After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“We need to be put into check,” Tony Stark. INTRODUCTION Now that Kevin Fiege and Marvel are working on their own terms under Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company, telling a focused story is their goal. “Captain America: Civil War” had a lot riding on it with a fight between our heroes, the introduction of Black Panther and new merger between Fox and Marvel to share the rights to Spider-Man. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is was an odd choice to tell this story so early in the MCU’s history. In the comics, there are hundreds of superheroes involved in the Superhuman Registration Act. In the MCU, there are only a dozen heroes involved. Team Cap includes Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Sharon Carter helping them out. Team Iron Man includes War Machine, Vision, Black Widow, Black Panther and Spider-Man under the leadership of General Ross. This is the first time fans begin to realize everything isn’t as connected s it seems, as many fans expected to see the Netflix shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones to cameo too. PLOT The film starts with our new Avengers team (established in “Age of Ultron”) taking on Crossbones in Logos. When everything goes wrong, Scarlet Witch accidentally kills hundreds in a heartbreaking scene. Soon we see what Tony Stark is up to, introducing his BARF technology to an audience of students, a technology that allows memories to be seen. Somehow, a de-aged Tony Stark is more jarring than a de-aged Hank Pym. Tony has broken up with Pepper and his guilt has lead him to do huge acts of charity, which also leads him to agree to the Sokovia Accords. Some of the best parts of this film is the introduction to Wakanda, the link between General Ross and “The Incredible Hulk” and the closeness between Wanda and Vision. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” After fighting Iron Man, Cap, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Black Widow are vigilantes on the run. Ant-Man appeals for a two-year parole and Iron Man is now dealing with the fallout of his actions. This is the last time we see the Avengers proper before “Infinity War.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan has a brief cameo at the end of the movie as a fed-ex driver where he calls Tony, Tony Stank. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes in this film. The first sets up “Black Panther” and shows that Bucky is being stored there until his mind-wiping can be fixed. The second has us catching up with Peter Parker and teasing “Spider-Man Homecoming.” CONCLUSION “Captain America: Civil War” is as much a Captain America movie as it is an Avengers movie and the film really shows that The Russo Brothers can handle a large ensemble cast. This is what I expect won them the opportunity to direct “Infinity War” and “Endgame.” RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Captain America: Civil War” is the Avengers sequel the world deserved. It has a lot going on but somehow manages to be perfectly times and thrilling. For this reason I gave it the number five spot on the list.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 62 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia
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After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“I want you to break in and steal some shit,” Hank Pym. INTRODUCTION The story of Ant-Man is closely tied to Hank Pym, however, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe we don’t get Hank’s story. Instead, we are told the story of Scott Lang, the passing of the torch (or the costume) in the MCU. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the twelfth film in Marvel’s continuity. We finally get to see Ant-Man, one of the founding members of the Avengers. PLOT The film opens with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) meeting with Peggy Carter and Howard Stark at S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1989. Hank is upset that his Pym Particles have been used against his will. This quickly introduces the Ant-Man and his shrinking technology. We then meet ex-convict Scott Lang and his daughter, his primary motive for being a good person. At this point, the MCU villains are starting to feel stale. All the shrinking scenes are unique and different from anything we’ve seen up to this point. Origin films in the MCU seem to feel more inventive because there are no expectations. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” “Ant-Man” is expected to be a big part of “Endgame.” He wasn’t around in “Infinity War” due to the fact that he is stuck in the Quantum Realm. What will happen, we don’t know. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan Lee’s cameo comes very late in the film during the last scene of the movie. This scene is one of Louis’ stories and Stan is a bartender in the story. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes in “Ant-Man.” The first scene shows Hank Pym introducing Hope Pym to The Wasp costume. Hank tells Hope that he is going to train her. She says, “it’s about time.” The second end credit scene is lifted directly from “Civil War.” The scene shows Captain America and Falcon on the lam from the government and have captured Bucky Barnes. They are in need of recruits and Falcon says, “I know a guy,” referring to Scott Lang. CONCLUSION “Ant-Man” proves that not every Marvel film has to be a big, grand spectacle. Sometimes a small hero and small film does just as fine. It also proves that small films can have big stakes in the overall story. Finally, “Ant-Man” proves that we don’t know what version of these heroes we are going to see on screen. It could have easily been a story about how Hank Pym became Ant-Man but instead, in the MCU, Scott Lang is Ant-Man. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Ant-Man” is an almost perfect origin story as great as “Iron Man.” I decided to put it in the number five spot after “Iron Man” because that film did it first.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 69 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
There are no strings on me. INTRODUCTION The Avengers reassemble for the first time in three years. After Iron Man retires, Captain America sees the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Thor has a run-in with an Infinity Stone, all the stories so far collide in the sequel to the first team-up movie. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the eleventh film in the MCU and the last film overseen by the Marvel Studios Creative Committee (although they still had a significant effect on “Ant-Man.” The committee was made up of comic book writers and toymakers. They may have cared about the films, but ultimately money was the driving force, including changing stories and casting decisions to sell more toys. Kevin Fiege went to Bob Iger and asked to report directly to Disney. He was granted that access and since that time, marvel films have taken more risks, been story-driven, and focus on one film at a time. PLOT “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is a little convoluted. I’m hoping some of the biggest headscratchers in this film will be answered in Endgame. There are a ton of great scenes in this film including when Cap almost lifts Thor’s hammer. It was great to see so many scenes with the Avengers working together. Even the opening scene felt like a comic book opening. When Tony creates Ultron to make the world a better place, he ultimately creates one of the teams biggest villains. Using the mind stone, Ultron creates Vision, one of my favorite MCU heroes. We are also introduced to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and Black Widow and Hawkeye have plenty of time to shine. The end of this movie sets up so much for “Civil War,” “Ragnarok,” and “Infinity War.” WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” “Age of Ultron” seems to set up the most for “Endgame.” There is a scene where Tony envisions the deaths of all of his friends and he is the only one alive. This is similar to how “Infinity War” played out. I am also hoping to see more scenes between Natasha and Banner. Tony even said, “Up there, that’s the endgame” in this movie. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan Lee said that the “age of Ultron” cameo was his favorite cameo. It makes sense, with Stan being a veteran and this scene has him with fellow veterans partying with the Avengers. After Stan takes a bet to drink alcohol from Asgard, he is escorted out while he drunkenly says his famous line “Excelsior!” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. The end-credit scene is pretty lame. I can say that now and I should have said that then too. Thanos appears on screen, wields the gauntlet and says “Fine, I’ll do it myself.” In the theatre during this scene I remember thinking, “Oh no, it’s going down!” But It was another three year wait, as I already knew, before we would see Thanos again. CONCLUSION “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is an important addition to the MCU. I fully think that one messy film is a great track-record to help the payoff of all the other films. This film deserves more than the bad rep that it got. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is problematic. It is full of too many storylines and too many characters. As a movie buff, that’s bad. As a marvel fan…I loved it. I have a hard time seeing the problems as actual problems. For this reason, I am giving the film the fifth spot on my list, just above the original. This doesn’t mean it is better than the original Avengers movie, but I did have more fun watching it.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 76 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends? What a bunch of A-holes. INTRODUCTION Never before has a movie like this taken a group of unknown characters, created an almost perfect movie, and explode overnight. “Guardians of the Galaxy” is polar opposite of every other film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it pays off for that reason. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the tenth film in the MCU and it is funny. Not only is it a space opera with almost no connective tissue to any other MCU film, it also took characters that weren’t well-known and made them into a lovable crew. Director James Gunn created a galaxy that is unique, intriguing and beautiful. The soundtrack alone makes this one of the best films in Marvel’s lineup. PLOT “Guardians of the Galaxy” sees Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a human who was abducted when he was a boy and raised with space pirates. We also meet Vin Diesel’s Groot (a talking tree) and Bradley Cooper’s Rocket (a talking Racoon). This is the first acting job for Dave Bautista, an MMA fighter turned actor, who portrays Drax the Destroyer. Zoe Saldana plays Gamora, daughter of Thanos. The team comes together while everyone is searching for a mysterious orb that contains an infinity stone. The film does a lot to connect why Thanos and infinity stones are important to the bigger picture. This is the first time we get to see Josh Brolin as Thanos. The heroes go up against Ronan the Accuser, a terrorist looking to destroy worlds and working for Thanos. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” Now that Rocket is the last living Guardian, I am eager to see how the cosmic side of the MCU will go on. Especially considering plans for a “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” have been tanked due to James Gunn being fired, the future is unclear. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo is small in this scene as he appears towards the beginning and seems to be hitting on a girl. Rocket calls him a “class A pervert.” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two credit scenes. The first is the infamous “dancing baby Groot” scene and the second scene sees the collector setting in the ruins of his collection where Howard the Duck tells him that he shouldn’t let Cosmo the dog lick him because it’s “gross.” Both scenes are just for fun. CONCLUSION “Guardians of the Galaxy” is one of the most visually-stunning films in the MCU and had a lot on its plate. The fact that it came out on top and is beloved by many fans is incredible. The fact that the film made me cry over a tree is remarkable. The heroes saved the galaxy with a dance-off. That’s all anyone needs to know about this movie. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Guardians of The Galaxy” is important to me because it came out at an important time in my life. The soundtrack shaped my life and the characters were relatable. The only reason I am putting this film in my number one spot instead of number two is because the film is more fun that “Winter Soldier.” Sure, the argument can be made that the latter is a better film, but because this is my list, I had to put this first.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 83 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia |
Erick L. Graham Wood
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