Avengers: Endgame1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyOd2mXYb2
Before I continue any further because apparently this needs to be said THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE. If you haven't gone to see it yet, click away and don't come back until you experience it for yourself. Or, if you really don't care about spoiling the movie for yourself, then you may continue. You do you.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3hbwPMsK6
A little tidbit about me and this movie: I originally had no intention of seeing it, because I honestly wasn't all that impressed with Infinity Wars. All the hype surrounding it was getting really annoying and, as with any book or tv show that gets really popular really quickly and has the public in a frenzy, I completely shy away from it because I can't stand the mania. That being said, I decided to go and see it anyway, just to end off the Avengers storyline with what actually happens. And it is here that we begin.
Summary:1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2WyLZ7TnO
Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony Stark sends a message to Pepper Potts as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers -- Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner -- must figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos -- the evil demigod who decimated the planet and the universe.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6syZ3jI4Y2
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WHAT TO EXPECT1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgR0jLIExqe
There is definitely a lot of content to this movie. Hell, it's three hours long, so it had better have a lot to enjoy in it. There are a lot of great revisits to the iconic Avengers moments of the past, thanks to the time-travel concept they introduced through Antman's two movies. 'Really? Time travel?' you might say, and I too was skeptical when I learned of the method they would use to retrieve the Infinity stones, but it worked out surprisingly well. We'll talk about that a little later though.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4l4Il57FMb
Throughout the 3 hours of movie, you can expect a whole lot of tear-jerking and sad moments, of things lost and things unattainable. They do a great job of depicting the aftermath of the 'Snap' and how the world is trying to move on from it with a 5 year time skip. But despite the somber tone, as would obviously be the case after the ending to Infinity Wars, the movie is surprisingly full of hope and badassery provided by our titular heroes. A lot of great fight scenes, and finally the actual 'Final Battle' is just as good too. You'll be left satisfied, I believe.
PLOT / STORYLINE1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdcNxKFxwj
*Sigh* What to say about this, really. I'm sure if you're reading this review, that means you've at least seen an Avengers movie or two. Hopefully you're caught up to Infinity Wars.
The plot is fairly simple; the movie begins not long after the Snap actually happens, with the remaining Avengers trying to figure out what they can do to bring back their lost friends. With the help of Nebula, they track Thanos down to the planet he chose to 'retire' and confront him once more. The difference between a Thanos who is actively trying to resist the Avengers and the one they face on that planet is night and day. It's something you wouldn't expect of the 'evil' Thanos. I'm glad they included that.
Once they realize that Thanos has cast the stones away, where they can never get their hands on them, they return to Earth defeated, resigning themselves to the fact that they must move on and live with the world as it has become.
Not something you were expecting, right? It certainly leaves you at least a little surprised. I mean, Captain America? The man who never gives up? Throwing in the towel and shrugging his shoulders? 'That's impossible! He'd never do such a thing!' I can practically hear you shouting. But when faced with the worst of circumstances, you really begin to see just how hopeless everyone on Earth is feeling right now.
When Antman returns from the Quantum Realm and presents an idea that could fix everything, hope is restored, and the Avengers you know and love are once again in action. From here, the story can get rather jumbled, if you're not paying attention. Not from bad writing, I suppose, but because there are years and locations you have to remember for three separate teams. You can find yourself stumbling over the question, 'Wait, what year was New York again?' 'Oh, right, this was back in 2011.' 'Wait, who did they send where?' I found myself confused for brief moments during the movie when they switch character perspectives, so it would be wise to pay close attention during the time-travel missions.
Once they obtain the stones, Thanos shows up and they have to defeat him this time when he wages war against them. When you really think about it, it's a very short movie if you took out the time-travel missions. They go from a 5 year time skip to meeting Atman again, to immediately being attacked by Thanos as soon as they get all of the Infinity stones back together. The only good news here is that at least Bruce Banner was able to survive his own 'Snap' to bring back the dusted hero from before.
So, all in all, not a complicated plot. Even the time travel missions are simple and easy to follow. Just keeping up with who is where and where is when is the confusing part.
CHARACTERS1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cezOUa481
I'm going to have a field day with this one.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMPa4e4pjv
There are SO MANY characters in this film, I don't even know where to begin. I was worried before watching Infinity Wars about how many characters they were trying to shoehorn into one film, but looking back it was a cakewalk compared to what they achieved in this film.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7AUD3O8UI
Basically, you have ALL of the major Marvel characters jam-packed into one movie. Getting them all the appropriate screen time to justify having lines or things like that is difficult. And many of your favorites may not have any speaking roles at all. They are there to be there, to show that all of the lost heroes have returned and nothing else. I wouldn't get too disappointed about this one, as on a budget standpoint and a run-time standpoint, they certainly did their best.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XqTNmYSkw
The main cast of course gets most of the character development spotlight. Once Bruce Banner uses the gauntlet to bring back the lost heros, things get insanely muddled with people to focus on. I had a few problems with some of the characters in this film, for various reasons, and I'll go over them below, but first to the ones I was pleased to see treated well in the movie.
Captain America, Tony Stark, Thor, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, and Black Widow all of course get the majority of the spotlight. It's their movie. Understandable. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see Bruce Banner with a much more important role in this one than in movies previously. Same with Black Widow, though to a much smaller degree.
The movie did a great job concluding all of their characters' individual storylines that they'd started molding from the very first Avengers movie. Captain gets to have his happy life with Peggy, and when we see him he is the content old man who finally got to live out what he'd always thought he'd never have. I cried.
Hawkeye gets to have his family back, the only thing he was really fighting for this whole time, and they all have a happy ending. I cried.
Tony...well, he certainly has his past regrets and mistakes redeemed. He puts the interests of the entire world above his own in a sacrificial power play. I don't believe this came across as a huge surprise to many of you. Tony's characters was closely toeing that line for a few movies now. Constantly taking extreme risks and endangering himself to protect others, even though he's supposed to be the self-centered one who 'isn't the hero he pretends to be.' I'm glad that his death was treated with such respect, and wasn't overblown or took up a large chunk of the film. It was quiet. It was quick. It was sad. I cried.
Black Widow wipes her past clean by sacrificing herself to get the Soul stone. One act of selflessness to trump all of her regrets. I was sad we didn't get more backstory in the entirety of the Avengers films for her, and I'm still waiting on that solo movie for her. (Which we will probably never get now.) I was glad they didn't just throw her away as a character, let her die without any real purpose or plot-forwarding play. It had a purpose. She knew it too. And though Hawkeye never would have allowed it had he a choice, she made it for him and refused to back down on it. I cried.
(Don't get me started on Thor's dad-bod, we aren't going to even talk about it.) Thor's ending was fitting. He stopped trying to be the next in line for the throne of Asgard and decides to pass the responsibility and privilege over to Valkyrie. This conclusion wasn't as tear-jerking as the others were, but during the time travel missions I was pleased to see that Thor got to see his mother one last time. I was happy with that.
Now...onto the characters or character plots that I DID NOT totally agree with...
First on the chopping block would be Rocket and Groot. We get to see them reunite in the middle of the battle scene, but do they even get to say a word to each other before the camera pans over to someone else? NO! Not a damn word is even spoken, no elated expression on either of their faces, nothing like that. I was extremely disappointed that Rocket didn't get to have his moment of happiness right there and then, or even at all, during the film. If I remember correctly, Groot was only on screen for all of 2 minutes during the course of the film. Such a shame.
Next up, we have most of the fallen heroes who return for the final battle. Granted, the movie was three hours long as it was so anything they didn't include in the movie would have added to the screen time, but for a majority of the characters we didn't get to see reunion scenes of any kind. Hell, Captain and Bucky barely saw each other at all during the battle. I already mentioned Groot and Rocket. After Thanos dusts away after the final snap, it would have been the perfect time to have that sort of reunion scene, before they focus on Tony's death itself. I was sadly disappointed in not getting to have that little tiny moment of 'Yes! They're back! I knew they'd be back!'
Ok. I may get a lot of flak for this one in particular, but Captain Marvel. I will preface this by saying that I have not seen her solo movie, nor do I really have any intention of seeing it, but I'm aware of how strong she is supposed to be in the Marvel Universe. The strongest of them all. I'm also aware of the whole social controversy it sparked regarding gender and female protagonist roles and yada yada yada. I get it. But here's my problem with her.
Captain Marvel was hyped up beyond belief for her solo movie. And a lot of people had problems with the movie that they got after seeing it for themselves. Real, genuine critiques on the movie were chalked up as people just being haters because she was a female. Whatever. Say what you will about it. People were hyped up to a staggering degree and I'm not surprised that a lot were let down. It's hard to live up to those sorts of expectations.
And we have the exact same situation here as we did before. Captain Marvel was rumored to be the only thing able to stop Thanos after the defeat in Infinity Wars. She's the shining pillar of light that all of us have to cling to in order to survive. That sort of vibe. At least, that's what the trailers and her character's portrayal is supposed to make us feel. Ok, understandable. She's super strong and has powers that none of the other Avengers do. I can see why she'd be a really great asset to the team.
Except she's gone for 90% of the film, off saving other planets from Thanos (?) I don't know for certain what she was doing, as I probably needed to have watched her solo movie to get that part. Either way, if she's supposed to be so important to the film, why wasn't she there most of the time? Why did she only show up when it was convenient to the Avengers for her to do so? Swooping in to save the day at the last minute, destroying Thanos' ship to bits. Great! Spectacular! Sort of deus ex machina, but that's forgivable when done in moderation.
And then...we get a lackluster participation from her in the final battle. She goes one-on-one with the big purple guy in question, but she doesn't accomplish a whole lot. After trading fisticuffs with the man himself for a few minutes, she's punched away and the Avengers take their place fighting him again. She doesn't really show up after that until the funeral scene for Tony Stark, standing silently in the background.
I don't have any opinion on Brie Larson's character herself, seeing as I haven't seen her solo movie, but the way she was used in Endgame was nothing like what we were being lead to suspect. It was a wild overstatement and I believe was a marketing move to try to gain a larger female audience, perhaps. They still should have taken into consideration what people were expecting of her character going in. If she and all the younger, upcoming heroes are supposed to be the next phase of Marvel, why weren't they given more screen time?
STYLE / PACING1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwEnEYwNd7
For being 3 hours long, it certainly doesn't feel like such a long film. You're entertained from start to finish and it goes so quickly that you don't realize you're already done with the movie until Thanos is truly dead. You're sort of struck that it happened so fast and that everything already resolved. I've never sat through a movie so long that didn't drag on in some parts in the middle.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ956ebwBdpz
I believe the large cast of characters doing so many different things really helped further this. You went from one side of the galaxy to another side of the galaxy in a different year, to Earth in an entirely different year, and you're interested because they are moments we've seen before. Revisitations of iconic moments from the Avengers storyline. The Battle of New York was an interesting side-perspective, and I was very pleased to see Captain America fight himself during the mission. Each mission is interesting in their own right, and even if it's a character you aren't really a fan of, you're still watching because the mission is so important and can't be botched. It leaves you hanging, just waiting for something to go wrong.
It felt just like an Avengers movie. The style is difficult for me to put into words, but I'm glad they kept that 'Avengers' movie feeling. You would know what I mean if you've seen it. I'm glad they didn't change anything crucial to that style to attempt some grand finale trope that wouldn't have fit in with the movie. I was pleased with how it all flowed together.
FINAL GRADE1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrd2Brvr1t
8 out of 101541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sWRPBspHa
I wanted to give this movie a 9, but I don't think that would have been a very accurate representation to what I ultimately got from the film. I nearly thought about giving it a 7, but it also did a lot of good that I didn't want to discount. It's a strange mix of just enough to be great but not nearly great enough to be excellent.1541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjruZJzPIEe
If they had taken care to properly use and develop some of their supposed 'A-List' cast of characters, I don't think I would have been as disappointed in the final sequence of the Avengers franchise. But all in all, it did a good job of wrapping up the story and tying off most of the loose ends.
I was impressed with their homages to their most iconic scenes, treated with respect and reverence. They highlighted the best parts of the Avengers by doing so, and it left the audience with feelings of nostalgia and things long having past.
I was hoping for more, but was ultimately satisfied with what I was given. I suppose we can't ask for more than that.
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