I had not originally planned to see it, but The Ravishing Mrs. TB turned it into a family outing and, to be fair, I had stuck with portions of the series up to this point so why not finish it off.
(I will not, of course, comment on the movie plot itself to protect the 0.5% of my reading audience that will probably see the thing. Suffice it to say I did not find this to be the most compelling movie of the series).
I checked - the first Marvel movie of this cycle (Iron Man) appeared in 2008. 22 movies in 11 years. That is quite an accomplishment for any series. Mind you, it was built on 60 years of Marvel paving the way and building an audience (and the unfortunate Marvel mis-starts, for the most part, from Fox.) So perhaps in itself, a culture icon worth watching.
That said, I will not be back.
Will I miss the characters? They were, for the most part, true to their comic book roots and Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man has to be one of the greatest parts of acting in my life time (the only character in modern cinema that I can say "I want to be just like him!"). But they were only brief entertaining moments, not a lifestyle.
To be fair to myself, for the most part these actors and actresses. are not "my people" in the sense that they do not represent my values - which some of the remind me of as often as they can. So in that sense, leaving them is also easy. I only saw them for the characters, not for the actors and actresses. I do not follow them outside of movies. So like life insurance or home insurance we part, each having given the other fee for service.
No, the real reason I will not be back is simply that there will be nothing new.
Oh certainly, there will be new villains. And new plots. New, exciting ways to destroy the world. But really, they will be varying versions of the plots that have already existed. Like James Bond, how many different ways are there to almost destroy the world to say "This is a bit ridiculous"?
There are only so many variations of the same story before it becomes a remake (as opposed to a real remake, which we are probably due for in about 10 years). And you know - we all know - that in the end, the heroes will triumph at great cost. So how many different times can I be persuaded to see these great heroes fight great villains for great victories in CGI generated cinematography?
No more, apparently.
It was entertaining, for sure. I may still pull out Guardians of the Galaxy from time to time for the soundtrack, if nothing else. But at least for me - and I expect, for certain elements of my generation - Marvel movies came to end last Thursday. The only greatness will still remain in the old Stan Lee and Jack Kirby drawn books.
Excelsior, Stan. It was a grand run.
Yup. There is always going to be another ultimate endgame. I will watch it when it comes out on iTunes or Netflix, but no way will I blow 50 bucks at the movie theatre on it. Really, the plots in these have so many holes in them that I find it impossible to immerse myself in the story. And I bet I can predict most of the plot of Endgame without seeing it.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it would appear mightily different to younger eyes. My favourite super heroes now are The Incredibles. Watching the baby fight a pitched battle with a raccoon in the back yard left me in stitches. Watching the poor father succeed in a pozzed world was escapism that appealed to my bitter old soul. Sometimes they accidentally get things right in spite of themselves.
I certainly agree. What I do enjoy is the splendor that current film making. The ability to manipulate imagery is amazing. Making Princess Leia look young again. Inserting a character into a movie who has since passed. I go to them movies for the escape and entertainment value. I no longer expect new plots and am still disappointed when the same "bad guy" character shows up in five movies back to back. Try some new talent for crying out loud.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I cheated. I watched a hidden cam version of Endgame to see if it was worth it. Finding time to visit the theater is hard for me. And I kew after seeing it that I was in no big hurry. It was one thing to turn Captain Marvel into a female character. I was okay with that. Endgame butchered her appearance and rode way too hard on the feminatzi platform for me.
Alas, I have children and they want to go. So I will finally pay to see it. And add to the billions of dollars these people are making off of Stan. God rest his soul.
The Orange Jeep Dad
Now that they've milked the franchise for a small fortune, there's no reason for it to be back.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I've not seen it.
It was different with the comics, somehow. You didn't mind the good guys versus the bad guys every month (or whatever the publishing schedule was).
Politics were different then, too. Mostly they weren't there, except for the more war slanted comics.
I have no idea where I was going with this, haha. Hope you all had a good time at least.
God bless. :)
Glen - I bet you can. Without revealing the plot, I can say it pretty handily reminded me of a 70's movie and an 80's movie, just with more explosions.
ReplyDeleteDo wait for it to come out on Netflix (although as Disney film, I wonder if it will) or iTunes. If you are not invested in the franchise, no use wasting money on it.
The Incredibles 2 was brilliant. Occasionally Pixar still gets one right (but, sadly a sequel as well).
Orange Jeep Dad - Indeed, the spectacle now is amazing. Princess Leia was definitely a chill (in an honest moment, if they can do that with her they can do it with anyone. Imagine - a movie filled with stars that are long gone and no living actors whatsoever).
ReplyDeleteAs to the rest - I will probably never watch the movie again. No really burning need to. And I wonder if in 20 years it will be seen as a classic, or something everyone talks about but no-one watches (3 hours is a heck of a long time to sit for anything anymore).
Thanks for stopping by!
Linda - They have ground out the franchise. I will be interested to see if the whole "pass the baton" thing works - at some point it will inevitably backfire, and Marvel will just become one more property among the many Disney owns.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasant way to pass three hours. But I will not need to see it again.