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☆ I got to see Guardians of the Galaxy 3! Since Endgame I haven't been as intense about seeing the new Marvel movies in theaters (partially because covid, obviously) unless I genuinely really didn't want to wait, so I think I'd only seen Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters and waited for the rest at home. MCU movies have been pretty hit or miss lately, some I did enjoy when I eventually got around to seeing them and some were just blah. My favorite of Phase 4 (is that what we're on lmao?? I don't even keep track anymore) was Wakanda Forever, which I actually want to rewatch soon because I only saw it once. (Loooved Namor and the intro for Riri, I'm looking forward to seeing them again hopefully? Who knows what Marvel's plans are ://) Anyway GotG 3 was actually really good!
The GotG movies have pretty consistently been good, save for a few complaints I've had with like, general dude-bro "jokes" and Quill's lack of character development re: his relationship with Gamora. And what do you know, GotG fixed all that! All it took was killing Gamora sjdkhsdkjsdf no I'm still mad about that don't worry, but I am glad they are finally writing Quill like an adult who actually has matured past his GotG 1 relationship conflicts. It's still the GotG, they still argue about stupid stuff and insult each other lmao but they did a really good job showing WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD WITH THE AVENGERS yes I'm still mad we never got comic-level Avengers team relationships. GotG got it all I guess! But I'm glad for that because you can tell they all really care about each other and it actually feels like they've been living and working together all this time, etc.
Nebula especially, god, I love Nebula sooo much. I'm so happy she got a good family even though Gamora isn't there for it Nebula and Mantis are definitely my favorites from the series, they're so funny to me and I love them lmao. And Cosmo!! The concept of Cosmo is so funny to me, like very extremely Cold War Comic Era even though I'm pretty sure he's a more modern character. But I am a Cosmo simp and I'm glad he finally got screen time. Apparently I heard Gunn made Cosmo a girl in the MCU as an homage to Laika? That's too sweet.
And then there's Rocket... As the focal point of this film/the driver of the main plot we finally get his in-depth sad backstory (major content warnings for animal experimentation/abuse for this film for sure). I honestly thought they went a little TOO cheesy with his past friendships, like yes we get it, you didn't have to write these scenes like a preschool show for children. The outcome was going to be sad no matter what. But they still got me in the end lmao I definitely teared up a couple times not specifically at the flashbacks but at related bits... Can't believe there exists a day where I got teary over Rocket Raccoon. Wild.
Oh, ADAM. Almost forgot about him haha WHAT possessed them to go this route with Adam Warlock, both the characterization and the casting. Wait hold on I'm on the MCU Wiki right now having my mind blown "...as he is one of James Gunn's favorite characters" and "Before Will Poulter was cast, Marvel Studios had considered Regé-Jean Page". XENK FROM THE DND MOVIE? That would have been so good. Anyway if I was James Gunn and they took my favorite character and turned him into a joke (/stares at the Thor screenwriters) I would be like hey guys... :/ All that being said he was still funny lmao sorry they did that to you Adam Warlock fans but I hope he's in GotG 4 or whatever the hell is coming out next.
I feel like the Thor 4 writers could have taken some tips from the GotG ones because GotG 3 was genuinely funny and they didn't fall into that trap of like, ruining emotionally charged scenes for shitty jokes (like when Mantis was calming those tentacle monsters with the big teeth, you KNOW if that was Thor she would have gotten chomped on and it would have ruined any gravitas of that moment lmao). Quill got to say "fuck" in a perfect execution of the one f-word usage per PG-13 movie thing. And once again the soundtrack was excellent and the fight scenes slapped, they were fun and wacky and cool!! It reminded me a little of that GotG game that came out recently that was really fun.
In conclusion, if you enjoyed the previous GotG films but were worried about a dip in quality like Marvel's been putting out lately, watch GotG 3, you won't be disappointed. I'd say it's probably replaced BP 2 as my favorite post-Endgame film.
☆ Having gone on about GotG for too long I think I'll just save any other thoughts for a different post lmao. Nothing much new happening with me anyway, still just juggling a bunch of various media I haven't finished any of yet, so that can be for another day. Talk GotG with me if you've seen it! Or any other MCU movie, I've seen them all except Quantumania at this point. I think.
The GotG movies have pretty consistently been good, save for a few complaints I've had with like, general dude-bro "jokes" and Quill's lack of character development re: his relationship with Gamora. And what do you know, GotG fixed all that! All it took was killing Gamora sjdkhsdkjsdf no I'm still mad about that don't worry, but I am glad they are finally writing Quill like an adult who actually has matured past his GotG 1 relationship conflicts. It's still the GotG, they still argue about stupid stuff and insult each other lmao but they did a really good job showing WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD WITH THE AVENGERS yes I'm still mad we never got comic-level Avengers team relationships. GotG got it all I guess! But I'm glad for that because you can tell they all really care about each other and it actually feels like they've been living and working together all this time, etc.
Nebula especially, god, I love Nebula sooo much. I'm so happy she got a good family even though Gamora isn't there for it Nebula and Mantis are definitely my favorites from the series, they're so funny to me and I love them lmao. And Cosmo!! The concept of Cosmo is so funny to me, like very extremely Cold War Comic Era even though I'm pretty sure he's a more modern character. But I am a Cosmo simp and I'm glad he finally got screen time. Apparently I heard Gunn made Cosmo a girl in the MCU as an homage to Laika? That's too sweet.
And then there's Rocket... As the focal point of this film/the driver of the main plot we finally get his in-depth sad backstory (major content warnings for animal experimentation/abuse for this film for sure). I honestly thought they went a little TOO cheesy with his past friendships, like yes we get it, you didn't have to write these scenes like a preschool show for children. The outcome was going to be sad no matter what. But they still got me in the end lmao I definitely teared up a couple times not specifically at the flashbacks but at related bits... Can't believe there exists a day where I got teary over Rocket Raccoon. Wild.
Oh, ADAM. Almost forgot about him haha WHAT possessed them to go this route with Adam Warlock, both the characterization and the casting. Wait hold on I'm on the MCU Wiki right now having my mind blown "...as he is one of James Gunn's favorite characters" and "Before Will Poulter was cast, Marvel Studios had considered Regé-Jean Page". XENK FROM THE DND MOVIE? That would have been so good. Anyway if I was James Gunn and they took my favorite character and turned him into a joke (/stares at the Thor screenwriters) I would be like hey guys... :/ All that being said he was still funny lmao sorry they did that to you Adam Warlock fans but I hope he's in GotG 4 or whatever the hell is coming out next.
I feel like the Thor 4 writers could have taken some tips from the GotG ones because GotG 3 was genuinely funny and they didn't fall into that trap of like, ruining emotionally charged scenes for shitty jokes (like when Mantis was calming those tentacle monsters with the big teeth, you KNOW if that was Thor she would have gotten chomped on and it would have ruined any gravitas of that moment lmao). Quill got to say "fuck" in a perfect execution of the one f-word usage per PG-13 movie thing. And once again the soundtrack was excellent and the fight scenes slapped, they were fun and wacky and cool!! It reminded me a little of that GotG game that came out recently that was really fun.
In conclusion, if you enjoyed the previous GotG films but were worried about a dip in quality like Marvel's been putting out lately, watch GotG 3, you won't be disappointed. I'd say it's probably replaced BP 2 as my favorite post-Endgame film.
☆ Having gone on about GotG for too long I think I'll just save any other thoughts for a different post lmao. Nothing much new happening with me anyway, still just juggling a bunch of various media I haven't finished any of yet, so that can be for another day. Talk GotG with me if you've seen it! Or any other MCU movie, I've seen them all except Quantumania at this point. I think.
no subject
That being said, I made the ugliest noise at the post-credits "Star-Lord will return" :DDDDDD please do my baby right, MCU lol
I've only seen it once since it came out, but I don't remember Rocket's flashbacks being particularly cheesy. It made sense the characters might be a little more childlike since they were "kids" growing up together. And maybe Rocket's memories are clouded by nostalgia for a time when he wasn't so jaded and hurt, so those interactions with his friends felt more innocent and naive? idk it didn't bother me on first watch
Even Star-Lord's fakeout death didn't strike me as a plot hole lol like I wasn't wondering "where tf is his space helmet?" XDD I was just "NOOOOOOOOO"
I do kinda wish that we got to *see* Quill in such a rush to save Rocket that he left the helmet behind on Knowhere. Just a shot of the helmet in his desk drawer or something, instead of a handwavey tweet to explain a plot hole. I'm hoping it's addressed in a deleted scene, anyway.
but that's really my only gripe (and a small one at that) with the film. It did its job of immersing me and getting me invested. (Although tbf I didn't find Thor 4 particularly awful; it wasn't the *best*, but it felt like "Ragnarok part 2", and that was fine with me. I realize I'm in the minority on that one lol)
no subject
Haha to me the whole thing went on a little too long, like you already 100% sympathize with them and know their story isn't going to end well and it felt overdone to me. Like I'm sure they wrote it that way on purpose but also I didn't care about them as characters so.
I didn't even think anything of Quill not having his helmet at the end lmao I wouldn't really call that a plot hole. It's just like "well Quill doesn't have his helmet because they needed him to not have a helmet, duh". Afterwards though my dad did say like why didn't Quill have his space helmet on jsdhfjkdsf so I guess other people thought more of it.
Thor 4......... To me it felt like it took Ragnarok's faults and just amplified them (and I say this as a Ragnarok fan lmao it's a fun movie if not a particularly good Thor film). Thor is one of my favorites and he's fully been relegated to comic relief for half his movies, to say nothing of how Love and Thunder wasted Valkyrie and Sif in favor of stupid Korg jokes. Plus it just wasn't as funny as Ragnarok imo. Like Ragnarok made Thor into a bit of an idiot but also it was very funny so I'll forgive them, but Love and Thunder didn't strike that balance well enough on top of NOT GIVING THOR HIS KINGDOM BACK, why did the MCU set him up as finally accepting being king only to give the job to Valkyrie, who hates it and whose entire development they pushed off screen!! Which isn't Love and Thunder's fault but they definitely could have fixed that and it SEEMED like they were going to, but then they completely dropped the ball.
Anyway I could go on about Thor forever lol I have a lot of Feelings about him. I liked his Infinity War characterization because it felt like more of a mix of his Ragnarok self and his previously established characterization, he was funny but serious when he needed to be and they let him showcase some of his power properly. And then they were like eh fuck it!!
no subject
I would enjoy a movie/show with the new team (I mean, assuming it's actually well made) even if someone else did it, I feel like they're mostly fresh enough characters that it wouldn't be too weird.
That's true! It would be interesting, at least!
I didn't even think anything of Quill not having his helmet at the end lmao I wouldn't really call that a plot hole. It's just like "well Quill doesn't have his helmet because they needed him to not have a helmet, duh". Afterwards though my dad did say like why didn't Quill have his space helmet on jsdhfjkdsf so I guess other people thought more of it.
ahahahha It didn't even occur to me until after I saw the movie lol so I guess it worked. iirc, Gunn meant for Quill's helmet to disappear after part 2, but then the Russos used it in IW/EG.
Thor 4......... To me it felt like it took Ragnarok's faults and just amplified them (and I say this as a Ragnarok fan lmao it's a fun movie if not a particularly good Thor film). Thor is one of my favorites and he's fully been relegated to comic relief for half his movies, to say nothing of how Love and Thunder wasted Valkyrie and Sif in favor of stupid Korg jokes. Plus it just wasn't as funny as Ragnarok imo.
Oh true. I feel like Thor 4's worst crime was just so many missed opportunities. Mighty Thor was awesome and would have been neat to see her in other movies, but then she just dies at the end? I know that happens in the comics, the whole cancer plotline, but they change tons of stuff in the MCU, so why not keep her around?
Plus they had the Guardians but Peter and Thor never got to talk about losing a loved one to cancer? helloooo movie. But I guess they knew they couldn't really do serious moments that weren't undercut by jokes, so it's probably best we never got that haha.
Gorr hates gods but what would he have thought if he'd met Quill, who voluntarily gave up his god powers?
NOT GIVING THOR HIS KINGDOM BACK, why did the MCU set him up as finally accepting being king only to give the job to Valkyrie, who hates it and whose entire development they pushed off screen!!
Yeah I'm thinking it has to do with the actor,who may or may not come back for more movies? Thor 4 was most likely besieged by executive meddling and trying to cram in things to set up future movies (or at least keep them in a safe zone where they don't have to retcon too much depending on actors and contracts), I think. Because it just doesn't make sense otherwise, going from Ragnarok (which was a pretty good movie) to this. lol
Anyway I could go on about Thor forever lol I have a lot of Feelings about him. I liked his Infinity War characterization because it felt like more of a mix of his Ragnarok self and his previously established characterization, he was funny but serious when he needed to be and they let him showcase some of his power properly. And then they were like eh fuck it!!
Yeah IW was good! His EG characterization was a bit ehhh for me, but I'd love to hear more of your Thor thoughts! He's an enjoyable character for me, but I never really got super fannish about him, and I'd be interested to hear from someone who has lots of Feelings :D How do you feel about how wildly different all his movies are? lol
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re: Quill's helmet it's a very useful item plus it'd be weird for him to be a space traveler with no means of protection from, you know, space, so I get why they'd want him to keep it haha. and it's kind of iconic at this point since everyone remembers him having it before, so they probably should have had some 5 second shot of it breaking earlier in the movie or him leaving it behind or whatever because you KNOW everyone would be like "but his helmet??"
missed opportunities is a good way to sum up Love and Thunder for sure. I was SO excited Thor was getting another film, I was excited to get to see Thor and crew again, etc. but in the end it was just kind of disappointing... Gorr could have been way more menacing, Valkyrie should have had proper development time (and Sif imo, but I will acknowledge that's my own bias I love Sif lol give her more screen time!!), the ratio of stupid-Thor-for-lulz to serious character moments felt even more unbalanced than Ragnarok somehow (maybe because Love and Thunder had a more serious concept? idk). The only part I don't really have complaints about is Jane, I think they did a good job with her and I honestly didn't mind her dying, I'm actually really surprised Portman came back for another Marvel movie lol (not that I blame her because the way they handled Jane in Dark World drove me nuuuuts literally just knocking her out every time they didn't want to deal with her in a scene)
Endgame Thor I think his characterization made sense, the writers/filmakers/whoever just didn't treat his situation with respect at all so they could make jokes about him being fat and depressed :/// But I think his reaction to IW/him blaming himself for what happened was fully IC, it would have been nice if they could have taken any of it seriously for more than 5 seconds!!
I don't mind the tonal changes with the Thor movies, I think mixing it up with Ragnarok was fun. Dark World is definitely the weakest, I think Thor himself is great in that film but the storyline is just sort of blah and they sidelined Jane to focus on Loki half the time which was annoying. (Being a Thor stan who isn't in love with MCU Loki is like...some kind of fresh hell sjdhfksjhfs I did enjoy Loki in Ragnarok though because if anyone in the Thor franchise deserves to not be taken seriously it's Loki lmaooo.) Honestly Thor's movies after the first one should have been WAY more kooky like Thor's a cosmic hero, his comics are wacky and bright and creative, and then they gave us Dark World??? To me an ideal Thor movie would be fun and BIG, like Thor is a god why does he never get to show off any sort of world-breaking powers, and yeah Ragnarok had the right vibe BUT Taika just couldn't rein it in enough to actually respect Thor as a character because it's all about the jokes. (Like when they're watching Asgard EXPLODE and it's depressing as hell and Thor is horrified and then KORG CRACKS A JOKE bro??? this isn't a Ragnarok-specific problem it's definitely happened in other MCU movies but it's just so very noticeable in Ragnarok because Thor goes through sooo much sad/bad shit in that movie with zero time to process any of it.)