AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Release Date: Malaysia, 24 Apr 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 3:01

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle

Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo 

Screenplay: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely 

WARNING: Eventhough this is a spoiler-free review, I would still recommend you to turn away if you've not watched Avengers: Endgame and especially the last movie Avengers: Infinity War as I'll be making references to the events that happened in Infinity War. If you want a full-on 100% spoiler-free experience, avoid any sort of reviews, commentaries and even crowded places. 

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Still here? Ok, you've been warned. 

AVENGERS: END GAME picks up almost immediately after the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War. With whoever is left, the Avenger assemble once more in an attempt to undo Thanos' actions. 

"Whatever it takes"

The story structure to this film is clearly broken into 3 parts. 

1. The first one showcases whatever's left of our superheroes; all of them tries to move on with their lives but just can't.    
2. The second part focuses on our superheroes trying to undo what Thanos did.
3. The showdown. This part deals with the consequences of trying to undo what Thanos did.   

I like the first two parts because it feels like a drama. Our heroes are the most "human" here instead of the usual explosions and fights. I've not seen anything like this in any of the MCU movies. It's moving and affecting thanks to the performances of our ensemble cast, especially from the original Avengers.  

The usual signature random funny scenes are present here thanks to The Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Don Cheadle's War Machine but overall, the atmosphere of this movie is bleak.

I also like the approach that the filmmakers took for the middle section of the movie. Let's just say it feels like a "Best Of" episode but with a fresh take on it.  

"Why so serious?"

Did the filmmakers take any risk in this outing in comparison to the last one? Yes, they did. 

Although not as "shock-to-the-system" impactful as Infinity War, but this movie still carries an emotional punch to the gut. In fact, I was "punched" a few times. 

Overall, comparing the two latest Avengers movies, Infinity War has a stronger narrative and is more focused. The stakes felt really high. Endgame does a good job in mixing the quieter dramatic elements with big special effects sequences but there are some pacing issues here and there, and a few things to nitpick. Also, I had a lot of questions after the film but thankfully (don't click if you've not seen the movie!) I got most of the answers from this link. 

In conclusion, Avengers: Endgame is a super satisfying ending for me that has the right balance of closure and setup for future installments for some characters. 

RATING: 9/10 

(this "9" is a shade lower than the "9" I gave for Infinity War)

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Malaysia, 25 Apr 2018)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:29
Cast:  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Bradley Cooper, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista
Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Screenplay:Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Passage taken from the Scriptures regarding the Rapture:

"Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."  Matthew 24:40-42

Indeed AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was a spiritual experience for me! It felt like watching Armageddon unfold in-front of me, where the conflicts and battles are of Godly proportions. And the lives of the human race and other beings in the universe are at stake as our heroes are running out of time to save them.

What's this movie about?

Earth's mightiest heroes and other heroes from the galaxy have to team-up to prevent Thanos (Josh Brolin) from acquiring five infinity stones; which, if united, will give him so much power he could wreck the entire universe with the snap of his fingers.

What I like about this movie?

• The wait (10 years in the making) was worth it! This overall film is just one big satisfying climax. 
• Thanos. A protagonist is only as good as the antagonist. To me, this is actually Thanos' movie. He is not your traditional big bad villain who's out for power and dominion as his higher calling for his madness is definitely debatable. He's like this tragic Shakespearean figure. He's way more complex than what we've seen in the trailers. Brolin's performance here is very memorable. 
• The danger is real. I was complaining that Captain America: Civil War had no consequences whatsoever. Despite the massive trashing and bashing, no one really died. But in this movie, there are major deaths right from the start (kinda reminds me of the animated motion picture Transformers opening scene) and it sets the tone for the entire movie. Whenever Thanos appears, you know sh t is going to happen.
• The continuity is excellent. All the superheroes from Thor to the Guardians of the Galaxy carried the same style they had embodied in their standalone movies. These characters just picked up smoothly where they left off. The Russo brothers deserve high praises to be able to juggle all the different characters in this mammoth of a movie while still maintaining their unique personalities. 
• The pairing choices. It's a brilliant decision by the filmmakers to put different characters in a few core groups and sending them off in their own mini missions before getting them all back together. The choice of which hero to pair with whom made a lot of difference. For example, the banter of the egos between Iron Man (Downey Jr) and Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) was fun to watch. 
• The battle scenes. In most Hollywood movies, one can't really see the fight scenes with all the shaky and stylistic camera work. But in this movie, you can clearly see what's going on.
• Balance. There seems to be a good balance of almost everything; a solemn mood with fun bantering, loud mindless battle scenes with quieter dramatic moments. 
• The surprising ending. There was no evil "ha ha ha" gloating. Just like that, it was all over. 

What I didn't like?

• There isn't much actually except perhaps knowing that this is a comic book movie after all. I just hope the filmmakers don't undo much of the satisfying and ballsy ending of this film in the as-of-yet unnamed "Infinity War" sequel (2019).
• Okay maybe one more. I'm sure some audience who doesn't know much about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies could still follow what's going on but I think they will be bored out of their mind as half of the time, they would be wondering who's who. But this film was made for the fans or at least for movie goers like me who have been following the MCU movies. 

Despite being filmed simultaneously with the sequel, Avengers: Infinity War doesn’t feel like half a movie like Hunger Games or Harry Potter. Eventhough not much is resolved, it still feels like a complete movie. One thing’s for sure, I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel!

RATING: 9/10 

THOR: RAGNAROK (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:13
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins
Director: Taika Waititi
Screenplay: Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher L. Yost

Oh wow. There's just so many things to sing praise about THOR: RAGNAROK I don't even know where to start. Well, let's just start with the overall reaction.  You know when someone asks you how was a particular movie and you would reply with an auto-response, "Yeah...it was fun"?

Well for Thor: Ragnarok, it's ACTUALLY really fun and enjoyable!

But most of all, this third standalone Thor film is hilarious! At times, I felt the overall tone was heavily inspired by Deadpool. Throughout the movie, I was thinking to myself, "How did Waititi get away with all these jokes?? I thought Marvel movies have a certain template the director must follow or else they would be fired/leave due to 'creative differences'?"

The comedy keeps on rolling, one after another. And the range is wide covering wit, self referencing jokes, gags, slapstick and meta humour. Thankfully, most of them lands and works really well.

In terms of the plot, Thor (Hemsworth) tries to stop Hela, the Goddess of Death (Blanchett) from destroying his kingdom, Asgard. But he accidentally goes on a detour to the planet Sakaar, where he is enslaved by the Grandmaster (Goldblum) and made a gladiator, and is forced to fight The Hulk (Ruffalo).

That said, as entertaining as it is, this is not a perfect movie. There were times I really wished the filmmakers didn't go overboard with the jokey tone but balances it out with some really serious emotional moments. There was probably one or two of such scenes but it was few and far between. And the villain was forgettable.

However, as for the performances, thanks to Waititi, he was able to get Hemsworth into a comedic groove, making his character appearing like a charming male dumb blonde (which I think is perfectly fine!). Ruffalo's fish out of water moments were absolute gold. A special shout-out to Tessa Thompson's character Valkyrie - oh my, she's so hot! Her charismatic performance here reminds me of a female Han Solo. Even the director himself appears as a memorable trash talking pile of rocks. And watch out for the cameos!

The action scenes are good but what's even better is how good this movie looks. There is this flashback scene of The Fall of The Valkyries which is absolutely stunning. But what's EVEN better is the game-like synthesizer infused soundtrack and the use of Led Zeppelin's classic, "Immigrant Song". Yes, that's THE song used in the trailer and it actually appears in the movie!

Indeed, the third time is the charm.

RATING: 8.5/10

NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (2016)

Genre: Thriller
Running Length: 2.09
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Morgan Freeman, Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine, Jay Chou
Director: Jon M. Chu
Screenplay: Ed Solomon, based on a story by Ed Solomon & Pete Chiarelli

NOW YOU SEE ME 2 is basically more of the same of the first one. Not that I'm complaining because the predecessor was such a guilty pleasure but I reckon the freshness is gone in this sequel. In other words, this second time round it has lost some of its magic. How many times can one get excited to see a woman get sawed into 3 parts, right?

To be fair, the filmmakers added a heist angle into this sequel to raise the stakes for our band of magicians. And the magic tricks are "bigger, better and shinier". Plus the location is more exotic; Macau and London. Somehow it feels like the studio is trying to do what Fast Five did to the Fast and Furious franchise.

Unfortunately, it didn't do it for me as some of the magic tricks are just too "kwa cheong". The scene where they tried to smuggle out a card sized god-like computer circuit board (which incidentally is the main plot of this movie) in a room full of soldiers is so over-the-top I couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Even the twist at the end of this movie feels out of place where else in the first movie, its big reveal gave me the "Wow, that was really smart!" response.

As for the performance of the actors, it felt like they were just spitting out their dialogues and having lots of fun. You would think that such a power cast of Oscar nominees and winners would at least add a touch of class to this sequel but overall, the whole experience just feels cheap. This is evident especially when the actors have to explain how an illusion is done. Mark Ruffalo is probably the only one not phoning in his performance and yes, Jay Chou IS IN the movie in a now you see me, now you don't role.

Rating: 5.5/10

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)

Genre: Action/Adventure
Running Length: 2:21
Cast:  Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, James Spader, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Director: Joss Whedon
Screenplay: Joss Whedon

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON plays it safe. Most summer tent pole sequels tend to up their offering ie. more of the same but bigger explosions, more body counts or more over-the-top action sequences (think the Transformers franchise) but Age of Ultron is just...more of the same. Granted that there are some interesting camera work but the action scenes are more frantic than exciting. Although the big battle CGI laden final scene is loud and energetic (which echoes Zack Snyder's Man of Steel wanton city carnage), it's just way too long and boring. I was actually fidgeting in my seat waiting for the movie to be over. Thankfully, the quieter moments paid off especially scenes involving the characters who don't have their own franchise. And they are given more screen time and back story. Although the love affair between Black Widow and Bruce Banner/Hulk feels forced, it's still pretty sweet. And Hawkeye's "secret" do lead to an emotional payoff at the end of the film. However, the "A-list" superheroes do not fare as well; Robert Downey Jr's Ironman seems to have lost his panache, Chris Evan's Cap Am is wooden and Chris Hemsworth's Thor just stands around looking handsome and spewing out funny one-liners. Although Ultron is somewhat an interesting villain because of his "daddy issues", his big bad evil plan is lame and overly convoluted. Overall, if the film makers could have just taken some risk to challenge its predecessor, this movie could have turned out to be less lazy.

Rating: 6/10

FOXCATCHER (2015)

 

Genre: Drama
Running Length: 2:14
Cast: Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave
Director: Bennett Miller
Screenplay: E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman


"The father figure is something I love, but also suffocate from and want to work against." Ang Lee

FOXCATCHER is not your typical inspirational sports movie. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's a dark drama which explores the effects of isolation, the search for significance and the absence of a strong father figure on human nature. What's really disturbing about this film is that it's based on true events. Although the setting is based on the Olympic sports of wrestling, but the narrative focuses more on the relationship among the principals' played by Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. Carell plays Mr Du Pont, one the wealthiest man in America - and I must say, he deserved to be nominated as Best Actor this year. At times, the shoddy make-up was a little distracting but nevertheless, "Carell the comedian" completely disappeared into his character here. He is pathetic, awkward and unpredictable - a coiled serpent waiting to strike. In fact, Foxcatcher's main draw is its dreadful atmosphere - the whole time, I felt that something bad is going to happen anytime. And that's a testament to great filmmaking. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are equally solid here. Those looking for a feel-good sports movie about an underdog who overcomes all odds is recommended to look elsewhere as this is a very mysterious but fascinating psychological study on the warped side of human beings. 

Rating: 8/10