The Film Itself
So ultimately this was the same exact premise of Batman Vs. Superman. I feel like the film studios were trying to appease fans (something I hate) with these movies. For years fans have been sarcastically commenting on the fact that super heroes get away with destroying entire cities with no consequences and finally Marvel and DC have responded. Except Marvel did it so much better!!! This movie was SO GOOD!
I’m going to be honest, I’ve come into this phase where I always want to hate Marvel movies. I don’t know why. And I always like them anyways. As formulaic and cheesy as they seem they are always enjoyable. And clearly this movie had its formulaic and cheesy moments but it was still surprisingly good.
The writing was actually really amazing. The movie brought up a really interesting philosophical debate. On the one hand, the secretary of state with the great mustache brings up a great point: When the Avengers operate on their own they are imposing their own will on others. And the will of the few can often be skewed. Is it more correct than the will of the many? But at the same time can the UN privatize people? Take away their free will? My heart tells me no but my brain tells me yes. Which is why I don’t like the fact that Tony Stark was made out to be the bad guy the whole time. Like sure the Accords didn’t work out this time but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea overall. I think a happy medium needs to be found. I also really respect the fact that this movie could have easily been pushing a political agenda through this plot but they didn’t.
Now let’s talk about Tony Stark because holy crap his character was so juicy in this movie. Don’t get me freaking started on that scene when Captain America leaves with Bucky and leaves his shield behind. And Tony Stark is left alone with his pride and his baggage and no friends and it’s amazing and I LOVE IT. He’s such a tortured character with his guilt over everything and this movie is like his final breaking point. Hopefully he’s finally been pushed far enough to tame his ego. Also I love that they introduced the whole parents’ death thing earlier in the movie then brought it back as one of the main plot reveals.
I really like the Black Panther character and his fighting style. So cool. I thought the scene with his father was really touching until I realized it was just emotional manipulation cause his dad was about to die. Emotional Manipulation is not authentic and needs to stop (I’m looking at you N. Sparks). I get that the after-credits scene was setting up the Black Panther movie but it was uneventful and totally not worth it. I was also very upset at how long it took me to figure out who Black Panther was. It was before he took his mask off but not much sooner.
The Stan Lee cameo was cheesy and stupid.
The dialogue during the big Avengers fight scene was amazing and the new Spiderman is perfect. By the way, he was in The Impossible which is a really beautiful movie that you should all watch.
Elizabeth Olsen seems like she’s probably a really good actress beneath that oft-faltering Russian accent. Paul Bettany was also amazing and perfect as Vision. I guess Vision is ageless so it’s not creepy but I know that underneath it all Paul Bettany is waaay older than Elizabeth Olsen so it is creepy. Also, feel free to fight me on this, but I’d be hard pressed to say that Wanda isn’t the strongest Avenger. Also is she already completely over the fact that her twin brother is dead…?
I didn’t like the chemistry between the girl from Everwood and Cap and I also don’t like it when blonde people date because they look like siblings. But the chemistry between literally everyone else was amazing.
There is no way you could convince me that Chris Evans is not on steroids.
Martin Freeman’s non-Wisconsin American accent makes me upset but it’s okay because it’s Martin Freeman.
Bechdel Test
There’s some debate over whether this movie passes. Scarlet Witch and Black Widow share about two lines with each other at the beginning of the movie over surveillance and that’s it. However, I’m not too bothered by it because there are multiple badass female characters in this movie who fight and kick ass and they really don’t talk about guys. It’s awesome. Of course only two out of ten Avengers are women but progress I guess.
Fun Fact
Anthony Mackie (Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes) raced each other in costume at some point.
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