- Well gang, this might be a controversial one. This movie didn't hold up as well as I'd hoped or expected
- As mentioned, this is one of the few movies that I had already seen before Ashley and I tackled the MCU. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2 in the theatre, and hadn't seen either one since. And I remembered liking Guardians of the Galaxy a lot! So much so that during some of the less entertaining movies we've watched recently, I actually kept thinking, "It's OK, you'll have a great time watching Guardians of the Galaxy, you know you like that one."
- I now think the best way to watch this movie was the way I did it the first time: in the theatre, surrounded by a game audience. Watching it from the couch, there just isn't a whole lot to take away from this movie. Is it pleasant and capable? Sure. Is it easily forgettable? Absolutely. Doesn't that describe the majority of these movies? One could argue.
- There were some pretty cool shots that used slow motion effectively. Yondu's whistle arrow thing was neat. I liked the scene where Groot impaled a hallway full of bad guys, and then used them as a club to take out the rest of the bad guys. Aside from that, it was a lot of animated explosions. Formulaic and dull climax; I got a bit of a Star Wars prequels vibe. Although I do want to shout out this movie's use of colour. It's a visually vibrant film.
- I wanted to laugh more than I did. There were some funny subversions of action and sci-fi tropes and the cast is likable. But when this movie was released, its sense of humour was always brought up as one of its strengths. I remembered thinking that was the case the first time I saw it. But I couldn't pinpoint anything that will stick with me in the way really funny movies do. Based on what I've heard, I'm really looking forward to Ant-Man!
- This movie was the beginning of "Chris Pratt, Leading Man!" He was Andy from Parks and Rec! He was missing from Parks and Rec because he was getting hot! It was so awesome to see this goofball as the star of an action movie! And he's fine. Now that this is just what he does, the novelty has worn off. He's pretty convincing acting against a lot of CGI, though. And speaking of which...
- Rocket is the best part of this movie. "But Mark," you say! "You're Mr. Anti-CGI, and Rocket is an entirely CGI character! Explain yourself, you mewling quim!" Rocket was animated with character and personality, but the real credit goes to Bradley Cooper. He created such a fun, anarchic character, using only his voice, and then the animators brought him to life. If you haven't seen it yet, watch clips from Bradley Cooper's VO sessions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPa1d8ygmo8
- I would absolutely be remiss if I didn't give credit where it's due: This is one of the best movie soundtracks ever, and it definitely provides a lot of the affection I do have for this movie. The opening credits are probably my favourite sequence, and I still got a thrill when "Guardians of the Galaxy" popped up on screen, underscored by Come and Get Your Love. But if my favourite sequence from the movie is the opening credits, well, something might be amiss
- This is another long write-up, but I'll leave you with this: I feel very unnerved by Groot's wooden teeth
- First time seeing it
- This movie has the best fight scenes, the best car stunts, the best explosions, and the best gun play of any Marvel movie so far. In fact, it stands pretty tall among action movies in general
- This is a very serious movie, with not much levity. While this tone hasn't worked for me with other movies in the franchise up to now, in this case the plot and the action thoroughly engrossed me. I like my Marvel movies with some humour, but I appreciated this movie's purity of intent
- After this one, the only future movies I've already seen are the two Guardians and Black Panther. I believed the Nick Fury death, not knowing for sure if he appeared in later movies. Having said that, I did feel a little gullible when the truth was revealed
- It was great to see Nick Fury get to be a badass
- The practical effects were so well done in this movie that I was a little disappointed by the CGI-heavy climax. It was still entertaining, there was some good stuff in there, but I'd take the elevator fight scene or the attack on Nick Fury over the high-flying spectacle of infiltrating the airships. I'll always appreciate and prefer practical effects. It's partly why Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my favourite movies of all time
- That Robert Redford can rock a suit, boy
- Samuel L. Jackson: "Director override. Fury, Nicholas J."
Mark: "What does the 'J' stand for?"
Ashley: "Jizz."
- First time seeing it
- Probably last time seeing it
- I didn't entirely hate it. I just didn't care. I might have been better prepared for what to expect from this one, so with low expectations, I at least didn't find myself disappointed, and I think my expectations might have been surpassed
- Despite ragging on the movie as a whole, I thought the climax was legitimately awesome, and I'd go so far as to say that it was one of my favourite climaxes so far in the MCU. The dimensional portals, the wonky gravity and the great special effects all worked for me. I've already started getting a little bored by the big final action set pieces in these movies, but this one surprised and engrossed me
- The first Thor movie gave me a total Lord of the Rings vibe, so I was amused to find that this one seemed to be going for more of a Star Wars pastiche. I got this impression even before Thor loses his hand, but that clinched it. At that point I even started to admire it more as deliberate homage, as opposed to shallow mimicry. And THEN I'm told that someone loses a hand in every Phase 2 movie, as a direct reference to The Empire Strikes Back, which I think is a pretty cool little Easter egg
- Hemsworth wasn't given as much fun stuff to do here, but man, he shows a lot of commitment to this character in the sincere way he plays him, even when he's actively poking fun at said sincerity
- I've had enough Kat Dennings for now, thanks. Also, what an odd little thankless role for Chris O'Dowd. And this was after he was in Bridesmaids
- Loved the Chris Evans cameo
- First time seeing it
- Loved it
- I probably laughed more at this movie than any of the others so far
- Some very cool and creative action choreography in the sequences with partial and multiple Iron Man suits
- I thought The Mandarin twist was hilarious, and Ben Kingsley was great as both the hammy, exaggerated initial villain, as well as the pathetic actor portraying him
- Having said that, I was probably in the ideal position to enjoy this twist. I'm aware of comics, but not a consumer; I knew that the Mandarin was supposed to be a big deal, but I also wasn't let down by this movie undercutting him. I can understand people being disappointed with not seeing a sincere depiction of the villain. Worked for me, though. I thought it was a riot
- Guy Pearce as the real villain was less interesting. Although they added some mutanty, X-Men-like abilities that haven't really been shown in these movies so far
- Nice little heroic moment for Gwyneth Paltrow at the end
- I liked that they took Tony out of the suit for a fair chunk of this movie. I thought it played with the Marvel formula in a successful way, added a new sensibility to the action, and Robert Downey Jr. certainly rose to the occasion. There are some who say this is more of a straight action movie than a superhero movie. I say that's a benefit of having a massive franchise like the MCU, they had more chances to try new things in different ways. I also say that the climax to this movie is pure Iron Man and superhero action
- Despite liking action movies, and having a good idea of the Shane Black style, I believe this is the first Shane Black movie I've seen all the way through. From what I understand, he really put his stamp on this one, and I admire that level of craft when working within a franchise like this one
- Considering I liked this one so much, I should definitely make it a priority to watch more of the movies Shane Black wrote or directed. Any suggestions?
- Now THIS is a movie!
- Action, humour, characters, dialogue, all on point
- While the story beats are par for the course with a superhero team-up, the infighting followed by begrudging teamwork followed by triumphant coalescence were entertaining throughout
- And THIS is a villain. Tom Hiddleston is having a blast, and he's such fun to watch
- The Chitauri don't bring anything to the party from a character perspective, but since they pose a threat through overwhelming numbers, that's understandable, and it's good that Loki is there to serve as a single recognizable villain
- I still don't think back fondly to his role in Thor, though. There's a part of me that wants to watch Thor again to greater appreciate Tom Hiddleston's performance, but I still just don't care about the Asgard stuff, which is all he appears in. Perhaps, like Thor, Loki is best when he's on Earth
- If you're looking for a movie with a lot of cute butts, you could do worse
- CGI in this movie: better utilized, better quality, or both?
- Since this movie's one of the big ones, Ashley and I invited our friends Nick and Liz over for a viewing party. These are their two-sentence reviews
- Nick: I'm massively impressed with how they were able to take all six previously established characters and give them all seemingly equal screen time. It's an excellent blend of action, comedy, and drama, with a sprinkling of butts
- Liz: Joss Whedon is really good at action scenes. Everything is interesting
- Ashley: Butts butts butts butts butts butts.
- In case it wasn't obvious from my reviews, I've been underwhelmed by the other movies so far. I've stayed committed to seeing the franchise through, but I started wondering how much enjoyment I'd actually get from the experience, or if maybe the MCU just wasn't for me. However, I saw Avengers in the theatre with Nick, after having seen only Iron Man and Captain America prior. I remembered liking Avengers a lot, so I was pretty confident I'd like it just as much this time
- Furthermore, I can now say that the experience of watching The Avengers is richer for having seen the previous films. The recurring characters, the interactions, the references, I had a deeper appreciation for all of them
- On to Phase Two, baby
- This movie achieves what it sets out to do. It's a good introduction to Steve Rogers and really solidifies his character
- Despite that, I found it left me a little cold. I wasn't entirely sure why at first, until Ashley pointed out that it didn't have much levity. And it's true. For a sci-fi war movie about a super soldier battling a guy with a red skull for a head, this is a very sincere movie
- I appreciate that the Marvel films play with the formula. If all 22 movies had the exact same tone, that would get really boring. However, I do enjoy the humour, the snark, and the more fun qualities of the ones I've seen so far. It's good to identify that this is the flavour of Marvel I like, as I think this will help me understand the later movies for what they bring to the table
- As a shorter guy with a deep voice, I feel qualified to say that it's unnerving to hear Chris Evans' voice coming out of pre-Cap Steve Rogers
- Hugo Weaving is probably the most effective villain in the movies so far. However, as of yet, none of the villains are nearly as interesting as the heroes. On the face of it, this might seem like a foregone conclusion. Of course you'd want the hero of your movie to be more interesting than the villain. However, this hasn't always been the case for the superhero genre. It's been said before, but in nearly every Batman movie, the villain is the most entertaining part. I like that the MCU provides charismatic heroes you can root for, but you can't deny the entertainment value provided by a magnetic villain on screen
- By "magnetic villain" I'm not just specifically referring to Magneto
- We took great pleasure in referring to him as Fucky Barnes
- Howard Stark looks like a grown-up Neal from Freaks and Geeks
- We are now in a post-Endgame world. Ashley and I were under no illusions that we could catch up in time, but we've managed to avoid spoilers so far. We'll see how long that can last, especially since we apparently can't even watch the trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home. At least they included a spoiler warning
- This is a long write-up. Fucky Barnes. Heh
- First time seeing it
- Thor on Earth was delightful, made me laugh several times, and contained some good action scenes
- Asgard was a bunch of CGI bullshit that I didn't care about
- I will admit, when I first saw Asgard, I was impressed in a Lord of the Rings-y way, but those parts of the movie didn't have the story or characters to back up the setting
- After the movie ended, both Ashley and I commented that we remember Thor breaking that rainbow bridge thing with his hammer, but neither of us could remember why. If this is the result of your movie's climax, something has gone awry with the stakes
- The less I see of Anthony Hopkins' eye socket, the better
- That Chris Hemsworth, boy. When he took off his shirt both Ashley and I responded verbally
- However, I'm convinced his beard and eyebrows look weird in this one. I'm pretty sure they get darker in later movies
- Setting aside some creepy stuff towards Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2, am I right in thinking that these movies objectify the male bodies more than the females? There's Hemsworth in this one, and I know Chris Evans gets some attention in later movies. So, progress?
