Director: Joe and Anthony Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (why you got to do me like that?), Chris Evans (or as he shall forever be known, Creepy Uncle Steve), more Gwyneth Paltrow than I thought we were going to get, and Jake Johnson as Thor.
Have I Seen it Before: Opening weekend. Man I wish I had seen it months ago, but that’s a completely different question.
Did I Like It: As I’m typing this I’m a little emotionally compromised. For any number of reasons. I’m reasonably sure I liked it, but let’s find out together.
Well, we certainly have a new way station for any future games of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” Come to think of it, after the additional name drop in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), I’m a little surprised we didn’t get an appearance by Mr. Footloose himself. Michelle Pfeiffer is in it. Tilda Swinton is in it. Rene Russo is in it. Robert fucking Redford is in the picture, and he said he stopped acting. I’m relatively sure that anyone with an active membership in the Screen Actor’s Guild (with the notable exception of Edward Norton and Terrance Howard) is in this film. It might single-handedly explain the recent dip in unemployment.
One might get the sense that as packed with characters as it is, this (final?) Avengers picture is the final realization of that famous scene improvised for Parks and Recreation by Patton Oswalt, but every minute feels earned, and successfully pays off ten years and twenty-two films previous set up. It’s
Some of it’s time travel doesn’t quite pass the smell test, primarily when we are considering the ultimate fate of Captain America. Even if one were to sufficiently explain these apparent plot holes, how he managed to get the Soul Stone back to Vormir beggars all belief.
And then there’s the finality of it all. I’ve already dipped into a few minor spoilers above, but if you haven’t seen the film by the time you read this (and something about the early box office figures tell me you have), go see it. We’ll mourn our permanently fallen heroes later. Now, I kinda want to go back to the beginning with Iron Man (2008).