#nyanyareviews

Meows:

This part is a bit hard for me, not because the movie was bad -- I dare not say it was bad. It's just that so much happens that when you try to sort through it all, you just don't know where to begin. For starters, the characters show growth from their prior films, yet mixing them with combos -- like Tony and Strange or Thor and Star Lord…or Thor and Rocket…or Thor and "tree" (points if you get the joke) -- add something unexpectedly wonderful that makes each one shine in a different light.

The story-line does a good job of starting in a place where it feels like its picking up after so many phase 3 films, that if you haven't seen them all you don't feel lost. And, yet, the story the Russo brothers built for us viewers, takes us on this roller coaster of joy, fear, pain, relief, rage and somehow acceptance and regret that you don't feel like you're watching a movie. You feel like you're watching something much more grand.

And the lines! Each character has at least three great lines. You can get into fights over who says the best ones in the whole film. I can't even pick my favorites. Everything was just so well written; you can tell this was given a lot of thought. (I'd give anything to see those previous 'real' drafts.)

Growls:

As much as I love this movie -- and I do really love this movie; I'm not even mad about the ending…that much -- but it is a very, very emotional roller coaster. And it makes it very exhausting. I've seen it twice and you feel so drained after watching so many people die -- I mean, 20 minutes in: the remaining shards of Asguard are destroyed, Hulk is literally beaten into submission, and Loki is straight murdered. By, the time you've reached the scene of Dr. Strange being kidnapped, you're just about ready for a nap! Especially with the fight scenes. Not that they were badly done, they were just constant. Like, every 10 minutes is a 20-minute fight. And the film ends up cutting between different fights, so one minute you're praying that Tony can protect Peter and Dr. Strange and before you can blink, you're already watching Black Widow holding her own against a different child of Thanos. (I literally just got tired just remembering those scenes, and they were only a part of the first half!) Plus, there's one scene towards the end where it's very clear that Bruce Banner’s head was CG'ed into the hulk buster suit. It's really the only technical aspect of the movie that really should've been fixed post editing, but you're on such a distressed high that you don't really care.

This movie hurt me. It hurt me so bad, but I cannot stop talking about it. Especially the things I don't understand. Like, why a being like Thanos, after gaining all the powers of the infinity stones, would keep to saving the universe by way of galactic genocide? At that point, he had so many other ways to save life. He could've just took a page from Soos in Gravity Falls and just made all resources infinitely replenishing.

Furthermore, I refuse to believe that Dr. Stephen Mothafuckin Strange saw over 4 million timelines and really felt giving Thanos the time stone was the right call. He had the answer to this problem. Marvel showed us the answer to this problem in the beginning of the movie. That's right, portals. If he really felt he couldn't have destroyed the time stone like Tony told him to, he should've just cut off Thanos' arm. He can't use a left-handed gauntlet if he doesn't have a left hand!

But, all in all. Avengers Infinity Wars will go down as the most epic, most dramatic, most jaw dropping MCU movie in the history of the franchise….

Well, until we get Avengers 4.

Sources for photos not found on tumblr gif search (If anyone finds any good gifs/photos for this movie, please let me know and I will add to source list):

https://www.hindustantimes.com/hollywood/dissecting-the-avengers-infinity-war-poster-why-is-robert-downey-jr-ranked-higher-than-chris-evans/story-2WpqurZb1Sk3b3mniMtBtI.html

Before, I get into it, I just wanted to give a quick heads up for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie or trailers. Eric Killmonger (played by Michael B Jorden) has marks on his upper body. They represent how many kills he’s made in his life. However, they can be a bit off putting for someone who suffers from trypophobia (speaking from experience).  Trypophobia – for those who don’t know – is a reaction (anxious, fearful, panic, etc) to seeing patterns, usually of holes or bumps. I’m not sure if his look is enough to send anyone into a panic attack, but I found my skin crawling at certain points. Just wanted to put that out there. Also, there are two end credit scenes – this should go without saying, but when I saw it the second time, I was amazed at home many people left before the first scene came up. With that being said, let’s get to it!

Black Panther picks up right where Civil War left off. T’Challa has returned to his country of Wakanda to mourn the lost of the previous king/ his father T’Chaka and to perform the ceremony that will officially make him the new King and the new Black Panther. For those who forgot, the mantle of Black Panther is handed down from King to King of Wakanda. During this time two villains begin to plan their attack on Wakanda; Klaw -who we first meet in Age of Ultron as the man responsible for stealing vibrianium from the country- and newcomer Eric Killmonger – who believes he can use Wakanda’s technology to rule the world (that is me severely downplaying his motives, but I can’t share too much without spoilers.)

This is usually the part where start discussing the meows and growls of the movie, but to be honest, I was floored by it’s near perfection. It was actress Angelia Basset who said it best: “[It’s a] beautiful blend of tradition and the future.” For starters, the CG was beautifully done. Technology like the ships and many of the weapons used feel normal – they don’t just scream items made on computers. Smaller, everyday items such as the beads don’t feel out of place in today’s world. They feel like the next step to a smartwatch. The fight scene – which Wallace is usually a stickler for – were amazing. The challenge scenes were well done; the way the camera followed certain hits gave them more depth. They set the tone, pace, and emotional impact of each battle. They even took the character’s builds, abilities, and time into account, making them feel like actual fights.

The characters were well rounded and – to my surprise – had clear understanding of consequences to their actions both on personal and global scales. Most Marvel movies, I’ve found, don’t understand what the ramifications of their actions until it’s literally in front of them (i.e Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver helping Ultron, Starlord learning to control his powers to help Ego, Tony Stark building Ultron, Tony Stark trying to make everyone sign the Accords – pretty much anything Stark does), but the moment T’Challa meets Eric, he knows who he is and what needs to be done to stop him. Everyone is immediately aware that he’s a threat. Not to mention the strong female characters. I would say side characters, but because they’re all so strong, engaging and – for lack of a better word – unique, it feels wrong to just label them as “side characters.”  

Side note, Eric Killmonger is probably the best villain I’ve seen in any superhero movie in a long while. He’s flushed out, well worked, and – to be completely honest – you can’t help but feel something for him. The mark of a great villain is being able to sympathize with them. And, you have no problems doing that, despite his actions. I’ll even admit that he had me crying at one point.

The only real problem I have with this movie has nothing to do with the  Since the movie’s announcement there has been two sides to the racial conflict. I cannot begin to register those that think this movie is racist for having an all African American cast – it reminded me of when NBC put on a live version of The Wiz (ask about that). But, there were those who believe that only people of color should be allowed to watch Black Panther. And, it is honestly the most mind-boggling thing I’ve ever heard. Just because two non POC created the original comics, doesn’t make it any less black. Just because the studio isn’t African American owned, doesn’t stop Black Panther from being deep and moving or stop it from showing the beauty of Afrofuturism. When you let these things stand in the way of seeing a movie of this caliber; you reduce our chances of getting anymore like it to the mainstream. If you are a true comic book fan, you’ll see this movie, you’ll welcome anyone who wants to see this movie, and you will make sure that it continues to do great because it’s just a good movie!

Also, Shuri (T’Challa’s little sister) makes a reference to a dead meme, and it feels a bit forced. It honestly could’ve been left out of the movie all together, but that’s just a small thing.