TLDR: Part 3 of who the hell knows of Phase 3? It's INFINITY WAR!



Prior threads:

Phase 1 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3278723

Phase 2 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3285463

Phase 3 Reaction (Part 1): Dr. Strange / GotG Vol 2 / Civil War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3287952

Phase 3 Reaction (Part 2): Ragnarok / Black Panther / Homecoming

https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3290581



Several people I know in person warned me that as soon as the movie starts there's no rest or down period and that it's pretty much a non-stop roller coaster……yup……

Opening first 10 minutes
Just the whole Marvel logo reveal was dark…no upbeat music…just a low key hum that was enough to let us know what we were about to watch was going to rip our guts out. Then we see essentially all of Asgard slaughtered…dude…already? Big rock guy? Drunk Valkyrie?

Oh hell yeah!!! Let's go Hulk!!!

….oh crap…..

Sightseer guy? This many deaths already?? Wait…Loki? Bro…Loki?



"Swear to me on your mothers life."
This was the moment for me (am I quoting that right?). This pretty much solidified that everything from hear on out was going to be a downer. During this conversation Quill and Gamora are going back and forth on what she knows and how critical it is to protect the universe…and demanding herself be sacrificed to protect the information. She knew the only way that Quill would take her demand seriously was to bring up his dead mother and they wouldn't include this unless that opportunity was going to present itself….so ya! It's already foreshadowing that we'll get to see Gamora get killed by Quill or captured (and most likely killed) by Thanos…



Thanos
This guy…man…I've heard many times that this villain was done so well that he's up there with the likes of Darth Vader in terms of history…They. Were. Right! I'm having a difficult time even finding words to describe this dude.

It's as if deep down he regrets all the deaths he's caused (and knows he will cause) but because in his mind he knows it's for the greater good, he essentially sees himself in the same light that Captain America sees himself. He truly feels he's making the universe a better place by destroying half of it. So many conflicting emotions here!

How about the Gamora flashback? He sees this little girl and for whatever reason feels drawn to her and adopts her. Has a tender moment teaching her about balance and while in the background half of her world is slaughtered right behind her. But rather than force her to watch, he turns her head to keep her from seeing the brutality of what he's doing.



And then later on we get this:





We got a bad guy so committed to his plan he'll kill the only being he ever loved (more so than his actual daughter) just so he can kill trillions more? Just one more kick in the gut for me and I legit got emotional here…

Then there's Thanos' actual daughter…later on in the film they have a quick fight scene and during the fight she asks/yells, "Why didn't you kill me?" And his response, "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WASTE OF PARTS!"



The best line however that describes this tragic character is when he's asked (can't remember who asks this) what will he do once he succeeds? And his answer, "Rest." This isn't about world domination….or money….or maintaining God like power….he truthfully feels he is making the entire universe a better place and is doing it for nothing and willing to lose everything to accomplish this. This is a modern day tragic villain that could fall under Shakespeare or Greek Mythology if it was written 700 years ago.

Red Skull
Ok can someone explain this one??? Funny story though with this…we had to pause the movie for bathroom breaks early on and I had asked are there any characters in the MCU we haven't seen yet for this movie? One of my boys pipes up and says, "Red Skull!" And I was like, "Dude Red Skull is long gone. In the timeline he died about 70 years ago."

And then when he showed up…let's just say I hollered.

Can anyone make sense of that?

Thor
This character suffers the most in this entire movie. There's this great scene involving him and Rocket where he's pouring out his soul as he contemplates everything he's lost. Let's see if I can remember it all. Dead father. Dead mother. Dead adopted brother. Dead sister (she's a dick though so…). Dead hammer. Dead friends. Dead entire race of people he's sworn to protect. When he looks at Rocket and it's as if he's realizing while he says the line, "I truly have nothing left to lose." Dang I felt that.

Then fast forward to making Stormbreaker. He brings himself to near death to allow the forge to open to make the only weapon to defeat Thanos. But he does it! And he shows up in the nick of time to Wakanda and plunges that SOB in the heart of Thanos…but…he didn't aim for the head. All of that loss and all of that effort, and he still failed.



Fight on Titan
Dangit Quill!!!! They had the dadgum gauntlet nearly off!!! They had it nearly off!!! And you just had to….



Dr. Strange "We're in the endgame now."
Ok, tell me if I got this right (if you can without spoilers). Dr. Strange using the time stone saw every possible outcome which was somewhere around 14+ million and in all of those there's only one chance they win. So I'm assuming that after what happened up to that point, Dr. Strange knew the only way they would win is if Thanos gets the time stone? The only way I can see that being the case is that he did that to save Iron Man because Thanos was about to kill him, and Dr. Strange got him to spare Iron Man's life because he's going to be important in Endgame and just hoped that he wouldn't be the 50% of deaths from the snap….speaking of which….

The snap
This dang scene y'all…..alright…..so who the hell is dead (going from memory)….

On Titan: Quill, Drax, Dr. Strange, Spiderman, alien empathy girl….so the only people left on that planet are Iron Man and Thanos' daughter (name?????)

In Wakanda: Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Bucky, teen Groot, Falcon and on top of that Vision is also dead.

I was really curious how my kids were going to react when this was going on, and it was pretty much this:



And then the dang movie just ends???? Ok I knew there was a "snap scene" here and I knew it was going to be shocking. But dangit I thought there'd be some kind of brief reconciliation afterwards! Give me something! But no….half the universe is dead….half of our heroes are dead….Thanos gets to look at the sunset on whatever the hell planet he's on…..aaaaaaaaaand roll credits.

Predictions
So there's 2 movies between now and Endgame….Ant Man & The Wasp and Captain Marvel. I know Captain Marvel is an origin story that takes place in the past but I'm gonna say Ant Man is also going to take place in the past. It has to! There's nothing in an Ant Man movie that would hold our attention if it took place AFTER Infinity War in the timeline because all we'd be wondering is what is going on with the other characters. And I'm also going to predict that the story (or at least the ending) is going to have something to do with saving our heroes in Infinity War.

And obviously Captain Marvel has got something to do with it based on the end credits scene.

Questions for y'all
Ok y'all I got to know….watching this in the theatre HAD to have been one of the most epic theatre going moments ever. So what was it like in the theatre when….

1. Thor came crashing down on Wakanda in the last minute to save folks?

2. The beginning when we already see so many heroes dead and Hulk getting his butt kicked?

3. Thanos threw Gamora off the cliff?

4. The finger snap happened?

5. And what was it like when the movie was over and the lights came up and it was time to leave?

There had to have been some audience interactions with this one.

This was the most beautifully tragic film/story I have ever seen.

I don't remember specific reactions throughout the movie from when I saw it, but I do remember it being dead silent when everyone was filing out when it was done. Not sure if people didn't realize there would be a second one, or if they didn't think Marvel would have the balls to have Thanos succeed in the snap, but there was definitely an air of absolute shock in the crowd after it was done.

Very tense viewing experience in theaters. Hulk getting beat and Loki dying really set the tone.

Thor in Wakanda gets a lot of cheers. Worth YouTubing someday (after you've finished Endgame, to be safe). We also had a "No!!!" when Iron Man gets stabbed by Thanos - I think a lot of us thought that was going to be a killing blow.

Thor arriving in Wakanda as the Avengers' theme plays is still my absolute favorite moment in the MCU and the theater went nuts for it. Easily the loudest theater reaction I've experienced.

Contrast that to the snap when you could have heard a pin drop. All I remember hearing were sniffles.

Congrats on finishing what will either be your number 1 or number 2 favorite MCU film of all time

I definitely remember the place going crazy for Dark Thor. Also, I think most people expected some big deaths, but you already had that with Loki, Gamora, and Vision, so the snap getting rid of nearly everyone was not all expected.

Can't wait to see your reaction to End Game.

And knowing all this now is the main reason why the wife and i are going to see top gun tonight.

Some of my fondest memories are being in packed theaters with fans and we're all going nuts so after hearing about how great top gun is I ain't missing out on that opportunity

bluefire579 said:

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I don't remember specific reactions throughout the movie from when I saw it, but I do remember it being dead silent when everyone was filing out when it was done. Not sure if people didn't realize there would be a second one, or if they didn't think Marvel would have the balls to have Thanos succeed in the snap, but there was definitely an air of absolute shock in the crowd after it was done.

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Exactly the same experience for me and actually one of the most memorable movie experiences of my life. Roll credits. Dead silence. No one talking to each other. No asking if they should leave. Everyone sitting there in stunned silence.

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1. Thor came crashing down on Wakanda in the last minute to save folks? Lots of raucous applause

2. The beginning when we already see so many heroes dead and Hulk getting his butt kicked? Silence, as in wtf are we really seeing this?

3. Thanos threw Gamora off the cliff? I noted some emotion out of my daughter but nothing theater-wide

4. The finger snap happened? Lots of gasps as each big-name dusted. My daughter was on the verge of losing it. She really likes Tom Holland (Spider-Man), and when he went poof, she absolutely lost it.

5. And what was it like when the movie was over and the lights came up and it was time to leave? Silence for the most part. I overheard one lady say something like, "well that was dark". For me, I was grinning from ear to ear. Absolutely fantastic, very nearly perfect movie, but then, The Empire Strikes Back is the best ever made IMO, and it has a similar downbeat cliffhanger ending.

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I remember there being a big cheer when Cap showed up to help Vision and Wanda.

A lot of gasps and shock at all the major characters that got dusted. I think Spider-Man and Black Panther were the biggest shocks. But even still most every one knew that they'd figure out a way for those major characters and actors to come back. The mood leaving the theatre was surprised so many got dusted, but speculation on the return.

We were theorizing going into Infinity War - which was initially "part 1" of a 2-parter - that the Avengers would lose but not be totally defeated - maybe end with a small victory a la Helm's Deep and live to fight another day. That things would be dark but end on an uptick because these movies never just crush you on the way out the door or leave you with a major cliffhanger.

As we walked out my wife was pissed. "Where was the uptick, huh?! I thought you said there'd be an uptick?!"

Awesome dude!

I also remember, when the snap happened, people (including me) thinking it didn't work because people didn't instantly die. Then a little surprised when Bucky turns to dust. That surprise slowly turned to shock as more and more characters got dusted. I think Black Panther and Spider-Man were the biggest surprises because they had already announced sequels for those two.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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Quote:

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1. Thor came crashing down on Wakanda in the last minute to save folks? Lots of raucous applause

2. The beginning when we already see so many heroes dead and Hulk getting his butt kicked? Silence, as in wtf are we really seeing this?

3. Thanos threw Gamora off the cliff? I noted some emotion out of my daughter but nothing theater-wide

4. The finger snap happened? Lots of gasps as each big-name dusted. My daughter was on the verge of losing it. She really likes Tom Holland (Spider-Man), and when he went poof, she absolutely lost it.

5. And what was it like when the movie was over and the lights came up and it was time to leave? Silence for the most part. I overheard one lady say something like, "well that was dark". For me, I was grinning from ear to ear. Absolutely fantastic, very nearly perfect movie, but then, The Empire Strikes Back is the best ever made IMO, and it has a similar downbeat cliffhanger ending.

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Spider-Man's death birthed such a great meme though.

I honestly don't remember any Infinity War reactions in the theater, mainly because Endgame completely overshadowed it for me, was the greatest theater-going experience of my life, and I can't count the number of deafening roars from the audience in that movie. Infinity War was more of a somber experience. Endgame was like being in Kyle Field circa 2021, watching Bama/A&M.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is actually pretty crucial. You'll see why. Just be sure and watch the post-credit scene.

Captain Marvel is also important, but not quite in the same way.

Ant Man and the Wasp builds the entire foundation of Endgame. It should not be skipped

When I was walking into the theater to see Infinity War, an 8 year old was crying, saying "why did they kill Spider-Man".


**** that kid.

AgfromHOU said:

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When I was walking into the theater to see Infinity War, an 8 year old was crying, saying "why did they kill Spider-Man".


**** that kid.

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I was the dick that giggled and yelled out a YES! in the theater when Thanos took down Hulk so easily.

I'm an unapologetic Thanos fanboy though. So there is that.