Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

seriously, Bucky might as well just be a cardboard cutout with "Cap's manpain" written on it

*snort* Now now, we mustn't poke fun at the Greatest Love Story Never Told.

As for the rest of it, I agree that whatever happens in Endgame, it'll likely be the final bow for The Original Six. Either Tony or Steve will make the sacrifice play in Endgame, and the new characters will be resurrected. That all six of the characters who have been here since the beginning (including Hawkeye, who might not count since he wasn't even in the film) are still alive says that the sun is about to set on their era. But I'm one of the weirdos who cares just as much about the 'newbies' as the old guard, so what do I know?

[VCRTracking]

5 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

10 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

seriously, Bucky might as well just be a cardboard cutout with "Cap's manpain" written on it

 

*snort* Now now, we mustn't poke fun at the Greatest Love Story Never Told.

I only just realized Bucky's first and middle name is from our first bachelor(wink) president, James Buchanan. People used to refer to Buchanan and his close friend William Rufus King as "Miss Fancy" and "Aunt Nancy"!

Edited December 29, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Dee]

7 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

 But I'm one of the weirdos who cares just as much about the 'newbies' as the old guard, so what do I know?

One of the most frustrating things about the MCU is the Avengers 2.0 haven't had the proper opportunity to shine. The second phase of the MCU was such a jumbled mess that most of the third phase has been dedicated to fixing phase two's various mistakes. 

[Danny Franks]

10 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

*snort* Now now, we mustn't poke fun at the Greatest Love Story Never Told.

As for the rest of it, I agree that whatever happens in Endgame, it'll likely be the final bow for The Original Six. Either Tony or Steve will make the sacrifice play in Endgame, and the new characters will be resurrected. That all six of the characters who have been here since the beginning (including Hawkeye, who might not count since he wasn't even in the film) are still alive says that the sun is about to set on their era. But I'm one of the weirdos who cares just as much about the 'newbies' as the old guard, so what do I know?

Bucky is my favourite Marvel character, and has been since his return to comic books in 2005 (it used to be Gambit, but they've done a spectacularly thorough job of ruining him). I was so hopeful when Captain America: Winter Soldier did such a good job of making him amazing, and a genuine threat to Cap. Sadly Civil War turned him into a plot device to fuel Cap and Tony's angst and make them fight each other. Then, as I said, he might as well have not been in Infinity War, other than as an emotional club to beat Steve with.

I guess I'll have to wait for the Bucky & Falcon mini, and hope that they do justice to his character in that, and perhaps even introduce more elements of comic book Bucky. You know, like maybe exploring the idea that he's torn up with his own guilt, about the things he did and the people he killed, and that he feels a need to make amends.

2 hours ago, Dee said:

One of the most frustrating things about the MCU is the Avengers 2.0 haven't had the proper opportunity to shine. The second phase of the MCU was such a jumbled mess that most of the third phase has been dedicated to fixing phase two's various mistakes. 

Age of Ultron was really bad, although the introduction of Vision was well done. Sadly, both he and Scarlet Witch then spent most of Civil War under house arrest, then Vision is just neutered in Infinity War, for plot purposes.

I don't think Black Panther was as good as people claim, but T'Challa himself is okay, and both Nakia and Shuri are awesome. I'd be more than happy to see them get a spinoff, though I imagine Lupita Nyong'o will be too busy for something like that.

The Ant-Man movies are charming, but I just don't think they're particularly consequential. They feel very lightweight (no pun intended) when compared to the rest of the MCU.

They should have done a Black Widow movie, four years ago, about the fallout of Hydra having infiltrated SHIELD and everything else. But didn't, because they thought people wouldn't watch an action movie with a woman as the headliner. I think they've missed the boat on her now. And I think Scarlett Johansson feels the same. Man, was she phoning it in in Infinity War. Her line readings were so flat, and I like to think the couple of lines she had when her character was off-screen, were just so she could record them in a booth, wearing sweats, rather than getting into the full Black Widow get up, just for a five second shot.

[festivus]

5 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

I only just realized Bucky's first and middle name is from our first bachelor(wink) president, James Buchanan. People used to refer to Buchanan and his close friend William Rufus King as "Miss Fancy" and "Aunt Nancy"!

I watch Will & Grace and on one episode Jack was doing a gay play about Abraham Lincoln and he also mentioned James Buchanan and one other president I can't remember as being gay. I'd never heard any of that, only the rumors about Abe.

 

43 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Bucky is my favourite Marvel character, and has been since his return to comic books in 2005 (it used to be Gambit, but they've done a spectacularly thorough job of ruining him). I was so hopeful when Captain America: Winter Soldier did such a good job of making him amazing, and a genuine threat to Cap. Sadly Civil War turned him into a plot device to fuel Cap and Tony's angst and make them fight each other. Then, as I said, he might as well have not been in Infinity War, other than as an emotional club to beat Steve with.

Since I've been reading the comics, he's become my favorite too. So much potential there that hasn't been utilized so far. I don't think Bucky even had time to grab his Cap's manpain sign in this movie since he was only in it for two minutes.

 

I think Thor was the only character to have a good arc in this story, the rest of it was mostly just a set-up for the next one. I did like the stuff with Tony/Doctor Strange. I did like this movie but there was a bit too much Thanos for me. Yeah, I know it was supposed to be his movie. I just don't care about his motivations that much.

[blueray]

There is defiantly a lot of set up, however this isn't a bad thing as it was well done. I like the continuing story (character development) between Tony and Peter Parker from Homecoming.  And new character interactions such as Rocket and Thor, as well as Dr. Strange and Tony.  Thor does have one of the best arcs in this movie, as he started off basically losing everything.

[festivus]

10 minutes ago, blueray said:

I like the continuing story (character development) between Tony and Peter Parker from Homecoming. 

Yeah I did too. The first time I watched Homecoming I didn't really process the father/son aspect of that relationship, but that's par for the course for me. I never really process anything the first time I see it, that's just the way my brain works. Anyway, after I did, that just made it all the more poignant that Peter died in Tony's arms. I'm a fan of Tony and his manpain so I had no problem with that scene but I remember my brother talking about the movie and he hated it and thought Peter was whiny. I had to remind him like, come on, don't forget that he's just a kid.  

[JessePinkman]

Tony: That wasn’t a hug, we’re not there yet

One Year Later

Tony: hugs Peter as he dies

[xaxat]

[HunterHunted]

12 hours ago, festivus said:

Yeah I did too. The first time I watched Homecoming I didn't really process the father/son aspect of that relationship, but that's par for the course for me. I never really process anything the first time I see it, that's just the way my brain works. Anyway, after I did, that just made it all the more poignant that Peter died in Tony's arms. I'm a fan of Tony and his manpain so I had no problem with that scene but I remember my brother talking about the movie and he hated it and thought Peter was whiny. I had to remind him like, come on, don't forget that he's just a kid.  

If only Dr. Strange had used the time stone like HISHE suggested and rewound time to turn Thanos into a baby. Then Tony and Pepper could make good on Tony's dream of them having a baby. And in true MCU bad dad form, I'm sure Tony would screw things up so that Peter and Thanos were at each other's throats over nonsense and bullshit. 

Thanos already sounds like a Stark. He's smart and determined. He's got an ego larger than a planet. He's also so in love with his brilliant ideas that he can't be dissuaded from his plans.

Why are all of the bad MCU moms on tv?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

36 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Why are all of the bad MCU moms on tv?

Because if they were in the movies with the bad dads, they'd probably cancel each other out and end up providing decent parenting?

[VCRTracking]

10 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Because if they were in the movies with the bad dads, they'd probably cancel each other out and end up providing decent parenting?

Even though she appears to be a Kree in the Captain Marvel trailer, I'm still hoping Annette Bening is Carol's evil mom. Like maybe Carol's dad was human!

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Even though she appears to be a Kree in the Captain Marvel trailer, I'm still hoping Annette Bening is Carol's evil mom. Like maybe Carol's dad was human!

To me that would be too much of a retread of Guardians Volume 2 with Peter Quill having one human parent and one super evil, super powerful alien parent.

[supposebly]

After re-watching, the things I didn't like stuck out more and the good parts became better for me. Dr Strange is just so annoying as a character for me since if you think about it, he and Wong could resolve a lot of things very quickly and easily and just standing there waiting for someone to attack is just silly. Too much power = boring character for me. His movie was boring too.

I loved Thor's story continuing from Ragnarok, where he lost his father, his sister, and he finally lost his last family member, his brother and Heimdahl. I loved how he tried to compartmentalize and that he didn't care if he would die restarting that forge/star, whatever. His re-entry was just wonderful. Which brings me to my question: Where the hell was Valkyrie? I really hope she isn't dead.

I really liked how Loki went. He went in a way that was very Loki. His "Odinson" was very poignant and basically told Thor what he needed to know. A final acknowledgement that they are brothers, blood-related or not. Still, I would like to know if he realizes that Thanos was behind his attack on New York? Thanos seemed to know an awful lot about Loki's exploits.

I still love the scene when Bruce and Stark meet for the first time, and Bruce's befuddlement about the break-up later. Yeah, Bruce, I didn't get the whole Civil War movie either. I also wonder how Bruce later knows all about Thanos and the stones, the attack on New York or that Thanos wipes out planets on a regular basis. So, the Hulk let him stay awake this time? But still, was Thanos standing around gloating a lot more than we were shown?

Spoiler

He had no idea about the two years on that scrap planet, so Hulk fighting that big dog in Ragnarok was them working together?

I still think it would be more interesting if there was more than one "endgame". At least then there would be SOME tension as to whether they are making the right, i.e. successful choices. I am actually wondering if Thanos is alive or not. He was limping during that scene at the end but the hole Thor's new axe made wasn't there as far as I could tell. But the gauntlet is still on him, I think.

Can I just say that I miss Mjolnir? That axe thing doesn't look very impressive to me. That Groot-handle looks like it's gonna snap any second. I know it's magic bla, bla, but the visuals count.

I do think dragging the fight to Wakanda was actually a good way to keep the number of casualties smaller than having it somewhere more populated. I do hope the Jabari used some more advanced weapons in this fight, otherwise, that's just cruel. I kept wondering why they kept Wanda away to protect Vision for so long. I was thinking, someone else would have been better. Keeping her away from the field was overkill to protect Vision. I guess, for storytelling purposes, sure, but logistically, hell no. She and Thor could have blasted those beasties to hell and gone in a few minutes, I think. With some fire help from Bruce, Falcon, and War Machine.

Maybe I'm cynical or biased, but I was with Stark during the argument at the beginning. I guess Strange just didn't want to spend his days running from Thanos. Which, I think is a bit selfish and defeats the purpose of protector, doesn't it? It's only ok if you can sit around in your nice library in New York having sandwiches? At least, it would have given them some time to come up with a plan. Couldn't he have just time-traveled really far into the future? Or to the past? He didn't know the outcome way back home and but by the time he was checking the outcomes, he could only check starting from the time they had arrived on Titan.

Although I know nothing about Captain Marvel, she seems very overpowered too. I hope they don't have to ignore that to make things too easy. Btw., Fury couldn't really know if she was dusted or not, did he?

I think that scene on Titan is still one of the weak points. Nebula just stands there and lets Quill blather on? How does Nebula know Gamora didn't come back? She had left already and why would Thanos go back anyway? To me, the editing suggested that he was going directly to Titan to get the time stone from Ebony Maw.

I don't like Quill at all and I still can't watch that ridiculous scene after Thor wakes up. It was too long and stupid.

While Peter's dusting scene was good, I prefer the little scene when Stark "makes" him an Avenger. Tom Holland conveys so much in that little reaction. Surprise, such immense pride, and then the realization that this could mean he could die and still, trying to be a hero here. It breaks my heart.

[Kel Varnsen]

13 minutes ago, supposebly said:

I really liked how Loki went. He went in a way that was very Loki. His "Odinson" was very poignant and basically told Thor what he needed to know. A final acknowledgement that they are brothers, blood-related or not. 

During his death I liked Loki's statement that he was the rightful king of Jotunheim. You don't get too many call backs to the first Thor movie these days so that was nice.

Edited December 30, 2018 by Kel Varnsen

[blueray]

Quote

I think that scene on Titan is still one of the weak points. Nebula just stands there and lets Quill blather on? How does Nebula know Gamora didn't come back? She had left already and why would Thanos go back anyway? To me, the editing suggested that he was going directly to Titan to get the time stone from Ebony Maw.

Quill asked Thanos where is Gamora, which he doesn't answer, however Mantis says "he morns". Clearly referring to Gamora and Nebula correctly figures out that he killed her. I think Nebula was awake when he was torture her (as she screams and later escapes), so she knew that Gamora took him to the soul stone. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by blueray

[supposebly]

1 hour ago, blueray said:

Clearly referring to Gamora and Nebula correctly figures out that he killed her. I think Nebula was awake when he was torture her (as she screams and later escapes), so she knew that Gamora took him to the soul stone

Fair enough.

Something else that strikes me about the scene between Rocket and Thor. Rocket in that moment is twice the captain Quill is who can't even lay down the law when it comes to not taking someone's ship who needs help. I really never liked him...It's partly the writing and partly I don't think Chris Pratt can act. He doesn't sell anything beyond annoying man-child to me.

Edited December 30, 2018 by supposebly

[VCRTracking]

The nice thing about having Starlord, Iron Man and Dr Strange in the same storyline is how much fit the concept of  the Freudian Trio of "Id, Ego, Superego": Peter Quill(id), Tony(ego) and Strange(super ego).

Edited December 31, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Lantern7]

Thanos dropped by Springfield last night.

[VCRTracking]

[Lantern7]

Robot Chicken shows what happened after Thanos' snap.

ETA: It should be two minutes into the episode . . . though I'm guessing that I should wait before it inevitable pops up on YouTube.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Lantern7

[VCRTracking]

Deleted scene:

 

 

[tv echo]

Benedict Cumberbatch said that he ad libbed the word "douchebag" in Avengers: Infinity War...

Benedict Cumberbatch Gets Mean
BY REBECCA KEEGAN     SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/benedict-cumberbatch-the-power-of-the-dog-movie-doctor-strange-spider-man-no-way-home-1235008551/ 

Quote

Cumberbatch says he developed a comfort with improv on Marvel productions while making Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, watching Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland riff. In that film, in a scene where he and Downey’s Iron Man are bickering about how to save the universe, Cumberbatch ended up improvising one tonally pivotal word. When Iron Man asks, “What exactly is your job, besides making balloon animals?” Doctor Strange answers, “It’s protecting your reality, douchebag.”

Says Cumberbatch, “I remember on the set when I called him a douchebag, there was this sort of ripple effect. ‘Oh my God. Did you just call Iron Man a douchebag?’ They kept it, good for them. And then, it got the same kind of response at the cinema. I was just … I got bored of being compared to Liberace or whatever other retorts the guy with the same camp goatee had opposite me, so I tried to knock him down. It’s great fun to play with that stuff. You find your feet. The more times you do it, the more familiar it becomes.”

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Recorded at Denver Pop Culture Con 2019 (but only posted on YouTube recently)...

Dave Bautista | How the "Why is Gamora" line happened.
FAN EXPO HQ   Jan 23, 2022

 

[tv echo]

Edited February 17, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Benedict Cumberbatch Reflects on Becoming Iron Man In Avengers Deleted Scene
By Richard Nebens   May 5, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/infinity-war-screenwriters-reveal-look-at-doctor-strange-as-iron-man 

Quote

Speaking with Ali Plumb on BBC Radio, MCU star Benedict Cumberbatch reflected on a moment involving his Doctor Strange and Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. Specifically, Stephen Strange was set to become Iron Man, albeit briefly, as he wore Tony Stark's suit, combining the two heroes' powers for a moment on one of Thanos' Q-Ships.

When asked if he was annoyed that the moment got cut, Cumberbatch admitted that he would have loved to see the scene actually make it into the final cut of Infinity War. While joking about what the character would have been called, he loved getting the chance to wear the Iron Man suit and find out how their powers would have worked together:

"Yeah, I was a bit, we both were, it took a long time to splurge those spliced costumes together. It was an amazing moment, and I think I definitely came out of it better than ‘Iron Strange’ or ‘Doctor Man,’ the other guy, ‘Strange Man.’ I definitely came out of it better. I mean, having a bit of that outerwear on you, it’s like, it’s very, very, very cool. I would love to have seen what that combination of wizardry and that tech would do. Bring it on."

Edited May 6, 2022 by tv echo