The best parts of the movie where definitely Hawk Eye, Black Widow, Nebula and Iron Man.
Hawk Eye and Black Widow because they are the only ones without any powers (except Falcon but he is a super minor character so I dont consider him main cast) have become the heart of the team I feel like, and their love for each other has always stood out. Seeing them fight each other tooth and nail to kill themselves to save the other was really moving and displayed how much they truly cared for each other. In all the scenes they were in they basically stole the scenes in my opinion, just superb acting ("Don't give me hope"). I really hope the Black Widow movie will be her + Clint and the infamous "Budapest mission".
I'v said it before but really I think besides Stark and Cap she has really been the character the Avengers plot has focused on most. I mean early on I felt she was pretty standard anti hero type character but the Russo's really shifted the weight of her past away from mere redemption to more of a death wish. Again I think Marvel able to exploit that a lot of its core cast are very strong actors when they need to. I'd agree I hope her spinoff film is the story of Hawk converting her, indeed I think his character now seems a lot more interesting also carrying the weight of his actions.
Nebula was also great, showing how she grew from only wanting to make Thanos proud into being a person that still deep down loved him but knew what he was doing was wrong and because of that had to fight him. It also was very endearing in the start of the movie when she and Iron Man are on the ship drifting in space when she gets so excited just for playing around with Tony and actually having a positive relationship with someone. Like its something completely new and alien (like in Thor 1 where he doesn't really fit in in the start and is a fish out of water).
Yep I'd agree she's very much grown into that role to the degree I think she's now a good deal more interesting as a character than her sister, did a lot of the heavy lifting plot wise and showed a nice comedy side a swell.
RDJ also had superb acting and shone in every scene he was in. It was sad to see him go but it was always the only way it was going to end for him. I am sure they will regret killing him off though, because I think Marvel will nose dive after End Game.
Yeah I'd agree he was really the heart of it and probably the best performance anyone has given in the MCU. That said I felt this seemed like very much the natural ending, Cap I think could have carried on but Stark as a character was I think setup to either die or retire.
What they did with Thor was really bad and unnecessary considering he has already gone through the "doubting himself/sad" phase in earlier films. I expected that he would grab Stormbreaker when he joined up with the Avengers again and then get back in to normal shape. Instead he was just a punching bag (almost literally) for the entire movie, very underwhelming. It was also a really missed opportunity of Star Lord not making fun of him for being fat (like his crew did with him when they found Thor drifting in space in IW. Drax calling Star Lord a "dude" while Thor was "a MAN").
Honestly though I tend to think Thor has had it a bit easy previously, he had his humility checked somewhat previously but the character still remained pretty selfish and self satisfied. I suspect the big decision here was to play to Helmsworths strengths, he doesn't have the dramatic chops of some of the cast mentioned above in Ragnarok showed he could pull off comedy well and he does so most of the time here as well.
Professor Hulk in my opinion was a really, really bad choice. The whole appeal of Bruce Banner and the Hulk is their duality of brawn vs brains and their different personalities. Now you basically just got a beefy, green Bruce Banner, completely uninteresting.
I spose it depends a bit what you mean, yes the characters dramatically less interesting in himself as he doesn't really have the same conflict but honestly as a supporting character I really liked him, introducing the slightly more arrogant edge was fun to watch without making him dislikeable. Although of course I think they have the potential to shift things there and have him revert to Banner/Hulk.
Captain America was ok in the movie but imo the only interesting thing with his character in the whole movie was him using Mjolnir. What I dont understand though is why he didnt get powered up/healed like Thor has done when he has been beaten up and then claimed Mjolnir.
I think compared to Stark and Widow he didn't really have quite the same depth to his story, perhaps because writing him out wasn't planned quite as far in advance? still I think it was pulled off well, a better choice that having him killed IMHO.
Captain Marvel ruined the last fight a bit for me, I feel the things she did (blowing up the ship and stopping Thanos from snapping) shouldve been done by Scarlet Witch because she has seemed to grow in power each movie and also has a personal history with Thanos ("You took EVERTHING FROM ME"). Captain Shoehorn coming to the rescue was a bit insulting to the original cast in my opinion and I can really see how Chris Hemsworth feels like "she stole the torch". She should've just stayed away after she left in the start of the movie.
I was definitely wary about this and personally I suspect the characters presence was on orders from higher up in Marvel/Disney rather than the Russo's choice. It almost seems to be a bit of a running joke in the film that she rushes in to save the day only to fail and the character was really sidelined in terms of any serious drama.
Again I think this film really highlighted that the criticism Marvel has gotten around female characters is rather undeserved, at least since Feige was put in full control. No they hadn't had a female lead film but yes they had a good number of female characters who were actually well written rather than being dull "strong female leads". I mean I think she could potentially be salvaged but if the suits think her current arrogant personal not being called out at all will go down well long term I think there very much mistaken.
In regards to the ending I feel it would've made more sense (based on his character) that Captain America would have gone back and stopped both Natasha and Clint from killing themselves and instead sacrificed himself. Then you could have had Hulk look perplexed when he reactivated the time machine, then you'd zoom out and see Natasha standing there instead.
Honestly I feel the characters endings made sense, his was always whether he would be able to step away and have a normal life, hers was always whether she could redeem herself for her past.
Ant Man had a small (no pun intended) role except for coming up with the plan and the only shrinking/increasing size thing we saw that was interesting in the whole movie was Nebula shrinking Thanos' ship and taking it with her. Which I think was kind of wasted. Paul Rudd is very charming and funny and was a bit underused.
Actually I was supprised how big his role ended up being, especially during the first act of the film.
The MCU is definitely going woke though and this will be my last Marvel movie for quite some time unless they stick with what got them to the dance (which is not likely from comments by both the Russos and Kevin Feige. As well as some things in this movie).
I do think its a risky time for Marvel, if they go with clumsy "woke" politics the way Starwars has they could suffer the same fate a lot of viewers probably feel this film was closure for their previous viewing. As you say above though I think the Black Widow film seems interesting as the character actually has some substance.
The biggest issue Marvel face is IMHO finding someone as good as the Russo's to carry things on, I spose they could be tempted to stay and do more films as really for me they've been the ones who've given the MCU substance and staying power(Gunn definitely helped with the style).
Overall the movie felt more like a tribute to the franchise than just a standalone movie and tbh it was fitting and so I dont feel like it brings it down if you are a fan of the franchise, being one I give this movie a 8.5/10 (9.5 if CapMarv wasnt in it). I give IW 10/10 and find it the superior movie. If you've only seen this and maybe IW though it would probably be a 6-7/10 movie.
Its probably less self contained than IW considering its finishing off core character stories that have been building for years, not as consistent either I would say but dramatically stronger and really the first time for me the MCU has pulled that off on the same kind of level as say Jacksons Lord of the Rings films or the original Starwars.
