#i think i’m gonna make a loki header and theme it that way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

empress-of-snark · 6 years

Photo

(this is one of my favorite headers by @caseyblu)

ANT-MAN (2016)

AKA: Marvel tries its hand at a heist movie (and succeeds).

(Spoilers for Ant-Man, my dudes.)

I remember when this movie was first announced and no one was really excited for it. Ant-Man is not one of the more famous Marvel characters and everyone was so busy rallying for Black Widow to get her own movie that no one cared that Paul Rudd was gonna be a superhero.

When it came out, I think it still got ignored. Or, at least, it wasn’t as hyped as other MCU movies. I didn’t even see it in theaters, like I usually do. But I remember being pleasantly surprised the first time I saw it at how much better it was than I expected.

Like Winter Soldier, it’s a bit of a genre change. It doesn’t really feel like a superhero movie until the last ten minutes or so. Everything before that is a heist. But, like Winter Soldier, it does it very very well.

Scott Lang is another Tony Stark-like figure who’s a bit of a mess but grows into a hero. However, he’s actually a pretty nice guy at the beginning. He’s a burglar, yes, but he’s kind of a Robin Hood-like burglar. Plus, he’s got a daughter that he cares deeply about. That’s actually an interesting difference from standard MCU movies. No other heroes have families they really care for, or with whom they have good relationships. Tony doesn’t have any actual family left. Thor has Loki, but it’s a very rocky relationship. Closest we get is Clint, and he’s one step away from being a supporting character rather than a lead hero.

Point is, it’s a unique plot point, and it makes the movie more heartwarming. Cassie is absolutely adorable and Scott’s interactions with her just emphasize what a likeable/sympathetic character he is.

Scott’s three friends bring a lot of humor to the movie and pretty much steal every scene they’re in, especially Luis. I can’t decide if this is a bad thing or not, since you want your focus on the main character most of the time, but they make the movie so much more enjoyable that I think it’s okay. Scott is still enough of an engaging character to keep the attention when he needs to.

I think my one big criticism of this movie is that it falls into the annoyingly familiar trope of “woman is entirely capable of doing a job, but for whatever reason, she’s Not Allowed To and must train a less-competent man to do it instead.” (used to some degree in The Lego Movie, The Matrix, Kung-Fu Panda, and many others, I’m sure) Yeah, Hank Pym is really just trying to protect his daughter, since his wife/her mother died in a similar mission, and Scott and Hope have a nice little scene where he says “I’m expendable, that’s why I’m the one doing the job,” but it just seems like the movie is trying really hard to justify why Hope can’t go on the mission even though she’s an expert.

At least that looks to be fixed in the sequel! The Wasp finally takes flight!

Aside from that, it’s nice to see two MCU fathers who aren’t dead/evil/manipulative/etc. A lot of Marvel superheroes have some pretty serious daddy issues, so I really like that Hank and Hope are reconciled by the end of the film, and Scott is getting to play a larger part in Cassie’s life.

Finally, Falcon’s cameo was obviously the best part of the movie.

All in all, Marvel was able to take what seemed like a not very interesting hero and turn it into a thoroughly enjoyable movie! It’s a shame that more people don’t talk about this one.

RANKINGS: Hero: 7.5 ants out of 10. Unlike Tony, Thor, and Dr. Strange, Scott starts off as a genuinely nice guy. He doesn’t really have his life together yet, but we still like him. Plus, he’s funny and tries hard to be a good dad. His only drawback is the fact that Hope could easily replace him and probably do the job better.

Villain: 5 yellowjackets out of 10. Darren Cross is a good villain in that every time he talks, you go “Uuuggh, this guy again.” He’s just a real jerky guy. But other than that he’s not the most interesting character. We get hints at his backstory/motivations but nothing to make him even a little bit sympathetic.

Supporting characters: 8.5 wasps out of 10. Hope, Hank, Scott’s family, Luis and the boys are all great supporting characters. They help drive the story forward and are super interesting (and hilarious) along the way. And again, Cassie is so cute. Female characters: 6 Bechdels out of 10. This one just barely passes the Bechdel test because of a very brief conversation between Cassie and Maggie about her stuffed toy. Pretty sure Hope never interacts with another woman onscreen. However, all three female characters are very important to the plot. Cassie is the whole reason why Scott is desperate for money and agrees to the mission in the first place, Maggie is the one preventing him from seeing her, and Hope trains him for the mission. She also serves as the obligatory love interest, but whatever.

Action scenes: 8.5 punches out of 10. It’s hard to rate a heist movie based on its action sequences because there aren’t many, but the unique twist of Scott being able to change size makes its few fight scenes endlessly entertaining.

Stan Lee: 8 cameos out of 10. He shows up at the very end, as a bartender in one of Luis’s rambling stories. This is honestly one of the funnier cameos of his to date.

Charisma: 8 points out of 10. The movie feels fairly consistent in pacing, with the exception of a couple of scenes that go a little fast. However, the themes of protecting one’s family and spending time with them while you still can carry through the entire movie, both with Scott and his family, and Hank and Hope. Its lighthearted tone leaves you feeling good.

In total: 51.5 out of 65, about a 79%. Pretty close to its Rotten Tomatoes score of 82%.

Sorry this one was a little late. Next is Captain America: Civil War!

#marvel #ant man #great marvel rewatch of 2k18

5 notes · View notes

empress-of-snark · 6 years

Photo

(last header by @caseyblu)

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)

(I am a Fool and I didn’t post this yesterday, I apologize)

AKA: I wish I hadn’t already used the “Everything hurts and I’m dying” reference on Iron Man 2, because it’s even more applicable now.

(So many spoilers, like seriously, don’t read if you haven’t seen Infinity War yet.)

Hoo boy, wow. This was the big one. It’s kind of like Civil War--there’s just so much going on that it’s hard to know where to start. Only it’s like 100 times bigger than that. So yeah, this might get confusing. Sorry in advance.

First off, I’m not totally convinced that Loki’s dead. I know, I know, I’m not gonna go off on a rant and it’s not just because I like him. It’s because his death really didn’t make sense. I mean, I understand why it had to happen plot-wise, but I don’t understand why someone as powerful as Loki would simply use a knife to attack Thanos, who now has two infinity stones. One could argue he wasn’t thinking clearly after seeing Thor tortured, but that doesn’t seem in-character to me. I dunno, maybe I’m just in denial. But I have a hunch he may come back one last time in Avengers 4, maybe with Valkyrie.

There were a lot of characters absent who I expect will make an appearance in Avengers 4, assuming they weren’t dusted. Hawkeye, Ant-Man & the Wasp, Valkyrie, Korg & Meik, Lady Sif, Wong (if he’s done protecting the Sanctorum, that is).

Actually, I’m calling it right now. End credits scene of Avengers 4. Dr. Strange opens the doors to the Sanctum Sanctorum, bloody, bruised, and exhausted after the fight of his life. Wong is sitting on the stairs with a half-eaten carton of Ben & Jerry’s “Hulk-A-Hulk-A-Burning-Fudge” ice cream. “How’d it go?”

Also excited to meet Captain Marvel and learn what exactly she’s been doing for the past ten years that was more important than ever helping save the world. Maybe she’s just so powerful that no threat has been big enough to require her presence? I guess we’ll find out next year.

Anyway, it was great seeing all the different characters meet and interact for the first time. It’s another big crossover, like the first Avengers movie. Except this one is like three or four big groups scattered across the galaxy and you have to keep track of who knows who and who’s where doing what. It gets confusing at times, especially trying to remember things like who’s supposed to know about the infinity stones, who knows about Thanos, who has no idea what’s going on, etc.

I spotted another timeline issue that confuses things even more, actually. Tony references the events of the first Avengers film and says they happened six years ago. Which means that technically Spiderman Homecoming is supposed to happen two years after this (as the beginning indicates it’s eight years after the attack on New York). I guess it doesn’t make a huge difference, I’m just surprised they’d make a mistake like that, with how meticulous they usually are about continuity.

It was still pretty painful to watch all those characters turn to dust at the end, even though I know they’re definitely coming back in Avengers 4 (they literally just announced the release date of Spiderman 2). Ugh, his scene still gets me. Knowing that his lines there were improvised honestly makes it worse.

This is obviously the first time we’ve ever seen a villain actually win, even if it’s just part one. And before anyone says anything else about Quill ruining the plan and being responsible for their loss, consider this: Strange saw this future. He knew there was only one way they could defeat Thanos and if he didn’t stop Quill then, that means it had to happen. If Quill had stayed quiet and they’d gotten the gauntlet off, something else would’ve gone wrong and Thanos still would’ve killed half the universe.

Also, consider that Quill has always been a very emotional character. He had the same reaction to Gamora’s death that he did in Guardians 2 when he learned that Ego killed his mother. He was not acting rationally and we shouldn’t condemn him for being sad/angry that the woman he loves is dead.

It is a little unhelpful that Strange dissolved before leaving any sort of instructions. He’s the only one who knows exactly what should happen and now he’s gone, leaving everyone else to figure it out on their own.

One complaint that my brother pointed out is that this movie kind of negates a lot of what happened in Ragnarok. Yes, Asgard is still gone, but the point of Ragnarok was to strip Thor down to nothing. He lost his hammer. In Infinity War, he’s got a new axe. He lost an eye. Rocket gives him a new one. He and Loki finally reconciled. Loki’s dead now. He befriended Valkyrie. Who even knows where Valkyrie is. Also half the Asgardian refugees are dead now. It just makes you wonder what the point of Ragnarok was if nothing stuck.

So let’s talk about Gamora real quick. First of all, her singing along with Quill to his music was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Second of all, I’m not convinced she’s dead either (yes, like Loki, this is partly just because I don’t want her to be dead). There’s theories that she may be trapped in the soul stone, possibly along with everyone who got dusted, which means that there may be a chance of getting her back in Avengers 4. I really hope so, cause I just can’t imagine another Guardians movie without her.

There’s probably a million and one other things left to say but I don’t want this review to drag on too long. You all saw the movie, you know how devastating it is, I don’t have to tell you.

RANKINGS: Disclaimer: We’re considering the characters who went through the most change/development as ‘heroes’ and everyone else as ‘supporting.’ I’d love to sit down and rank every single character in this movie, but we’d be here all day.

Hero(es): 8.5 Stormbreakers out of 10. This is Tony, Dr. Strange, Peter Quill, Gamora, Vision, Wanda, and Thor. All seven of these characters went through a ton of character development and growth, and come across as the real main characters. They all played off each other well (those that interacted, that is), and every one of them had to make some incredibly hard decisions that really reflected their heroism.

Villain: 9.5 snaps out of 10. I mean, a villain always gets points when he’s easy to hate, and Thanos makes it soooo easy, omg. Like some others, his motivations actually make sense in a really twisted way and he’s not just trying to take over the world, which gets old. Plus, he actually succeeded in his goal! Can’t wait to see him get beaten to death in Avengers 4, fingers crossed.

Supporting characters: 8 tuna melts out of 10. This is everyone but the seven mentioned above. Lots of the supporting characters provide a little comic relief in the more stressful moments. Just about every character plays some important role in the story and they all manage to work together to defeat Thanos. Female characters: 7.5 Bechdels out of 10. This one kind of passes for a very brief interaction between Wanda, Natasha, and Proxima Midnight (Thanos’s evil daughter) on the battlefield in Wakanda. But we’ve established in the past that a movie can still be feminist whether or not it passes the Bechdel test. And this one still gets points for having multiple female characters who play crucial roles in the plot. Wanda and Gamora especially, as previously stated, are central characters. In fact, I think I read somewhere that Gamora actually gets the most screen time out of all the heroes, at something like 19 minutes.

Action scenes: 10 punches out of 10. Nearly every MCU hero from the past ten years has to band together to fight Thanos and we get to see the full extent of everyone’s abilities. I especially love watching Dr. Strange and Wanda’s fighting techniques. Plus, the movie does a great job at balancing all the action by cutting back and forth between the different locations and giving us some reprieve from non-stop fighting.

Stan Lee: 4 cameos out of 10. As Peter’s field trip bus driver, he delivers one of his best cameo lines: “What’s the matter, kids? You never seen a spaceship before?”

Charisma: 8.5 points out of 10. This movie has some great themes of love and sacrifice. Multiple times one of the characters is forced to choose between a stone and a loved one (Thor and Loki, Gamora and Nebula, Wanda and Vision, etc.), and nearly every time, they choose their loved one. Thanos believes in sacrifice for the greater good, which is why he was willing to kill Gamora for the soul stone, but the heroes do not. Wanda is the only one who ends up sacrificing the one she loves (Vision) in order to destroy the mind stone, but she only does so under extreme duress and after exhausting every other option first. The running themes are very consistent, though I can’t say you leave the movie feeling good about anything, lol.

In total: 56 out of 65, so an 86%, which is actually higher than its Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%.

And that officially concludes the Great Marvel Rewatch of 2k18!! Thanks for following along, those of you who did! It’s been a fun, emotional, two weeks. Stay tuned for later, follow-up posts featuring a complete rankings list and possibly some other bonus materials! :)

#marvel #avengers: infinity war #great marvel rewatch of 2k18

3 notes · View notes