Before I begin, two quick notes: this review will be spoiler free and, at least at the premiere and my press screening, there were no mid/after credits scenes.
Since the snap heard ’round the world hit a year ago tomorrow, people have been wondering how Marvel Studios was going to follow up Avengers: Infinity War. Well, on Thursday, the wait is over when the 22nd, and final in the first epic wave of films, Marvel Studios film, Avengers: Endgame opens. It is a very hard film to talk about without spoiling anything, but I would rather a lesser review than one that reveals that Thor shaves a mohawk into his head and deliver’s Storm’s classic “What happens when a toad gets hit by lightning?” line and pledges allegiance to Charles Xavier spoilers.
What I can say is that, undoubtedly, this is a less disjointed and far more cohesive film than Infinity War is, and that the film truly feels like a culmination of eleven years of storytelling. Certain threads are tied up with such a tight bow that, dare I say, they’ll never be untied. Others are left open for the next Phase or Disney+ show or whatever. The film is laid out in a totally surprising way, and the pace, while brisk, never really feels rushed. Sure, at least 30 minutes should’ve been cut out, but that’s been a standard complaint for years with these films.
The overarching feeling that I had walking out of the theater was that I felt, for the first time really since…well, maybe ever, that it felt like if they took five years off from making MCU movies, that might be ok. That’s not to say I never felt fatigue before, or that this film was more strenuous to enjoy, but rather, the story can rest because most of the important beats are either resolved, or don’t need to be rushed into. Of course, we’ve got a Spidey flick in a few months, so that’s not going to happen, but that’s how definitive parts of this film felt.
Like I did last time for Infinity War, instead of talking in circles for 1000 words, I’m going to highlight 22 observations, in honor of the 22 MCU films, from the film. But be warned, there is even less I can say about this than I said about Infinity War.
We ask that, if you would like to comment on this article, that you, too, keep it spoiler-free.
1. Get ready to suspend your disbelief to the hilt
Look, I’m not asking for there to be actual science applied to superhero stories/films, but this movie introduces a couple of contrivances to move the plot along that, if you think about it for more than 5 seconds, make absolutely no sense. This bothered me for a few minutes before I decided I just had to give myself over to the reality of the film, as poorly explained as that was.
But be warned: once the main plot comes together, just go with it. At least five times something will happen that will make you scratch your head and say “but wouldn’t that mean…” and it will just get under your skin. Just give in.
2. Forget About Me, I Love You
The overarching theme at the heart of this movie is the need for family, both those your create yourself, and your biological family. Almost everyone’s motivations blend the desire to save ‘everyone’ and to protect their families. It isn’t presented as selfish, but rather realistic how priorities change and how the greater good can often feel hollow if it doesn’t do good for the only people who really matter to you.
3. Fan service
There are any number of times but, especially, one in the final battle, that make little sense, but exist to give the fans in the theater a reason to cheer. I’m not talking about anything specifically plot-related, but rather some groupings of characters or situations that certain characters find themselves in, which are just there for a fist pump. For the most part, these are fine, and the egregious one mentioned above is incredibly well-intentioned, if not clunky in its execution.
Continued below4. Hawkeye has an iPhone
But with an unfamiliar iOS. I guess that’s what happens when half the world goes away; Apple still keeps fucking up a good thing by messing with their operating systems.
5. Hawkguy
From the first frame of the movie, it declares itself Clint Barton’s film. Hawkeye plays a really important role in just about everything that happens, and is an important factor in, perhaps, the most emotionally wrought scene. His presence was non-existent in Infinity War, and you can see why after Endgame. He wouldn’t have fit in there, and he fits this like a glove.
6. Like Woah
I wasn’t looking at my watch, because who does that?, but I would estimate that by the 20 or 30 minute mark in the film, something unexpected happens, but especially unexpected for coming in the first sixth of the film. The action reframes the entire movie, and creates a much more interesting, to me, approach than if it had followed a more traditional pathway.
7. Stunt casting
The first half of the film has a few cameos that were absolutely tiny roles given the ‘famous’ people. I get why this is done, but it really brings you out of the film temporarily.
Also, Stan Lee’s ‘final’ cameo was not anything like what I thought it would be, but continued the tradition of being distracting and bad.
8. The most lighthearted Avengers film
I know it seems like a natural assumption that this movie would be a more heavy-handed and bleak affair, but that’s not true at all. This movie has a lot of really funny moments, and overall has a much more hopeful tone than you’d expect. Not that it is devoid of depth or heartfelt moments, but the overall tone of the movie is much, much more positive than I expected.
9. A much better looking movie than Infinity War
One of the problems that I had with Infinity War was that it was somewhat bland in terms of its visual composition. While this certainly doesn’t match Black Panther or Thor: Ragnarok, there were moments of beauty, specifically the beauty of space, that were missing in Infinity War. I still can’t really articulate the visual style of the Russo Brothers with any specificity, especially because of one of the conceits of the film that I can’t get into, but I felt that there was a much more consistent visual tone than in the scattershot, four-films-in-one Infinity War.
Again, there is so much more I want to say about this exact thread, but I really can’t. We’ll talk next week.
10. RDJ 4eva
Robert Downey Jr. is so damn good in this film. Not that others aren’t, but Downey has so embodied Tony Stark that he performs in a way that is the most natural of the whole bunch. Not that Evans and Hemsworth are wooden or anything, but Downey has played Iron Man so many times that it seems like a comfortable pair of slippers for him. His performance in the first hour or so has so much nuance, so many shifts in tone, and such realism, that it’s really a marvel, pardon the pun. I’m not saying the guy deserves an Oscar nomination, because that’s not how the Academy Awards work, but I think his performance in this film will be very clearly celebrated.
11. The Kinks! Blind Faith!
I’ve been down on the score for the MCU films and, again, it is the sonic equivalent of an undersalted, soggy cracker. But this film did a better job than any other MCU film outside of Black Panther of integrating pop music into the film. And rarely was it done in such a way where it was cutely commenting on the action, although the Kinks’ tune they chose did just that. But, that song slaps, so it’s fine.
12. Everyone gets their moment
Much like in Infinity War, every major character is given a moment or two. Hell, even minor characters get a laugh line or a big pose, outside of the fan service-y moments I discussed above. A few of these – specifically Cap’s big moment – felt incredibly earned and were really nice chances to celebrate these characters. It was the only part of the film that really felt like it was constructed not to further the (ample) plot, but rather gives fans a warm fuzzy. And that’s absolutely fine; it rarely got egregious.
Continued below13. Teamwork!
While there are certainly parts of the film where various heroes are quibbling over something or other, some very serious issues, some not at all, I always enjoy it when, in these circumstances, there are a few moments of unfaltering teamwork. That’s why we want these movies; we can see individual heroes being dope in their solo films. These big slobberknockers are there to watch our action figure battles from childhood come to life, and I don’t know about you, but I never had my Iron Man and Captain America toys arguing over the politics of superheroics.
14. Re-establishes some important characters and pares down when it needs to
While this film was billed as very much ‘the original Avengers versus Thanos,’ it doesn’t just focus on those characters, though they do get the bulk of the spotlight. And that is the main reason why this film works better than Infinity War for me. Even though there are machinations that are far more complicated than the three tiered approach to stopping Thanos, because you’re focusing on a smaller main cast, it is nice to not have (as extreme) whiplash from the jumping between story and story. There are still some moments of the team getting split up, but those only take up maybe a third of overall film.
But this movie, more than any other Avengers film, gives Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Hulk more substantial storylines than they’d previously seen.
15. Return of the King syndrome
With a lot of loose threads to tie up, the last 15 minutes or so felt a little bit like the 9 endings of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, but for the most part they all served a purpose. And, really, if those got cut, the film’s overall tone would’ve felt entirely different.
16. Where my IM3 fans at?
There’s an Iron Man 3 reference that, if you catch it, is very satisfying. But pay attention, because you may miss it and, even if you see it, you may miss it.
17. Future plans
A couple of Marvel’s planned films/series looks to be quite different than originally anticipated based on how this film wrapped up. Again, I wish I could say more, but suffice to say, there might need to be so really heavy lifting done in those projects to explain what exactly is going on, when the stories take place, or how certain things that appeared certain here maybe aren’t so certain.
On the other hand, a few of the announced projects in development now have a much clearer concept, and were interestingly set up here, especially in the final act of the film.
Sorry, that one is particularly annoying.
18. Two words for you that, without context, will mean nothing, but hopefully will make you smile in the theater:
Hobbit Thanos.
19. JS, my man!
Jim Starlin got a special credit on the film, thanking him for his “significant contributions” to the film. I doubt that means he was consulting on it, but who knows? I’m just glad that he’s getting some credit on screen. Without Starlin, the MCU would look completely different.
20. Lots of surprises
Again, I hate to be that guy, but just know that a lot of unexpected moments in the film and, specifically, lots of unexpected characters from the past 11 years showing up. Some you’ll be able to guess; others, not so much.
21. More tears of joy than tears of sadness
While there are, undoubtedly, some really sad/heart wrenching moments, overall, there are so many really nice touches that this movie leaves you feeling far better and happier than I ever expected to feel walking out. Even the sad moments felt earned and important. Nothing is done for shock value; everything has a place in this overarching story.
22. A perfect ending
The last scene of the film is about 30 seconds long, and it gives a bit of closure that I never expected and, while again, the logic of it may be flawed, the emotions behind it are so strong that I can’t help but be floored by it. There won’t be a dry eye in most screenings when the credits begin to roll.
Again, if you want to discuss the film, please keep the comments spoiler free, or they will be deleted.
