@lucian_lebeau: It hit me that someone was gonna die when I saw where they actually went. Once I saw they were at the same place Thanos and Gamora went, I knew they were both gonna try to sacrifice themselves. Because neither is the type to throw the other over. And I knew it'd be Nat who died because Clint justbecame Ronin, and the Russo brothers aren't daft enough to waste that. And he had his family to get back to. [Although some part of me also wondered "what if they do this as part of his redemption? He sacrifices himself and Nat is supposed to break it to his family?" It was almost even in that regard. But then I just kept coming back to "they won't waste Ronin."]
I didn't know either! I didn't know who was on each team, let alone where each team was going. Process of elimination til I saw the cliff.
Honestly the A-Force didn't really do much for me. Maybe partly because my mind went meta, and I know that that moment was specifically supposed to appeal to "people like me," so it kinda took me out of the moment a bit. Big fangirl moments...there were many throughout the movie, but if we're compressing it down to the final battle,
- The initial engagement of the Big Three [I know Hulk is also a big factor, but in the movies, Tony-Cap-Thor are clearly the Trinity; and that goes back not only to the original movies, but that first face-off in the first Avengers where they were fighting after Thor took Loki] facing off against Thanos. A quiet moment, but one that gave me building chills. [I was surprised they kept Thor fat, though I later realized why.]
- Wanda going berserk! I only hated that this Thanos was from the past, and couldn't feel the weight of what she felt. But I geeked out! [Can't wait til it's spoiler-safe so I can snag some of that in gifs for Abby.] It hurt me when I realized [at some point during her assault] that Vision wasn't coming back, but it also enhanced the moment so much, because her pain was real. And I won't lie, there was a moment where I was thinking Wanda was about to get the kill! And I think they did the right thing the way they did it, but I got excited when I thought she was gonna, because I love Wanda, and it was kinda like hearkening back to Age of Ultron after her brother was killed. And the end of Infinity War. She's been long-established as one of the most dangerous Avengers, it's been building from her first appearance, and this one really sealed it all the more. Especially considering Vis died and wasn't coming back. It just...it had weight! Emotional weight, and just visually stunning watching her let loose like that. I'm hoping she sees more use moving forward.
- Cap with Thor's hammer. That was the kinda thing where, in hindsight it seemed obvious. Endgame was all about bringing things full-circle. Big and small plot points. Lots of big and small references to earlier MCU films. When Thor took Mjolnir I knew it was gonna be a factor in some particular way. [On that, I also thought it was cool just seeing Thor wield both.] But when they were struggling and Mjolnir starts flying, my brain was taking time to catch up. I was trying to figure out what was going on because I was thinking "wait, Thor's in trouble right now, can't be him," but at the same time I was processing "Yeah! Get 'em Thor!" as though he was pulling off some trick. Then when it was Cap, I was full-on O___O "OF course!" That reveal, then him using that and his shield to stand toe to toe with Thanos, YES! And just the way they blended the scenes, choreography [and a bit of humor] between Cap and Thor using Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, phenomenal work. One of the things I'm most looking forward to in subsequent viewings is watching those scenes again.
- The final exchange. I've always been a hardcore Iron Man fangirl. I've gotten so deep into analyzing his character arc over the films that there's a multiple page MS Word document on his admirable qualities. I knew things were winding down, but was wondering how it was gonna happen. And the way they cycled Thor, Cap, and Tony in that last exchange like that, loved it. Finally, seeing Iron Man's efforts all come to fruition, I went over the moon! This was everything he's been preparing for since the first Avengers. His life's work. I knew how much it meant to him in Endgame, and knowing that it meant even more here [which I would've thought would be impossible] was a lot to me. I knew he'd snatched the gems from the gauntlet when Thanos was gloating because they didn't show the backhand side of the gauntlet. I also felt some mirroring of the Infinity War situation there. Only this time it worked out. And then they reversed it. When the gems started gathering around his gauntlet, I got chills. And when he said "I am Iron Man," I tried to hit the notes in unison [quietly from my seat]. [And of the first Avengers, while we're at it, with the "is Tony gonna die" thing.] I knew he was gonna die, but I still fangirled out and then got really sad and cried. Like...a lot.I cried even more for him than I did Natasha. Then I cried again for both of them. Then I...I dunno, I was crying a lot.
I really hope Phase 4 is good. For them to screw it up now would be a travesty. Although there's also a part of me that says "well, if Phase 4 is bad, at least we made it this far and got our closure on this part." But I also hope I won't be one of those people who's just sour on Phase 4 because I miss what was great about everything over the past decade-plus. Recognising that these films and these characters have been a big part of my life since I was 13 years old, and I don't wanna become jaded now that the OGs are retiring. Especially since...after seeing it, there's a part of me that feels like a void. Like last night I was processing it sort of like "...Okay, so what do I do with my life now?" Obviously the answer is I do my thing and achieve my goals for my life, but just the presence of that void feeling knowing that this chapter has come to an end. And I don't wanna be a bitter crone. The shows sound intriguing. I also heard rumor that Clint might be getting one of his own as well. Not sure whether it will or not considering he was reunited with his family, but we'll see. Oddly enough I feel already optimistic about those. House of M or no, they've got a good line-up and good actors, and I'll be excited to see all of them. [Which, getting A-list actors to do series like that, it sounded unreal at first.]
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