Initial impressions, good. I enjoyed it. While I was ready to see IW again pretty quickly, I think I can wait a bit before seeing EG again. IW had better pacing and the advantage of providing the set-up. EG was handicapped by having to wrap it all up and that gave it a bit of a "checklist" kind of feeling. The tone was more unsettled here and the pacing a bit clunky. To it's credit, the three hour run time didn't hamper it, even if the first hour or so did tend to drag. Now, I'm just going to wail with a stream of consciousness here with the impressions...
I loved the opening with Hawkeye's family disappearing off camera without the effect. Made it very haunting and immediate.
The interaction between Nebula and Tony on the stranded ship was great. Showed Tony's charm and Nebula's slow development away from the oppression of her father. In fact, Nebula came across as one of the stronger characters in this. We saw a good arc with her all the way through.
It really felt like Cap's movie this time. He had a lot of great moments It was neat seeing how Sam had influenced him with the survivor's meeting being a key scene. He really lead the team this time around and it was great to see that dynamic. When he viewed the old watch with the photo, it was clear to see where it was going, but it still worked really well.
Thor. Ugh. As many others have pointed out, what a disappointment. He was turned into that terrible crass party joke the obnoxious person keeps telling while saying "Get it? Do you get it?" to the point of nausea. The dude Thor was just intolerable and what made it worse it he never moved past that. Just wince-inducing, from the fake beard and bad extensions to the ugly belly that kept begging the question "is this CG or make-up appliance?" Shockingly bad choice.
Actually. most of the "humor" in this felt forced and flat. The boy's sitcom roots were showing a lot here with the crude juvenile remarks...it really disrupted the tone without really adding anything but cheap laughs.
The merged Hulk. It too was wince-inducing and too- cute at times, but at least there was some character moments with it that made sense and moved him forward. I actually enjoyed his scene with the Ancient One...both characters worked well there. It was a weird choice not to have a big "hulk out" moment with Thanos where Hulk gets the upper hand, especially after what happened in IW but maybe the boys thought that would be too obvious.
Black Widow. Well, now we know that standalone movie has got to be a prequel. What a wasted death. No impact, especially when the concept is "sacrifice what you love"...it felt stretched and contrived..the character deserved so much better. It was like these guys never really knew what to do with her in these stories so just kill her off and be done with it. Her absence was really front and center during the final battle when the "girl power" line-up had their moment.
Thanos. With so much focus on him in IW, it was sad to see him seem more like a stock villain here. He had one great scene at the end with that look of genuine bewilderment as he met his fate.
CM. Who? Oh her...never mind. And a side note: Zoe should get best actress just for kicking Pratt in the nuts. Something I've always wanted to do. GREAT moment.
One sad part of the "wrap it up" nature of the movie is so many characters really were nothing more than glorified cameos.
Time travel. HATE IT. SICK OF IT. It's the "it" story crutch this year...Star Trek Discovery used it to worm it's way out it's original premise and now EG uses it to get out of the big corner IW left everything in. The whole jabberfest explaining it (or not?) was pointless and sucked any sense of consequence out of the proceedings. The only sure story quality it adds is the endless point of debate it creates. Not interesting, not good story telling., just a lazy way of getting away with whatever they want to do. I hate time travel. Wouldn't be surprised if we don't see it in SW later this year. If there is one thing we know about Disney is...they'll beat an idea to death if it will make them another dime.
The CGI stew for the finale. And this is it. I'm marveled out. I'll see this again before it leaves the screen, but it feels like enough of an end where it's as good a place as any to bow out on these.
My attraction to these Marvel movies has always been the ones that felt more "real world". Hyper-real, yes, but grounded. The original Iron Man, CA:TFA and still my personal favorite, CA:WS are the ones I'll come back to. (I could throw BP in there too). But when the movies and characters moved into the mystical, the out-of-this-world and the heavy fantasy, I felt less invested. I had to see this movie...it's the end of the story. The arcs that worked the best for me were Cap and Tony. The final battle was just this giant CG cluster****** where there wasn't any real weight to anything and nothing look real or impactful. Where there cool moments? Hell yeah! Seeing Cap wield the hammer in battle while Thor looks on admiringly was awesome...the glorious full screen shot of all the heroes emerging from the protals looked like the ultimate two-page spread in the biggest comic ever. It was cool.
But it was that last scene with Cap passing the shield to Falcon that just rocked it for me. With Bucky looking on proudly, Sam accepts the mantle with grace and dignity. That moment worked despite the worst old age make-up (or CG) to ever grace the screen. And that final moment with Cap and Peggy? Wonderful....as long a you turn the brain off to how he got there and just enjoy it.
