What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Newer Films)

[John 2,032]

Ragnarok is awesome. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

23 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Endgame does work much better, until that last hour, and than it goes downhill like no movie I recall from recent memory. The setting's bland, the setpice too overstuffed, the action too long (with no reprieve), some of the characters really devolve in terms of motivations and goals (especially Thanos) and their forces are inconsistent. Some lines and development undercut the sense of stakes. I couldn't believe what I was watching. I wanted it to be good...but it just wasn't.

 

 

The final part plays very much like the final part of Ready Player One, in that's it's pure geek wish fulfilment. But Spielberg gave it more flair and style.

 

The Russo brothers are very effective blockbuster film makers though.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

4 minutes ago, Quintus said:

I wasn't talking about an actual enforceable rule though, which wouldn't only be a bit daft, but is also quite different to the term I used above. The phrase rule of thumb refers to a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It refers to an easily learned and easily applied procedure or standard, based on practical experience rather than theory.

 

Of course, but you were talking about the fact that the Avengers series (apparently) fails to adhere to this rule of thumb as a failure on the part of its creators. It doesn't appear to be a creative or financial failure, as the film seems to be going down very well with a huge audience, and it would only be a failure of responsibility if they were trying to sell it as a stand-alone film under false pretenses.

[Chen G. 3,949]

5 hours ago, Stefancos said:

But Spielberg gave it more flair and style.

 

Spielberg knows how to do action. He knows that one of the oldest rules in the book is that any action sequence needs to be staged in such a way that it can't take place anywhere but where it did. For that end, the action needs to explore, impact, interact with and use the environment in which its set.

 

In The Avengers, setting the final battle in New York meant that Hawkeye could fire from atop buildings, that Cap had to save civilians, that cars were being used, etcetra. Ditto the use of Sokovia in Age of Ultron, and even the bland airport in Avengers 2.5. Even Titan in Infinity War, which was akin to the final stage here in that it was all rubble, allowed Thanos to throw a moon at Tony.

 

But this? Nothing.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree, there was no sense of "place" in the final battle.

[Chen G. 3,949]

And it accelerates much too rapidly. The film is substantially longer than any previous film in the series, and is surprisingly light on action. And than, in the final fifty minutes, delivers a 30-minute onslaught with absolutely no reprieve.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It was fine I thought. Its very character based. Much like the whole film actually.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

So clearly there's a lot of back and forth on this new Avengers movie, but all I want to know: can we refer to the previous MCU movies that are essential to its plot as Avengers: Pregame?

 

[Romão 2,274]

I think I only enjoyed two MCU movies: the first Iron Man and the first Guadians of the Galaxy. I tried watching some of the other ones, but after a while I just gave up

[Chen G. 3,949]

14 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Its very character based.

 

Yeah, on the character of Thanos being devolved into your usual Marvel villain...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That makes sense, to an extent.

[Chen G. 3,949]

It does. But still.

 

And the MCU didn't earn the right to steal Edward Longshanks' tactics (you know the one). Made all the more stupid because none of the heroes were harmed by it. Lord knows you can't let that happen in a Marvel movie!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Wait, what?

[Chen G. 3,949]

Spoiler

Thanos, pinned down by Scarlet Witch, orders a bombardment on the battlefield, killing his own troops in the process. Plus, Doctor Strange (I think) shields all the returning characters so none of the heroes are actually hurt in this. Go figure.

 

Dear movie, when you rip off Braveheart, you're making it personal!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Ah yes.

[Chen G. 3,949]

That, plus the relish that the character suddenly exhibits (both in claiming enjoyment in wreaking havoc and in some of the lines "you won't be alive to tell them") really undermine his characterisation from the previous film.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

1 hour ago, Quintus said:

 

I had no idea actually, but then I haven't been following the superhero cinema trend whatsoever and I disengaged from Marvel movies immediately after Guardians of the Galaxy, which I also enjoyed. But my understanding is that once you've seen one Marvel superhero movie, you've seen them all, and at the time I felt I'd had my fill of them.

 

But I still don't think it's especially unfair of a none participant in all this to assume THE AVENGERS SERIES (not THE MARVEL SERIES) would at least be a coherent and cohesive tetralogy of movies in their own right. And I still think it's pretty undexterous and poor that the producers of The Avengers series of movies apparently didn't manage even that basic requisite of franchise movies. The rule of thumb being that a newcomer can generally get along with a movie sequel, and make sense of it enough, without ever having an intimate understanding of what happened in the previous movie. It'll have a degree of accessibility for newbies but hopefully the depth too for those already invested in the grander sweep. This stuff is basic movie writing class really.

Well Endgame is about to be the highest grossing film of all-time. So the producers knew exactly what they were doing. 

 

Its why the MCU has been so successful all these years and DC failed to copy them. It’s because it was deeply seeded from the start what the plan was. How each film would fit in place in the larger puzzle. Audiences eat it up. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah, if this doesn't beat Cameron's, then nothing will!

 

Ep 9 won't beat it.

[Chen G. 3,949]

Have faith in James Cameron!

[Quintus 5,399]

18 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

the producers knew exactly what they were doing. 

 

 

 

Of course they did, that's a given. But do you realise you just wheeled out the oldest internet strawman in the book? It's like me sayin', "well the latest X-Factor winners song is about to go to number one in the charts and the ratings for the show are great, so Simon Cowell knew exactly what he was doing."

 

Yeah these entertainments make a shit ton of cash, but it basically speaks fuck all about the quality of the content.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The last two Avengers films are good examples of franchise film making though.

 

Very calculated though.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

All they want is for Joe to like them.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

6 minutes ago, Quintus said:

 

Of course they did, that's a given. But do you realise you just wheeled out the oldest internet strawman in the book? It's like me sayin, "well the latest X-Factor winners song is about to go to number one in the charts and the ratings for the show are great, so Simon Cowell knew exactly what he was doing."

 

Yeah these entertainments make a shit ton of cash, but it basically speaks fuck all about the quality of the content.

Quality doesn’t matter. Making $$$ does. Honestly it sounds like you’re bummed because you’re missing out on a big pop culture phenomenon. 

[Quintus 5,399]

6 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

Quality doesn’t matter. Making $$$ does. 

 

Posts don't get any more Koray Savasified than this 👍

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Typical iPhone owner!

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

13 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

Quality doesn’t matter. Making $$$ does. Honestly it sounds like you’re bummed because you’re missing out on a big pop culture phenomenon. 

 

Missing out? I'm sure he'll be allowed to buy a ticket if he should hit his head and then feel like seeing the film.

[Quintus 5,399]

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

The Anvengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: Civil War: Guardians Of The Galaxy.

 

2 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Essential:

 

Iron Man

The Avengers

Thor 2

 Avengers: Infinity War

 

You can also add Captain America 1 and 2, if you really feel like it.

 

I've actually seen four of these, ending with Guardians of the Galaxy. So this is not as bad as I was expecting it to be. Assuming I don't need to see the other Guardians movies too, that is.

 

I'd squeeze Ragnarok in, because I fancied it at the time but never got around to it.

 

So basically, all of the movies above, including the Avengers sequels. Where would I insert each Avengers sequel into the sequence?

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

So is that essentially the best way to watch them, in that order? I'd like to know.

 

I'm not crazy about these, but I'd like to try and see the best of them if I can. 

[KK 3,307]

10 hours ago, Quintus said:

Between that and Avengers 2, these prerequisites aren't helpful in motivating me to find out what all the fuss is about with this latest one.

 

I've only watched a handful of the Marvel flicks (certainly not even close to 20), and I definitely did not watch Thor 2 and I managed fine.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

5 hours ago, Quintus said:

 

Posts don't get any more Koray Savasified than this 👍

FYI Endgame is 3 hours long. Might want to skip it then.

[Quintus 5,399]

I heard that, Steef told me. Very off putting!

 

Popcorn movies are out of hand these days.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

That's a titanic length.

[Quintus 5,399]

1 hour ago, KK said:

 

I've only watched a handful of the Marvel flicks (certainly not even close to 20), and I definitely did not watch Thor 2 and I managed fine.

 

Psst, I had a feeling about the sorts of responses I'd be getting earlier on the subject anyway, if you know what I mean...

 

We're talking about trailer analyst extraordinaires here, geeky hobbyists and the like. I knew the info I was asking to be fed would be heavily slanted towards completionism in the replies

 

I bet any fucker could watch these Avengers movies and know whether they're good or not. 

 

"B-but the MCU is a ring cycle made up of several movements within a greater operatic narrative!" You can't just hope to understand its many complexities if you come at it from the wrong phase first!"

 

Hehehe, it's frickin' wise cracks, spaceship pew pew, spandex muscles and merchandise, from where I'm sitting mate. 

[JoeinAR 1,949]

7 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

All they want is for Joe to like them.

And Joe did. He isnt some phoney suck up that shoots a wad over shit like Roma. 

And Chen's take on the last hour is just  ramblings of someone who took film lecture too serious and does not have the necessary tools(yet) to just relax and enjoy a film emotionally. 

 

I guess being jaded is something everyone has to be at some point

 

[KK 3,307]

52 minutes ago, Quintus said:

 

Hehehe, it's frickin' wise cracks, spaceship pew pew, spandex muscles and merchandise, from where I'm sitting mate. 

 

Haha. In-freaking-deed.

 

And don't let them fool you, this ain't no operatic end-of-era master work nor culture-shifting magnum opus.  It's about 30min too long, but it's a fun ride. Designed to work for all the masses I think, fanboys and casual viewers alike.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

12 hours ago, Chen G. said:

 

I don't recall Age of Ultron being too meaningfuly referenced in this film. Watching it is hardly a prerequisite.

It is referred to in that last part of the film you disliked.

[Faleel 5,346]

Ghostbusters II would probably say the

Spoiler

credits

stole from Star Trek.

[Hurmm 91]

I think I've seen all MCU movies except Captain Marvel. 

 

1. Avengers Infinity War

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

3. Thor: Ragnarok

4. Captain America: the First Avenger

 

The first Cap America had a cool retro-futurisric sheen that is quite pleasing to me. Gives it some character that most others lack. For that and for its earnest title character I included in my list of MCU movies I'm willing to watch more than once. The rest... Nah. Once is enough. 

 

I'll get around to watching Endgame a second time some day to see how it ages. But I just rewatched Infinity War yesterday and it is just a more satisfying movie than Endgame. 

[Chen G. 3,949]

2 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

It is referred to in that last part of the film you disliked.

 

Yeah, I know.

 

2 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

And Chen's take on the last hour is just  ramblings of someone who took film lecture too serious and does not have the necessary tools (yet) to just relax and enjoy a film emotionally. 

 

I assure you I do. I really liked what I was seeing for the first two hours. It didn't want to dislike the last hour: I sad that I don't like it.

 

I like liking movies.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That's a bit passive aggressive though, right?

[Chen G. 3,949]

On my part? Hardly.

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

I believe he was referring to the post you replied to.

[Chen G. 3,949]

I've seen worse.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I would never call Joe passive aggressive!

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

I thought you were being ironic!

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Joe is known for many things here on JWFan, his directness and bluntness being around the top of the list!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

This is a fact!

[Fabulin 3,511]

.

 

[Quintus 5,399]

Thank you! Although I'll skip the synopsis reading part.

[Sweeping Strings 2,352]

Avengers : Endgame - not terrible or anything, but overlong (read a couple of things that said it doesn't feel like 3 hours, but that's bullshit ... as Chen G has pointed out, it's kinda light on action which doesn't help) and I think I preferred Assemble and Infinity War.