So just to quickly recap where we are with our Infinity Stones in the MCU…
Before Infinity War…
- Space Stone – on Asgard
- Mind Stone – with Vision on Earth
- Reality Stone – with The Collector in Knowhere
- Power Stone – with Nova Corps on Xandar
- Time Stone – with Dr. Strange on Earth
- Soul Stone – ???
After Infinity War…
- Space Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
- Mind Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
- Reality Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
- Power Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
- Time Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
- Soul Stone – with Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet (oops)
Holy wow – was this movie amazing!
Like everyone else, I’ve been waiting to see how this thing played out literally for years, and I almost didn’t get to see it in the theater until Sara and I finally made the decision that we were going to have to go see it separately if it was doing to happen. So it wasn’t ideal, but hey, most things aren’t when children are involved. 😉
ANYWAYS!!!
There was a lot to love about how this gigantic, epic tale came together, and ultimately I think they did a really good job considering just how many stars from different branches of the MCU all had to be included. I think the way the groups were divided worked really well, with my least favorite being the Guardians and my absolute favorite being Cap and crew … their entrance in Wanda & Vision’s battle to defend the mind stone was my absolute favorite.
Though Thor’s return to Earth, bellowing, “Bring me Thanos!” with his shiny, new magic axe was pretty cool, too!
I also surprisingly loved how they painted Thanos himself as not just a villain, but a genuine soul … passionate, and dedicated, and scarred. And yet at some point you have to remind yourself that he wants to destroy half of all living creation, so you can’t go too soft on him. 😯
It’s amazing how the snap at the end still stung right to the bone, even though we all knew going into this thing that Thanos had to win before eventually losing, particularly with this being a two-part story.
Still, I’ll be curious if everyone ends up coming back after the 2nd installment or if there are still casualties along the way. I suppose that Loki is already one.
One thing that I really didn’t like was Hulk’s impotence through the entire movie. Maybe they felt that he’d had such an impact in Thor: Ragnarok, or maybe he makes a huge return in part two, but it just seemed sad and pathetic, and the jokes didn’t help as everyone else was kicking ass and Dr. Banner was stuck flailing on the sidelines.
It was also a little weird how the Dr. Strange crew seemed to undervalue their powers between their sling rings and even the lack of using the time stone itself. But maybe they were just too nerfed that it would’ve been impossible to move the story along if they had. *shrug*
There was no doubt it was a big movie, especially compared to the first Avengers where we had six heroes total and the helicarriers and those flying alien turtles were the biggest things around! It’s kind of weird to look back at just how great that movie was, and then look at Thanos’s masterpiece and just go, “Wow – now that’s a great movie!”
I really, really hope that part 2 is able to deliver on what might very well be the finale for some of these characters that have spanned the last twenty movies of the MCU, but that said, I’m already very much looking forward to Capital Marvel next year … and not just because apparently we’re going to meet her in one month and then watch her save half of the universe the next!
Five stars, can’t wait to watch it again at home when it comes out on digital.
My favorite comment when I was walking out of the movie theater at one o’clock in the morning – “Fucking Thanos…”