MCU Discussion Thread (Contains Spoilers)

[Paul 7,531]

Right. New thread to discuss Endgame for those of us who’ve seen it. This is supposed to be a gloves off, full spoilers, no holds barred thread about the film. If you haven’t seen it and don’t want to know what happens, don't read on.  
 

Edit: the thread has been expanded to discussions of the whole MCU. Same rules on spoilers. Also, if you’re not a fan, sound - but rather than give vent to your burning need to tell us fans how shit the thing we’re fans of is, please consider not doing that as it’s the epitome being a forum bad bell. Nice one. 

[Paul 7,531]

So first thoughts from me:

 

1. The death of Tony was superbly handled. Genuinely moving but also free of the schmaltz that usually ruins such moments in blockbuster films. 

 

2 Cap’s life lived with Peggy was similarly brilliant. I loved his “gentleman to the core” response to Falcon’s request to hear about it all. 

 

3. The time travel thing, even allowing for its partial set up in Ant-Man & The Wasp, feels a bit like a convenient narrative leap until you reflect on the fact that comics are the original high-concept narrative form where almost anything goes, all the time. And in that sense, it worked. 

 

4. Fat Thor and his mates playing Fortnite was hilarious. 

 

4. Captain Marvel hasn’t found her place yet. Despite her own movie, she still feels like an MCU plot device rather than a real character so far. Much more to come from her I hope. 

 

5. The all-female moment obviously felt contrived but I hope it’s a sign of a future movie; certainly I’m all-in on the MCU’s attempts to start making statements about diversity, no matter what the internet cunts think. 

 

6. Asgardians of the Galaxy: yes please. 

 

7. I’m now wondering how they’ll do the Black Widow movie. Despite the time travel get out of jail card, I hope it’s a movie entirely set in the past rather than a resurrection or a time jump thing. 

 

8. The Disney+ shows are now really intriguing. I hope they go in new directions but are explicitly in a post-Endgame universe. 

 

9. I think I’m done with massive CG battles in the MCU now. I want more toe to toe stuff that’s  harder and more brutal, like in Winter Soldier & Civil War. 

 

10. Not sure how I feel about a non-Steve Cap. I know it’s consistent with the comics, but I don’t really want anyone else inhabiting the name. 

 

11. Professor Hulk was an unexpected move that worked well. 

 

12. I like the way they tied off almost every possible loose end with skilful references (including some great cameos) to previous movies. 

 

13. Hawkeye is a great character who has been underused in the MCU. He was brilliantly deployed here though with that wonderful moody opening, his dark rampage and the whole “I’ll do it. No, I’ll do it” scene with Nat. 

 

14. I loved the way they stuck to the trademark MCU injections of levity into the overall serious tone. I’ll have to see it again to remember the exact line (although I know Jules will have remembered it) but Tony’s line to break the relentlessly dark feel a good five to ten minutes in made me laugh out loud. In fact that happened a number of times. Whatsisface’s unapologetically Kiwi accent coming out of that body creased me up every time he spoke, too. 

 

Overall this was a truly great film that will reward multiple repeat viewings.   

[Juniper 1,751]

Read this article earlier on how Cap going back in time to be with Peggy could have fitted around the earlier films. Good read I thought.

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-captain-america-ending-isnt-what-it-seems-1205370?__twitter_impression=true

[Juniper 1,751]

It was a great set/build up of films but I almost hope there are no crossover events now in the MCU as the careful build up over 11 years you'd think cannot be topped.

 

In most cases it's been masterful in execution and I can't see them reaching these heights in a similar event, but this is Marvel I guess. I never thought they'd improve on The Winter Soilder and look how many great films they have made since!

 

As you've mentioned the root source of these stories are the comics and the landscape/narrative changes all the time in that form but I really hope they don't bring anyone back in the future. 

 

Hopefully 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' addresses some of the issues caused by the snap from the perspective of the people who died as Peter going back to High School with Ned also there (and not being five years older and graduated) points to his entire group of friends having died also.

 

Shame Black Widow didn't really get much of a send off really but that's only a minor gripe. I think her movie will be a prequel as her backstory in the MCU hasn't ever been massively explained. I think we'll also see Hawkeye in it as they both keep referring to what happened in Budapest. Either way her movie is massively overdue. 

 

Turns out the random boy at Tony Starks funeral was the same boy/actor as the lad Tony befriends in Iron Man 3. Thought that he was someone from Agents of Sheild but it turns out it's a really cool Easter egg/throwback.

 

Enjoyed Captain Marvel more in this film but it was right she wasn't in it a great deal as she's too powerful and needs her story built. Looking forward to seeing what they do with her moving forward.

[manwiththestick 5,258]

I will have to watch both this and Infinity War again back to back but some initial thoughts..

 

Hulk seriously underused across both films, particularly Endgame, yes In this as a more Banner based Hulk there is more dialogue and interaction with the others but I want him doing what he does best, smashing stuff up.

 

In Infinity War, Thanos gets great power once he puts on the Infinity Gauntlet, prior to that the Avengers had the upper hand in a strenght/one on one situation (particularly Thor and his Storm Breaker) yet in Endgame he is able to seriously beat upon Thor, Captain America (also using Thor's Mojolnir hammer), Iron Man and Captain Marvel who is supposed to be the most powerful in the universe.

 

Was expecting more from Captain Marvel other just the odd cameo.

 

As mentioned already, Tony's death handled really well, I also enjoyed Thor's appearance after 5 years. The opening scene with Clint Barton was brilliant and I was glad Hawkeye got decent screen time.

[Elite 12,091]

Hawkeye deserves his own movie.

 

I think they underused Korg as well, definitely needs more screen time as he's hilarious.

[ZonkoVille77 5,828]

The actor playing captain marvel is rubbish. A personality void.

 

I thought the end battle was absolute shite. Over the top wankology trying to get as many characters into it as possible.

 

Other than that I really enjoyed it. Tony's death a tear jerker. Thor was very funny. It never once felt like a 3 hour film. I'd like to watch it again. 

[Red74 1,629]

1st 2 acts were very good but that end battle is what spoiled it for me. 

 

Its the same battle as what was seen years ago in the lord of the rings films and continued with transformers and Harry potter. I feel like I’ve seen it in every other avengers film too.

 

The girl power scene was cringe and I felt that and the cap counselling scene where the fellas story twists to make him gay was forced in for extra social media likes rather than fit the story and it stood out a mile.

 

While I understand the time travel element has to fit in and the characters made a good joke about it too, that and cloning are the easiest cop outs you can make.

 

reintroducing the characters who got dusted in IW was a let down and the character race to get the gauntlet back to ant mans van felt like something out of scooby doo. 

 

The characters attending the funeral scene at the end looked like cardboard cutouts had been placed there as there was zero emotion from any of them. Apparently they were all in attendance for that scene which makes it seem worse.

 

Great send offs for Cap and iron man but as my wife said on the way out, what’s to stop them going back in time and bringing them back again in a future film.

 

Thanos was right, things should have been left alone. 

 

[Red74 1,629]

Was anyone else thinking Lebowski right before RDJ came out with it

[manwiththestick 5,258]

Yes.

[James Dean 285]

It was a lot of movie. Gonna have to see it again to plug a few gaps.

 

There were plot holes galore, but I'd go see it again for that Cap and Mjolnir scene alone. Biggest "fuck yeah" moment in the history of the MCU.

[Red74 1,629]

Edit: sorry for going off topic

 

Apparently the new spiderman film is the one that wraps up this phase. Now he’s back in Marvels hands, they can really take this next phase up another notch cos let’s face it, he’s the greatest character ever created and his 70’s & 80’s comics were majestic and could still translate today. His crossovers were superb, esp with the F4 and his enemies would have better stand alone movies than some of the current heroes. 

 

IMO, they’ve finally got the best actor playing him and if they can keep him, they'll break the bank

[Paul 7,531]

I’d like to see the X-Men integrated into Phase 4 of the MCU now Disney owns Fox too. 

[NoelM 561]

My youngest son is 12 and has ASD, he goes to a small country primary school with 3 others in his class, he’s not very popular because of his obsessive nature and  also because he doesn’t like football or the other things that they like. He’s fixated with certain games (a Mario fanatic) and has become the biggest Avengers fan - we’ve been to the cinema to see all the movies since Civil War and he’s watched all the others countless times on DVD.

He has been totally obsessed with seeing End Game since Infinity War, we bought him Thanos Gauntlet for Halloween and he even made me a Captain America Shield out of Cardboard to “wear” when we saw it. I booked tickets for the premiere showing of End Game in Galway, it sold out 6 screens in advance.

We arrived at the cinema and he immediately saw others with Thors hammer, gauntlets, shields, helmets, t-shirts, kids spoke to him, admired his stuff and he reciprocated. He clapped along when the whole cinema applauded (when Captain America was able to wield Mjolnir), cheered (along with the whole cinema) when everyone came back before the battle and waited and booed (with the whole cinema) when the final credits rolled and there was no post-credit scene. I remember his face when he realised that there were loads of others like him and thanked the stars for the Marvel movies.

[manwiththestick 5,258]

13 minutes ago, NoelM said:

My youngest son is 12 and has ASD, he goes to a small country primary school with 3 others in his class, he’s not very popular because of his obsessive nature and  also because he doesn’t like football or the other things that they like. He’s fixated with certain games (a Mario fanatic) and has become the biggest Avengers fan - we’ve been to the cinema to see all the movies since Civil War and he’s watched all the others countless times on DVD.

He has been totally obsessed with seeing End Game since Infinity War, we bought him Thanos Gauntlet for Halloween and he even made me a Captain America Shield out of Cardboard to “wear” when we saw it. I booked tickets for the premiere showing of End Game in Galway, it sold out 6 screens in advance.

We arrived at the cinema and he immediately saw others with Thors hammer, gauntlets, shields, helmets, t-shirts, kids spoke to him, admired his stuff and he reciprocated. He clapped along when the whole cinema applauded (when Captain America was able to wield Mjolnir), cheered (along with the whole cinema) when everyone came back before the battle and waited and booed (with the whole cinema) when the final credits rolled and there was no post-credit scene. I remember his face when he realised that there were loads of others like him and thanked the stars for the Marvel movies.

That's great mate, I love it. My boy is 10 and we have been to every Marvel offering since the first Avengers film and I just love seeing his face and his little brain whirring along taking in all the links to the other films.

[Colt Seavers 363]

19 minutes ago, NoelM said:

My youngest son is 12 and has ASD, he goes to a small country primary school with 3 others in his class, he’s not very popular because of his obsessive nature and  also because he doesn’t like football or the other things that they like. He’s fixated with certain games (a Mario fanatic) and has become the biggest Avengers fan - we’ve been to the cinema to see all the movies since Civil War and he’s watched all the others countless times on DVD.

He has been totally obsessed with seeing End Game since Infinity War, we bought him Thanos Gauntlet for Halloween and he even made me a Captain America Shield out of Cardboard to “wear” when we saw it. I booked tickets for the premiere showing of End Game in Galway, it sold out 6 screens in advance.

We arrived at the cinema and he immediately saw others with Thors hammer, gauntlets, shields, helmets, t-shirts, kids spoke to him, admired his stuff and he reciprocated. He clapped along when the whole cinema applauded (when Captain America was able to wield Mjolnir), cheered (along with the whole cinema) when everyone came back before the battle and waited and booed (with the whole cinema) when the final credits rolled and there was no post-credit scene. I remember his face when he realised that there were loads of others like him and thanked the stars for the Marvel movies.

That's brilliant mate.

I took my 11 year old and was worried the 3 hours was too much for him but he laughed cried cheered and only went to the toilet once (he ran there and back).

It is brilliant more than I hoped it would be, the gasp from both of us when Thanos was killed in the opening sequence set it up and it didn't disappoint

[NoelM 561]

7 minutes ago, manwiththestick said:

That's great mate, I love it. My boy is 10 and we have been to every Marvel offering since the first Avengers film and I just love seeing his face and his little brain whirring along taking in all the links to the other films.

It's so cool, it was like being part of a football crowd cheering along.

[Colt Seavers 363]

1 hour ago, Red74 said:

Edit: sorry for going off topic

 

Apparently the new spiderman film is the one that wraps up this phase. Now he’s back in Marvels hands, they can really take this next phase up another notch cos let’s face it, he’s the greatest character ever created and his 70’s & 80’s comics were majestic and could still translate today. His crossovers were superb, esp with the F4 and his enemies would have better stand alone movies than some of the current heroes. 

 

IMO, they’ve finally got the best actor playing him and if they can keep him, they'll break the bank

Absolutely, loved his relationship with Tony Stark

[NoelM 561]

1 minute ago, Colt Seavers said:

That's brilliant mate.

I took my 11 year old and was worried the 3 hours was too much for him but he laughed cried cheered and only went to the toilet once (he ran there and back).

It is brilliant more than I hoped it would be, the gasp from both of us when Thanos was killed in the opening sequence set it up and it didn't disappoint

Same as that, the whole thing was so worth all the staying up til 3 AM, for him to be part of something so big for the first time.

[Gav 515]

Just saw it today with the kids and have to echo everything Teach said in the opening post .I loved it and will probably go again tomorrow afternoon for a second look.

On the extra credits bit ,thought the signature bit was very well done , but the final extra bit with Stark in the cave banging iron leaves a lot open to interpretation.

Oh and that Thor Lebowski / fortnite scene was just brilliant

[Juniper 1,751]

2 hours ago, Paul said:

I’d like to see the X-Men integrated into Phase 4 of the MCU now Disney owns Fox too. 

I'd like them to give the X-Men some breathing space somewhat as the latest film in the current series unconnected from Marvel is out soon, plus it's expected to bomb at the box office. I don't think Wolverine is ready to be recast yet also given the great work Hugh Jackman did bringing that character to life. Especially how it was closed off with Old Man Logan. 

 

It's a difficult one but Marvel will I'm sure nail whatever they choose to do for their direction.

 

Quite rightly they should leave Deadpool alone and mostly unconnected as I'd not want them to dumb his style of comedy and violence down for the MCU, even if he's very close to/teams up regularly with Spider-Man in the comics.

 

Quite excited about the possibility of The Fantastic Four as they will also be abke to show the Silver Surfer and the villain Galactus (not to mention Doctor Doom) which could also tie in nicely to Captain Marvel also and also Spider-Man and maybe even Dr Strange.

 

They never did reveal who did buy Avengers Tower in Spider-Man Homecoming so that iconic building could be the Baxter building for the F4, it could well be a setup for them.

 

They acquired the rights to Blade and Ghost Rider a few years ago also, so there are always options in them.

 

Also they have so many characters that aren't household names, never thought Ant-Man would be made into a film for example but he's one of the most popular ones now so we could see some surprises again also. Also, never thought we'd see a Guardians of the Galaxy film too! 

 

Lots of possibilities. 

 

[skend04 2,542]

Absolutely loved it. It had everything possibly conceivable in a movie and I disagree with the couple of moans about the final battle. It was just a huge fan service scene, one that had no need to try and match Infinity War or do something entirely different. Just having all the heroes emerging from the various portals was a proper geek out moment.

[Juniper 1,751]

Also, I read today that they didn't have a plan introducing the Infinity Stone saga until after they had finished the first Thor film and were coming up with ideas for Avengers Assemble. There's a blink and you'll miss it scene in Thor where you actually see The Infinity Gauntlet in Odins vault, complete with stones intact.

 

Which is why there's a scene in Thor Ragnorok where they address it and call it a fake to correct its earlier appearance.

 

 

[jacco maccaco 104]

I appeared to be the only one in a packed showing to laugh when Stark called Nebula a "Blue Meanie"

 

Thats how young the audience was.

 

[mars 446]

I left the cinema thinking it was a 9 out of 10 - a great film. Have just watched Kevin Smith's review/recap of it and I'd now say it is a 10. Smith makes the point that we are unlikely to ever see such a cinematic event again, the culmination of 21 other films. His review also made me realise how much fan service there was in Endgame - granted that if you haven't followed all the films then there isn't that amazing payoff. 

 

The part where the massive battleship guns stop firing at ground targets and start aiming at something incoming on the horizon, and then Captain Marvel flies in and trashes Thanos's ship - wow, loved it.