Notes, page 9

As fun and cringe-worthy as the first one. Somehow more enjoyable because Infinity War was such a downer.

There is a shot in this film that, for a split second, managed to trick my brain into believing Tom Cruise was about to die. I didn’t smile and think “that’s cool.” Folks, I audibly gasped in a movie theater.

(I’m talking about the helicopter scene)

It’s clear why kid me thought this was the coolest thing ever. I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the iconic moments I remembered still hold up. What I wasn’t expecting was for the rest to be so… messy? The more expository scenes feel very half-assed, to the point of being a bit silly.

I will never not be amazed that this movie exists. There is a very rare quality to the animation work here — you never forget it’s hand drawn, yet it’s always alive.

The first big shootout’s action feels a bit imprecise in a post-John Wick world, but that’s about all I can criticize. This is still a masterpiece in my book.

My eyes hurt from all the rolling.

This is actually the best Marvel movie???

Fun to watch, extremely cool, wholly original. And not a single “crossover event” to be seen. The Marvel movie I’d been waiting for since Iron Man.

Entertaining and well executed. Too bad there’s nothing original about it.

A far cry from the original’s simplicity and earnestness, but these giant robots still tickle my fancy. I had a blast watching it.

The amount of distinct stuff happening in this movie is bonkers — it felt like an entire mecha anime series crammed into a couple of hours. I really wish it could have been made as a 10-hour TV show that actually took the time to linger and explore all those ideas.

Almost okay. Yet another nostalgia grab that fails to be anything more.