Avengers: Endgame Film Review
Written by Shawn Eastridge
Has it really been 11 years since the first Iron Man? The Dark Knight might have taken all the credit that year for revolutionizing the superhero genre, but Iron Manâs legacy has proved just as important. While other films in Phase One hobbled somewhere between decent and mediocre, Joss Whedonâs first Avengers exceeded any and all expectations. To this day, it stands as one of the greatest superhero films ever, and it paved the way for the remainder of Marvelâs Cinematic Universe.
Over the course of the past decade, the MCU has seen its fair share of highs (Anything directed by the Russos), lows (Thor movies not directed by Taika Waititi) and everything in between. But through it all, Marvel Studios has maintained a consistent level of quality, conjuring up box office numbers that made Warner Bros SO JEALOUS they ruined Superman in the attempt to catch up. (Hey, WB: Iâm still available to help get you on the right track with the Man of Steel. Call me.)
But now, twenty-two movies later, itâs all come down to this. Weâre in the Endgame now, the long-awaited BIG FINALE to Marvelâs Cinematic Universe.
Letâs be real, though - we all know this isnât really the finale. The MCU will chug on and on forever. In fact, weâve even got another Marvel movie right around the corner. (That would be Julyâs Spider-Man: Far From Home) And while that knowledge does dilute Endgameâs overall effectiveness - can anyone ever stay dead in the realm of comic books - it seems foolish to recognize Endgame as anything other than a monumental success.
Seriously, this âconclusionâ to the MCUâs recently dubbed âInfinity Sagaâ satisfies on nearly every level, fulfilling arcs set up in prior films and providing proper send offs for characters weâve come to know and love over the past decade. Instead of collapsing under the weight of its ongoing 22-film arc, the Russo Brothers, along with screenwriting duo Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, rise to the challenge and then some, wrapping things up with style, grace and a surprising amount of emotion. That is perhaps the most pleasant surprise: Endgame is genuinely touching in the way it thoughtfully concludes this ongoing story arc. You may find yourself dabbing the corners of your eyes more frequently than expected through the filmâs brisk three-hour runtime.
This isnât all to say that Endgame is without its fair share of flaws - and there are plenty that Iâll get into during the spoiler section of this review - but honestly, the nitpicks feel so minor when compared to all the things that work. Marvel Studios hasnât just raised the bar for superhero filmmaking and âbig finalesâ in general. Theyâve obliterated it.
There. Thatâs my non-spoiler reaction. MASSIVE SPOILERS await you ahead. So, do yourself a favor: if you havenât seen Avengers: Endgame already, see it. Immediately. If you have any fondness for any of the films in this massive franchise, thereâs no way youâll be disappointed. Once youâre in the know, come back and check out the rest of this review.
Sound good? Okay. Letâs push forward.
Where Infinity War brought the comic book action early and often, Endgameâs opening moments are more meditative and somber. Our heroes have just faced a crushing loss. Theyâre still reeling from the devastation of Thanosâs infamous Finger-Snap Heard âround the Universe. Nothing will ever be the same.
After staging an effectively heart-wrenching opening scene, giving us a brief glimpse at Hawkeyeâs family life before his wife and kids fade into ash, the Russos keep the mood low-key and mournful for the duration of the filmâs first act. Then we get one of Endgameâs earliest and best twists: within the filmâs first twenty minutes, the Avengers find Thanos and discover heâs destroyed the Infinity Stones to prevent anyone from undoing his monstrous deed. In an empty gesture, Thor chops off the purple dudeâs head. Itâs a brilliant way to kick things off, throwing the audience for a loop and suggesting an âanything goesâ vibe to keep us on the edge of our seats.
The story jumps ahead five years(!!) to find our heroes scattered and broken, attempting to mend together the pieces in a world still devastated by its new reality. I loved that the Russos let us wallow in our heroesâ misery for a bit. You really get a sense of the loss theyâve experienced, that the entire world has experienced. These scenes offer some wonderful character beats and conversations, something that has always elevated Marvel above the rest of the pack.
Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, escapes the Quantum Realm (you saw Ant-Man and the Wasp, right?) to discover a significantly altered world. But he brings a message of hope with him: the duration of time he experienced in the Quantum Realm was only 5 hours, suggesting the potential for time travel. Maybe they can find a way to fix the devastation Thanos has wrought by traveling back in time?
P.S. Can I just take a moment to talk about how much I love Paul Rudd in this movie? Ant-Man has been on the periphery of the MCUâs big events and to see him take on such a big role in this movie was a huge thrill.
This glimmer of hope inspires the band to get back together and itâs genuinely surprising where some of them have ended up. Bruce Banner has finally made peace with his meaner, greener side, resulting in Professor Hulk, a version of the character that maintains Bannerâs intelligence and personality. Thor never overcame his grief and has spent the past five years descending into drunken slobbery and gaining a significant amount of weight in the process. This provides one of the filmâs best sight gags. Plus, itâs maintained throughout! Kudos to you, Russos!
And then we have Mr. Tony Stark himself, the key to figuring out how to make time travel work. But heâs moved on. He and Pepper have an adorable daughter. He has absolutely zero desire to lose what he has. Ultimately the realization that he can save the lives of countless billions - including one surrogate son Peter Parker - drives him to support the cause.
Endgameâs 2nd act centers around the newly reassembled Avengers time-traveling into the past to gather the Infinity Stones, bring them to their future and use them to âun-snapâ their fallen comrades. These sequences are fun and light on their feet. Theyâre especially effective in lieu of the grim opening scenes.
Hereâs the thing, though: As much as I love this portion of the film and the way the time travel stuff is handled, I couldnât help feeling there was a general lack of consequence to everything that happened during this sequence. Even when things skew from the teamâs set plan, it doesnât feel like a significant snag or an insurmountable obstacle. These moments are treated as minor annoyances before our heroes carry on with a new solution, nary breaking their strides or a sweat in the process.
Itâs all fun in a Back to the Future Part II kind of way, but itâs treated more as an extended comedy bit than anything else, and to a certain extent, this robs Endgame of some level of suspense. Plus, itâs time travel. Once you throw time travel into the mix, all bets are off, and I couldnât help shaking that feeling. After all, whatâs to stop them from using this plot device again and again in the future, consequences be damned?
At the very least, the wackiness of the time travel sequence is balanced with some great character beats. I loved Thorâs tender moment with his mom. I loved Captain America vs. Captain America. I loved that Tony gets a sincere heart to heart with his dad, offering some much-needed closure. Robert Downey Jr. has never been anything less than wonderful in this role, but his performance in Endgame might take the cake. Honestly, everyone brings their A-game to the table and these moments ground the sequence, keeping it from getting too bonkers.
This sequence is also balanced with a genuinely tragic moment: Black Widow sacrifices herself to get the Soul Stone. I donât know why this scene has been stirring up some people, because hereâs the thing: this moment works perfectly. Natasha (Black Widow) and Clint (Hawkeye) travel to Vormir to obtain the Soul Stone. As established in Infinity War, the only way to obtain said stone is to sacrifice the thing you love most. Clintâs willing to take the plunge. Heâs become a monster in the five years since his familyâs disappearance (but an awesome, katana-wielding monster) and he doesnât feel he deserves to see them again. Natasha knows this isnât true and sheâs willing to sacrifice herself to ensure Clint gets his happy ending. After all, he saved her all those years ago. Itâs time to return the favor. Itâs heartbreaking, but it feels right and Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner sell every minute.
The plan is a success, but itâs not without its snags. Past Thanos ends up getting involved when past Nebula tunes into future Nebulaâs wifi and begins broadcasting everything future Nebula has seen, including the Avengersâ time travel plan. Thanos gets worked up into a tizzy and he and past Nebula devise a plan to get him into the Avengersâ future so he can ensure everyone snapped out of existence stays snapped out of existence. Also, why not wipe out everyone else in the process just for good measure? Because thatâs what big, angry, purple maniacs do. Donât question it.
Is it a bit weird that the Thanos the Avengers face isnât the same Thanos so carefully fleshed out in Infinity War? Yeah, a little bit. To be honest, it makes things feel kind of impersonal. This Thanos feels more like the mysterious being teased in dozens of MCU post-credits sequence than the layered, thoughtful villain of the previous film. Itâs a bit of a bummer, but it is what it is.
Ultimately, my biggest gripe with Endgame is the same gripe caused by Infinity Warâs conclusion. We already knew the disintegrated heroes were going to come back for their obligatory sequels. Their arrival during Endgameâs epic battle to end all epic battles feels inevitable more than surprising.
And, look, let me be clear: Endgameâs climax is the ultimate superhero big battle youâve been dreaming of since Nick Fury first name-dropped the âAvengers Initiative.â I went nuts with the best of them when all our heroes returned from the abyss for this ultimate showdown, so understand my next criticism comes from a place of love. Once all the heroes show up, the stakes disappear. I didnât have any doubt the Avengers would win. As a result, the climax is robbed of its suspense. Itâs basically fan service to the nth degree, which again, Iâd like to emphasize I was totally cool with. It just prevents the battle from conjuring up any emotional depth.
This isnât The Return of the King. Itâs not the Battle of Hogwarts or the Death Star trench run or even the first Avengersâ Battle for New York. Itâs a big, flashy special effects extravaganza overflowing with crowd-pleasing beats, but lacking in genuine (hereâs this word again) consequence. Again, I want to emphasize that I loved every second of it, but thereâs a significant lack of loss during these scenes. Ultimately, Tony Stark sacrifices himself to save the universe and itâs absolutely BRILLIANT and heart-wrenching, but no one else seems in danger. Iron Man dies so that dozens of franchises can live on.
The remaining twenty minutes or so of Endgame are low key. We witness Tonyâs emotional funeral, torches are passed (go, Sam Wilson, go!) and some unexpected-slash-exciting team-ups are teased (Fat Thor with the Guardians of the Galaxy? I am SO in.) But itâs during these quiet scenes that the Russos skillfully remind us what has always mattered the most: the characters. And Iâm not going to lie, itâs difficult not to get choked up when Steve Rogers, a man who has sacrificed so much for the greater good, finally gets his happy ending, dancing the day away with the love of his life.
Big finales donât get much more enjoyable or fulfilling than this. Marvelâs Cinematic Universe will go on and on and on. Inevitably, its quality will wane and fade, but we can rest easy knowing that the heroes that kicked everything off got the send-off they deserved. It might not be perfect, but itâs pretty damn great. Most importantly, itâs satisfying.
With the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios has accomplished something extraordinary. Theyâve touched countless millions across the globe without compromising the artistic quality of this multi-billion dollar franchise. We can rage on and on about Disneyâs domination and how everything is just a corporate product and blah, blah, blah, but weâd be ignoring the fact that they got to where they are because they honored their source material and went out of their way to give the fans something special.
So to Kevin Feige and the entire team at Marvel Studios, cast, crew, writers, bean pushers, etc., Iâd like to say thank you. Youâve earned every record-breaking penny. We love you 3000.
Now can someone please un-cancel Daredevil?? Come on!!
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