Talking about Avengers: Endgame without giving away too much is a challenging predicament. Marvel has successfully kept the tightest lid on even the tiniest plot detail for this film, to the point of only handing out partial scripts to the cast. However, it’s inevitable for me to talk about Endgame because it is truly a great and satisfying film. Though for this particular piece, I will resist even hinting at the film’s momentous events beyond its most basic and obvious premise.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos faced off the Avengers and everyone Marvel has introduced throughout its decade long buildup. Proving no match to the Mad Titan, the Avengers failed in stopping Thanos from collecting all the Infinity Stones, and thus, achieving godlike power, erasing half of all life in the universe from existence with a simple snap. Endgame deals with the aftermath of that snap; the world is experiencing a post-apocalyptic era, in the same vein as the HBO show The Leftovers (which is a really good series). We are shown just how miserable and empty life has become, and the struggles of our surviving Avengers to cope with the new status quo while pursuing a continued effort to, well, avenge their fallen comrades.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Stephen McFreely and Christopher Markus — the same group that gave us some of the highest points in the MCU such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War — goes back to basics for Endgame. The team is back to its original six members: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). With help from other surviving Avengers like Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and the newcomer Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), it’s up to them to ultimately undo the snap and bring everything back to how it was.
With a running time of just over a whopping three hours, it’s the biggest and longest modern superhero movie. One would expect something like this to be a chore to go through, as proven time and again by other films in the genre that tried to cram too much in one long entry. But Endgame is light on its feet, so it’s a breeze to watch. It’s more focused than its predecessor. While Avengers: Infinity War presented the success of Thanos’ quest, Avengers: Endgame is about the characters we’ve grown attached to and shared a connection with. As a result of 11 years of character development and buildup, the film doesn’t shy away from letting its ensemble cast have their quiet moments, further exploring their relationships and simply just relishing their charisma.
But of course, for all its personal moments (and it has a lot), when it comes to action, Endgame goes all out. Truthfully, Marvel has never really impressed when it comes to cohesive action choreography, apart from a few instances (I still go back to Joss Whedon’s Avengers for beautifully crafted fights as reference). I find this film’s action more chaotic and unruly than in Infinity War, but it all works out regardless.
As the name suggests, Avengers: Endgame is the end of an era. It’s a movie of payoffs, and has rightfully earned every single one of them. If this is your first Avengers movie, or even worse, your first MCU film for some reason, I can’t imagine how terrible of an experience it would be. Endgame unapologetically celebrates the interpersonal bonds of the cast and the overarching story that have been strengthened and developed over 20 movies, much more so than Infinity War. This is a treat for the invested audience, with self-indulging winks and callbacks littered throughout the film. It’s a win for us and Marvel Studios as a whole because it effortlessly pulls it all off, successfully delivering a satisfying conclusion to the series.
So the only question that remains is, where do we go from here? There’s no doubt that the Disney and Marvel heads are already brewing the next big thing. I don’t think the pop culture phenomenon that this franchise has created can be successfully replicated again, at least not in the foreseeable future. It’s made me realize just how much I cared for these inspiring characters that it would take something close to a miracle to recreate the magic for the following ones. For now, though, it’s best to simply let things breathe for a while, and appreciate what we just witnessed. After all, it’s been an eleven year journey.
Rating: ★★★★½
The Talking Screen 