This movie killed me. In every good way and every bad way. I loved it and I hated it. There are too many ways for me to introduce this review, so I’m just going to jump right into it. I’m not even sure I have the words to describe this movie, but here we go.
I’m going to start with what I didn’t like about this film.
1. Thor
His storyline was probably the most disappointing thing about this movie. It was funny to see Thor fat for a second, but the humor wore after the first hour. I understand he was going through a lot and felt like a failure, but he’s also a god. And he still has his people who are looking to him to get things under control. It got to the point where I almost wished he wasn’t a part of the film. I had the urge to scream out, “Oh my god, enough already!” It was suppperrr annoying.
2. Time Travel
This was a shit-show. By the end of the film, I had more questions for which I’m sure will go unanswered. Especially with the way they “wrapped up” Captain America’s storyline. Having seen enough movies and TV shows that deal with time travel, I know how easy it is to screw it up. And I really think they did. The hardest part is trying to figure out how much they actually screwed up. For instance, when Thor goes back in time (Dark World era), he takes his (old) hammer with him. But doesn’t Thor in that time period need his hammer to save the world during that time? My greatest concern is trying to figure out how much Captain America screwed up the timeline by going back in time to live out his life with Peggy. Don’t get me wrong, I love that he got his happy ending. But at what cost? He left Bucky behind to deal with the world that was even hard for him to get used to, and he’s had years to get acquainted with it. Hell, he formed his own little family with the Avengers. Bucky doesn’t really have that. Also, doesn’t this screw up Peggy’s timeline? She had a husband and kids in the past, but now that he went back, did he not completely erase that? TOO MANY QUESTIONS, I CAN NOT HANDLE!
3. Captain America’s Ending
I have to admit that I’m not a fan of what they did with Cap. The fact that he went back in time to be with Peggy is selfish. Granted, he’s definitely entitled to be selfish, but as one of the world’s greatest superheroes, isn’t that part of the job? Sacrificing what you want so that others can live?
I also didn’t like the fact that Steve hands Falcon, or Sam, his shield, in the hopes that he takes on the Captain America mantel. The only reason I don’t like it is that the past Captain America movies were constantly teasing Bucky with the shield, making me assume that that’s where they were headed with the franchise. It also made more sense, if only because Bucky and Steve have the same superpowers in terms of strength and speed. On the other hand, Sam and Steve share the same morals and values, which is a big part of what makes "Captain America" who "he" is, so it kind of works. Either way, I'm very interested to see what the future of Captain America evolves into.
Now, onto what I DO like. I could make a list of everything that I loved, but that would probably take up more space than necessary because I really LOVED this film.
As the movie starts, Captain Marvel and the rest of the Avengers suit up to kill Thanos. Because it’s that easy. But this leads to witnessing one of the things I was hoping to see in this film — Thor going for the head. After listening to Thanos explain how he destroyed the stones, Thor gets so angry that he takes a sword and BAM! Goodbye, Thanos.
After realizing that there is no way to bring back their loved ones, everyone goes home upset. In a very interesting move, the film cuts to five years later, where we find Steve holding a support group meeting for everyone who is having a hard time coming to terms with losing their loved ones. If you missed it, one of the directors makes a small appearance as one of the people in the support group. I see you, Joe Russo.
This five year time jump leads me to another check-list item: Tony having a family.
Yet another move that I didn’t anticipate happening so soon, we see Tony walking into his yard to speak to his young daughter, Morgan (who, by the way, is completely adorable). Seeing Tony as a dad is something I didn’t think I needed, but watching him with his daughter made my heart swoon. It’s because he’s now a father that he doesn’t immediately jump at the chance to “fix” things when Steve, Tony, and Ant-Man come to talk him into time-traveling to get the Stones before Thanos can get them. Being the genius that he is, Tony of course figures out the trick to time traveling just in time to save the day. The moment he figures it out also gives us a cute scene between him and Morgan and the quote that launched a crapload of merchandise — “I love you 3000.” It’s their thing and it’s so heartbreakingly sweet, you’re bound to get cavities just thinking about it.
One of the best things to come out of the time-traveling stuff was the throwbacks to past films. They start out by going back to the first Avengers movie where they plan to steal the tesseract and we get to see what happens after the “I’ll have that drink now” scene. We also get Ant-Man exclaiming “that’s America’s Ass." Steve and Tony go back even further in time to when Tony’s father Howard was housing the tesseract. There’s a really sweet scene between Tony and Howard in which they converse about becoming fathers. There’s also a sweet, but heartbreaking, scene in which Steve sees Peggy through a window in her office. The longing on his face kills me.
Once the Avengers get back from their time-traveling adventures, bringing back their lost ones happens fairly quickly. I had assumed that getting a gauntlet to bring all the stones together would have been more difficult, seeing as Thanos spent quite a long time thinking this plan out, but no. Tony creates his own gauntlet in what seems like minutes. After a quick argument over who would wield the gauntlet to bring everyone back, they decide that Hulk is the best option (for various reasons — one being that he’s the only one of them exposed to the radiation that emulates from the stones). Once he puts on the gauntlet, and going through what seems like a very painful experience, they actually succeed in bringing everyone back. The excitement lasts about five seconds before Thanos attacks.
As the fight begins, it’s just Tony, Steve, and Thor fighting him, as everyone else is buried under the Avengers building after Thanos blew it up and leads to some of my favorite moments in the film. The first occurs when it looks like Thanos is going to kill Thor when out of the blue, we see the hammer start to move through the air before it hits Thanos right in the head. But instead of flying into Thor’s hands, it flies back into Steve’s. Exclaiming, “I knew it,” Thor smiles before the film gives Steve’s his moment. It was great. After teasing it for a few years, it’s finally fact that Steve is worthy of wielding the hammer.
However, the BEST part of this film was the “Avengers, Assemble!” scene. It had been one of the things I had been hoping to see in this film since the end of Age of Ultron. It was moving, exciting, and everything I never knew I needed in that moment. It was done so perfectly. Everyone that was killed at the end of Infinity War comes back at the end for the final battle against Thanos and it is EVERYTHNIG. Of course, Captain America says it and I swear, it gave me chills. I don’t think that scene will ever get old.
This movie was not all cute scenes, as you can imagine. One of the first scenes that got me was Natasha’s death. After fighting with Hawkeye about who is going to jump over the cliff, she sacrifices herself for the Soul Stone (“a life for a life”). Watching her tell Hawkeye to “let her go,” which of course, he can’t, she pulls out of his grasp and plummets away. I’m still not over it. What’s even worse is when Hawkeye tells the rest of the group what happens and you see Hulk’s face. I’m mad that they never got their happy ending, but also, that’s what happens when you wait too long. She deserved better.
Speaking of deaths, you guys…
Tony Stark is the real hero in this. After spending the last ten years trying to protect the people he cared about, it only makes sense that this is how he went out. In a last-ditch effort to keep the infinity stones out of Thanos’ grasp, Tony wields the power of the stones to wish Thanos and his allies away. The stones, being as powerful as they are, bring Iron Man to his end. With one final line, “I..Am…Iron Man,” Tony saves everyone before succumbing to his injuries. The tears start to come when Peter Parker sees him and but then turns into full-on sobbing when Pepper leans in and says, “We’re going to be okay. You can rest now.” With one final smile at her, Tony dies. And so did I, because CMON! If you didn’t cry, you’re not human. It’s that sad. Even my dad was sobbing and I’ve only seen him cry four times in my life.
Overall, as much as I hate to see my favorite characters leave, I know it was bound to happen. With the small mishap with Cap’s storyline, I think they did everyone justice with how it happened. Tony’s story came full circle, as did Natasha’s. But can you blame me for wishing that it was an all-around happy ending, just to see our beloved Avengers get the life they deserved? To see Tony continue to live his life with Pepper and their daughter? To see Cap live out his life with his best buds by his side? To see Natasha and Bruce Banner finally settle down? But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Now the only questions remain — what does the future look like for the remaining Avengers?
Here’s to ten years of some of my favorite films. Thanks, Marvel. You did good.
I will probably have more to add about this film as I think about it over and over again in my head, but for now, this is where I leave it. Let me know what you thought about this film in the comments!
***I do not own these gifs/photos.
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