Endgame. Beware, here be spoilers.

[Brock Beauchamp]

What a movie.

 

Interesting tidbit. The kid at Stark’s funeral is the boy from Iron Man 3.

 

Damn, Marvel. You don’t miss a beat.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Also, I don’t know when the last time a movie rewarded me as much as the moment Mjolnir flies into save Thor and and camera pans over to show Captain America holding the hammer.

 

I literally chirped in the theatre. It was 30+ years of comic fandom boiled into a perfect cinematic moment.

[gunnarthor]

Loved the film. It was clear that Captain American and Iron Man were the stars and they held it together. Our whole theater erupted when Cap threw Mjolnir. Read somewhere that Cap was the soul of the MCU while RDJ's Iron Man was its head. Seems accurate for this film.

 

Interestingly, while the battle scenes were amazing, I think the best parts of the movie weren't the battles. I really liked Renner's Hawkeye in this one. The opening where he lost his family, Cap at the support group,Tony with his family and Nebula/Gamora conversations were all really well done scenes. Also thought the Black Widow/Cap scenes were good. Not sure what her future holds, my understanding is that she has her own movie coming out so does that mean she'll come back or is it going to be some 80s based spy drama?

 

I didn't really like Thor's treatment in the movie although I understand why. At the end of Infinity War he was going to toe-to-toe with Thanos who had the Infinity Gauntlet.They had to do something to make Thor a wreck for that fight. And it was great that a big part of that fight was Cap, Iron Man and Thor. But I really liked Thor's character at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and they moved away from that. By the way, Captain Marvel's entry into the final battle was awesome. I really like her character ("Hi, Peter Parker"). The battle had a lot of great parts - Scarlet Witch got to kick ass! - and Iron Man's sacrifice made sense.

 

The only thing I didn't like was Cap's end. Seeing him and Peggy felt right - their children will be gorgeous! - but didn't make sense for the character. And if they were going to give us that scene, I wish we could have actually seen it. I know fandom has basically fallen in love with those two having to be together but the logic even within the movie didn't really make sense. But good for Cap being with the one he loves.

[Brock Beauchamp]

A lot of people have been bashing Hawkeye and I don’t get it. I thought he was good and the final scene with Widow was very good.

 

I agree on Thor. He was a letdown for 2/3rds of the film but thought they pulled it back together for the showdown.

 

I loved Rogers’ ending. It was exactly how I wanted to see the character exit the franchise. I can’t recall the last time I wanted to see a character get a final win more than Evans’ Cap.

[TheLeviathan]

Yeah, put me in the camp that loved it for Rogers.  It was what he wanted.  This was closure for Stark and Rogers - Stark proved he was more than the selfish egoist.  He could be the man that would lay his life down for others.  I thought it was handled perfectly.

 

For Rogers, he only ever wanted to be happy and do the right thing.  I'd stay in the 1940s for Haley Atwell too, FWIW.

 

I emotionally popped so many times in this movie.  Heart wrenching to be a father and feel what Hawkeye did in the beginning.  Heartwrenching to watch him lose someone he loved in Widow.  Antman's genuine fear for his daughter and lose of Hope.  Rocket and Nebula (holy **** has Nebula come a long way!).  Thor playing fortnite with the Ragnarok crew.  Iron Man with his daughter.  

 

All the subtle stuff on the time travel too!  Cap vs. Cap (America's Ass indeed), Hail Hydra, Hulk and the stairs, etc.  But when Cap takes his shield and Mjolnir and goes 1:1 with Thanos....I don't think a movie has ever emotionally charged me like those couple minutes.  And then "Cap...on your left" and everyone getting a moment to show up and kick some ass?  Damn.  Just...damn.

 

I know the Marvel formula is nothing new, but they have perfected how to weave a narrative over many movies and do fan service without being Michael Bay cheesy.  It's amazing.  It's the greatest franchise in film history.  It had my wife in tears and it damn near got me too.

[Brock Beauchamp]

The elevator scene was such a twisting of audience expectations and delivered such a delightful surprise in “Hail Hydra”.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I’ve never seen a film that delivered so many fan nods (like you said, “on your left”) without becoming fan service and overly nostalgic.

 

The Russo brothers are basically magic.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I have no idea why Hulk and the stairs was funny but it was just ****ing hilarious.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I’ve never seen a film that delivered so many fan nods (like you said, “on your left”) without becoming fan service and overly nostalgic.

The Russo brothers are basically magic.

 

Please Disney, I beg you....let them direct X-men when the time comes.

 

Also, it bears saying, Tom Holland is a perfect Spiderman.

 

So where do we go from here?  Eternals sounds like the kickoff to the next phase....are we building to Doom?  

[TheLeviathan]

Actually I'm going with The Beyonder and Secret Wars leading to the Skrull invasion.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Please Disney, I beg you....let them direct X-men when the time comes.

 

Also, it bears saying, Tom Holland is a perfect Spiderman.

 

So where do we go from here?  Eternals sounds like the kickoff to the next phase....are we building to Doom?  

My hope is that the next phase is Doom being Doom and the ultimate reveal is the Fantastic Four emerging from their 1960s trip to the Negative Zone at the end of phase four (is it four now, can't actually remember).

 

We need a good Fantastic Four movie. And if Marvel bows to fan pressure and casts John Krazinski as Mister Fantastic and Emily Blunt as Susan Storm, my 14 year old self might explode in pure glee.

 

As for the X-Men, I honestly don't care much. We've seen them done very well in film and very badly in film. And, more importantly, their history is so convoluted that it can't really exist in the same universe as anyone else. And the X-Men operate best in a universe that's just silly and ridiculous. 

 

Thanks, Claremont. That may come off as snark but seriously, thanks. He wrote a layered universe that was full of intrigue and complexity but basically ruined it for anyone else who wanted to play in it, much less actually merge that mini-universe into something else and keep it coherent.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I mean, this photoshopped image of Krasinski as Mister Fantastic...

 

[TheLeviathan]

See, that's where we divide on opinion.  I don't think the X-men have been done well.  And I've never much loved the Fantastic Four.

 

But in the hands of this production company?  Everything they touch is gold.

[ericchri]

 

What a movie.

Interesting tidbit. The kid at Stark’s funeral is the boy from Iron Man 3.

Damn, Marvel. You don’t miss a beat.

 

Well you just answered one of my questions that I meant to go looking for.  I was wondering who that kid was, I knew there had to be something I was just not thinking clearly at that point of the movie.  Thank you.

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

See, that's where we divide on opinion. I don't think the X-men have been done well. And I've never much loved the Fantastic Four.

 

But in the hands of this production company? Everything they touch is gold.

I loved First Class and Singer’s first two movies were pretty good.

 

I think people tend to overlook FF because their movie treatments have been abysmal. Make a good Doom movie, add some negative zone madness, and just run with it.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I loved First Class and Singer’s first two movies were pretty good.

I think people tend to overlook FF because their movie treatments have been abysmal. Make a good Doom movie, add some negative zone madness, and just run with it.

 

I really only liked X2 and even that had plenty of problems.  

 

FF were drags to me, but through their stories they introduce some of the best characters.  So in that sense, I do hope they get good treatment.

[gunnarthor]

I've enjoyed the X-men movies (not the stand alone Wolverine movies except Logan). I'd keep them separate from the MCU but drag the FF into it. That's a natural fit. 

 

They have enough characters to tell many stories and they'll have to. With Disney+, they'll need new content for their streaming platforms so I expect several Marvel based shows will air there only.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I've enjoyed the X-men movies (not the stand alone Wolverine movies except Logan). I'd keep them separate from the MCU but drag the FF into it. That's a natural fit. 

 

They have enough characters to tell many stories and they'll have to. With Disney+, they'll need new content for their streaming platforms so I expect several Marvel based shows will air there only.

 

I can understand that, but too much money to be made in bringing them in.  The streaming service opens up a lot of possibilities.  

[TheLeviathan]

The Sam Wilson (Cap) and Bucky show already has me very intrigued.  

 

I hope Aaron Mackie gets a long run as Cap, he's perfect for that character and to handle that ascension to Captain America.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I really only liked X2 and even that had plenty of problems.  

 

FF were drags to me, but through their stories they introduce some of the best characters.  So in that sense, I do hope they get good treatment.

The end of Phase IV could be Galactus and the Surfer, which would be freakin' amazing.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

The Sam Wilson (Cap) and Bucky show already has me very intrigued.  

 

I hope Aaron Mackie gets a long run as Cap, he's perfect for that character and to handle that ascension to Captain America.

I've always had an unreasonably hard time with Wilson as Cap because he's just a dude with a shield. 

 

But I like Mackie and will certainly give the show a try when it releases.

[gunnarthor]

 

The end of Phase IV could be Galactus and the Surfer, which would be freakin' amazing.

OK, wait, stay with me here - Atlantis Attacks!

[TheLeviathan]

 

OK, wait, stay with me here - Atlantis Attacks!

 

Namor is going to be a big character they have back now too.  And there is a lot of animosity with Wakanda to build from.

 

I would love to see what Marvel does with Surfer and Galactus, but damn is Galactus hard to imagine working in a film.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Namor is going to be a big character they have back now too. And there is a lot of animosity with Wakanda to build from.

 

I would love to see what Marvel does with Surfer and Galactus, but damn is Galactus hard to imagine working in a film.

Galactus is challenging for sure but I suspect marvel would simply make him giant and purple and we’d all love it.

[Brock Beauchamp]

OK, wait, stay with me here - Atlantis Attacks!

Heh, I remember that crossover event.

 

Not exactly one of my favorites.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Galactus is challenging for sure but I suspect marvel would simply make him giant and purple and we’d all love it.

 

Marvel has certainly earned trust in that respect.  As I said, I love the catalog of people that come with the FF4, they open possibilities both on earth and in the cosmic realm.  

[gunnarthor]

 

Heh, I remember that crossover event.

Not exactly one of my favorites.

That was the summer I started reading comics so it holds a special place in my heart. I ended up with most, but not all, of the annuals.

[biggentleben]

Finally saw it today. Times of tears, times of outright cheering in our theater, and plenty of moments where I was incredibly impressed with how things were handled.

 

That funeral scene was handled brilliantly. So perfect.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Finally saw it today. Times of tears, times of outright cheering in our theater, and plenty of moments where I was incredibly impressed with how things were handled.

 

That funeral scene was handled brilliantly. So perfect.

Its weird how little the Stark death impacted me but I’m wayyyyyyyy more of a Cap guy.

 

Still, “I am Iron Man” *snap* was such a payoff on the RDJ Stark.

[TheLeviathan]

Cap picking up the hammer hit me far more emotionally.

 

The fact that they could make these characters resonate with all of us so strongly is a real testament to what Feige and the guys at Marvel created here.  I have no problem proclaiming this the best movie franchise ever.  I'm not sure it's particularly close.