Tag: Anthony Russo

Geekscape Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame

by MCDave

After more than a decade in the making, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) unearthed its epic finale with its 22nd feature film, Avengers: Endgame. It wasn’t always the smoothest of rides. You won’t have to look any further than Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron to know that each individual installment was far from perfect. Yet, every separate chapter serves a unique purpose, highlighting the notion that the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. And with Endgame, specifically, the concluding film reinforces the phenomenal fact that, like a clutch athlete who performs best when the game is on the line, the MCU continues to shine brightest on the biggest stages.

Following Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) cataclysmic finger snap that annihilated half of all living creatures in the galaxy, the remaining Avengers are forced to deal with their failures. Yet, when Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) luckily returns from the quantum realm only to discover what had happened, he finds his superhero allies and they discover a time-traveling plan that could potentially reverse all of the destruction caused by Thanos. Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the rest of the Avengers embark on a mission to undo the past without compromising the future.

For all its glory, Endgame stands as a monumental chapter in the MCU that opens certain doors and closes others. The film’s bulky three-hour running time proves effortless as the humor is as strong as it’s ever been and the story makes for a thrilling and engaging experience. And while I definitely applaud Endgame’s script for how it thrusts Thanos back into the heart of the story as well as other key characters that you might not expect, the film’s time travel elements are also some of its weakest. Any time you revolve a story around such a fragile and flimsy scientific idea, it becomes easy to poke holes in the many faults that surround it. However, these issues are rather minor and simple to ignore thanks to an otherwise brilliant showcase from the directing duo of Joe and Anthony Russo. Each central character that helped build the MCU becomes handled with immense care and respect, all while the story takes the audience through a trip down memory lane that’s both enjoyable to witness again and necessary to fulfill the film’s emotional climax. I was also pleased that Captain Marvel’s inevitable inclusion was not as some unstoppable saving grace to the Avengers, and rather a complementary figure to the heroes that we’ve spent a decade relying on. And although Endgame will understandably be viewed as a finale of sorts, it’s actually a bridge from the humble beginnings of the MCU to the limitless behemoth that it has evolved into. Fan theories have already begun circulating in hopes to dissect where exactly cinema’s greatest film universe will go. Yet, Endgame forces me to take a step back and appreciate everything we’ve been give. The MCU has created an expansive world unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed, and I’m convinced now more than ever that Marvel’s future is very, very bright.

GRADE: 4.5/5

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Geekscape Movie Review: Avengers: Infinity War

by MCDave

For more than a decade the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has branded 19 films in total that have completely merged together in what’s guaranteed to be this summer’s most lucrative blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War. Now, we’ve been down similar roads before with Marvel’s first ambitious multi-hero collaboration, The Avengers, and with both the film’s sequel, Age of Ultron, and the third Captain America installment, Civil War.  The success of these grandiose endeavors have been met with varying levels of success, casting a huge question-mark over the MCU’s newest title. But allow me to wash away any worries you may have by fearlessly labeling Infinity War as one of the top films to-date in Marvel’s ever-expanding universe.

Despite their conflicting opinions regarding oversight of their Earth-protecting superhero group “The Avengers”, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) must put their differences aside and get the old team back together when they learn of a cosmic villain named Thanos (Josh Brolin) who’s en route to their home planet. Thanos is on a mission to collect all six infinity stones, hidden artifacts that possess unimaginable power, and he pinpoints a pair of them located on Earth where he’ll stop at nothing to acquire them and bring balance to the galaxy. And with the fate of humanity on the line, Marvel’s greatest superheroes must confront their most powerful foe yet.

Prior to Infinity War, little was known about the film’s primary antagonist, Thanos. And although this approach is a foreign concept within the familiar formulaic structure that’s helped mold the MCU into an unstoppable machine, the character of Thanos is met with bold originality that makes Infinity War “his” film. Rarely is a villain gifted such an enormous responsibility, but Thanos makes the most of his opportunity and commands the viewer’s sympathy with a unique perspective to what’s perceived by The Avengers as an evil plot. Both his character and his mission are propelled by surprising depth that will make the audience question their own ethical beliefs. With Infinity War, sibling directors Joe and Anthony Russo create a moral dilemma in which there may be no right or wrong answer, but instead resolve must come from a desperate battle for survival between Thanos and Marvel’s assorted collection of superheroes. Yet, while the film’s story is as compelling as its uptempo action and finely-tuned pacing, Infinity War does sour with overly sappy dramatics that artificially attempt to raise the emotional stakes. Nevertheless, these cheaply constructed moments take a backseat to Infinity War‘s cerebral and multi-dimensional tale that culminates with a cliff-hanging finale guaranteed to keep you longing for the next chapter in Marvel’s elaborate cinematic universe.

GRADE: 4/5

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Director Anthony Russo Talks ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

by Shawn Madden

One of the most anticipated movies in Marvel’s “Phase Two” is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. When announced at San Diego Comic-Con fans nearly lost it. Hell..even Ed Brubaker lost it and even tweeted “HOLY SHIT” when he found out about it. The Huffington Post recently sat down with Anthony Russo, one half of the directing team behind the sequel, and had a little chat about the movie. Below are some of the highlights of the interview.

When asked what they thought landed them such a big project:

Well, first of all, Marvel’s this incredible company that has shown in the past that they think outside the box with directors. I mean, it’s shocking the people they’ve hired, over and over again, and they’ve had great success as a result. They like character, and they like storytelling and they like fun. We were surprised, but they were big fans of “Community” and you can sort of draw a line between some things we did on “Community” and a Marvel movie.

How they sold themselves to get the job directing the sequel:

We were comic book geeks from a young age and big fantasy geeks. We got to talk to them in detail about that history. They knew that we understood the brand really well and the characters really well. It was a long process, actually, of talking to them over and over again, through a series of meetings over a long period of time. And I think they just — we were really passionate about the movie, incredibly passionate about the movie. They felt that, and they felt like it was the right match.

In regards to what appealed to them about Ed Brubaker’s “Winter Soldier” story:

Well, we like the [story.] I can’t talk too much about specifics, that’s the way Marvel handles things. I can say in general that there’s sort of a darker, edgier sensibility at work there that we found appealing, and that is going find its way into Captain [America] in the modern day.

When asked if we would possibly be seeing World War II flashbacks:

Certainly Cap has this complicated history. We’re making the movie for first-time viewers, not just for fans, so, because Cap does have this complicated history — he was this skinny guy who became a super-soldier, he was born back then and he’s living [now] — in the storytelling, you need to convey that to an audience who doesn’t know Cap’s story.

When asked if the expected heavy visual effects were intimidating to them:

They said to us early on in the interview process, “We don’t expect you to know anything [about special effects and so forth] — you don’t have to know everything about this stuff, because we’re here for that.” They’re very respectful of directors. They’re an amazing company to work with.

In regards to if any of the comic creators were involved and have offered advice:

We’re actually going to have lunch with Brubaker soon. But no, they haven’t been involved. In the same way that they would develop a new comic-book series, they give its own space to develop. But certainly everybody is aware [of what’s in the comics], has read everything, is aware of all their other material. But they do like each thing to be its own, organic process, which is nice.