This is a bit of a daunting task so bear with me...
Okay, opening statement... I am a comic book superhero fan from way back. I was brought to see SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE in theaters at the age of 3 and damn if I don't remember it like yesterday. My household was always filled with other fans of super heroes growing up from my uncle on my mother's side to my brother. I got into them too and by my teenage years I was working at a comic book store that was right across the road from the High School I attended. I enjoyed the type of anti-heroes and more extreme type characters that ruled the late 80's and 90's but my heart was always with the classic styled super heroes. When everyone was losing their minds for Venom (Whom I find to be an insipid and stupid character) or Wolverine ( Whom I adore... But who is WAY over sold and over exposed as a character) I was still into the Superman, Flash, Captain America, Thor, Spidey, JLA and Avengers type heroes. Fast forward to this modern age of super hero films and when I was in the darkened theater in 2012 to see AVENGERS I could not believe what had been pulled off. The all star super hero team film with characters interacting in a story where they clashed but ultimately teamed up to fight off an invasion on the streets of NYC... It was all I could have asked for in that type of movie. The magic Marvel Studios is capable of was on display there when that film was released.
But...
I have to say that despite the promise of the early days of Marvel Studios I in no way shape or form am a die hard "Marvel Zombie" in terms of their output in cinemas for over ten years now. I have to say... I don't think every one of the films has been flawless. I don't think everything is a home run. It's not that anything in the films has been laughably bad. In a way it's worse. In my estimation about half are just... meh. Just perfunctory. Forgettable. Not offensive. But with no teeth. Even when they are very entertaining they come off as something with nothing to really say about anything. The success of these films has come down to a certain formula in which it's all things to all people. That's a great formula for casting a wide net but not for making anything with depth. What is worse for me personally is that these movies in being so god damned four quadrant lean incredibly heavy into "humor" to the point I find it annoying, even grating. It's like this odd mix of borderline lowest common denominator (not too low... We aren't in Michael Bay territory here, I will say that...) and then thoroughly middle of the road "dad jokes". And they fill them to the brim. This isn't every franchise. But outside of the Cap trilogy and Black Panther post Phase One and Avengers 1 this became the default for a lot of their output.
I like humor. I like jokes. But I will say this until I am blue in the face in regards to these movies... I DON'T GO TO THESE FILMS TO SEE A ****ING COMEDY! If I wanted to see a comedy... I WOULD GO TO SEE A ****ING COMEDY. But the wider audience and fan base ate this approach up. And I, as a longtime fan had to accept that this was something that is baked in. That doesn't mean it's not still an issue. An aspect of about half of the output of Marvel Studios films is that the jokes might be hoary and utterly white bread... But they do work. I can't say the humor doesn't usually land... But it does so too often at the expense in some fashion of other facets of their movies to the point it really seems like more thought goes into the gags than the super hero story elements thus ending up with a lot of films where the final product is this bland, rather pro forma thing with no bite, no depth and ultimately no meaning. Sorry but about half of the films I think really do follow this pattern. Fans themselves often use the term "Mid-Tier Marvel" when describing the middle of the road pictures of the Marvel. But to my eyes when a little over half falls into the Mid Tier range... It's not Mid Tier anymore.
This is all to preface that when it comes to this film and it's previous installment in INFINITY WAR, I'm not judging it as some kind of grand culmination to some flawlessly executed plan. I've not drunk the Kool Aid at all. I think this is important to say before I really get into the movie proper, to know where I stand on Marvel and it's place the grander Fanboy/girl Industrial Complex.
That out of the way, I feel this movie equals if not exceeds the excellence of execution that was INFINITY WAR in it's overall impact despite still containing the flaws that I find too often grating within the wider Marvel Studios filmography. While IW as a film was more conservative with it's humor quotient and was none the less entertaining because of it here the emphasis on humor ticks up slightly more but it's also a NEEDED aspect since this movie is so long and so much is dealing with the ramifications of the fallout for our cast of heroes from the ending of the last movie. Having light touches is likely a necessity. The fallout of Thanos' actions is front and center. And we get that in spades right off the bat. We get the eerie disappearance of Clint Barton's family, the return of Tony Stark to Earth and his all too understandable if cynical attack on Steve Rogers. We get Thor brooding about the taunts of Thanos from their last meeting and the team getting to work with Carol Danvers. All this leading up to the "final" confrontation with Thanos. The team avenges all right... To no fruitful end though. Well... From that point I was under the film's spell for the most part. I was willing to see where it would take me and it took me five years into the future.
Now, this was not unexpected but I also assumed this would not be a permanent state. We see that the Snapture has had a big effect on the heroes, though the effect on the wider world is muted at best. One of the Russo brothers doing a cameo at an encounter group and Scott Lang walking around a dilapidated neighborhood isn't quite setting the table for any real tight focus on the rest of the world. But that doesn't take away from this film too much. We see how the failure to stop Thanos has weighed down on most of our cast in some way, changed them in others but it is THE fact of their life now. It's the moment that they are still living in for the most part even years later. A chance encounter between a rat and the control panel of Hank Pym's Quantum Tunnel from ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (what I like to call "The Rat That Saved The Universe".) then releases Scott Lang back into the real world of the post Snapture Earth and it's that, Scott's perspective that the Quantum Realm might be the key is what sends the story into plot mode. Here then is the set up Now the film takes some time getting to plot mode and then lazily gets there setting up all it's dominoes before even getting close to knocking them down. And that really works.
It works and it has weight. In the movie, while there's a some broad humor spread all around, the bulk of the "funny" is put onto the shoulders of either Scott Lang or, surprisingly enough, Thor. For both those characters it does in meaningful ways kinda diminish them. Sorry, but it does. At the same time better it be concentrated on just them rather than spread to frequently to all the other characters. That's not to say that others don't get funny moments but with them it's not the constant "joke, joke, joke" rhythm Thor and Scott get employed for. And this is good because this film, even if it's dealing with flights of fancy like time travel, never let's you forget these are heroes on a serious mission, with far reaching consequences. By the time Black Widow sacrifices herself the stakes are more than apparent and at the forefront.
I know some have felt the time heist portion drags but I felt it was entertaining. In fact that's something the film never lets up on in my opinion. It's even when quiet, still very much holding your interest. I don't think the film felt "LOOOONG". It felt... Long. But not "LOOOONG". The number of characters and subplots it was juggling made it's length a necessity and while sure, I can't say that the middle is action packed it's still filled with stuff that interests us. It's a bit of a "victory lap" by Marvel as well with it's replaying of events from the past films we know but I think it's very smart and quite fun. Things like the upending of the elevator scene from WINTER SOLDIER, the meeting of Hulk and the Ancient One, and of course having to see the sacrifice for the Soul Stone play out again... These were cracker jack scenes that didn't bore, didn't make me want things to speed up.
And the thing is at the end of that section, pretty quickly things pick up and we are given a face melting, and I mean that... FACE MELTING, final third. Having disposed of Thanos at the start the time travel element of the film allows for yet another confrontation with the Mad Titan, only one from the past, without the Infinity Gauntlet. This is still more than enough to seem to overwhelm our collected heroes, who had managed to create their own Gauntlet and employ the Hulk to undo the Snapture. We get the barest recognition that the heroes' plan worked before Thanos starts his attack. This past version is of the mind to fully take advantage of the Avengers doing all the hard work of gathering the stones for him. There is a slight change in Thanos as presented in this movie. He's still the committed bad guy with a religious zeal but in Infinity War he was more zen like. Perhaps a result of having attained each goal so methodically during the course of that film's run time. Here, he still has that borderline religious zealotry but he's more of a hungry wolf. And this wolf still has a pack to call on. And while he takes on the Avengers' Trinity of Cap, Iron Man and Thor, their valiant efforts to thwart this version of Thanos are heroic but ultimately futile. Its a scene of grand heroic effort. I also must say that this version of Thanos having the knowledge that they killed his successful predecessor must play into his feelings in regards to the good guys' continual obstinate refusal to just give up, to the point he's going to take his revenge on planet Earth and once in possession of the Gauntlet do more than wipe out half of life but truly recreate all that is as he sees fit. End reality and then mold it in whatever fashion he wants, setting himself up as more than just a messianic figure but now as a dark god of a new creation that will be built on the destruction of all things.
And I gotta say because the film has so many plot threads hanging around, and yet it keeps you occupied with what it's presenting with in the moment that in this third act it keeps giving you a mix of emotional and action beats that just work so well because they are visceral and calculated for maximum impact. After a bravura moment of fan service with Capt. America wielding Thor's hammer (a time displaced Mjolnir, not Stormbreaker, so the worthiness enchantment still plays a role) the tide still hasn't turned and Captain America looks to be staring death in the face.
And then having distracted us with this already edge of your seat moment that plays out like a last stand... They play you like a fiddle and give you hope. They give you justice. They give you... A SUPER HERO STORY. With deft sleight of hand they made you forget that they had confirmed that the victims of Thanos from IW had indeed come back. And the ramifications for Cap, Thor and Iron Man are not lost on the audience. Now all the forces of Thanos don't face six heroes. They face the "the fallen". Every superhero, and whatever they bring to the table are brought into the fray and the payoff is a CGI filled fight sequence for the ages where we get probably the biggest and best super human melee, donnybrook and showdown of and super hero film ever. EVER. You have seen these words before but I think there's no other way to say it. It was the experience of reading a comic book brought to life. Here are the committed warriors of all that is dear to us facing off against an army of darkness using powers and abilities of the gods of old to protect the mundane world of today. It was incredibly well thought out and with flourish after flourish that never let up. And it not only had spectacle but melded fan service and characterization while STILL moving the plot to it's ultimate conclusion.
This all ends with Iron Man taking center stage and with perhaps the most fitting final words that need no more embellishment, Robert Downey Jr. proclaims what he did over a decade ago... Affirms that he IS Iron Man and then puts an end to Thanos, but also ends out the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we had come to know it, fitting in a film that literally took us on a tour of this universe in it's three hours.
The rest of the film... I can't say it's NOT messy if any thought is put into it. I know it will have it's defenders who will man the gates against criticism until they die, but sorry... The creators chose narrative fulfillment over logic, in story logistics or any other considerations... And that doesn't take away from the ending at all either. This film satisfied me that quibbles with the question of "time travel" or whether Steve Rogers would deny the world Capt. America feel almost silly to hold against it. Weaving elements from the best of the Marve releases the IW and AEG duology is, without a doubt, the greatest, and perhaps first, Super Hero Epic. It did the job of appeasing my inner fourteen year old AND the 43 year old I am as well. This is what I want from a super hero film. To feel something. To be moved. But also to have that in the context of a fantasy of characters that are both larger than life in both power and ethical fortitude but touching in their human relatability as well. Caught up in a plot that has scope in spectacle and some kind of moral dimension which reaches the same places in the human mind as mythology of old. This film did that and that's no higher praise than any fan of super heroes can give it I think.
