I went to see it over the weekend. The hype about this movie was incredible and I decided I want to have a go before all the spoilers rage out. Now, for a non-spoiler review, this is what I can say.
- Go and watch it. It’s worth the time and the money anyway. The 3D is good and the story is better than your average SFF movie.
- Don’t expect too much; it’s not the masterpiece of the century. Or the decade. Or… You get the point. It is a decent movie, but that’s all I can say.
- Decent or not, it is a complex movie and, if you have not kept the pace with the events in the Marvel universe, you’ll find yourself lost. Hell, you’ll find it difficult to follow it anyway. There are simply too many characters with their own storylines and things get rapidly messy. (I have posted something to help at the end of this review).
- It’s long, and I mean, long. Way too long for an action movie, especially if you consider this was only chapter one of the whole story.At times, I felt like I needed a nap.
- There are some pretty cool scenes /stuff, and some of the starships and planets are a treat in 3D (i recommend watching it this way even if you’re not a fan of the medium.) And one was based here in Edinburgh (I even remember when I happened because I saw them filming in the Royal Mile).
- There are some pretty cool characters, too. [Not a spoiler because they were in the trailers: Loki. Dr Strange.The Guardians of the Galaxy, especially Rocket Racoon, whom Thor keeps calling ‘Rabbit’ for the whole movie to his dismay. Wakanda and Black Panther.) Having them in the movie made it worth by default.
- On the bad side, I have (more than) reasonable expectations about something pretty annoying coming. For the way things end (and no spoilers as promised here) you can get ready for a serious suspension of disbelief in part two, and I mean serious. And this gets me back to the reason why I got bored with the movie-based Marvel universe in the first place (albeit being a die-hard fan of the comics): it is too much of a mix of science fiction and fantasy for me to stand it. I love both, but not necessarily together in the same piece and not when it’s meant to be serious.
Here’s a much-needed recap before the movie. Enjoy it and let me know your comments.
I’m really not a comic book movie person, but I have occasionally watched the movies on DVD. I have to say, the Dr. Strange movie — the one with Benedict Cumberbatch and the origin story — I found extremely boring. I kept wondering how they convinced Cumberbatch to do it. But then, money speaks, I suppose. I liked the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Wonder Woman was OK. The thing I always seem to find myself thinking during these movies is: if one character had just said this one thing to that other character, this story would not be happening. I’m definitely not the audience for these movies! 🙂
Well, I am a comics person, but in books, not movies, or not that much. Some of them were fine, though -Thor Ragnarok, for example. But yes, I see your point.
Thank you for a great review, Steph. You have given me a clear insight about the film and what it’s about – also its strength and weaknesses.
Depending on your attraction to Marvel, I can recommend it or not… But Thor Ragnarok was definitively better, and the Guardians of the Galaxy 1, too. 🙂
Ah, that nicely puts it into context – thank you, Steph:)
I’m pretty behind with the Marvel Universe so I’m not sure I’ll see this, at least not in the theatre. But wow, it broke sales records everywhere, which is awesome!
Yes, indeed. If you watch the video here, however, you can quickly catch up with the various storylines and still enjoy it!
I saw it yesterday and yes – much as I would like to see some (or all…) of the bad things undone, I do wonder how they will do that and if I will be convinced or feel cheated…
Thanks for sharing! 🙂