgame is an absurd 3 hours long, and could lose an hour without any harm done to the storytelling.

Eric Killmonger, a Shakespearean anti-hero by way of Oakland, probably the best antagonist in the MCU

6) Traditionally, the role of the villain is the juiciest one in an action movie. Yet I find it hard to remember the bad dudes in most of the MCU films. There’s no equivalent of Blofeld, of Darth Vader, of Hans Gruber. Even Jeff Bridges was so-so in his Marvel meanie outing. The only reasonably memorable ones are Red Skull with his Werner Herzog accent in CA: FA, Loki, who is OK I guess, and Michael B Jordan’s Killmonger in Black Panther, a sort of Edmund from King Lear type, and rather more charismatic than the title character. Thanos in Endgame, though, is tedious and just massive waste of Josh Brolin.

7) I think I’ve watched 17 of the MCU movies in the cinema, which when you add it up creeps towards two days of my life. Which initially seemed really depressing when I did the sums – there are other things I could been doing, if only watching better movies than Doctor bloody Strange. But then I thought about it a bit more, and remembered that some of films – Avengers Assemble, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man 3, for instance – are pretty good. And I saw most of the films with friends or nephews and nieces, and was able to talk about them with other friends and nephews and nieces, and that’s not necessarily the case with, say, The Stuart Hall Project. So, on reflection, I don’t begrudge my time or cash.

#avengers: endgame

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martens-movie-reviews · 7 years ago

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Release Date: March 25, 2016 Running Time: 3 hours 2 minutes (regular cut is 2 hours 31 minutes)

“It’s been nearly two years since Superman’s colossal battle with Zod devastated the city of Metropolis. The loss of life and collateral damage left many feeling angry and helpless, including crime-fighting billionaire Bruce Wayne. Convinced that Superman is now a threat to humanity, Batman embarks on a personal vendetta to end his reign on Earth, while the conniving Lex Luthor launches his own crusade against the Man of Steel.”

Because of the anticipated release of Justice League on Friday November 17, I’ve decided to write reviews of all of the movies that make up the DC Extended Universe so far. There have been a lot of talks about how long this franchise will last, but as a comic book fan, and huge lover of movies, I never want movies to be bad. I’m hoping that it’ll be amazing. You can find the dates for when the reviews for the other DCEU movie will be released at the link here. I wrote the review for Wonder Woman around the time it came out, and it can be found here.

DC Extended Universe – Source: Warner Brothers Entertainment

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer – Source: Warner Brothers Entertainment

Cast & Crew

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was directed by Zack Snyder, who I’ve already summarized his previous work and work since in the Man of Steel Review.

It was written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer. I’ve already mentioned Goyer’s work as well in the Man of Steel Review, as such I will go over Terrio’s work. Chris Terrio previously wrote the 2012 film ‘Argo’, and has since worked on the Justice League movie, the sequel to that movie will be released in the future, and Star Wars: Episode IX set to be released in 2019.

From Left to Right: Henry Cavill as Kal – El / Clark Kent / Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman – Source: Warner Brothers Entertainment

Cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Callan Mulvey, Scoot McNairy, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons, Kevin Costner, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone, Ezra Miller, Michael Shannon, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Review

I will start by saying that I find the idea of Batman and Superman fighting for any reason to be kind of silly, but I was interested in the idea. If this movie would have been just Batman v Superman, and not ‘Dawn of Justice’, I think that this movie would have been a much better film, and wouldn’t have split the audience as much. There were too many rushed storylines in the overall film, and making everything a little convenient, and stupid. They made Lex Luthor a joke for over half the movie, and then made him somehow have little surveillance clips that featured Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg that he had managed to get, implying that he knows everyone’s identity.