Rating of
3/4
Endgame - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 05/15/19
“I know I said no more surprises, but... I was really hoping to pull off one last one.”
After the shocking cliffhanger at the end of ‘Infinity War’, the question that ran through our head’s was “hmm...what just happened?”. Heroes disintegrating out of existence before our very eyes with the last remaining soak up the reality of their failure, and the antagonist finally at peace knowing the monstrous deed is done.
We’re in the Endgame now.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ perfectly wraps up 22 movies in a grand and spectacular scale. For a movie that’s three hours long, not once did I feel the length as everything flew by (in my opinion). There's so much going on. The fact this movie even exist and payed off as well as it did, it’s nothing short of a miracle. It all began when a cocky billionaire escaped a cave with a box of scraps, becoming Iron Man. Then we followed the powerful but arrogant god who has to learn to be worthy of being named “The God of Thunder”. And finally the first avenger, a man lost in time, but holds his pride strong in good nature.
From start till finish I hooked, especially the opening scene which I knew what was coming, but wasn’t expecting the devastation.
The Russo Brothers always do a fantastic job directing action and camera work, but little do people mention how they get the best performance out of everyone and really flesh out each character, and I mean every character. I think Black Widow is best handled whenever the Russo’s are involved, in terms of making her character dynamic rather than hard as nails “girl power” trope - that no other director haven’t got the hint yet. I’m also thrilled Hawkeye gets his time to shine, which helps Jeremy Renner work with material to deliver an emotional performance that was pretty hard hitting at times.
Same thing with Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-man. It’s incredibly transparent that the Russo Brothers really like this character and doesn't dumb him down to make other characters look good and isn’t just a buffoon. They understand his intelligence and used Scott’s comedic backbone to his advantage. He basically saves the world (besides the rat).
Heck, every character gets a great arc, and yes even Thor, which I don’t understand why people argue that he doesn’t. While still having a comedic charm from ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, but when the scene calls for him to be serious, then expect chaos. He really is the strongest and most tragic Avenger. The other main characters also get fantastic and satisfying arcs.
Also the acting from everyone was absolutely stellar. Robert Downey Jr. is magnificent as usual, although here it hits home. Chris Evans really grew into the role of Captain America and I can't imagine any other actor playing the part than him. Karen Gillan is often overlooked playing Nebula, as I always thought she nails every role she plays. Despite the heavy make-up, she still can express so much. What's more to say about these actors than best casting ever.
The mad titan himself makes a return, but doesn’t have much screen time than “Infinity War” and...well, let’s just say the character goes into an unexpected direction, to say the last. Still a poetic and intimidating villain that can brawl with the avengers even without the gauntlet. Josh Brolin once again delivers an excellent performance. Thanos is this generation’s Darth Vader.
The action sequences are light years more monumental than ‘Infinity War’. If I have to be honest, I shed a tear at the one point towards the final battle. Although the movie isn’t action heavy throughout, but I was never bored during the more slow paced moments.
The score from Alan Silvestri is perhaps the best and most memorable score in the MCU. A mixture of sadness and loss with a booming blast of epic. Perfectly pays tribute to the original six heroes. The score “Totally fine” is probably my favorite one, since it foreshadows the unfortunate.
Now people have complained about the movie having too much fan service, which I personally didn’t mind and couldn’t see the faults, because then again, this entire cinematic universe belongs to them, the fans. The reason why we have 22 movies, 48 hours and 11 minutes worth of movies and this movie pulling in a monster $2 billion worldwide only in 11 days beating ‘Avatar’ that did so in 47 days! While not a stand alone movie, although considering it’s a follow up to the events of “Infinity War”, it would be tricky to do so.
For problems: The story had issues throughout and the entire time travel subplot made no sense whatsoever when given a second thought, but then again, how can you make sense of time travel. At first the movie creates new rules with time travel, but doesn’t stick with it and breaks the rules it set up - leading into continuity errors.
I didn’t find Captain Marvel solo movie to be all that interesting - both the movie and her as a character, but was hoping the Russo Brothers would resolve that issue and make the character less wooden. Unfortunately even the Russo’s couldn’t save her. Luckily her screen time is incredibly slim, but they literally pulled a Poochie type of excuse when she was absent for a huge amount of the movie’s run time with a “I must go now. My planet needs me”, from ‘The Simpsons’. I must admit, when she did return, I groaned.
Overall rating: Despite the problems, ‘Endgame’ still delivers a sweeping epic that leaves the audience feeling whiplash with emotions. Happiness, sadness, joy and excitement. An experience I’ll remember forever.
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, I love you both 3000.
