You can definitely feel the studio interference all over it, it's one of the more aimless MCU films for sure. It's like a placeholder/preview IMO, and that's uh... not super enjoyable on repeat viewings.
A lot of the negativity toward AoU can just be chalked up to the fact that it was disappointing compared to the first movie and the studio interfered too much. It does get more hate than it deserves.
It's probably still in the top half of the MCU for me because I still get a huge kick just from seeing them all together lol. Plus I think a lot of the early films are a bit weak compared to what came later. It's easily the worst Avengers film though.
All I know for sure about the movies called "Avengers" is that Endgame is at the top & Infinity War at the bottom.
One of the few good things about AOU is the villain is memorable (and they should have kept around). The one good outcome of the studio interference is it caused Joss Whedon to fuck off from Marvel movies.
I usually agree with your takes but definitely not this one haha. I liked IW more than Endgame. Still think they're both better than the other two
Say what you will on the quality of Infinity War, but its hype is something the MCU will have to push real hard to recapture. The period in between the leaked comic con trailer and the release date was the most hyped I’ve ever seen the MCU community. Guardians and Avengers meeting for the first time, the long awaited Thanos battle, the battle in Wakanda, and the potential snap were all things that had heads melting. Every time a trailer, TV spot, or magazine article was released the entire fanbase would go into a craze.
Everything with Thor in Infinity War is very good, & there are other good moments here & there. But, as a whole, I’d be pretty content with never watching it again. Just so tedious after the initial novelty wore off. Most of the stuff in there I would call good is done better in better Marvel movies. Endgame rules in comparison because it’s just... fun. You got the sad “we lost” shit at the beginning & some other sad moments, but it just feels so much less dour & so much more celebratory.
Infinity War’s score hits harder at the right spots. The scene with Thanos and Gamora on Vormir is still pretty brutal and my heart rate increases every time I watch it.