MovieNotes: Avengers: Endgame

Title: Avengers: Endgame (IMDB) 

*ing: Thanos, The Avengers, A Raccoon & many other superheroes big and small, but most importantly a Rat. 

Directed By: The Russo Brothers 

Language: English 

Genre: Fantasy, Comic Books, MCU 

Preamble 

The conclusion of a 22-movie saga spread over 11 years. And also resolving the cliff-hanging shocker of a dusty end to last year’s Infinity Wars.

Basic Premise 

The remaining world population adjusts to life after the Snap. While the bunch of heroes try to figure out a way to undo the effects of the Snap and defeat Thanos! 

MovieNotes 

[Spoilers Galore – Intended for those who have seen the movie. Its been a whole week since the movie released and as the $1.2 Bn opening weekend suggests, lots of folks have already seen it. And given the blog's limited readership, this post is unlikely to spoil it for anyone]

Firstly, the questions from Avengers: Infinity Wars. Let’s see whether I could figure out the answers 

• Are they really dead? Seems so, rather in a suspended animation state. 
• If they are not dead, where have they disappeared to? Not answered! 
• How will they return? By using the infinity gauntlet. 
• Is time travel involved? Yes, more on this later. 
• Now that he has achieved his mission of “removing” half of the universe’s population, what does Thanos do next? Destroys the stones, tends to his garden. And is killed off in his very first scene. 
• Does he sit on his throne, wait for the population to grow back to a certain level and snap again? No. 
• Does he use the soul stone to resurrect his loved one? Resurrection is not possible! 
• Does the Snap destroy all living creatures? Yes, half the living creatures disappear. 
• The missing ones – Where were Hawkeye, Antman, Wasp, Valkyrie, Mordo, Hela, the Ravagers? Did they survive the carnage? Will they have a role in the next installment? 
• Hawkeye – At his home with family. Yes. Yes. 
• Antman – In the quantum realm. Yes, Yes. 
• Wasp – Sending Antman into the quantum realm. No. Yes 
• Valkyrie – No clue. Yes. Yes 
• Mordo – No Clue. No clue. No 
• Hela – Seems to have died during the events of Ragnarok.  
• The Ravagers – No idea. No. Yes 
• Why did Dr. Strange not use his power? That was the only way of stopping Thanos! At least as we learn. 
• Why can’t Dr. Bruce Banner change into Hulk? Probably shock. 
• Is it a new trick from the master of trickery, Loki himself? No. 
• Where did the fighting rhinos of Wakanda disappear? No idea 
• And could they not have closed the gap in the dome after a while? No idea. 

Well some answered, many remain unanswered. And now for the highlights reel from a spectacle full of them.

• It all began with a mouse. That’s how Disney went on to become the biggest entertainment empire of all time. Fittingly in their biggest creation – the resurrection of the Avengers began with a mouse! 
• The movie was a fitting farewell to the original Avengers cast. Some sacrificed themselves, some retired, yet all managed to make peace with themselves their past. All this while, the movie also managed to compile a retrospective video of the greatest moments of the team. Though we might still see Thor and Hulk in the future, most of them have handed over their roles! They have passed on their batons! 
• Finally, the Avengers Assembled – the greatest star-cast of all time – even bigger than Ellen’s famous selfie (incidentally taken by Bradley Cooper aka Rocket!) 
• During Infinity Wars, the men had their ego battles sizing each other up, while the women show camaraderie from the word go. Here, they take it to a whole different level. The A-Force (comprising all the female superheroes) assembling and protecting Captain Marvel as she takes over the gauntlet. All except Black Widow - the original Marvel superheroine was missed there. 
• Coming to the biggest problem of the entire spectacle - Time travel or rather time heists, as they are called. Travelling back and forth from the past while passing through the Quantum realm is an easy way to explain things if you ignore the complications it can generate. The movie makes fun of every time travel movie ever made. Yet, it creates its own time travelling loopholes. Like a character from killing off their past self in their present, Or someone choosing to stay back in time, somebody going into the future after they have already been killed! Let’s say it’s a discussion best not entered! [After all it is a comicbook storyline]
• The movie is funny and serious and knows some self-deprecating humor. Also, it can shock you. Like killing off Thanos in the very first scene and realizing there is no remedy left to the situation. 
• Special mentions
• Thor adding weight to his role 
• Captain America wielding Mjolnir after previously pretending to be unable to lift it! 
• The Avengers Assemble battle-cry 
• Captain fighting himself 
• Professor Hulk 
• The ultimate line - "I Am Inevitable"

More Questions 

• So if you need currently inaccessible, trace its history, jump into the past, take it, use it in the present and then go back and restore it into its original timeline? This is just creating big trouble!
• What exactly happened in Budapest? 
• Does the Soul Stone consider self-sacrifice? 
• What about Gamora? Died in previous movie. And is currently in the future where she is already dead? And does it leave a loophole to bring Black Widow back?
• If you kill your past self, what happens to you? 
• Also, what if you slip into a different era and live your life accordingly! 
• Where do the unsnapped people reappear? 
• How do people deal with half the populace reappearing after a gap of 5 years?
• There is a New Asgard created on Earth – Is it a note to the world politicians about how they handle the global refugee crisis? 

What Next… 

• After this hell of a ride, what next for the series? Pretty sure, they might not be able to pull off another saga like this one. Certainly, cross-references will continue. Some going on their own way, some combining, just like in different comic-books 
• What I would definitely like to see – Luis explaining the events with Rocket and Drax in the audience, adding their comments!

Rating: 9/10. For a satisfying conclusion to a saga. One mark taken off because they used time travel as a plot device which just leaves plot holes! 

Previously on MovieNotes: Kissa Kursi Ka

Thanos' Snap & the Aftermath

[Spoilers Ahead – Although it’s been weeks since the movie released, so should not matter] 

In Avengers: Infinity Wars, the central character, Thanos, seeks to bring together all six Infinity Stones, to enable fulfilling his mission to reduce the universe’s population to half, so that the other half can live happily on the remaining resources. The superhero team from across the universe joins forces in a failed attempt to stop him. Thanos succeeds and with a single snap of his fingers, makes every second living entity disappear from the face of this universe. 

What happens next will remain a point of conjecture, till the next movie comes up. In this post lets try to figure out the aftermath from a economics perspective. 

Thanos believes that resources are finite, the universe is overcrowded [a belief shared by every person who spends a considerable part of their day in commute] and the population has grown much beyond sustainable limits. For the betterment of humankind, he intends to destroy half of it. Resulting in the remaining half living happily ever after on effectively double the per capita resources. But does it really work out? 

Assumptions – Only Earth (as we know it) is considered. And the Snap works only on Homo Sapiens. All other life (plant, animal, extra-terrestrial) is spared. 

First, who survives the “snap” and who does not? As per Thanos, it will be a random occurrence. So assume it to be like a coin toss. We don’t know the outcome for each specific event but overall, it will be close to 50-50 heads or tails or in this case, survival or disappearance. 

And what happens to the survivors? Overcoming the initial shock itself will be a herculean task. Every other person just fading away, is too big a shock to easily recover from. They will have to bear with the huge emotional trauma of an unprecedented global scale. Humankind has faced disasters – both man-made (World Wars, atom bombs, terrorist attacks) and natural (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, cyclones) but these have been geographically limited and not on a global level. Here no corner would be spared. 

In the immediate aftermath of the snap, there would be further human losses. Folks in need of care (the sick, the very young and the very old) might not have people around to take care of them. Also, at any given point of time, millions of machines are running under human control (vehicles, industrial plants, utlities etc.), Sudden removal of this control in the immediate aftermath of the "snap", will lead to a multitude of accidents globally. Insurance companies are certainly going to take a major hit on their books from this global catastrophe.

Now coming to the resources bit. Assuming that the natural resources, crops, livestock are spared. Does it mean every survivor now has access to twice the per capita resources? The resource distribution is not homogeneous & neither is the consumption pattern. And more importantly the skill-sets required to manage the resources are differentiated. 

Natural resources – air, water, minerals – would be increased per capita. But managing the utilities will become a major task. 

Perishables will see a lot of wastage, as consumption would be halved (or even less, accounting for trauma and the cascading reductions). 

Supply chains will get severely impacted, with links broken in-between leading to glut of certain items and crunch of others. In an increasingly inter-connected world, breakdown in supply lines for essentials could create major havoc especially in the urban areas.

Labour will be in high demand leading to increased wages. But payment might be in kind and not cash. Barter system might make a sudden comeback. Overall production will reduce due to shortage of workforce. Automation might get a boost, but the number of consumers will also have reduced. So technological innovations might take a back-seat in the immediate aftermath. 

Prices will decline. Real estate will suffer. Owned housing will certainly become more affordable. Other consumer products will also lose selling value. Overall, economy will see a severe deflationary trend. 

The carbon footprint will decline. We might achieve the COP21 targets after all. Less humans will mean more space for the flora and fauna to thrive as well. The ecological balance will undergo a sea-change.

Some nations might have constitutional vacuums, if their leadership disappears. Significant shifts may occur in the geo-political map. Balkanization could become a worldwide phenomenon. Monte Carlo simulations might help predict boundary shift scenarios on the basis of which leadership survives ? 

Overall, the scenario becomes further bleak. Population reduced to less than half, survivors trying to rebuild from the trauma, supply chains broken, breakdown of law and order, territorial disputes, an economy in recession, shift in the ecological balance, climate change under control. In the immediate aftermath, the scenario appears grim for humankind. However, Homo Sapiens are a resilient lot. Life will survive and thrive again but it may take centuries to get things back on track i.e. exploiting our limited resources to the hilt and then some more. And what does the omnipotent, omniscient Thanos do in the interim? Does he wait for the population to grow back to a certain level and "snap" his fingers again or does he undertake regular trims? 

In all, Thanos's snap doesn't quite fufill his objective of making the world a better living place (at least for the humans). And certainly makes no economic sense.

MovieNotes: Avengers : Infinity Wars

Title: Avengers: Infinity Wars (IMDB) 

*ing: Thanos, The Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Black Force, Peter Dinklage (the king of dwarves) and many more

Directed By: The Russo Brothers

Language: English, with a dash of Groot.

Genre: Fantasy, Comic Books, MCU

Preamble

The most ambitious movie crossover ever with the largest assembly of superheroes coming together culminating 10 years of development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Basic Premise

Thanos seeks to bring together all six Infinity Stones, to enable fulfilling his mission to reduce the universe’s population to half, so that the other half can sustain on the remaining resources. The superhero team from across the universe joins forces in an attempt to stop him.

MovieNotes

(Alert: Spoilers Galore – Not that it should matter anymore, after all it has been weeks since the movie released)

First, take a deep breath

Comicbooks are supposed to be fun with the heroes prevailing over the villains and everyone living happily ever after. But our bunch of Avengers just can't seem to catch a break!

What a story and what a movie (yes these are two different things). A movie full of familiar superheroes and yet the villain is the protagonist. Thanos has a motivation greater than from creating havoc or personal gain. He wants to make the world a better place! Believing that the universe is overcrowded [Aside - a belief shared by everyone who spends considerable time in their commute], he wants to take drastic measures, which involves removing every other living thing from the universe at the snap of his fingers! Whether one survived the snap was a totally random event without any bias or prejudice. And thus we have the stunning end (no one saw that coming) where Thanos actually achieves his objective and every other living creature just fades away! Even the end-credits say “Thanos will return”

Questions, and more Questions 

Are they really dead? If they are, this is a bigger carnage than the Red Wedding. Seems unlikely, given the other announced films (unless they cover events prior to Infinity Wars). If they are not dead, where have they disappeared to? How will they return (as seems likely)? Is time travel involved? If yes, as it is likely to be, it is a lazy way out and always unsatisfactory way of closing things out (Honest exception – Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Now that he has achieved his mission of “removing” half of the universe’s population, what does Thanos do next? Does he sit on his throne, wait for the population to grow back to a certain level and snap again? Or does he use the soul stone to resurrect his loved one (if resurrection is possible, that is, and the sacrifice can be undone?)

Does the Snap destroy all living creatures (including trees and animals) or just human beings and related ones (it does affect Groot)? If yes, then we have half the population left with half the living resources, but with more individual space!

The missing ones – Where were Hawkeye, Antman, Wasp, Valkyrie, Mordo, Hela, the Ravagers? Did they survive the carnage? Will they have a role in the next installment? How convenient for the Marvel producers, any Contract dispute, and the character is just “snapped” off!

Why did Dr. Strange not use his power? After all, he managed to bore Doramammu to submission. He envisaged only one scenario of stopping Thanos. But just handing over the stone seems quite a convoluted way of stopping him.

Why can’t Dr. Bruce Banner change into Hulk? Is it a new trick from the master of trickery, Loki himself. After all, Loki dying in the opening minute of a movie, just doesn’t seem right.

Where did the fighting rhinos of Wakanda disappear? And could they not have closed the gap in the dome after a while?

Learnings (or not)

• Groot is a full-fledged language in itself. And the University of Asgard has an elective course in it, which has been taken by Thor! Does it imply that there are more Groots in the universe?
• Thor is 1,500 years old. Quite a long life. But the last 10 years have been terrible for him. That’s why should not have come to Earth.
• What happens when superheroes are brought face-to-face? Bring two males face-to-face, a huge ego battle follows – Thor/Star-Lord or Iron Man/Dr. Strange. While the heroines show immediate camaraderie – a la Battle of Wakanda.

Others 

• So, the country of Wakanda opened up to the world and became the battleground for an inter-galactic war! Wonder what the citizens must be thinking of these turn of events.
• Vision is an android, i.e. a programmed robot. Not a human being or a living species. And is in a relationship with the Scarlet Witch! Conclusion - Westworld folks have infilitrated the MCU!
• Nobody sees Rocket as a raccoon. Poor fellow is called a rabbit here!
• The biggest cheer from the audience came when Captain America makes his first appearance on-screen. And to think Chris Evans has been shunted down in the end-credits to 5th now!
• Have to give credit to the MCU folks. They show Hulk running in Wakanda, in the trailers but in the movie he doesn’t appear in Hulk form! Now that’s an anti-spoiler there!
• The older ones survive, while the newer ones fade away. Just when we expected the opposite to happen. Remember reading Alistair Maclean's Force 10 from Navarone, where the new recruits die, while the old hands are left standing!
• Captain Marvel – she is coming, but is she the destroyer of Thanos and savior of half of the universe’s populace? Will have to wait this one out.

And now for the long wait…

2019 can’t come soon enough. The Game of Thrones will come to its epic conclusion and so will the Avengers! Hmmm… it’s a long year’s wait for the fandoms.

Rating – 9/10. For delivering on the hype. And making you eagerly await the next installment.

Previously on MovieNotes: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Misssouri 

MovieNotes: Black Panther

Title: Black Panther (IMDB) 

*ing: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Danai Gurira

Director: Ryan Coogler

Language: English, mixed with some Wakandian

Genre: Comic Books, Fantasy, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Basic Premise

Wakanda - a tiny nation, in the heart of Africa, masquerading as a poor third world country, but in reality a vibranium-powered technologically advanced civilization. Wakanda, faces leadership challenges and questions its own place in the world.

MovieNotes

Another good origins story from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel producers do know how to bring in new characters, bringing fresh air to the increasingly bloated Marvel Universe, while simultaneously linking it to the main chain of events. 

A good storyline, with a dash of humor, a worthy antagonist, a setting which is a visual delight (even though it’s all CGI), slickly shot action pieces (who wouldn’t love a battle scene featuring charging rhinos) and all of it backed by good acting. All the ingredients in the right proportions making for a fun ride for the viewers. If the story has a larger message playing out in the real world context, even better. And, this is where Black Panther succeeds.

First, about our villain. If told from Killmonger’s perspective, it would make an even better story (with minor changes). Young boy, grows up far away from his home, seeks vengeance for his father’s murder at his uncle’s hands, returns and takes over the throne and then puts out the kingdom’s hidden technology to greater use for benefiting the cause of all African origin people across the globe! That would make for a hell of a story! But, unfortunately, he shows lots of villainous tendencies, so Prince T’Challa is our righteous hero.

Which also brings us the key question? Who is the real villain in the story? In my opinion, that’s King T’Chaka. Kills his brother (partially justified) and abandons his nephew (not justified), trying to keep all of Wakanda’s vibranium fuelled technology to themselves (very questionable) and not taking in refugees (that’s a contemporary thorny issue). Certainly the real villain of the story.

Probably, the reason why no one in Wakanda seems to be grieving his sudden demise! Except for his son, and that too very briefly. Otherwise, all of Wakanda seems to be very excited about crowning of a new king!

Which brings to the crowning. When taken at face value, it seems a very democratic process. After the passing away of the previous king, his son is anointed the new king. However, there is an open-to-all invite for any interested candidate to challenge for the crown in a winner-takes-all one-on-one combat. However, the challenger has a major handicap, the crown prince receives a booster vibranium dose just before the battle while the challenger does not! And our friend Killmonger, overcame this handicap as well. Again, why is he not the hero of the story?

In today’s times, cinema has become more than just a visual story-telling medium. And here lies Black Panther’s biggest success. It is a politically charged film, talks about slavery and Black Power, the refugee crisis, world with less borders, inclusion in sharing technology and resources, while painting a vision of a brighter future for the whole world! All this without going into a preaching mode and ensuring that it stays a comic book film at its core. The reason why #WakandaForever is fast becoming a rallying cry across the world. 

Overall, there are very few links to main cinematic universe, although end-credits suggest that the action will now shift to Wakanda. Now eagerly waiting for Infinity Wars to hit the screens.

Rating – 9/10: A fun ride and a visual delight.

Previously on MovieNotes: Thor: Ragnarok 

MovieNotes: Thor: Ragnarok

Title: Thor: Ragnarok (IMDB)

*ing: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson et al

Director: Taika Watiti

Language: English

Genre: Comic Books, Fantasy

Basic Premise

Thor finds a new claimant for the Asgardian crown, his older sister Hela, whom he was not aware of.

MovieNotes

Just when the Marvel movies were getting a tad repetitive and boring, comes Thor: Ragnarok, a great mixture of action and humor.

Loki has moved over to the right side (he can switch back anytime, though). So the good folks at Marvel found a better villain in Hela. Biggest hamstring of Marvel movies has been weak villains, but this one certainly was not. Also, less screen time, limited dialogue and strong action for Hela helped in building up the right menace. Hela even threw in some management jargon for her "executioner" to be an executioner of her vision!

Special highlight was the background music while Thor, Valkyior and Hulk take up the fight. Fight sequences should be entertaining.  As should the one-line exchanges between the major characters. After all this is a comic book adaptation.

Enough material to build on the Universe. And lots of questions. Did Hela die? Why does the Grandmaster look uncannily like the Collector, although played by different actors? What about the Infinity Stones? Does Thor get a new Mjolnir? Will Hulk change back into Dr. Banner again? Did they land up in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" planet?

Many new questions. And they did not answer how Loki was still alive?

And finally, about the play within the film. A pretty strong starcast for such an insignificant scene! Was that an Easter Egg or do we just take it at face value of some big names having fun?

Rating - 8/10. A fun watch.

Previously on MovieNotes: Newton

MovieNotes: Spider-man: Homecoming

Title: Spider-Man: Homecoming (IMDB)

*ing: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr.

Director: Jon Watts

Language: English

Genre: Superhero, Comics

Preamble

And here comes one more superhero movie. And this one is about the rebooting the Superhero which launched the superhero craze of the last 15 years. 

Basic Premise

Peter Parker, fresh from his adventures with the Avengers is back at school. Trying to save the world while also attempting to survive growing up in the real world.

MovieNotes

• Given Spider-man’s age (he is 15), the movie seems a cross of superhero and teen movie genres. And providing the best of both worlds at the same time. 
• Spiderman: Homecoming is set well within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with multiple references to the previous ones, while setting a platform for the future ones as well.
• The Acting – Tom Holland is superb as the boy who would be Spider-man. Reducing the protagonist's age was the best thing done by the makers. (Apart from not killing Uncle Ben again in the reboot).
• Finally we get to see a decent villain in the Marvel Universe with Michael Keaton putting in a good turn as the Vulture [Aside – from Batman to Birdman to Vulture, interesting turn of roles]
• Plot Hole Alert – How does Spider-man survive the flight and its landing?
• 15 year old Spider-man tries to tell the world about the evil forces, yet nobody seemingly takes him seriously. Reminds one of Harry Potter in the Half-Blood Prince.
• The use of Captain America to provide Public Service Announcements is hilarious to say the least. Especially the post-credits one, which does test your “patience”.
• Pepper Potts appears for a few seconds and yet Gwyneth Paltrow makes it fourth on the Credits List!
• Random India Connect – Tony Stark attends a wedding in India while at the same time “remotely” rescuing his mentee from the evil forces.

Rating – 8/10. Fun to watch. A light-hearted affair instead of the brooding superheroes that we are getting increasingly accustomed to.

Previously on Movienotes: Bahubali 2 

MovieNotes: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Title: Avengers: The Age of Ultron

*ing: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, James Spader, Paul Bettany and many more

Director: Joss Whedon

Language: English

Genre: Comic Books

Basic Premise

Superheroes have teamed up to save the world. Some of them accidentally create a monster whose idea of saving the world is to destroy the people living on it. Superheroes successfully defend humankind and destroy this monster. 

In the process also linking up stories for the further development of the “cinematic universe”.

MovieNotes

The Theory of Movie Evolution - Once upon a time, stand-alone movies used to be made, then came the sequels and prequels which evolved into movie franchisees and now as a final logical step in the evolutionary chain, they have started linking together and transforming into cinematic universes.

Marvel started an ambitious project of recreating their comic book universe into a movie universe. Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor came together with SHIELD, Black Widow and Hawkeye to form the Avengers. The highly successful assembly of superheroes led to bringing in more superheroes and super-villains, creating inter-connecting plots, cross-referencing characters and events, planting Easter eggs across movies and has culminated in creating a larger than ever assembly. Only they are not going to stop as plans are afoot to bring in more and more characters into the Avengers group. Am not sure till how long the audiences would be able to keep pace with the ever expanding storylines.

Before I digress any further, back to the Age of Ultron [Aside - But they never reveal Ultron’s Age]

The film starts by throwing you into a fast paced, action packed sequence with all the Avengers playing their parts in their mission. The beginning itself feels like a good climatic scene. Only it is just a precursor to more action coming your way for the next two hours.

Key Message: People in highly critical roles should not try to abdicate responsibility. Otherwise even their best intentions might end up creating an Ultron-like monster. Also, the human mind is its own worst enemy.

Favorite Character Arc: I liked the development of the Hawkeye story. The character without any real superpowers and fights with bow and arrows against robots and software. (The irony of which is pointed out by Hawkeye himself). 

Learning: How do you control the Hulk? (a) try to hammer sense into him, or (b) sing him a lullaby (an approach previously used in King Kong).

Favorite Line: “He is fast, She is Weird”. A very succinct description of the Twins; who for commercial reasons are referred to as “Enhanced” and not “Mutants” (because mutants are in X-Men movies, whose rights are held by a different studio)

Favorite Scene – The Avengers trying their hand at lifting Mjolnir and the look on Thor’s face when the hammer seemed to move when Captain America tries to lift it.

Nice to see Andy Serkis play a human character, although in a very brief role.

Some of the actors seem to be wanting to retire their characters out in this over-stretched out universe. But whether they continue or not, the Show will go on.

Rating – 7/10. This cinematic universe has become over-spread out and is becoming unmanageable for audiences. But good action interspersed with witty one-liners manage to keep the interest going on for the next installment.

Previously on MovieNotes – Furious 7