AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Robert Downey, Jr.    Chris Evans    Chris Hemsworth    Paul Rudd    Jeremy Renner

Scarlett Johansson     Mark Ruffalo     Brie Larson   Bradley Cooper    Tilda Swinton    

Don Cheadle     Karen Gillan     Zoe Saldana     Tilda Swinton     Gyneth Paltrow

Chadwick Boseman     Danai Gurira     Letitia Wright     Elizabeth Olsen

     Endgame is quite the finale to Marvel Comics’ Avengers series.  The creators (Anthony and Joe Russo, directors) manage to reprise almost all the roles in previous films, and there are reunions as touching and significant as the beginning of this last season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The film starts with an eerie reminder of Thanos’ (Brolin) intentions in Infinity Wars (to destroy half the people on earth to deal with over-population) by showing Hawkeye (Renner) training a young woman in shooting arrows while his wife calls on family members for a picnic lunch.  Suddenly, everyone but Hawkeye disappears.

     Five years later, some of the Avengers are congregating to come up with a solution. But part of the problem is that some have become content; for instance, Tony Stark (Downey) is basking in family life with Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and their young daughter Morgan.  When some of the others—specifically Banner/Hulk (Ruffalo)—think they have the solution:  A time machine that will take them back to the time before Thanos stole the stones, retrieve them, and use them to get back the people destroyed and create a different world.

     They have a difficult time rousing Stark/Iron Man from his contentment and risk losing those he holds most dear; but, of course, the whiff of a challenge and an adventure reels him in.  From then on, a full contingent of the Avengers [Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America (Evans), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Johansson), Ant-Man (Rudd), and Hawkeye] test and use their knowledge of time travel to reverse Thanos’ delusional plan.  

     They are indeed able to travel back in time, but it won’t be as simple as they expect. There will be many reunions, but the Avengers will encounter some of the same challenges they thought were over. The special effects for time travel will be a highlight of this story.  The viewer experiences just exactly what we imagine it would be like if we were so privileged.  

     Then, when you get to what looks like the last big battle (and it goes go on and on), don’t settle back in your chair or get ready to leave; much more is coming to create a satisfying conclusion in terms of closure—not necessarily satisfaction with what does occur.

     As with most Marvel Comics movies, this one is overly long, bloated by the obligatory fight scene toward the end, and of course a fistfight scene is required as always.  But in its favor, the story is exciting and suspenseful; the special effects outstanding; and the humor almost always really  funny.  Also, women have stronger roles than in the past.

Endgame is a worthy conclusion to the Avengers series.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

Paul Rudd     Evangeline Lilly     Michael Pena     Walton Goggins     Bobby Cannavale    Michael Douglas

Judy Greer     Michelle Pfeiffer    Laurence Fishburne     Randall Park     Hannah John-Kamen     Abby Ryder Fortson

     Paul Rudd is one of my favorite actors, so I was already inclined to like this Marvel Comics film, and I wasn’t disappointed—especially when he as Scott Lang is playing a fantasy game at home with his daughter Cassie (Fortson). (He is on home arrest following his mistakes in Captain Marvel: Civil War). Right off the bat, though, we get a little surprise, which sets up the rest of the story nicely.  Overall, it’s appealing in its parent-child exchanges, its pairing up emotional connections with scientific inquiry, its attention to the needs of different characters, its portrayal of characters who change across time and bridge the gap between them and their competitors, and its insertion of humor that fits in seamlessly with the action (a somewhat rare feature in action films).  The humor stems from the well-developed characters and their predictable tendencies, rather than being tacked on by a jokemeister.

     The film follows up on its two previous stories about Ant-Man, Ant-Man(2015) and Captain Marvel:  Civil War(2016). In his plea deal with the FBI, Scott has agreed to be on house arrest with an ankle bracelet and have no contact with Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), the designer of suits that can shrink/grow a person to tiny or huge personifications, or to Hank’s daughter, Hope (Lilly), who as Wasp collaborated in the previous adventures.  Dr. Pym and Hope have suffered similar consequences.  They only agree to collaborate with Hank at this point because he may have something essential they are seeking.

     The intrigue in this story involves this skittish relationship between Scott and the Pyms; Scott and the FBI monitors led by Jimmy Woo (Park)—although, sadly, the FBI does not come off looking very good in this story; the bad guys who want to steal Hank Pym’s technology, led by Sonny Burch (Goggins); and Ava (John-Kamen), a “ghost” character who is also after the technology. Additionally, we see an old rivalry surface between Dr. Pym and his previous colleague, Dr. Bill Foster (Fishburne).  

          Part of the fun is listening to the scientist characters (the Pyms and Foster) reel off technical jargon that we can only imagine their meaning, such as “the quantum realm”, molecular disequilibrium”, and “wasteland beyond the quantum void.”  These are probably defined in the Marvel fiction—and they may be currently accepted terminology—but this reviewer simply enjoyed the hints about their meaning, and Scott’s impatience in trying to understand them: “Do you really just put the word quantum ahead of everything?”

       Outstanding to me in Peyton Reed’s production are the colorful, descriptive sets and special effects, the music (Christophe Beck), and the actors.  Oh, the actors!  Rudd, Douglas, and Fishburne perform at their usual fine level, and it’s refreshing to see less well-known actors deliver.  The Wasp played by Evangeline Lilly (Ant-Manand Hobbitmovies) shows a range of emotions and good chemistry with Rudd. Walton Goggins is appropriately cunning and sly as a thief.  Abby Ryder Fortson is delightful as Scott’s child Cassie.  And stand outs are Hannah John-Kamen (Game of Thrones,Ready Player One) in her mysteriousness and physical abilities and Michael Pena as Scott’s hilarious current business partner and wannabe hero.

This fast-paced entertaining story should keep fans of Marvel superheroes happily engaged.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ANT-MAN

Paul Rudd   Michael Douglas   Evangeline Lilly   Corey Stoll   Bobby Cannavale   Michael Pena

I was intrigued with much of the plot in Ant-Man, the atomic research and the technology of shrinking a human into a tiny creature.   That thousands of these ants could band together to perform amazing feats is both comical and satisfying from the standpoint of the power in numbers.  That they would need inside and outside control from humans fits nicely into the paradigm.  The point about the dangers of weapons being in the hands of unscrupulous or self-serving characters is painfully relevant to the real world of today.

           We see Scott Lang (Rudd), a mechanical engineer, being released from prison, and gradually hear his story about being a whistle-blower for noble reasons, his using some poor judgment, and his determination not to get involved in any kind of illegal activity again.  A bit of comedy is provided by his friends in crime who welcome him with open arms and already have jobs up their sleeves for him. 

          Scott’s life is complicated in that he is not allowed to see his young daughter until he gets a job and an apartment and starts paying child support.  But that is easier said than done when he has a criminal record.

           The other path of the story is about a wealthy inventor, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) and his grown daughter Hope (Lilly), from whom he is estranged.  Pym has a formula that he has withheld from everyone else because it is so powerful he thinks chaos would result if it were in the wrong hands.  It has to do with an adult putting on a suit and acquiring the ability to transform into a tiny ant that can easily slip into spaces and that, despite its size, has the power of the adult.  And moreover Pym has recruited various species of ants to follow the bidding of The Ant-Man.  His former protégée Cross (an apt name, played by Stoll) is infuriated because Pym won’t share the formula with him, and he has subsequently taken over his company by influencing Hope, the chairman of the board, to help him displace Pym.  But when Cross is about to work out the formula on his own and sell the technology to men whose motives are untrustworthy, Hope gets worried and consults with her father.

           Through Pym’s machinations, these two stories come together because he wants Scott to be the one to wear the suit.  Hope is not happy about this at all, because she has clamored to do that herself; but her father refuses because it might endanger her life.  A plan is ultimately worked out, and most of the film is about the struggle between the Cross and Pym camps—Pym trying to thwart Cross’s attempts to gain the technology and Cross desperately wanting to close the deal with the buyers.

           The Marvel/Disney produced film directed by Peyton Reed is visually beautiful (cinematographer Russell Carpenter) and the special effects a delight to see.  A sequence of Scott Lang going into sub-atomic levels is particularly impressive.  Paul Rudd (who had a hand in the script) is perfect for his role, and of course Michael Douglas brings gravitas to his.  The supporting cast of Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, and Michael Pena help bring additional humor, romance, and excitement to the plot. 

           As with most action movies, I think having the male characters engage in fistfights over and over is just absurd.  In this one, even the scientists take ridiculous swipes at one another, and the filmmakers obviously take great satisfaction in wrecking property.  I’m curious about why these two action sequences give some people such a thrill.

Paul Rudd brings sensibility to an action movie.

Grade:  B                           By Donna R. Copeland