Road to Infinity War - Phase 3 - Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Coming off the back of Phase 2, the one main Avenger that people were not probably crying out for a threequel for, it was Thor.
He had made a promising debut in the original film in 2011 but lost his way in The Dark World, becoming rather dour and dull.
He had more success as part of the ensemble in the Avengers films, provided some excellent moments by Whedon who knew how to use him effectively e.g. "He's of Asgard and my brother.", "He killed 90 people", "He's adopted".
What Thor Ragnarok does so well is reinvent the character of Thor and take him in new directions but also remain grounded in the history of the MCU. For example, the moment that Loki leaps up in delight when Hulk grabs Thor and tosses him around, harking back to The Avengers.
Hemsworth had proved his comedic chops with a scene-stealing turn in the Ghostbusters remake/reboot/reimagining/sequel/whatever it technically was, so it was great to see Waititi harness this superpower for the purposes of good and Hemsworth delivered.
Not only is the character different but the entire film feels worlds (or realms) away from where Thor started his journey. When the first film was announced, there was a danger it could have been a bit too Flash Gordon-y but Kenneth Branagh gave the story a Shakespearean feel by focusing on the family drama side of things.
Director Taika Waititi captures the Eighties, fun, funky space adventure vibe perfectly and delivers Marvel first out-and-out comedy. Avengers has many funny, quotable lines, Ant-Man is very funny but this is a comic adventure through and through.
As already discussed, Hemsworth delivers on his comic promise and he is backed up by Waititi's hilarious revolutionary rock Korg, Mark Ruffalo is a great straight man and comic foil to Thor and then there is the cinematic treasure that is Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, uh, Jeff Goldblum going full Goldblum.
Similar to What We Do In The Shadows, there was a lot of improvisation on set but the final film flows beautifully and there is never a sense of there were lots of scenes left on the cutting room floor.
While the comedy is at the forefront, it would not be a Thor movie without a family squabble for the throne and after a brief reconciliation with their father Odin, Thor and Loki are faced with a psychotic sister they did not know they had played with camp, crazy relish by Cate Blanchett. *Sounds very similar to the plot of the finale of Sherlock season 4*
In terms of the continuing build to Infinity War, it cleverly retcons a moment from the earlier Thor films which featured the Infinity Gauntlet, now in Thanos's possession, by having Hela knock it over and call it a "fake". It is also hinted that Loki, picks up the Tesseract before escaping Asgard which is what leads Thanos to their ship in the post-credit sting.
One suspects that things might not work out so well for the remaining Asgardians and we may have to say goodbye to some well-loved characters but only time will tell.
Until then, we still have a Hulking great slice of Ragnarok and Roll to enjoy.

Infinity Stone counter = 5

Road to Infinity War - Phase 3 - Doctor Strange (2016)

Things to take quantum leap forward in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Doctor Strange. We had previously seen travels into the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and this film would take that to the max with multiple mystical dimensions along with a hint of magic. Or is it science? As Thor would say "I come from a world where they are one and the same."
Strange was mentioned in passing during The Winter Soldier but it took another four films before he would make an appearance. Why? It could be argued that his powers were too great to be involved in the Civil War fight as he could have easily influenced the final outcome with a quick spin on the Eye of Agamotto.
Instead, Mister Doctor is given an origin story set some time during the increasingly confused MCU timeline (but one that ends synced up to the events in Thor Ragnarok).
In terms of plot, this is the most straightforward origin tale that Marvel has done since the original Iron Man.
Benedict Cumberbatch is well cast as the pompous, over-opinionated surgeon and he plays it as though he is doing an impression of Hugh Laurie doing his House accent. Following an accident in which he loses the use of his hands, he travels to Nepal in search of answers on how to heal himself and that is where he finds Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton).
One of the first things that is noticeable about the film is the cast list. Cumberbatch, Swinton, Ejifor, Mikkelsen, McAdams. It reads more like an Oscar contender than a superhero blockbuster and it is to Marvel's credit that they are now in a position to attract this calibre of talent for lead and supporting roles.
So while the plot might be straightforward, the visuals are anything but. Twisty, turny and dizzying to the point that it feels like if Inception had labyrinthitis, they are unique within the MCU and make for a welcome (and by this point needed) change to the formula). Beyond Strange's first trippy, er, trip into the Quantum realm that borders on the horrific, it is the Manhattan sequence that is the stand out.
Thankfully, the mirror realm allows the wizards to fight without causing any destruction or death to the people of New York (goodness knows they've been through enough!).
And it was nice to see a novel twist on the third act climax with having Strange stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop being killed over and over again by the big bad Dormmamu until he agrees to bargain. Was a nice change to having the hero solve the problem with their fists.

Infinity Stone counter = 5 (Time Stone)

Road to Infinity War - Phase 2 - Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor The Dark World. The darkest moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not in terms of plot or backstage drama (that would come with Ant-Man) but in terms of colour palette and reviews.
The sequel to Thor is widely regarded as the least popular film in the MCU.
Following on from the excitement of Shane Black's Iron Man 3 straying from the convention and of Phase 1 Marvel movies, this feels disappointingly formulaic.
Following Patty Jenkins' departure (she would get her own back by directing Wonder Woman four years later), Alan Taylor was hired. Best known for Game Of Thrones, he brings a workman-like quality to the production but never threatens to bring the same level of wit or inventiveness to proceedings like Joss Whedon or Shane Black
The problem lies in the villain Malekith and the Dark Elves. Underneath the make up and auto tuned voice, you wouldn't be able to tell that Malekith is played by Christopher Eccleston (something he wants to forget as well).
There is a Macguffin about planetary convergences, eternal darkness and dark matter but really this is all there to introduce the third Infinity Stone... even if it is not currently in the form of a stone.
The real story is Thor's relationships. With Jane (who is moving on with a date with Chris O'Dowd), his father Odin and incarcerated brother (adopted) Loki.
There is double and triple crossing as the battle against the Elves and for the throne reaches its climax in... Greenwich, London of all places. I think this was during the two year period where every US blockbuster was contractually obligated to destroy Central London (G.I. Joe - Retaliation, Fast & Furious 6, London Has Fallen, Independence Day Resurgence, etc, etc).
Now there are continuity errors and goofs in every film. It's part and parcel of film making that things will go wrong.
This leads us to the single moment in the MCU that will wind up every Londoner or person from the UK who is familiar with the London Underground where Thor gets on a tube train at Charing Cross and asks how far to Greenwich and a woman tells him two stops. TWO STOPS! More like "two stops to Waterloo then change for the Jubilee line and then take it six stops to North Greenwich and walk to the Naval College mate"!
Still, it was nice to see Kat Dennings back as Darcy just for the moment she can shout "Meow Meow" at Mjolnir as the hammer goes flying by.

Infinity Stone counter = 3 (Reality Stone [Aether], Space Stone, Mind Stone)

Avengers Infinity War Footage Screening - Edinburgh

Tonight saw the Avengers: Infinity War press tour come to Edinburgh. Albeit in a more low key (or Loki) fashion than the London UK Fan Event this past Sunday.
Rumours had been flying around that Paul Bettany (Vision) and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) would be in Edinburgh for the screening sadly proved to be false but co-director Joe Russo was on hand to introduce the footage.

He started by recognising the efforts of Mae Trumata who had started an online petition to have the UK premiere of the film in Edinburgh as it was the only place that they filmed in outside of the US and spent 5 weeks shooting on location at Waverley Station and the Royal Mile.
They even built a makeshift film studio in a hanger at Leith Docks for interior shoots while they were here, bringing in $10 million to the local economy.
Russo indicated that the support for the petition was why he was there tonight, and wanted to give something back to the city “for being such incredible hosts to my brother and I and our crew. It was an amazing shoot here”.
He had to go on to apologise because Edinburgh did not appear in the footage that was being screened to the audience (*cue near riots - kidding*) but that Edinburgh would feature in the finished film and that audiences “will see about ten minutes of your beautiful city in the film, which is shot as Edinburgh - it’s not shot as another location and some pretty important sequences happen here.”
That sequence is likely to Scarlet Witch and Vision come under attack from the Black Order before being saved by Captain America… if the trailers are to be believed!
Russo teed up the footage by saying that it was two scenes coming just after the opening of the film that did not give too much away in terms of plot and action. There is only one premiere screening happening for Infinity War to cut down on potential spoilers as there are “so many secrets in this film” and they “don’t want to spoil it for anyone”.
“We have gone to great lengths to protect what happens in the movie, we wrote fake scripts and distributed them to the cast”
As for the footage that was screened… you are not getting spoilers here. You would have more chance of getting blood from an Infinity Stone!
However it is fair to say that Infinity War is in very safe hands with the Russo Brothers following Captain America The Winter Soldier and Captain America Civil War and the result will be suitably epic.
While the event might not have had the star power of the London screening, the fans left happy as Joe Russo happily chatted away with fans, posing for photos and autographs. He even arranged a second showing of the footage to fans who had initially missed out on the event.

Suffice to say that Edinburgh and Scottish Marvel fans will be assembling at their local cinemas come April 26th to see how the culmination of the first ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe plays out.