The Marvel Thread - Multiverses and other Shenanigans

[bobbie solo]

josh brolin's performance - A
josh brolin's appearance - C-

compare thanos' appearance to snoke's in last jedi and it's like day and night. snoke looks fucking REAL, despite being a mo-cap character. thanos looks like a california raisin did too many steroids and his chin turned into a ballsack (thanks, starlord).

there was so much unnecessary CG in this film. why was the one female member of the Black Order completely CG? she was human-sized, with a weapon that could have been practical and makeup that could have been done with appliances. every time i saw her it made me mad because she could have been so cool, and she just looked stupid.

Wow. We are in sync dude.

[bobbie solo]

I noticed near the end of the credits a tv show was credited that didn't obviously appear anywhere in the movie:


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPl-M3XXkAAv4hL.jpg

The Russo Bros directed a buncha Arrested Development episodes, and they snuck an easter egg into Civil War as well:

[allegate]

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

In all fairness, at the core of all of these movies, they're nearly all relatively formulaic and predictable. They still have the family-friendly market to consider, too, and reining in on some of the innovation and boundary-pushing they COULD do is probably largely intentional at this point so they can focus on "looking cool" to the general audience. Gotta remember how many children are seeing these movies, not just adults. As much as I'd LOVE for them to experiment more with their storytelling, or to pursue something more similar in tone to The Dark Knight, I think where we are now with the franchise is as close as we'll get for the time being. If nothing else, they've proven that they can dress up a formula in enough ways to keep it entertaining. I have a feeling their standalone films (Deadpool being the biggest example) are where we'll see more of the experimentation and risk-taking. Besides, this far in, I'm sure it's tricky to balance their MCU lore with what they can do in the future. They can get weird, but not nearly as crazy as some of the comic book stuff. Maybe they have to cut corners with their writing because they're literally churning out 3-4 movies a year? Who knows. If so, I can let that slide here, but it'd be a hell of a lot cooler if they went all in.

At their heart, these are dumb superhero movies, and I'm personally cool with that. I can let a lot go with these films and just watch the spectacle without it needing a lasting impression on me that I reflect on after I leave the theater. I can absolutely see where a lot of the gripes come from, though, and they're completely valid. Even I had moments in Infinity War that made me say "Okay, that was dumb." (Why DIDN'T you aim for the head, Thor? Why NOT use the time stone to change some things in our favor, Doctor Strange? Tony, why aren't you sending every unmanned suit you have into these fights with you? How come we can only make ONE weapon to use against Thanos? And only ONE possible positive outcome? Theoretically, couldn't there be infinite possible positive outcomes, pun not intended?) But I just take it with the same grain of salt that I do with most horror films - of course dumb nonsensical shit happens. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a movie.

Also: I'll agree that it sucks that Drax is knocked down from "scary but oblivious badass" to "comedic relief machine!" But hey, at least he's genuinely funny, and not the "hahah poopie joke" kind of funny. Although he's getting pretty close...

And I missed that show's easter egg the first time around, but I'll be keeping an eye open the second time. I was too busy looking for the stair truck or a banana stand. This movie has to be full of hidden fun stuff for fans to digest over the next 12 months.

[ltrandazzo]

I am Steve Rogers.

[allegate]

In all fairness, at the core of all of these movies, they're nearly all relatively formulaic and predictable. They still have the family-friendly market to consider, too, and reining in on some of the innovation and boundary-pushing they COULD do is probably largely intentional at this point so they can focus on "looking cool" to the general audience. Gotta remember how many children are seeing these movies, not just adults. As much as I'd LOVE for them to experiment more with their storytelling, or to pursue something more similar in tone to The Dark Knight, I think where we are now with the franchise is as close as we'll get for the time being. If nothing else, they've proven that they can dress up a formula in enough ways to keep it entertaining. I have a feeling their standalone films (Deadpool being the biggest example) are where we'll see more of the experimentation and risk-taking. Besides, this far in, I'm sure it's tricky to balance their MCU lore with what they can do in the future. They can get weird, but not nearly as crazy as some of the comic book stuff. Maybe they have to cut corners with their writing because they're literally churning out 3-4 movies a year? Who knows. If so, I can let that slide here, but it'd be a hell of a lot cooler if they went all in.

At their heart, these are dumb superhero movies, and I'm personally cool with that. I can let a lot go with these films and just watch the spectacle without it needing a lasting impression on me that I reflect on after I leave the theater. I can absolutely see where a lot of the gripes come from, though, and they're completely valid. Even I had moments in Infinity War that made me say "Okay, that was dumb." (Why DIDN'T you aim for the head, Thor? Why NOT use the time stone to change some things in our favor, Doctor Strange? Tony, why aren't you sending every unmanned suit you have into these fights with you? How come we can only make ONE weapon to use against Thanos? And only ONE possible positive outcome? Theoretically, couldn't there be infinite possible positive outcomes, pun not intended?) But I just take it with the same grain of salt that I do with most horror films - of course dumb nonsensical shit happens. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a movie.

Also: I'll agree that it sucks that Drax is knocked down from "scary but oblivious badass" to "comedic relief machine!" But hey, at least he's genuinely funny, and not the "hahah poopie joke" kind of funny. Although he's getting pretty close...

And I missed that show's easter egg the first time around, but I'll be keeping an eye open the second time. I was too busy looking for the stair truck or a banana stand. This movie has to be full of hidden fun stuff for fans to digest over the next 12 months.

Saw somewhere that maybe the "one" positive outcome was to give him the stone. Seems odd but who we'll find out in a year.

I haven't noticed a lot of people talking about what the gauntlet (or his arm) look like post-snap. Dude was messed up.

[Mr. Blaileen]

josh brolin's performance - A
josh brolin's appearance - C-

compare thanos' appearance to snoke's in last jedi and it's like day and night. snoke looks fucking REAL, despite being a mo-cap character. thanos looks like a california raisin did too many steroids and his chin turned into a ballsack (thanks, starlord).

there was so much unnecessary CG in this film. why was the one female member of the Black Order completely CG? she was human-sized, with a weapon that could have been practical and makeup that could have been done with appliances. every time i saw her it made me mad because she could have been so cool, and she just looked stupid.

overall, i really enjoyed it. i cried a lot near the end while i was also gasping over and over. i have no idea where they're going to go from here.

one of my favorite lines:
"what master do you serve?"
"what, am i supposed to say jesus!?"

also, peter dinklage was fucking awesome.

I hear you. Snoke looked better, but he had like one scene as opposed to like an hour of screen time for Thanos.

[ltrandazzo]

Saw somewhere that maybe the "one" positive outcome was to give him the stone. Seems odd but who we'll find out in a year.

I haven't noticed a lot of people talking about what the gauntlet (or his arm) look like post-snap. Dude was messed up.

I have a theory.

Spoiler: Tony Stark has to stay alive in the one successful outcome Strange saw until the right moment. That meant giving Thanos the Time stone since he was about to use FOUR stones at once on Tony and save his life. Strange said, "this is the endgame," and Thanos foreshadowed a little when he acknowledged he knew who Tony was and what he had done. The right moment - Tony has to die at the right time for this all to end and for the universe to be saved. I think that's Downey's exit from all of this - save the universe and everyone else by sacrificing himself.

[wizfan]

A relentless assault on my senses. A cosmic experience. A gigantic explosion of a firework stuffed with all the CGI in the universe. On my face.

Good movie.

[thevoid99]

I am Steve Rogers.

I am Groot.

[Deadpool]

As per usual, Infinity War was damn enjoyable, but the experience was greatly hindered by a group of kids INCESSANTLY talking and whispering over the movie despite many requests to stop from my High School teacher brother. Any time a character is on screen: "That's Thor." Anytime someone is hurt: "Are they dead now?" Thanos is restrained: "Punch him in the face! Punch him in the face!" Horrible.

So, I think I'll like it more a 2nd time, whenever that is.

All that said, I still left the theater feeling pretty hollow, and this essay articulates why – Infinity War is a ruse with no stakes and means nothing:

http://observer.com/2018/04/avengers...dless-endgame/

[cahernandez]

I enjoyed the movie, but here's what baffled me: if Thanos' problem was overpopulation and diminishing resources in the universe, wouldn't it have been easier for him to use the gauntlet to make the universe bigger and with double the amount of resources? His motivation was paper thin. A friend told me that in the comics he is in love with Death and he wants to murder in order to please Death, but this was not explained in the film.

[eversonpoe]

I enjoyed the movie, but here's what baffled me: if Thanos' problem was overpopulation and diminishing resources in the universe, wouldn't it have been easier for him to use the gauntlet to make the universe bigger and with double the amount of resources? His motivation was paper thin. A friend told me that in the comics he is in love with Death and he wants to murder in order to please Death, but this was not explained in the film.

yes yes yes yes yes oh my god that makes so much more sense as a motivation

[Wretchedest]

Hey! Do you guys want to make like the Deftones thread and do a LIST? Of our FAVORITE mcu films???? In order?? Here we go:

Spiderman
Winter Soldier
Guardians

Avengers
Infinity War
Thor Ragnarok
Civil War

Black Panther
Guardians 2

Ant-Man
Dr. Strange
Ultron

Captain America
Iron Man 3
Incredible hulk

Iron Man 2
Iron Man
Thor 2
Thor
White pony

[thevoid99]

Here's my list of the MCU so far: https://letterboxd.com/thevoid99/lis...iverse-ranked/

[bobbie solo]

I enjoyed the movie, but here's what baffled me: if Thanos' problem was overpopulation and diminishing resources in the universe, wouldn't it have been easier for him to use the gauntlet to make the universe bigger and with double the amount of resources? His motivation was paper thin. A friend told me that in the comics he is in love with Death and he wants to murder in order to please Death, but this was not explained in the film.

They specifically did not go with the literally "in love with Death (Death is an actual character in the Infinity Gauntlet comics)" storyline as his motivation. It def. makes more sense for being why he does what he does, but I imagine they weren't confident in presenting this convincingly on screen. They prolly also thought it wouldn't set him apart enough from their more one dimensional villains like Hella, Red Skull & Ronan.

[Swykk]

Edit: After seeing it a second time, I’ve ranked Infinity War on my list.

01 Captain America: Winter Soldier
02 Iron Man Three
03 Captain America: Civil War
04 Avengers: Infinity War
05 The Avengers
06 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
07 Iron Man
08 Spider-Man Homecoming
09 Black Panther
10 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1
11 Thor: Ragnarok
12 Ant Man
13 Avengers: Age Of Ultron
14 Captain America: The First Avenger
15 Doctor Strange
16 Iron Man 2
17 Thor: The Dark World
18 Thor
19 Incredible Hulk

[dlb]

01 Iron Man
02 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1
03 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
04 Thor: Ragnarok
05 Avengers: Infinity War
06 Iron Man 3
07 Captain America: Civil War
08 Spider-Man Homecoming
09 Avengers: Age Of Ultron
10 Black Panther
11 Iron Man 2
12 Doctor Strange
13 The Avengers
14 Captain America: Winter Soldier
15 Captain America: The First Avenger
16 Ant Man
17 Thor: The Dark World
18 Thor
19 Incredible Hulk

[Haysey_Draws]

Ohhhhhh this is hard (Honestly, apart from the last 2-3 i've really enjoyed everything in the MCU!)

01 Captain America: Civil War
02 Avengers: Infinity War
03 Captain America: Winter Soldier
04 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1
05 Iron Man
06 The Avengers
07 Thor: Ragnarok
08 Spider-Man Homecoming
09 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
10 Doctor Strange
11 Black Panther
12 Avengers: Age Of Ultron
13 Iron Man 3
14 Captain America: The First Avenger
15 Iron Man 2
17 Thor: The Dark World
18 Thor
19 Incredible Hulk


?? Ant Man (Still haven’t watched)

[rampface]

01 Avengers: Infinity War
02 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1
03 Captain America: Winter Soldier
04 Captain America: Civil War
05 The Avengers
06 Thor: Ragnarok
07 Black Panther
08 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
09 Iron Man
10 Spider-Man Homecoming
11 Doctor Strange
12 Avengers: Age of Ultron
13 Iron Man Three
14 Ant Man
15 Captain America: The First Avenger
16 Iron Man 2
17 Thor
18 Thor: The Dark World
19 Incredible Hulk

[sonic_discord]

Interesting that everyone seems to agree on the worst MCU movie. It's still early, but Infinity War is the movie that felt the most like a comic book movie come to life to me. It's not perfect and their issue with deaths that don't mean much because we know they'll be reversed continues to be a bit of an issue, but I don't care that much because I felt like I was 10 years old and couldn't stop smiling the whole time (except for that final 5 minutes).

Avengers: Infinity War
Captain America: Civil War
The Avengers
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Iron Man
Guardians of the Galaxy
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Black Panther
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Thor: Ragnarok
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Iron Man 2
Dr. Strange
Iron Man 3
Captain America: The First Avenger
Thor
Ant-Man
Thor: The Dark World
The Incredible Hulk

[OSLIN]

They specifically did not go with the literally "in love with Death (Death is an actual character in the Infinity Gauntlet comics)" storyline as his motivation. It def. makes more sense for being why he does what he does, but I imagine they weren't confident in presenting this convincingly on screen. They prolly also thought it wouldn't set him apart enough from their more one dimensional villains like Hella, Red Skull & Ronan.

Agreed.

Another way to think of it, is that he is obsessed with Death and that's why he kills instead of thinking of any other option. That's why he's the villain. Some things work better in literature, where as in a film that's meant for the general public it's a little too dark of a stretch. Not that what does happen isn't dark, but there are some concepts that are harder to capture or move a plot forward.


The writers not showing the personification of Death, needed a way to show that he's obsessed. Thanos is constantly searching for the stones in order to more or less kill half the universe. The gauntlet and reason is his justification for he's true obsession, which is death. He was murdering races long before the gauntlet.


At the end of Avengers, the post credit scene is the Other telling Thanos that to challenge Earth is to court Death. In the MCU it's more of a figurative thing than a literal.

[Pillfred]

As per usual, Infinity War was damn enjoyable, but the experience was greatly hindered by a group of kids INCESSANTLY talking and whispering over the movie despite many requests to stop from my High School teacher brother. Any time a character is on screen: "That's Thor." Anytime someone is hurt: "Are they dead now?" Thanos is restrained: "Punch him in the face! Punch him in the face!" Horrible.

So, I think I'll like it more a 2nd time, whenever that is.


All that said, I still left the theater feeling pretty hollow, and this essay articulates why – Infinity War is a ruse with no stakes and means nothing:

http://observer.com/2018/04/avengers...dless-endgame/

I went last night and as i was getting out of my car i saw these kids going to there car and i remember being at Rampage with them sitting next to me last week or something and they did the same shit. Not bad about it but still. I hate that shit. Luckily it was just me and one couple in the entire theater last night so it was a non option. Overall i really enjoyed the show at first i wasn't fully feeling much anticipation but I'm also not hugely invested in it and possibly as there have been so many of these films lately, not a bad thing. But it didn't take long until i was cheesed balled out and getting giddy over silly things despite myself. May try and go see this again before it leave the theater.

[bobbie solo]

[thevoid99]

A few weeks ago, I wrote this piece about the MCU and why it rules the world: http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2018/0...iverse-10.html

This was weeks before Infinity War came out as I'm still process everything that had happened. While I was reading The Hollywood Reporter about Ant-Man & the Wasp trailer, I found this article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...achine-1107350

Once again, this is confirmation into why I think everything Kevin Feige and the MCU are doing such a good job with their films. The fact that a disabled child found some inspiration in Rhodey's disability and how Rhodey refused to let that stop him gives this child hope. I feel like they understand their audience. They don't talk down to them and know they're smarter than they are. One of the reasons I hold Spider-Man: Homecoming in high regard is because I felt they gave audiences a look of high school and it showed kids of different racial backgrounds and different interests while they're also smart and engaging. The fact that Peter Parker's best friend is a fat Asian kid that loves Star Wars actually feels fresh and real to me. We all know why Black Panther has made so much money in the box office as the MCU just understands that they're making films about individuals they can relate to. I hope they continue to make more films and make them fun. If War Machine can make a kid rise from his disability. Then there's hope in the world.

[Victor Newman]

1. Iron Man
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Captain America: Winter Soldier
4. The Avengers
5. Ant Man
6. Thor: Ragnarok
7. Thor: The Dark World

[Wretchedest]

Guardians and Winter soldier seem like the big winners here. That's a good result I think. No one else like Spiderman as much as i did.... Ok!

[implanted_microchip]

Random Infinity War thoughts:

At the moment I’d put Infinity War easily in my top 3, I’ve been 50/50 on a lot of the MCU but loved almost everything about it. Thanos looked great to me, Brolin’s facial expressions really came through and, unlike Snoke, he actually had a real identity, arc and backstory, which is something I usually like in a character, because I’m demanding and not open-minded enough I guess.

I felt like the humor was toned down and measured out better here than a lot of the other movies and loved the way it looked. The entire Soul stone sequence was breathtaking to me, and this movie is the only time I have ever felt like the grandiose shared universe and scope and scale that comics create has been fully brought to life onscreen. From cosmic to earthbound to mystic to mythic it bounced characters around and had them interact believably and regularly, I loved it. It felt pretty obvious Strange knew things had to happen as they did for anyone to have the chance to actually win, he literally says “it was the only way.”

For the first time I felt real stakes and dread and worry in a Marvel movie, but without losing the fun and spectacle of the franchise. I don’t know, I never thought this would work out and instead I left totally satisfied and have been thinking about it a lot, whereas I usually see one of these movies and never think about them again (even as much as I enjoyed Black Panther, I barely thought about it 24 hours after leaving the theatre). It’s not been a full week but this has lingered a lot and I’m happy with how almost every character I cared about was treated (and seeing the Iron Spider suit in action is something I never expected to see), they had an impossible task weaving a decade of different characters and worlds together and did better than most people ever could.

Overall I’ve had so many disappointments with the team ups in this universe that to see all of this done and done so well had me thrilled. I grew up loving comics and always felt like, while they made movies out of them, I’d never get to see the giant shared universe depicted so beautifully, so massively or so passionately. The movies have always been more about isolating it to one specific corner at a time, and this managed to use that built familiarity to instead give a satisfying sample of everything. It felt exactly like reading a huge crossover event, but with none of the annoying monthly wait times, and that’s one of the few things I’ve never felt like any CBMs have pulled off until now.

[bobbie solo]

In the comic, Thanos did what he did all for the love of Death, as he was obsessed with her. It was a very over the top motivation on this grand, cosmic scale, and that fit in perfectly with the space opera that was the Infinity Gauntlet story.

Here they made it less over the top, and something that can flesh out the character and make him less black & white. He corrupted the idea of a heroic act, and thinks what he's doing is completely right and will benefit everyone. He's willing to take the hatred of everyone who is left, b/c he see it as the only way to save the universe.

The original motivation for Thanos prolly just wouldn't have worked as well on the screen as it did on paper in 1991.

[october_midnight]

Made me laugh.