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Marvel Studios Delivers Its Genre-Defining Masterpiece with Avengers: Endgame

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WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:


 

 

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson, Mark Ruffalo, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Dania Gurai and Josh Brolin … PLUS A BUNCH OF OTHERS (You want me to spoil it for you?!)


DIRECTOR(S): Anthony and Joe Russo
THE BACK STORY: The last time we saw them, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans),  Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson),  Col. Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Dr. Bruce Banner aka the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) were dealing with the aftermath of being the last heroes standing after “the mad Titan” Thanos (Josh Brolin) found all six of the Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers, eliminating half of the life in the universe in the process. Now, our heroes have no clue what to do with themselves or how to fix the catastrophe.


Luckily for them, the retired Hawkeye a.k.a. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) survived the snap, as did Nebula (Karen Gillan), Thanos formerly war-minded adopted daughter, Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who was stuck in The Quantum Realm. And once the pager from a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative reaches Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), it looks like there may be hope to undo the damage Thanos has caused. It’s just going to require (1) a bunch of time travel, (2) a lot of extremely coordinated teamwork and (3) a wee bit of luck to make everything go right. 


But with the literal fate of the universe hanging in their avenging hands, they’re the best – and only – chance we have …

THE REVIEW: Imagine telling someone a decade ago “Yeah, I heard Marvel Comics is going to form a movie studio and then make 20+ movies that will all tie together with a huge finale featuring 3 hours of action and emotion the likes of which has never been seen on the silver screen.” Given where superhero movies were as a genre before – 2007 gave us Spider-Man 3 a.k.a. the bad one, Ghost Rider and Fantastic Four featuring yup, Chris Evans – you would have a better bet thinking the Cleveland Browns would become Super Bowl champions.Fast-forward to 2019 and Marvel has made money hand over muscular fist to the point that the closing film is set to break records left and right and the only question now remaining is – much like the Avengers own prospects battling the toughest enemy they’ve ever faced – can Endgame live up to its massive hype?

Yes. The answer is a resounding, action-packed, emotionally charged and fitting–ending to the first 10 years of Marvel Studios yes.

Sure, next month’s collaboration with Sony, Spider–Man: Far From Home, is the official ending to Marvel Studios’ Phase 3 plans according to studio head Kevin Feige, but Endgame sure feels like a finale in a lot of ways. With spoilers abound on the Internet as of Tuesday, April 23 (when this review was posted), it’s hard to talk about Endgame in detail without giving away too much.

Thus, here’s a checklist of Marvel-themed .GIFs that will give you information without giving you too much information.

Comedy on the level of Thor: Ragnarok that brings great levity at times?

Plot that feels convoluted but makes sense for the most part?

Fight scenes that will have your adrenaline pumping?

Is there a moment that feels like Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women” should be playing during it to make it feel complete?

Moments that are pulled from the comics that feel natural enough to set up future cinematic adventures?

Worried about whether you’ll need tissues? Let’s just say I’d expect a lot of people to do this at some point during the movie …

With those non-spoiler spoilers out the way, here’s what I can say: Endgame ties together just about every Marvel movie where it feels like not only a conclusion, but a payoff for sticking with our heroes throughout this journey. We’ve watched them go from not knowing the powers they had or how to use them to maturing and growing with each conflict to now what may or may not be their final and greatest battle to date. The character arcs are executed to perfection, despite its run time, there never feels like any wasted moments and the climax is just about everything you could hope for … Unless you’re a D.C. Comics fan who still has hope Warner Bros. has ANYTHING ready to compete with this. Evans and Downey, Jr. doing the heaviest lifting in the film emotionally (with Hemsworth coming in as the third man quite well) with Renner and Ruffalo – much like their characters – exhibiting strong supporting player performances. To say more would be to ruin the experience, and given how much of an experience Endgame is, that would be a crime against (movie) nature itself.

Superheroes have come and gone over the years; what Endgame showcases, however, is that no matter how much their powers may make them cool or be the things many of us wish we had, its their human traits (yes, even in Rocket’s case) are what keep us watching. Infinity War is arguably the first superhero movie to end on a down note, but Marvel’s heroes have always shown reflected the best and worst parts of the human experience: The desire for power, the need for hope in the face of extreme adversity, the importance of family, you name it – Marvel has covered it and done so in quite spectacular fashion. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have delivered a masterpiece of a movie, but since we all know comic book movies don’t win major awards, what we have to simply do is admire Marvel’s crowning achievement in all its glory and wait for baited breath to see what comes next.

Even when we’re down, Endgame proves that they are just a snap second from helping us all remember why movies like these give us hope for the future.

 

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

 


 

Marvel Ups The Ante, Fun with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

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“You thought someone else was going to open a movie this weekend against us?! Fool – we’re gonna be no. 1 for weeks!” Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) laugh in the presence of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) in a scene from James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 2. Credit: © 2017 Marvel Studios. All rights reserved. 
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE (RED BAND TRAILER – NOT SAFE FOR WORK!):


 

 



KEY CAST MEMBERS: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Debicki, Karen Gillian and Chris Sullivan

WRITER(S): James Gunn (screenplay); Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (based on the Marvel Comics by); Steve Englehart, Steve Gan, Jim Starlin, Stan Lee, Jacky Kirby, Larry Lieber, Bill Mantlo and Keith Geffen (characters)

DIRECTOR(S): James Gunn

WEB SITE: http://marvel.com/movies/movie/221/guardians_of_the_galaxy_vol_2HERE’S THE STORY: Taking place some time after the events of the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 actually begins with a flashback to life in 1980’s Missouri. It’s here that we see a young man and woman cruising in the t-top sportscar, riding down the open highway enjoy life as they listen to a collection of awesome tunes. It’s here where we see the man embrace the woman, showing her something that her “starman” has planted in the earth …


Flashing back to the present, we find our familiar heroes Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and a baby form of the humanoid tree Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) fighting a huge space creature. It seems they have been hired by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) to return a very special set of batteries to her people, the Sovereign. Obsessed with perfection, the gold-skinned, gold haired society is quite notably upset once it comes to their attention that Rocket has in fact stolen said batteries for himself, prompting Ayesha to lead a call to chase them down and eliminate the Guardians. And once Ayesha reachers out to Yondu (Michael Rooker), he and the rest of his Ravager buddies are hot on their trail …  


Much to everyone’s surprise, however, is the unexpected help that comes in the form of a man later revealed to be known as Ego (Kurt Russell), a mysterious entity accompanied by Mantis (Pom Klementieff), an antennae’d woman with great empathic powers. But why has Ego traveled across the galaxy looking for the Guardians, Quill in particular? The answer may change the Marvel Universe as you know it forever …

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Fans of Guardians of the Galaxy (the movie); fans of the Marvel Studios’ films in general; Chris Pratt fans; people who like superhero movies with a good mix of comedy and action

WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN’T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hate alterations to characters like Ayesha’s comic book origins stories; those with short attention spans given the film’s 2 hour-plus runtime 


SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? When you leave a movie thinking “What else could audiences want from that movie?,” it’s probably a good sign you’ve seen a really good movie. And unless your thought process is extremely out of whack, the only other thought one should have about seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is “I can’t wait to see what they have left for Vol. 3.” 


Vol. 2 delivers all of the risqué, perfectly-timed humor, creative action sequences and dynamic character interplay of the first film (the screen never feels too crowded with characters), but ups the ante with more development of the characters and how their backstories have modeled them into who they are today. This, in turn, enhances the great relationships between the characters –Vol. 2 shows the idea of what constitutes a family to a bunch of rogue misfits isn’t limited to just a bunch of earthbound characters in Diesel’s other “furious” franchise – which is the element that continues to shine in Marvel’s films: Whereas the D.C. films have characters with great powers, Marvel’s power lies in great, fully developed and interesting characters. 


Of course, you can’t have any of that without great individual performances – and Vol. 2 features a cast that works together like the 1996 Yankees, for every player has a role and knows their role quite well. Whether it’s leads like Pratt as a young man coming to grips with his reality as the star-crossed (pun intended) Peter Quill or Saldana and Karen Gillian as a pair of sisters with the ultimate sibling rivalry, bit players like Chris Sullivan – who is the butt of a hilariously savage series of jokes as would-be Ravager leader Taserface – to the point no one feels like a wasted opportunity. Writer/director James Gunn likewise effectively guides his cast as well to set up all of the films twists and turns, mixing in another awesome soundtrack to create what might already be the best movie of the summer. 


Here’s to hoping Vol. 3 expands the galaxy even more.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

 

Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme Arrives on the Big Screen in Magic Fashion

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“This window needs to be cleaned … But I ain’t gonna be the one to do it!” Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the titular character in a scene from director Steve Derrickson’s take on Marvel’s “sorcerer supreme,” DOCTOR STRANGE. Credit: Jay Maidment © 2016 Marvel Studios. All rights reserved. 


WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:


 

 



KEY CAST MEMBERS: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chitewel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel MacAdams and Benjamin Bratt

WRITER(S): Jon Spaith, C. Robert Carghill and Steve Derrickson (screenplay); Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Comic book characters on which the film is based)DIRECTOR(S): Steve Derrickson 

WEB SITE: http://marvel.com/doctorstrangepremiereHERE’S THE STORY: The first “new” character (not new if you are a fan of the comic book) in Marvel Studios Phase Three plan, Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Steven Strange, a renowned neurosurgeon. Working alongside his on-again, off-again girlfriend Christine (Rachel McAdams), Strange is as skilled as he is full of himself – which is to say very. 


Then, he crashes his expensive sports car in an accident that shreds his divine tools (his hands) to pieces, leaving both his career and his life in shambles.


Desperate to save his life’s work, Strange seeks out treatment from just about everyone he can think to no avail, each attempt leaving him more bitter and broken. It’s only then that he happens to hear about and then seek out Johnathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), a once paralyzed man who miraculously is not only no longer paralyzed, but back to playing pick-up basketball at a local park. Pangborn tells him about a mysterious place in Nepal that may be able to help him, leaving Strange to spend his last dime to travel there in search or refuge. But once he’s there, Strange discovers just how strange the place he has come is compared to anything he has ever encountered before.


Meeting up with a bald woman known simply as “The Ancient One” (Tilda Swinton) and her main assistants Wong (Benedict Wong) and Mordo (Chitewel Ejiofor), Strange undergoes a major transformation that, while it does not affect his hands in the way he foresees, affects his understaning of the world and his place in it forever.


And that’s a good thing, especially since Kaecillius (Mads Mikkelsen) – a.k.a. The Ancient One’s former apprentice – has taken his knowledge of her teachings and plans to apply them for a very nefarious purpose …  

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Benedict Cumberbatch fans; people who will enjoy the Inception-like scene shape shifting; those who generally enjoy Marvel films

WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN’T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Those who feel the film is a bit “whitewashed” or, ironically, too ethnically diversified given the actors playing certain roles in the film that were not those ethnicities in the comic; religious people who feel the film dives too much into things like the black arts, etc.

SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A Marvel origin story film that actually focuses on developing its lead character well to the point you almost crave some more information about the secondary characters, Doctor Strange is another win for the premier comic book movie studio.


Cumberbatch fully throws himself into the character of Steven Strange, giving him a complete evolution, if you will, as man who goes from arrogant, self-serving should-be hero to humbled, thrust into action actual hero. While that story in and of itself is nothing new, Cumberbatch delivers a needed mix of ego, humor and disbelief along his journey, which makes his character’s eventual 360 transformation believable, honest and most importantly given his character’s nature, smart. His responses to his situation are completely normal, a factor which is important in making the character believable and both heroic as he does progress. While Swinton and Ejiofor deliver solid performances in their supporting roles as the guides of Strange’s journey – Wong, however, is hilarious in his role – it is Cumberbatch who succeeds in channeling the story through him in a fashion that thoroughly works. This is a movie about a man’s journey on the road to becoming a hero, not a good guy vs. bad guy movie and the film plays out that way. While one could argue all superhero origin stories are that way, Doctor Strange digs deep into its protagonist’s life with the action sequences only existing when feeling necessary and not because he quote-unquote “kicks ass.” 


While the beginning of the film may have a bit of a slower pace atypical of most Marvel films, Director Scott Derrickson deserves a good amount of credit for making the mystical world of Doctor Strange accessible for the non-comic book viewer, breaking down the things that need to be for the casual observer while leaving enough insider nods for the die hard fan. While the talk of magic, mystic arts and the like might be a bit much at first, the strength of the tale told under Derrickson’s director will start to hook you before eventually delivering a satisfying cinematic experience. 


Then again, Marvel’s been making movie magic with that formula now for years, so why would they stop doing it now?
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):