Ed's Review Dot Com

Marvel Studios,

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly

In the last film, Avengers:Infinity war (2018) the universe was devastated. Half of the avengers were killed. The remaining allies have banded together with the remaining Avengers to try to reverse Thanos’ actions and once again put things back the way they were before the destruction took place. This means traveling back in time to steal all the jewels and bring them all back together again. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

People who know me, know I’m not a huge comic book or superhero fan. For the most part, superhero films leave me with an empty feeling. I felt that I did have to watch the Avengers films though as they were so powerfully hyped up. In the end of Infinity War, I found myself wondering what the hell I had just watched. Feeling there must be more, I couldn’t believe the ending. It was quite a bummer, believe me. So I headed out to see this one to see if it could fix up the horror of the last movie’s ending. I wasn’t disappointed, as the obvious has to happen, but the way it did was awesome. The intensity and the quality of this movie made it well worth watching, and although this is no way my favorite film of any genre, it was awfully well done. It nice to see everyone brought together, and the suspense of no one can fail or the whole plan fails helped to make it as intense and could be. All in all, it’s a very well made film with really memorable characters and well worth the price of admission. It’s a must see, especially if you saw the last one’s devastation and destruction. This is a very well done film and a must see just the same.

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Marvel Studios, Vita-Ray Dutch Productions (III), Studio Babelsberg,

Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Daniel Brühl, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt

The government has determined that the Avengers are too dangerous to be left unchecked, and they set out to pass a law to limit their powers and only allow them to use superpowers upon the request of the government. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is determined to follow the new law as the mutants create fear, and as long as the run free, people will challenge them time after time. Captain America, (Chris Evans) on the other hand feels that protecting citizens is their ultimate goal, and the government cannot be trusted to make decisions for them. They all choose sides as Iron Man and Captain America become bitter enemies and try to destroy each other. But perhaps another person is afraid of challenging the Avengers on his own, but want to provoke them to wipe out each other.

This was a long awaited film, and brings back most of the Marvel characters, although I felt it was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, I can’t really keep all the different comic book superheroes straight and remembering who is with whom is too much for me. Not that I’m a fan of comic book superheroes in the first place. The battles were good, and it was nice to see all the different characters together. But the story was too hokey for my liking, and at over 2 1/2 hours, it still didn’t seem to really go anywhere. It seems that sometimes when there are too many characters, there is no way to pay justice to each of them fully. That may be the reason why I found it lacking in depth. All in all it seemed pointless to me. So I wasn’t a big fan of this particular film. This film was out at the same time as “X-Men: Apocalypse” and between two I chose to see the X-Men. I’m glad I did, as I felt it was the better of the two. However, since this film is now out on DVD, it’s worth watching since it was not all that bad, especially if you’re a fan of this genre.

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Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures,

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is back from the epic battle in New York with all the other Avengers. He seems to have grown a lot, and has changed. More introspective, he’s been busy building a whole bunch of new suits, and has probably become obsessed with keeping busy to ward off the increasing panic attacks he’s suffering from. But when an ultra villain “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley) takes over the worlds airways to teach the world leaders a lesson, he proves himself to be not only cunning and clever, but extremely tough too . It will take Iron Man, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and all of their best stuff just to survive this massive battle.

I had the pleasure of dropping $45.00 for my wife and I to see this film in Imax 3D and D-Box. The Imax screen was awesome, the 3D effects were spectacular, and the D-Box (motion seats)…..eh..not so much. I’ve been anxious to try these out, and I can see one good thing about them. When the movie starts, nothing happens. The are still and silent and don’t move a speck. Then the first time there’s a loud noise on the screen they vibrate and by that time you’ve forgotten about them and they startle the hell out of you. But I’ve seen 3D magic motion movies in Vegas, Universal Studios, and Dave and Busters, and they show runaway train cars, roller coasters, and stuff like that that are really a thrill, but these chairs, though comfortable, are no big add to the action on the screen. They don’t move enough to give you any real sense of being in the film, and aside from a fairly decent back massage, they really aren’t that much. I would rather just turn them on, and let them vibrate continuously through the 2 hour film, and perhaps I’d come out without this aching back I’ve had all week. But enough about the chairs: On to the movie.

Robert Downey Jr. has Iron Man down pat now. Throughout the film I was pondering, is Iron Man the man, or is Iron Man the suit. Not in a literal way, but figuratively. There is an expression that “clothes make the man”. I wonder if that’s true in Stark’s case. But he’s tired, kind of like Bond has been in the last few films (especially Skyfall), and it shows how all the “world saving” has worn him out. He really has settled in pretty well. He really cares for Pepper, and he’s given up a lot of the shenanigans he was noted for. But when he’s needed, he’s ready to give all to save the world. And this time it really takes it out of him. The acting is excellent. Each of these characters knows who he is now, and they’re comfortable in their suit. Even Jarvis, the voice of the suit, is kind of like Kitt from Night Rider with his gentle voice and desire to help in whatever is needed. Perhaps he’s a little C3PO too without the yellow streak. I enjoyed this story very much. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that each Iron Film has gotten better and better, and this one has to be my favorite of the three. I can’t compete with The Avengers, of course, but of all the Tony Stark/Iron Man films, this has to be the best story, best explosions, best fight scenes, and the most fun to watch. Of course seeing it on an IMAX screen with 3D glasses helps a lot. But this is one exciting adventure film that does not disappoint. This is a must see on the big screen while you can.

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ImageMovers, Paramount Pictures, Parkes/MacDonald Productions,

Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Brian Geraghty, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, Tamara Tunie, Garcelle Beauvais, James Badge Dale, Rhoda Griffis, Kwesi Boakye, Michael Beasley, Adam Tomei

Whip Whittaker (Denzel Washington) is an ace airline pilot. But he has a serious addiction problem, drugs and alcohol. On a flight from Orlando to Atlanta, something awful happens to the plane, and everyone on-board is doomed were it not for the unbelievable moves Whip makes to crash the plane but save the lives of hundreds of people. He is hailed as a hero, and hounded by the media, but his condition at the time of his heroic moves come into question as the NTSB investigates the crash.

This is a very serious film. Aside from a few moments when John Goodman is on-screen, there’s very few light moments in this film. Whip is on a dive for rock bottom more severe than the plane’s dive! He is in serious denial, and yet, as despicable as he is, we get to really like him. The first 20 minutes or so of the flight is extremely well done, and very well filmed. It’s white knuckle time for sure, and very good. But then we get introduced to a slew of new characters, all of which seem to have Whip’s well being in mind. The drama is just as suspenseful as the action part. Whip is really screwed up, and Denzel’s portrayal of this guy is spot on.

This movie is a trip. I was really caught off-guard by the turn this film took. I expected an airline disaster movie, which was really a sidebar to the real subject of the film. It’s a disaster movie alright, but a disaster of a life rocked by denial and lies upon lies. Very dramatic, and very realistic, and very dark and sad. It’s not an easy film to watch, but a very well done character study, and very much worth watching.

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Reprisal Films, Element Pictures, Crescendo Productions,

Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene

Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) is an FBI agent, and just a little high strung! He’s been sent to an Irish village to investigate some international drug dealers. He’s up against local cop Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) who seems set on driving Wendell insane. Gerry is not really up for the level of this case, and is really happy with the humdrum normal life. He also zings Wendell at every turn which drives Wendell nuts. But when it comes down to it, he’s a fitting partner in crime fighting.

This movie was really funny. Some of the quips in this movie stayed with me a long time after the movie was finished. It actually really cracked me up from time to time. The characters are spot on. Don Cheadle was absolutely born for this role. But Brendan Gleeson brings it all together. I really thought the film was very funny, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Granted the bad guys are really cardboard cutouts and very caricatured, but the movie is not about them anyway, so that didn’t bother me. It was the battle between Wendell and Gerry is classic.

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