Well. I've seen it and...I don't really know what to say yet, I just want to hug everyone. God. Me and my cinema buddy are normally chatting for hours after but instead we made lots of inarticulate sounds and hugges a lot. We're seeing it again tomorrow. I strongly recommend a support system for this one. Just. I can even.

I went in unable to cope, I left unable to cope. MY SITUATION HAS NOT IMPROVED.

Edited 2018-04-26 09:46 pm (UTC)

I knew I would never be fully prepared. I’m still amazed at how totally unprepared I was. Definitely requires multiple viewings. The girl sitting a few seats away from me was keeping a “tally sheet.” She showed us while the credits were rolling. Comments were fast and furious with no organization whatsoever. Still getting my thoughts together, but in my heart, I want to take the time stone and go back to May 2012 and relive the good ol’ days. ;)

I have not seen this, but I am spoiled because I can't handle NOT knowing the deathcount and being prepared. (I don't know all the details though!)

Anyhow, can I rec this heartbreaking post-IW ficlet from Tielan? Team related, and just a line or two on Clint and Nat, but wonderful nonetheless.

Seconding the rec on tielans' fic!!

I... I don't even know how to talk about this movie yet. The review I gave to all my coworkers today was "it's CRAZY" and I don't have any other words for it yet! On the other hand, I really don't think I can see it again anytime soon. I saw someone compare the feeling to the night of the 2016 election--I know that's not entirely accurate because I'm positive much of what happened will be undone come Avengers 4, but I can really, really understand where that guy was coming from.

Edited 2018-04-27 10:28 pm (UTC)

Well, there'll be another election in 2020, too... It's the period in between that's hard to swallow. But for us Marvelites, at least there's fanfic!!

Watching it a second time helped me, seeing all the fun bits again, but still with the ouch!

I...yep,I can see the election comparison and with our Brexit vote to: oh they wouldn't really - WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

Edited 2018-05-01 10:01 am (UTC)

So I had originally planned to watch this tonight, but due to RL complications I went yesterday night instead.

My feelings are mixed.

It's not that I didn't like it - I did, a lot. But it was very different from what I was expecting. Most Marvel movies share the same plot arch, more or less, where the main action scenes take place after the second half, with the first half serving as a build-up towards that point. Based on the Russos' work in Civil War, I was looking forward to that build-up. I was counting on that build-up. I was prepared to leave the cinema an emotional wreck thanks to that build-up.

Instead we got full gear action from the first scene, and the whole movie was basically that: action scenes with some dialogue in between. I loved it, don't get me wrong. But I missed the emotional part. The only scene that delivered this to me was Gamora's death.

I liked the shock value of killing off main characters from the very beginning, although this kind of extinguished the surprise element of the finale for me, because it showed me that they meant business here (if you kill Loki in the first scene, what are you gonna do for the finale? BOOM).

I did like the finale, and the fact that the only ones left standing are the original Avengers (five plus Clint) along with only three or four other characters from the MCU. I found it kind of poetic. But it failed to shock me, because it's pretty obvious that this will be reversed, if anything because there are new Spiderman/GotG movies planned for 2019/2020. So all in all, it left me in an awkward place: I know I'm supposed to feel sad, but I can't be, because it sure feels temporary.

I'm really looking forward to the second part next year. The more I think about it, the more I feel that IW1 is just the prelude, and that I should treat both movies as a package after IW2 comes out. It was like watching a TV episode with a really good cliffhanger.

Anyway, I'm watching this again with my sister on Wednesday. But I want to share with you my husband's comment as we were leaving the theater last night: "They basically told you in the trailer what would happen. In time, you'll know what it's like to lose... You just didn't believe them. You underestimated the purple bastard."


Also, I really, really missed Clint. (sighs)

Precisely that. Pretty much all of it, actually. Especially this: "If you kill Loki in the first scene, what are you gonna do for the finale?"

Yes! I very much underestimated what they would do. Even with the early deaths though I didn't see the gut punch of the ending coming - it was the acting, the facial expressions... :'( You're right that this feels very much like part one of two and I expect the dusting to be undone. But. Because of what they've done I still feel like any of the remaining characters could die, or even if dustesld characters return that they could die. I mean, we know Captain Marvel is set in the 90s so other films could be set in the past too.

Except Spiderman. I think Sony will want Spiderman back! Unless they change to a Miles Morales...

Edited 2018-05-01 10:06 am (UTC)

I just got home from seeing it - and I'm still kinda reeling.

I just want to get this thought out there - I'm totally calling that the Cauldron of the Cosmos plays a big part in A4. Or is it IW2?

YES to the Cauldron of the Cosmos. I looked at its powers and it can see alternate realities - so maybe, wth Wong's help, it can unravel the one that Dr Strange saw that made him give up the Time Stone for Tony's life.

So, I was kind of ready. Kind of. Losing Heimdall and Loki in, like, the first 5 minutes was good further preparation, so after that it came down to keeping score and looking for clues for "the way out" that Stephen Strange foresaw. Clearly Tony is key, or he would not have bargained his life for the Time Stone without so much as a whimper.

Some of the deaths were "earned" (Loki, Heimdall, Gamora, Vision). Reversing those will cost Marvel political capital - which they will no doubt be willing to pay if only for the sake of GOTG3. The melt-down ones strike me as most easily reversed, because they basically came down to a question of probability and rolling the dice in the course of a single cataclysmic event that can be undone.

So all this to say it felt like ... half a movie? I wasn't shattered or even speechless, but I sure as heck was impressed by the scale - not to mention all the stuff that you could NOT foresee from the trailers. I'll have to see it again and again (a) to catch all the Easter eggs and the dialogue I missed when the audience got noisy, and (b) just because.

One complaint: I did miss Clint - at least he got a couple honorary mentions, and (part of) a phone call. I could have done without the little smirk Natasha gives when Bruce shows up; I'd seen it in the trailer and had hoped it was for Clint... :( .



Edited 2018-04-29 02:08 pm (UTC)

Ok - I've seen it twice, and really thought I was paying better attention the second time around - but I only caught one Clint mention?

I think Strange has a plan - that this is the one way he saw that th3y could win - but I get the impression that Tony didn't know what it would entail. When Strange is beint dusted he says to Tony 'this was the only way' like a reassurance? And what Tony says earlier about Strange and his morality. I think Strange told them 'here'd what we have to do' and left out the 'and then we all die' part in case anyone would argue about going through with it. I mean, Tony alone on a planet with Thanos having killed everyone IS his worst nightmare.

I think the same about the deaths - reversing the dusted ones as the aim in A4. But I feel that doesn't mean any of them or any of the surviving cast could still die, so thanks for that Marvel! On the others, I feel like Loki is meant to be permenant but he's off screen for a bit and there's space for there to have been some trickery so they could bring him back later if they really wanted to. (Personally I imagine a Kid Loki and Young Avengers team in the distant future, with Cassie and Kate. Would keep the franchise going whilst bringing in younger actors and a younger audience.) Vision has come back in different ways in the comics, so he could do in the films as well. Shuri could have downloaded part of him. And then Gamora seems linked to the Soul Stone. Which, there's something about how in the comics that stone is linked to a pocket universe...

Of course I could just be trying to make myself feel better LOL

Edited 2018-05-01 10:16 am (UTC)

I've now seen Infinity War twice and am still kinda stunned.

I'm going to be making some predictions and want to say that I haven't read any of the comics related to Infinity War (I've only read some of the Black Widow ones), so I don't know what goes on from that.

I saw someone post somewhere that Thor is now the last of the Asgardians - but I swear he told Quill and crew that Thanos destroyed half his people. And that makes me think that he sent them away with Valkyrie to lead them. I don't know how that would have been accomplished - possibly the ship they escaped on (the Statesman) had an escape vessel?

I'm also thinking that the forge on Nidavellier will come back into play - and they'll be forging a second Infinity Gauntlet.

As I mentioned above - I'm calling the involvement of the Cauldron of the Cosmos. It was just too conveniently placed in this movie.

enigma731 has been speculating about Gamora and the SoulWorld from the end of the movie and she makes some good points. Baby Gamora looked awfully satisfied when Thanos showed up. Baby Gamora was really well cast too - I've seen a pic floating around of both her and Zoe in costume and it's adorable.

I want to know where Nakia was!

I'm also dying to know what's going with Clint and Scott - but especially Clint. Time to delve into post-Infinity War fic and see what people are thinking! I know tielan and andibeth82 have written fic already.

The whole theater for my first viewing erupted with a loud "NO!" when Fury was dusted - and then "Captain Marvel!" when that symbol came up.

I really wish Hill hadn't been dusted.

Peter Parker made me cry.

I have a feeling Tony won't survive the next movie - and it goes back to that whole "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." from the first Avengers.

I wanted more Shuri.

What's going on with Hulk? One fight with Thanos and he's calling it quits?

Does anyone know more about the axe Stormbreaker? And the scene where Thor shows up in Wakanda ranks right up there with my favorites.

And speaking of Stormbreaker - I'm torn between thinking that Thor uses Stormbreaker to go to Titan thus finding Tony and Nebula OR Nebula and Tony getting the Guardians' ship flying and heading back to Earth. I'm leaning on Stormbreaker though.

Added to my list of things I never knew I wanted - Bucky picking up Rocket and swinging him around while both are firing guns.

"She's not alone." - 'nuff said. Also right up there with my favorites.

I'm sure I'll think of more later. Thoughts anyone?

It's Monday morning so no time to be coherent (or lengthy) but YES to post-IW fic. I have one cooking that starts with Hill's aborted call to Clint and goes on from there. It will be my first flirtation with death!fic... Ahem.

I think that Clint will come back into action immensely pissed off, because this thing obliterated his whole family. Enter Ronin, the last Avenger, who saves the day.

Agree for Tony. The bad thing with this prediction business is that the studios can't keep RL from providing the fans with hints, so scheduled movies/news about the non-renewal of actors' contracts can give you a vague idea of how things will end up. Unless of course they're trolling us. :D

And you're right about baby Gamora - she did look awfully satisfied in that scene! (I didn't notice, because I was too busy choking up in tears.)

The "she's not alone" scene was pure girl power, I'm telling you. Bloody awesome. <3

Yes, Thanos is all about killing half and I picked up that Thor said half his people were dead. There was the Milano ship that Loki used to catch them up at the end of Ragnarok but also Heimdel says 'All fathers, let the dark magic move through me ONE LAST TIME' or something like that when he summons the bifrost to send Hulk to Earth, so I wonder if he'd been using it to send Asgardians away to rescue them? Because after Thanos leaves he destroys the ship, so that's lights out. I hope that Valkerie and Korg made it!

Not sure if the Cauldron might be a red herring, hmm.

I'd love there to be something around Gamora and the soul stone in A4. As much as I'd like Thanos' butt kicked i'd also like something where he... Maybe he's too set to change his mind, but at least has regret or something. Something where winning doesn't just mean he dies but has something more to it.

I wonder if Shuri might take on the mantel of Black Panther.

Peter was heartbreaking!

Rocket making a comment about Bucky's arm was something me and mu cinema buddy wanted from life. We may have clinged to each other in joy at that moment :D

I wonder if Hulk is upset because he lost when he fought Thanos? And maybe also because they're now fighting alongside Nat again? (Because I have a whole thing about how Hulk is pissed at Natasha, heh)

Thor being able to summon the bifrost with his axe could come in handy.

Edited 2018-05-01 10:28 am (UTC)

I'm also totally going to need to go back and brush up on the Infinity Stones - when/where/what/who was involved with each one.

Reality Stone: The red one, appeared in Thor: The Dark World as Aether, it was the one that possessed Jane Foster. Ended up in the Collector's hands, and we saw how nicely that went down when Thanos found him.

Power Stone: The purple one, first seen in GotG Vol. 1.

Time Stone: The green one, first seen in Dr. Strange.

Mind Stone: The yellow one. It was the one in Loki's scepter and was moved to Sokovia by HYDRA agents before the fall of SHIELD. It gave Wanda her powers, was subsequently used by Tony and Bruce to create Ultron and ended up in Vision's head.

Space Stone: The blue one, or the Tesseract. It was possessed by the Nazis in WWR2 (Red Skull in CA:TFA), used by Loki in Avengers 1, sent to Asgard at the end of the movie and stolen again by Loki at the finale of Ragnarok.

Soul Stone: The orange one. We'd never seen it before. Guarded in Vormir by the Red Skull, after he was transported there at the end of CA:TFA. I think that this will hold the key for reversing the deaths in IW2...

After my second viewing, one (odd) thing really struck me. Do you think it’s possible they’ll dabble in alternate realities in IW2? What makes me wonder is 1) Tony and Pepper’s conversation in Central Park about his “totally lifelike dream” of her being pregnant and 2) Dr Strange’s mention of all the possible outcomes. Maybe we get to see a few options. Maybe we get to see one with Clint and Nat together. I know that’s way too much to hope, but anybody wanna take a stab at writing about that?? ;)

Haha I don't know about one with Clint and Nat together but alternate realities/universes could play a part. I think there's something about the soul stone and a pocket universe. And 'Adam' creates at the ebd of GOTG2 having something to do with alt realities.

So here's a slightly irrelevant trivia for your amusement.

The name Thanos probably derives from the ancient Greek name Thanatos, who was the God of Death. Thanatos literally means death, both in ancient and modern Greek.

So here's the funny part: in modern Greek, the name Thanos is a diminutive for the male name Athanassios, which means immortal. It's actually a pretty common name, like Mike or Kate. Everyone knows a Thanos. My godson is nicknamed Thanos.

So imagine in the theater, we've got a movie about a mad Titan who tries and succeeds to obliterate half the universe, and everyone on screen goes for two hours Thanos this and Thanos that and Thanos is going to screw us and the audience just can't relate and take this seriously, because they can't help but think about their office IT guy or their little cousin or their nice neighbor who occasionally pet-sits their cat.

Edited 2018-04-30 04:57 pm (UTC)

THANK YOU FOR THIS :D

OKAY. So I saw it twice and then had the weekend to muse on it, so some specifically Clint and Nat thoughts:

The answer to ‘where is Clint?’ being apparently ‘not in this film’ amused me actually. And also made me feel a bit...safe? That he wouldn't be messed with in this film, although who knows with that ending! Hopefully he’ll get decent screen time in Avengers 4. I mean, there's not a lot of people left alive so there's space…! Also my cinema buddy suggested maybe A4 will pull back to/or focus on the original 5 MCU Avengers since they're all still around. And I expect a GREAT DEAL of fanfic about where Clint has been and what he’s been up to, just sayin’ ;)

Nat gets some good moments. As much as I didn't like how they handled the Bruce/Nat ‘monster’ scene in AOU and never delivered on the Clint/Nat tone of Avengers, I like that they did acknowledge the AOU Bruce/Nat and didn't just sweep it under the carpet, even with everything else going on. Especially since the ending of AOU and Bruce being Hulk for so long is tied, to me at least, with Hulk feeling angry at Nat and wanting to protect Bruce from her.

(Essentially: she says she care for Bruce and then shoves him off a cliff because ‘she needs the other guy’ more. Because Nat’s character arc in AOU is deciding to be a hero and she thinks out of Bruce and Hulk,Hulk is the hero. Ouch. Although in IW Bruce is the one who does everything…)

Sam’s ‘this is awkward’ is PERFECT :)

Love her being protective of Wanda, the way Cap tosses that spear to her in Edinburgh, her fight scenes… Especially with Okoye and that girl power moment, that Wanda is ‘not alone’ and the three of them fight the female baddie. Also the ‘gross’ lol.

I am also amused that of the Avengers on the run following Civil War Cap has just ripped off his star and grown a beard, Sam’s gear is scuffed up but he's made no attempt to change himself, and Nat is there with a different outfit and blood hair and has made an effort. Boys, you're doing it wrong.

Although Clint and Scott are so undercover that everyone believes they're under house arrest, so… But I bet it’s just that nobody recognises Scott ;)


Edited 2018-05-01 10:45 am (UTC)

Well, I thought the Bruce/Nat thing was, yes, awkward. Even here. Like, as if the Russos knew they'd been handed a turd (sorry, figure of speech) and tried to dispose of it as painlessly as possible but briefly dropped it on someone's shoe. *cough*

OK, tonight I watched it again and I wonder if Bruce does not hulk out because Banner is needed in the next movie, and not the Hulk. Remember in Ragnarok, when he mentioned that he had stayed in Hulk-form for far too long, thus being in danger of this becoming permanent? I wonder if Strange traveled in the past and found a way to explain this to the Hulk, or maybe asked Loki to do some hocus pocus before Heimdall opened the Bifrost. If reversing the deaths involves physics, Banner with his seven PhDs will be essential to the plan.

Also, I'm now convinced that the original six will manage to reverse the deaths but sacrifice themselves, because I like to torture myself like that.

I'm now convinced that the original six will manage to reverse the deaths but sacrifice themselves, because I like to torture myself like that.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT ARGH

;p

I....did not like it. At all. If they were looking to make an anti-Moi movie, they kinda succeeded brilliantly. I liked a few little things here and there, like Okoye and Starbucks, Thor talking to Rocket, and a couple other moments, but it was too grim and joyless for me.

It also totally felt like half a movie with the cliffhanger where they snapped it in half. This made me hopeful, sorta, for the second half, especially if the Russos aren't lying in dropping hints and saying Clint has a much bigger part in it. I'm wondering if they're going to revisit the original Avengers movie, via time travel or otherwise, and if so, if we'll get more Clintasha. I hope we get more Nat & Steve friendship, too, that's one of my favourite things in the MCU. Just more Team Cap, really.

(I feel nostalgic for 2012, and 2014, too....)

I feel you... I think that nostalgia is the prevailing sentiment in the fandom right now.

Okoye was GOLD in this movie! All her scenes, all her lines. :D