If I thought Infinity War had an impossible task, AVENGERS: ENDGAME had an even steeper mountain to climb. How does one even begin to top Infinity War? And, once again, Marvel Studios put themselves in an even tougher spot by announcing movies after Endgame like Spider-Man: Far From Home, which basically told everyone how Endgame was going to end. But even before that, as any comic reader knows, many figured that the "dusted" heroes and populace were coming back. It only came down to a matter of how.
Everyone was expecting time travel. Everyone was expecting deaths among the original Avengers line-up due to contracts coming to an end. And, once again, everyone was expecting "the snap" to be undone. It was because of these widespread preconceived expectations that "the how" became all the more important. Given the Russo Brothers propensity to surprise us and use our expectations against us, it had me thinking that the Russos wouldn't play into these all-prevailing theories. In interviews the Russo Brothers are always talking about how smart the audiences are and their efforts to stay ahead of the audience.
When your average audience member, who doesn't know a thing about comic books, is expecting time-travel you know Marvel Studios will play against those expectations. Right? This led me to hope that time-travel wouldn't be involved. This also led me to hope for something even crazier: the dusted heroes wouldn't return. Why did I hope for such an evil thing? Because I didn't want Infinity War to be diminished. If everything that occurred in Infinity War was reversed then the movie would lose the power and gravitas it has so miraculously attained. And on a macro level, I didn't want all the 21 movies before to be diminished.
Endgame's biggest challenge is paying off all 21 previous films. The worst case scenario if Endgame totally failed would be a ripple effect that would travel down all the previous films, in effect, diminishing the last ten years of films. Obviously certain movies would still be great, but the overall experiment that is the MCU would be somewhat of a failure. Imagine if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 totally screwed up? There'd be less of a reason to go back to the franchise and we'd all forever wonder what things would've been like had they pulled off a great ending.
Needless to say, the stakes for this film extend beyond merely the narrative defeat of Thanos.
So how was it?
Well, for me, this movie landed in two different places at the same time. On one hand the movie was great and a worthy finale to the 22 film franchise. On the other hand it was kind of a let down. My feelings aren't conflicted, which is strange. I fully see the movie as great and as a let down at the same time. So let's get to it!
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!
THE PLOT
The Avengers lost. Thanos won. The universe is reeling from the effects of the Decimation. The heroes and the rest of the universe have to find a way to live with their defeat and move on in a world with half the life it once had. But when a hero who was presumed dead miraculously returns, hope is rekindled. Scott Lang, long thought dead, appears to the remaining Avengers with an idea for a second chance and a way to undo everything Thanos did. But it may be a one way trip for some of them... "Whatever it takes."
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
On One Hand...
This film is totally in service of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in that endeavor I feel it succeeded. It didn't feel beholden to the source material at all, but rather beholden to the films of the MCU. I especially enjoyed seeing love shown to the often vilified THOR: THE DARK WORLD (one of my favorite films in the MCU).
It's up to the original six Avengers once again to save the universe and it feels right that this is the case. Iron Man's big moment felt earned and appropriate to end everything on. Robert Downey Jr as a whole was great in the movie and his character was treated very well (when isn't it?). Similarly Chris Evans as Captain America was well represented and wonderful throughout the movie. These two received more of a hero's send off than any others in the film. I also loved Scartlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner (although Black Widow didn't receive quite the send off as Iron Man or Cap, which was weird). Hawkeye's opening in the film was heart-wrenching and oh so dark.
I really liked Nebula (again, no surprise). Karen Gillan has done such an amazing job with Nebula over the course of four films and naturally developed the character into a three-dimensional person with sympathy, heart, and unbridled rage and intensity. She may be my favorite character in all of the MCU. I loved her interactions with everybody in the film, especially Rocket and her surprising connection to War Machine.
The tone of the film was dour and more serious than the usual MCU fare, which is more to my liking. And while the tone of the film was certainly darker than usual (for good reason), the filmmakers still managed to find plenty of moments of humor.
Did I like how they handled time-travel? Yes. It was quite nice to see these "extended" sequences from previous films. And the great number of actors and returning characters from previous films was a total delight. I loved seeing Robert Redford, Tilda Swinton, Rene Russo, Frank Grillo, Agent Sitwell, and the so many other cameo guest stars. It felt like a wonderful celebration of the MCU, a look back at where we were and how far we've come. And it also felt like a little bit of a gratuitous "hits parade." And you all know how much I love my gratuity (seriously, the gorier my horror movies the better and the more fighting in my action movies the better. I am all about gratuity) even though it is quite shameful most times.
And a major credit to the filmmakers is how they evoked an emotional response from me. Many of the emotional moments landed well with me. I loved Tony's reunion with his dad and Cap's reunion with Peggy. Nebula's confrontation with herself as well as her interactions with Gamora and Rocket tugged at the old heart-strings too. And of course Tony's near death experience at the beginning was striking and powerful. And his relationship with his daughter was touching too. And of course, when the dusted heroes return for the final fight, the moment had the desired gravity and emotional weight to it (even with someone who didn't want them brought back like myself). It's a testament to this film with the great number of emotional moments that connected.
Of everything in this film, I feel the greatest strengths were in the character interactions, relationships, and character beats. In these respects, the writing in this film is solid and you're reminded of why you love these characters and this franchise. All these emotional moments with much beloved characters grants the film a certain amount of forgiveness. Or at least makes it easier to turn a blind eye to Endgame's shortcomings.
As a result, this film exists in two separate places in my mind and heart at the same time. When I choose to ignore a great many things I really enjoy the film. On one hand I like this movie. On the other hand is a complete different reaction which has made this particular film hard to reconcile. As such, this review here is me choosing to ignore certain things, turn off my analytical brain, and just enjoy the experience. If I were to give a separate verdict and ranking for this view of the film it would be a 7 out of 10.
I'm reserving the final verdict for this film until I've revealed the "other hand" of my experience. MY EXPERIENCE! I am in no way saying anything absolute about this film, only my truths to my experience. You yourselves are entitled to your own opinions and feelings regarding this film and whether you feel my stances are justified or not.
So, for the other half of this review (the darker negative half) please check out part two linked below. Otherwise, if all you wish to read is the positives and one of the ways I feel about the film, DO NOT read part two. Just a word of warning.
For more of my thoughts and reviews on
the MCU and all things super hero cinema, check out the posts below. And
as always drop us a line on what you think in the comments below!
THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)
THE DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE (DCEU)
Fox-Marvel, Sony-Marvel, and other stuff too!
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