I just got out of a screening of “Avengers: Endgame” and judging from the box office figures for the film, I think almost everyone in the world has already seen this film once already as well. The tickets were purchased for my girlfriend and I by her friend Violet and I would like to take a quick second and thank her for that. We were both very grateful for the kind gesture. This review will not contain spoilers to the main plot or outcome of the film so no need to worry if you have not seen the film.
The film follows the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and details how the Avengers (and the world as a whole) move forward from losing to Thanos and the universe losing half of it’s population as a result of the snap. Naturally, without giving anything away, the Avengers set forth a plan to find Thanos and try to undo the death and damage he has caused throughout the universe. Refreshingly, the trailers and the television spots do not give a lot away and the main plot is kept largely under wraps. Thankfully most fans have also been good about not posting spoilers online. (Although I have noticed the spoilers are starting to creep in more and more.)
I very much enjoyed the movie and I am still processing elements of it. As of this moment, I am not sure which film I enjoyed more, this or “Avengers: Infinity War”. This movie felt like a payoff to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and it’s hard to see this movie (or Infinity War) being topped by any future movie Marvel makes. If you have watched all twenty one films prior to seeing this, there are some amazing Easter Eggs and set pieces that feel like they were placed in the movie as a thank you to the fans. The cherry on top of “Avengers: Endgame” has to be all the amazing cameo appearances.
Clocking in at around three hours, the film doesn’t feel that long and almost leaves you wishing it was longer. The pace of the film is benefited by the films heroes going on separate adventures before reuniting at the end. While that helps make the film breeze by, it does affect the story structure a bit. While “Avengers: Infinity War” somehow managed to incorporate a ton of characters and still form a very tight story structure, “Avengers: Endgame” is a little more messy.
There are a few things that don’t really work well in the film but they are typically minor things that can easily be looked past. There is no such thing as a perfect film after all. The biggest misstep in an otherwise great movie in my opinion however is the inclusion of Captain Marvel. For a character only introduced one film prior, her inclusion felt like Marvel was trying to force her down our throats. I didn’t hate “Captain Marvel” but I think the focus of the film should have been kept on the classic Avengers. That being said, Captain Marvel has only a minor role so it doesn’t hurt the film too much overall.
On the subject of the original Avengers team, this movie feels like an amazing sendoff to many of those original members. Each actor is given some great character moments and for a few of them, given emotional and fitting farewells. While the door remains open for almost any of the characters to return somewhere down the line (this is a comic book universe after all), it is clear this film serves as a bit of a bookend to the entire film series as a whole so far.
“Avengers: Endgame” is a film that works best if you have seen the first twenty one Marvel movies but is also an amazing film on it’s own and a rewarding follow up to “Avengers: Infinity War”. While I said earlier that the film had a few parts that didn’t quite work out, the parts that do work are beyond incredible. I hate the phrase fan service since it is typically used negatively but “Avengers: Endgame” embraces fan service and in the film it feels earned and like a reward. The only warning I have for fans of the MCU is that they may want to bring tissues, it will be difficult to leave the theater with dry eyes.
Grade: A
