Warning: Review contains mild spoilers for Avengers: Endgame based only on trailers and promotional materials. This review also contains full spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War.
Well, we are finally here. After twenty-one films spanning eleven years, Avengers: Endgame (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2019) is finally upon us, released on April 26, 2019. Looking back to Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008), it’s hard to believe how big of an impact one film has had on starting the legacy we now know today. If you time-traveled back to 2008 and told Jon Favreau that Iron Man would be the beginning of a set of twenty-two interconnecting films that have represented a generation of blockbuster filmmaking, I’m sure even he would tell you it’s unbelievable if not impossible. Iron Man not only began a new era of comic book films but also gave us stories for everyone to enjoy and fall in love with. From the civil rights roots of Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018) to the teen-movie aesthetic of Spider-Man: Homecoming (Jon Watts, 2017), the depth and progression of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have evolved into something truly legendary. The MCU has not only redefined genre films and blockbuster filmmaking as a whole but has created cinematic memories that will be remembered forever. Whether its Captain America trying to lift Thor’s hammer in Avengers: Age of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015), Thanos’s snap from Avengers: Infinity War (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2018), or Tony Stark saying “I Am Iron Man” for the first time in Iron Man, these moments, characters, and memories are forever embedded in pop culture and the minds of audiences everywhere. This is what Avengers: Endgame showcases. By focusing on the binding moments of the past eleven years, Avengers: Endgame reminds audiences that we, as much as these characters, are family. Avengers: Endgame is an excellent film that ensures on not being a continuation of Infinity War but rather a film to perpetuate and explore the main reason why the MCU is so special; the characters and the everlasting memories themselves.
Avengers: Endgame picks up right after Infinity War left off. The Avengers have lost. Thanos (Josh Brolin) has wiped away half of all life while disappearing to an unknown location in the process. From the snap of the infinity gauntlet, Earth is shattered, our heroes are broken, and life ultimately has to move on. After returning to Earth, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the remaining heroes all mourn the loss of the ones who have fallen. After a miraculous escape from the quantum realm, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) tracks down the Avengers to pitch an idea of how to rescue those lost to Thanos. Soon, our heroes team up once again to track down the infinity stones with the hope of reversing the past before it’s too late.
To state bluntly, Avengers: Endgame is not the film audiences would expect. In comparison to other MCU films, Avengers: Endgame feels the most foreign. The film does not start on a high note, it doesn’t inspire hope, nor does it feel inherently right. Thanos’s destruction is felt to the core of every character and the fallout is nothing short of devastating. Even within the first twenty minutes of the film, that MCU charm, fun, and familiarity are stripped away and replaced by feelings of sadness, deprivation, and melancholy. As I critiqued in my previous MCU film reviews, more times than not (especially in phase three films), the MCU has failed to give emotional resonance and connection to new heroes due to a focus on action and spectacle. Fortunately, in Avengers: Endgame, this is never an issue, as the film’s first act is incredibly slow, allowing for emotional trauma and character development to blossom while displaying little to no scenes of action or spectacle. The surviving heroes are broken, emotionally hopeless, and completely and utterly at their limit. Avengers: Endgame really takes the time to explore every character’s reaction to the events of Thanos rather than just jumping straight to the solution. This allows the film to take a natural, earned, and methodical approach to explore the characters we have been with for the past eleven years. Though some may see this as boring filler, these scenes are essential to understanding the fullness of our heroes and leading them to the end of their arcs. Whether its Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) executing members of the Yakuza, or Captain America leading an outreach center for victims of Thanos, these scenes are fundamental to reminding audiences how important, unique, deep, and iconic these characters are. That the consequences of Thanos have a true impact on each of our heroes, changing them and the world forever. For example, even in a character like Hawkeye, who has only had a total of thirty minutes of screen time across three films, I found myself emotionally invested due to the film reminding me why I should care about him regardless of how small a role he has played in the MCU. Even after eleven years, and countless hours of films, these characters (even minor ones) still have unexplored traits to them that must be fully realized for the end of the film to feel earned, emotional, and ultimately perfect. Avengers: Endgame does just that.
For a film that is three hours long, Avengers: Endgame never feels like it is too ambitious or over-encumbered. Unlike past superhero films, such as Justice League (Zack Synder, 2017) or even Spider-Man 3 (Sam Rami, 2007), the film never makes the mistake of doing too much or losing its inherent focus. Specifically, this is due to Avengers: Endgame shifting its attention to the heroes that originally started the MCU rather than every MCU character ever. Avengers: Infinity War proved to audiences that it was possible to make a film that showcased around seventy-six characters into something great. The film exhibited the best the MCU had to offer and provided one of the best team-up movies ever created that neither felt like it was too grand or overloaded. A year ago, we got that film and therefore do not need the same movie spun again as a sequel. Alternatively, Avengers: Endgame focuses on the most essential and original heroes of the MCU instead of providing us with an Avengers: Infinity War 2.0. Specifically, Iron Man, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye take the reins of the film and provide the epicenter for the conflict, plot development, and action. For example, by allowing these heroes to team up on a smaller scale, the film is able to explore these characters fully and complete their arcs indefinitely rather than get sidetracked with inconsequential characters from the extended MCU. Avengers: Endgame understands that newer heroes like Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), or even Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) will get their moments in later films and there is plenty of time to explore these characters on a similar scale in the future. However, to close this chapter properly, the film must complete the arcs of the characters that are the bedrock of the MCU to fully move forward. Whether it is Tony Stark reminiscing about the past with Cap, or Black Widow helping Hawkeye through grief, each interaction is perfectly executed to allow for each character arc to finally feel complete. This allows the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame to be nothing short of perfection.
My biggest fear going into Avengers: Endgame was whether or not the fallout of Avengers: Infinity War would stay apparent. Nearly a year ago, Avengers: Infinity War ended with half of all life turned to dust, with most of our heroes evaporating into nothing. As heartbreaking as this event was, I applauded Avengers: Infinity War for finally bringing consequence to the MCU, as it seemed the franchise was truly changing into something new and closing a well-developed chapter. Luckily, Avengers: Endgame doesn’t inherently reverse this act but does provide a solution that isn’t as conventional as predicted. Without getting into specifics, Avengers: Endgame is still able to provide a level of repercussion to the MCU even though it does fix the fallout from Avengers: Infinity War. Now whether or not the magnitude is enough is innately up to the viewer. However, from a writing standpoint, Avengers: Endgame is an incredibly intelligent film, and the writers should be commended on coming up with a solution most audiences wouldn’t have predicted. It’s important to note that Avengers: Endgame’s writing and plot never come off as pretentious or like the writers are taking advantage of the audience. Rather, the film is shaped around the memories, movie moments, and characters that we all have experienced and loved over the past eleven years in the MCU. That the writers, just like the fans, have an appreciation, love, and dedication for this franchise and want nothing more than to deliver on greatness. With that being said, Avengers: Endgame is blatantly a fan-service film but it is also so much more than that. It provides a new look at familiar moments and memories in the MCU whilst reshaping them into something that is original, fresh, and overall nostalgic. The ability for Avengers: Endgame to balance self-awareness, familiarity, and nostalgia with progression, consequence, and closure, is incredibly well done and will allow new ideas to flourish in later MCU films.
Avengers: Endgame is a true masterclass of cinema that strikes the perfect balance between fan service, nostalgia, and evolution of the franchise. Though not as action based and tonally familiar as past MCU films, Avengers: Endgame is able to deliver on a fantastic ending for the emotional crater that Avengers: Infinity War demonstrated nearly a year ago. Avengers: Endgame is overall a phenomenal film that not only will forever change the state of the MCU but be a historical hallmark for blockbuster cinema.
9/10
Author Biography
Jason Husak is a University of Alberta film studies graduate who currently resides in Edmonton, Canada. He hopes to pursue his passion for film by doing a graduate degree in film studies. For more in-depth film reviews, discussion, and analyses, you can follow Jason on his personal Twitter and Instagram or his film and entertainment podcast Boring People, Bad Opinions on podcast and social media services.
Film Details
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
USA
Director Joe and Anthony Russo
Runtime 181 minutes
