call me sentimental

Iron Man dies as he uses the Infinity Stones to save the universe

Over the weekend, as I was dealing with my neck pain, I rewatched "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." Both movies went down easy, and I don't think I have quite the animosity toward them that I did. I still stand by everything I wrote: "Infinity War" has better pacing and a better Thanos, but "Endgame" has that over-the-top, Peter Jackson-style battle royale at the end. Together, the movies form a connected, somewhat coherent pair, and whatever the problems caused by time travel, the movies tell a decent, likable story.

This is especially true now that we've weathered the woke mess that has been Phase IV, the supposedly "cosmic" phase that didn't turn out to be that cosmic except maybe for "Eternals," "Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," and the universe-hopping "Loki" TV series. I didn't watch most of Phase IV (that includes skipping those new Marvel TV series: "Ms. Marvel," "Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "She-Hulk," "WandaVision," "What If," "Hawkeye," and "Moon Knight"), and from everything I've heard, the whole thing is a wretched mess.

At this point, I'm all Marveled out, and for my "head canon," as they say, the whole adventure ends with "Endgame." I did see the Phase IV "Spider-Man: No Way Home," but that's been about it. I will see Phase V's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3" when it comes out because, well, how can you miss out on James Gunn? But I doubt I'll have any interest in the other movies of Phase V, which already feels like another big crash waiting to happen.