Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame **** / *****

Directed by: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo.

Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely basics on comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and Jim Starlin.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers / Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton / Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange), Chadwick Boseman (T'Challa / Black Panther), Brie Larson (Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel), Tom Holland (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Evangeline Lilly (Hope van Dyne / The Wasp), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Rene Russo (Frigga), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Benedict Wong (Wong), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Dave Bautista (Drax), Letita Wright (Shuri), John Slattery (Howard Stark), Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Marisa Tomei ( Auny May), Taika Waititi (Kong), Angela Bassett (Ramonda), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet Van Dyne), William Hurt (Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross), Colbie Smulders (Maria Hill), Sean Gunn (On Set Rocket), Winston Duke (M/Baku), Linda Cardellini (Laura Barton), Maximiliano Hernandez (Agent Sitwell), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow), Hiroyuki Sanada (Akihiko), , Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Robert Redford (Alexander Pierce), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Samuel L. Jackson (Nicky Fury), Lexi Rabe (Morgan Stark).

 

So, here we are finally. After 11 years and 21 previous films, we finally get to the Endgame. And even if we know this isn’t really the end – there is another MCU movie scheduled for release in July – and various others in stages of development, and numerous TV series either ongoing right now or coming in the near future. But it is the end of this universe as we currently know it – as the heroes who have been at the heart of this universe for the past decade will step aside in one way or another and make room for some new heroes – either ones we already know, some not. So there is a lot riding on this movie – which brings an end to a chapter in this series.

 

The major accomplishment of Endgame is that it someone manages to make this massive series, with countless characters, and 21 prior movies, feel like it was all leading to this one place. It has to somehow bring together everyone in one place, for one task and make it feel natural. That is no minor feat. It is the same trick that Game of Thrones is trying to pull right now in its last season with mixed results (the second episode of the current season was one of my favorites of the whole show – the third – the huge battle – was okay, but kind of a letdown). That writer/director Joe and Anthony Russo pull it off is something that cannot be dismissed. This is a huge logistical challenge, and they pull it off. They also manage to make what is essentially a three-hour movie based mostly on fan service, and turn it into a satisfying movie. This isn’t a standalone to be sure – you may be able to follow the major plot of the movie without much knowledge of what came before, but really, what would the point of that be?

 

And so, here we are. The Snapture has happened, wiping out half of our heroes, along with half of everyone else in the Universe, all because Thanos (Josh Brolin) thinks the universe would be better off with people living creatures in it. There are limited resources, and know, they can sustain everyone. That was where Infinity War left us, and pretty much exactly where Endgame picks up. I’m not going to get into spoilers here – not really – not because I’m that worried (the film made $350 million in North America in one weekend, so if you really wanted to see it, you have seen it – but mainly because if I started to explain the plot, I’d have to go on for 10 pages, and that is something no one wants. I think many people had many theories of how Endgame was going to resolve the wiping out of billions of lives – including heroes who we already know have upcoming projects with them in it – and while I won’t spoil it, I will say that while most of those theories turned out to be wrong in terms of specifics, they weren’t that far off either.

 

I mentioned Game of Thrones last season above, and I am reminded of that now – because essentially what Endgame is the second and third episode of that series’ last season merged together into a single film. The second episode of this season had all the surviving characters at Winterfell, knowing that the Night King was descending on them and preparing to fight, even if they all thought they were going to die. The third episode was the massive battle of Winterfell – where that fight actually happens. That is essentially Endgame – where the two hours is the surviving heroes at their most existential – trying to figure out a way to win, however slim the chances are, and the final hour being the massive battle we all know is coming. True, the second hour has what they call a time heist in it – which is just basically pure fun in the most fan service way possible. But there is more darkness in this film than most other Marvel movies – and not just in the way of Infinity War, which ended on a downer that we all knew was temporary – but something deeper and darker and more sustained than that. And unlike the Battle of Winterfell, Endgame doesn’t chicken out in the end in terms of who lives and who dies.

 

Endgame is a huge movie in every way, and what’s most surprising about it is that it works as well as it does. It works better than Infinity War did for me – that film felt like it was trying to pummel be for nearly three hours, and while ultimately, it is a fine film, it’s little more than that. Endgame goes farther, and is a truly fun and moving experience. I’m not going to overstate this movies importance – some users on Twitter who have claimed this is the peak human achievement of all time have taken care of that. But it is a film that sets itself a huge task, and then remarkably achieves it. It is a satisfying way to end this chapter of the MCU – which has had its ups and down over the past decade, but has mainly been a lot of fun. It’s better than most of them, but not all of them – but it’s a fitting way to not say goodbye – since the series isn’t ending – but at least, See you later.