The final Marvel stint for a while. I have already made inroads into the phase four stuff – including Loki! – but it will keep.
Avengers: Infinity War
So, is Loki in this one? Actually, yes, for the first ten minutes or so. Then he dies.
But that's a fake-out, right, like the other times he "died"? I mean, they made a TV series about him and everything! The TV series is about an earlier version of Loki. It's complicated. Anyway, this time the death is for real, and a way for Loki to redeem himself.
Ugh, always these Redemptive Deaths. If it's a comfort, it's the sneakiest Redemptive Death possible. He's killed by Thanos while trying to doublecross him.
So, is this Thanos any good as a villain? Can't say I like the sound of him so far. Credit where credit is due, Thanos is pretty darn great. Villain fanboys often tend to go for the flashy bad guys, the Beagle Boy kind who revel in their villainy. But this time, they got hyped over a more complex villain, and with reason. The script-writers, directors and not least Josh Brolin who motion-capture-acted the "Mad Titan" expertly should all be lauded for making something interesting of him. Thanos's plan is perfectly bonkers – he wants to wipe out half of everything living in the universe – but the film sells you on the idea that he thinks he is doing the right thing. Obsessed with concerns over over-population since the fall of his own planet, he harbours the extreme-Malthusian belief that the half of the universe's population that remains will flourish once he's done his bit. (Mind you, Malthusians want to curb procreation in order to handle over-population: they're killjoys, not killers.) Thanos is even prepared to make personal sacrifices to achieve his goal. Of all the misguided idealists in the Marvel Universe, he's literally the big one.
But you don't tend to fancy murderous idealists. That's right, I don't fancy him. But I am impressed. And I like Ebony Maw, his devoted follower, very much the Saint-Just to his Robespierre.
Overall impression: Like Thanos, this movie is big and awe-inspiring. Despite its length, I was at the edge of my seat during the whole thing, and that's in spite of the fact that I knew how things would pan out (it's been years since the film aired, and I haven't tried to avoid spoilers as I thought I'd never see it anyway). However, you really have to have seen most of the other Marvel films in order to make any kind of sense of it. It presupposes that you know all the characters already and can't wait to see them fighting someone almost impossible to defeat. One for the fans.
The Ant-Man and The Wasp
Loki still dead? This movie takes place briefly before and to some extent during Infinity War, but... yeah, he's not in it.
So who are the villains? Anything interesting? The main antagonist in this film, the "Ghost", is hardly a villain at all – she only wants to cure a horrible condition she contracted as a result of some advanced quantum-portal-nonsense experiments. The problem, as with the comic side villain from the South, is that it would have been very easy to level with them. The "Ghost" wants to be cured now – to which the answer would be "sure, hon, just wait until tomorrow when we've got my wife/mother out of the quantum realm". The Southern faux-gentleman wants to sell Hank Pym's mobile, shrinkable lab for a billion dollars (with a cut to him) now – to which the answer would be "that sounds like a great offer, give us a week to think about it while daddy extracts my mom from the quantum realm". But as the heroes are so unclear about why they only need a couple of hours more without interference, they need to contend with an awful lot of avoidable hassle.
Overall impression: Plotting isn't this film's strong point. There are many contrivances and plot holes. But like its predecessor Ant-Man this is a fun film with charming and likeable characters. If you discount the bleak mid-credit scene (which seemed a bit unnecessary – couldn't they have worked it into Endgame somehow?) it's the ideal light-hearted pick-me-up after the, er, intensity of Infinity War.
Captain Marvel
So, I can't help noticing that this film takes place in the Nineties. Before Infinity War. There is a guest appearance from a former Marvel villain, but not Loki – rather Ronan from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
So, does he have any character development in this film? Nah, he's only there to have his cute blue butt kicked at the end.
Ah, well... Any other villains of note? In a movie containing shape-shifters and a heroine with amnesia, it's not always easy to know who the villains are... Or else it's really easy. What can I say? I knew of one of the film's twists beforehand, and from that it wasn't hard to unravel the rest. I don't want to give away too much, but overall the threats that Vers, aka Carol Danvers (it's not made entirely clear why she ends up with the moniker Captain Marvel) face are a little on the underwhelming side.
Overall impression: The problem with Captain Marvel is Captain Marvel herself. She is given little by way of personality, and what she has isn't very appealing; she comes accross as conceited and humourless. Things aren't helped by Brie Larson's curiously wooden performance. She doesn't really have any chemistry with any of the other characters, not even Nick Fury, whom she is supposed to care about (in a best-buddy kind of way, I'm almost sure). There are some very clunky "go feminism" scenes, which make me (as a woman) cringe. In one, a biker condescendingly tells Vers/Carol that she should try smiling. A minute later, she's stolen his bike. That's him told. I could see his point, though: I got really tired of Larson's mulish I'm-not-going-to-be-ingratiating look.
For all that, the film's not terrible. I enjoyed the Skrulls and their shape-shifting shenanigans, it's nice to see a younger, more mellow Nick Fury, and the kid who plays Carol's best friend's daughter is great. Also, in terms of preachiness, it doesn't hold a candle to the phase four TV series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. They do try to "show, not tell" in Captain Marvel, they're just not very good at it. And it's a bit galling that Captain Marvel is so ridiculously over-powered that she can supposedly take down any of the other MCU heroes and heroines – the ones we actually like.
Avengers: Endgame
I guess Loki isn't in this, as he's really dead this time... Actually, he does make a couple of brief appearances as his former, unreformed self – there's time travel involved, you see.
Ah, that's something I guess. And Thanos is back, which is... good? It has to be said, he's not a patch on Infinity War Thanos. The Avengers end up being pitched against a Thanos from the past, who somewhere along the way realises that half of the universe will never thank him if he rids them of the other half, even if it does mean more natural resources and stuff. But the plan he comes up with instead is so obviously mad and wrong, even compared to the old one, that the complexity is lost.
So, are you saying they didn't stick the landing? No, they did stick the landing. But I have to admit this film belongs to the heroes rather than the villains. It is overlong, and I have no clue how the time travel actually works in this film. Apparently you can't change the past, but Steve kind of does it anyway at the end? And how can fighting and killing people from the past not have any impact on the timeline? I was thoroughly confused. Nevertheless, there are thrilling action scenes, sweet character moments and a moving, satisfying finale, even though sacrifices are made on the way. Even Captain Marvel becomes more bearable.
But do I really have to see all these movies just to understand what's going on in Loki the series? Honestly? No. If you watch the Thor movies and the first Avengers film you will probably be able to follow it fine, though the exact circumstances of Loki's death and why this earlier version of him has fallen foul of a sort of time police will be a bit of a mystery. However, if you appreciate the nerdiness of Loki the series, you will probably quite like the Marvel movies as well. Give it a go. But if you say to yourself after the first Avengers movie "what a load of rubbish", then you'll know it's not for you.
