‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review

This review contains Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

In the 11 years since Iron Man came out, the MCU has grown in scope and popularity. It started with a man in a suit of armor, and now there’s a whole universe of superheroes, supervillains, and everyone in between. It’s far from perfect, with a couple of duds and some occasional questionable continuity (and that’s not even mentioning the TV shows), but it’s undeniably an incredible feat. All the planning necessary for something like this should not work out, and yet here we are. After over a decade of build up, we’re, as Doctor Strange says in Infinity War, “in the endgame now.” So that begs the question:

Was it all worth it?

Yes.

Yes it was.

Endgame is an epic with incredibly large stakes, and also an intimate character drama. Despite all it has to accomplish in its 3 hour and 2 minute runtime, the film feels effortless and quick. Okay maybe not quite quick, but it doesn’t feel like 3 hours and 2 minutes. It…kind of doesn’t feel like a movie either?

Endgame feels like a 3 part season finale, edited to be a movie. If it wasn’t such a good season finale, I’d cite this as a problem. However, I kind of like it. It really is a finale of sorts, and its extremely satisfying. The first half hour instantly hooks you, the time travel shenanigans are really fun, and the third is fucking insane.

You know how I said it feels like a season finale? That’s not entirely true. It feels more like the second half of a 12-issue event comic, the first half being Infinity War. It handles the reprecussions of that movie really well, fully embracing the tragedy of the fact that Thanos won. He not only ruined the universe, but he broke our characters as well. Except for Tony Stark.

Sigh

It’s time to talk about Tony Stark. Truth is, I’ve only really liked Tony in 4 movies: Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Infinity War, and Endgame. That’s a soft like in the case of Infinity War. Robert Downey Jr. has consistently been great in the role, but after Iron Man 3 (where he peaked as a character) he’s been written as insufferable and unlikable. His quips are annoying and he’s kind of a huge jerk who doesn’t face any consequences, especially in Age of Ultron. Weirdly enough, Endgame kind of plays with this. In a way, Tony is almost rewarded for losing against Thanos. He has a nice house, is happily married, and has an adorable little girl. Tony is a wonderful dad in this movie, and has great chemistry with his daughter. And that’s when Captain America, Black Widow, and Ant Man ask him to risk all that to undo the damage Thanos did. Initially, Tony isn’t willing to give up his new life. It’s completely understandable, and no one in the film blames him for it. However, back in 2012 he was willing to sacrifice himself to save New York from the nuclear missle. For better or for worse, he hasn’t changed much since then (not counting the Iron Man 3 character arc that was kind of undone). Tony then figures out how to successfully travel through time and joins the Avengers in their Time Heist™. In the end, he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone, just like he was willing to do all the way in 2012. His last words were absolutely perfect. “I am Iron Man,” *chef kiss* poetic cinema.

Now that we’re on the topic of characters, I guess we have to talk about Thor now.

Sigh.

So Ragnarok made me fall in love with Thor and Infinity War reaffirmed that love. I was so excited to see how Thor handled the aftermath of his failure in Infinity War. The opening scene where he violently kills Thanos with a quiet rage was very promising. You can see how broken he is, how far he’s fallen from grace. Then we cut to five years later and uh. Woo boy. Fat jokes time. I’m all for fat Thor, and the idea of Thor falling so far that he’s just hanging out with Meek and Korg playing Fortnite. I just don’t like how it’s handled as a joke for most of the movie. I felt betrayed by all the fat jokes honestly. Once he travels back to Dark World time, he has a great scene with his mom and finds the strength to be who he’s meant to be. The moment where he reaches out and Mjolnir comes to him is kind of wonderful though. Thor’s excitement at being worthy of Mjolnir while Come and Get Your Love plays is wholesome and I love it. From then on Thor is taken relatively seriously, aside from the Cheese Whiz line.

Okay while we’re on characters, I don’t have much to say about Steve Rogers. Steve just…he fucking rules in this movie man. I mean, he’s always ruled but he rules even more in this movie. He has the absolute best moments in the movie, from his fight with himself in the past to USING MJOLNIR AGAINST THANOS and finally, FINALLY, saying “Avengers, assemble.” It only took 11 years, but he finally said it.

sO wHiLe We’Re On ThE tOpIc Of ChArAcTeRs,, it’s time to talk about the best character in the movie: Nebula. Nebulas has been a standout character since she first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy. Karen Gillan kills it in the role, and everyone who gets to write her is extremely aware of all the dramatic potential of the character, and they fucking use it. Nebula has grown so much, and we are shown how much she’s grown when she interacts from her past self. She’s aware that what she’s done in the past is wrong and that Thanos is evil. She’s also aware of the fact that she and Gamora shouldn’t be fighting; they’re sisters, and they should stick together. I just. Nebula is great man.

Blah, blah, topic of characters, LOVED PROFESSOR HULK. MCU Hulk has been a highlight of the franchise, and this continues here. Mark Ruffalo is, ahem, incredible, as Hulk/Bruce Banner. It was great to see such a great concept from the comics adapted to well on the big screen.

Anyways,

Ha ha get shit on Natasha.

Okay so, her death doesn’t really make sense or work with her arc, but I kind of don’t care. Not because it affected me, but because I really never liked Black Widow. Never really clicked with me honestly. That goes for the comics too. I have zero attachment to this character.

However, people smarter than me have talked about how her death is a problem. She sure was killed for the growth of a bunch of male characters, and they sure didn’t make a huge deal out of her death. Tony got a funeral, but she didn’t.

That’s a yikes for sure.

Let’s run down a few more characters real quick:

• Ant Man: Paul Rudd continues to be fantastic as Scott. Thanks for saving everyone Ant Man, love u. I’m glad Cassie didn’t get snapped.
• Hawkeye: Jeremy Renner continues to be the wrong choice for Clint. I wish we would’ve gotten more with the Ronin stuff.
• Rhodey: Don Cheadle continues to be a better Hawkeye than Hawkeye. He’s the grounding character, which is who Clint should be. Anyways I like him.
• Thanos: We don’t get a ton of Thanos in this movie, but he’s still brilliantly played by Josh Brolin and incredibly animated by all the great VFX people. He’s a great villain, and it’s interesting to see him from another point of view.

Overall, I really liked Avengers: Endgame! It’s kind of messy at points, but overall it’s an exciting, interesting, and most of all, satisfying conclusion to this era of the MCU. I’m excited to see where it goes next.