Avengers: Endgame, which is now the most successful movie at the global box-office definitely deserves the spotlight. The culmination of 10 years and more than twice as many movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame promises closure where its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, sowed chaos. At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, our heroes were left in dire straights. The success of Thanos in eliminating half of all living creatures throughout the universe left but a handful of Earth’s mightiest heroes, including the original Avengers, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Devastated not only by their losses but the idea that they have failed in their only objective, they more or less drift apart.
The audience had a year to mourn the loss of Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Doctor Strange and Black Panther, and to nurture theories and create huge Reddit threads as to where directing siblings Anthony and Joe Russo might steer things from here. Maybe all those characters weren’t really dead. Maybe the remaining Avengers just needed to travel inside the Soul Stone to get them back. Or maybe Avengers: Endgame would have to resort to that most desperate of narrative cheats — time travel — to undo the damage caused by Thanos (the purple-skinned baddie so compellingly performed by Josh Brolin, whose sole objective was universal population control).
Five years later, the ravaged world seems no closer to its former glory. Grief is a black cloud which hangs over abandoned buildings, seas of rusted-out cars lingering in parking lots. In the aftermath of Thanos’ success, the world looks a lot like an episode of The Leftovers. While Captain America chairs a support group for those grieving and Black Widow is the de facto leader of what’s left of SHIELD, Hawkeye is seen following a dark path as a katana-wielding assassin.
Everyone is surviving, more or less, but the wounds of the past are still ugly and open rather than scars. With the surprise arrival of Scott “Ant-Man” Lang (Paul Rudd), previously assumed dead, comes a final chance for redemption, to right the wrongs of the past through a spot of time travel.
But here’s the thing about using time travel to solve their problems: As soon as screenwriters open the door to that device, then any sequel can undo whatever came before. Here, War Machine (Don Cheadle) makes the suggestion that they go back and strangle Thanos in the crib, which the film treats as a joke, and yet, it sounds like a better idea than the “time heist” they have in store. Alternately, they could wait for Thanos to hijack all six Infinity Stones and then jump in and prevent him from using them.
There might be 14 million other ways out there, but this one follows an enjoyable trip down memory lane, covering 10 years of Marvel exploits, revisiting old territory, older and wiser and more equipped to confront the past. The plan also allows the surviving Avengers to revisit scenes from the earlier films, watching their younger versions — as well as fallen comrades — from another angle, and in two very different cases, facing off against his or her past self.
Yes, Avengers: Endgame is the most expansive film yet, and yes, it strives to provide emotional catharsis for several of fans’ favorite characters. It’s even safe to say that Endgame shifts the focus from extravagant, effects-driven displays of universe-saving — manifold though they remain — to the more human cost of heroism, which comes at a great personal sacrifice. To the film’s credit, it’s not the casualties, but the chances these heroes have to go back and say things to those they’ve lost that resonate as the most emotional scenes in “Endgame”: Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America (Chris Evans) each get such opportunities, any one of which would’ve been worth the price of admission. We remember what a gifted comic actor Chris Hemsworth is, and how much Thor has come as a character since the figurative and literal Dark World. Downey Jr, Evans and Johansson are all given the opportunity to remind us that before they were part of this machine, they were telling stories with less flash and cash and more heart and soul.
As the body count stacks up, it’s a comfort to think that some of those who bow out from the MCU this year will hopefully go on to choose projects which challenge them as actors. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this talent – and often, the Marvel films forget it too.
Avengers: Endgame is an episodic movie, so it shines in parts, rather than as a whole. To me, the first half i.e. the time travel heist could have dealt with in a much better manner than video game missions. But there are plenty of good parts. I’d start with the surprise MVP: Rene Russo, bringing warmth, humanity, and poignancy to her scenes as Thor’s wise mother. Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man is an invaluable presence because, unlike some of his co-stars, he can do two things at once: deep pain and welcome humor.
The second half consisted of one of the most epic battle scenes in the history of cinema, providing justice to such a humungous ensemble of superheroes. There are multiple fanboy moments which will make you gasp in wonder and remember the reasons why you exactly love these stories, these characters, this Universe.
There’s a moment which I found to be the most impactful in the entire fight sequence: Thor has both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker from the past and is Thanos is proving to be too strong. Suddenly Thor is seen on the ground with Stormbreaker being pressed against him when Mjolnir starts moving. It hits Thanos and flies to the hand of our beloved Captain. Thor, alongside all of us, exclaims with joy, “I knew it.”
This reunification of the Avengers also brought great mini-moments like Tony finding Peter Parker again and hugging him (“this is nice”), or Star Lord returning to see Gamora isn’t dead thanks to time travel tomfoolery (even if she’s a version that’s never met him).
And of course, the final checkmate, the last snap by Tony and that reverberating line of Marvel Cinematic Universe, “I am Iron Man.” We knew that we weren’t going to escape Endgame without at least one major character death, and as some predicted, the ultimate sacrifice was made by Tony, ravaged by the Infinity Gauntlet as he snapped Thanos and his army out of existence, saving the entire universe in the process. His final moments were nearly wordless, but he got to say goodbye to both Peter and Pepper, and his funeral was one of the film’s best “assemble” moments, outside of the actual battle.
But it’s just not Iron Man that we lost. Captain America went back in time to replace the Infinity Stones (that must have been an awkward conversation with Red Skull, was I the only who wanted to watch that?), but after he did so, stayed behind to have a last dance with Peggy Carter, which I believe produces the family we saw when Steve meets old Peggy, though we didn’t know that at the time. That was a sweet moment on its own, but this was a two-for-one, as another great moment in this same sequence was Steve making Sam the next Captain America, fulfilling a comic plotline many fans were hoping to see. Though we know there are plenty of storylines to cover, a lot more Marvel characters to be introduced, many more “Phases” to run, but Marvel Cinematic Universe will not be the same without these two pillars who built the foundation, Iron Man and Captain America.
By this point in the franchise, audiences have come to expect a top-of-the-line experience: iconic costumes and sets, stunning visual effects (including convincing computer-generated characters, like Thanos and Hulk), cinematography that alternates smoothly between epic clashes and nuanced character moments, and rousing music that underlines both the peril and the sheer importance of it all. Like Infinity War before it, Endgame delivers these elements at a higher level than Marvel’s less expensive — and considerably less expansive — lone-hero installments.
It does lack the distinct identity of Marvel’s most interesting and successful projects, namely Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok. There are no hallmarks to be had here, no real stylistic flair that doesn’t come down to things already established in past films. So it all falls to the narrative, and thankfully it’s a solid one: there’s plenty of levity as well as gravity in Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s script, and the pair certainly embrace the weird and wonderful essence of comic books. Some fun storylines ripped straight from the pages themselves seem to be coming into frame, which suggests they might be ready to take more risks with the next phase of the MCU.
It certainly does bring closure to the Avengers movies and the end of an era. You can tell that because, if you wait through the voluminous end credits, you will notice that the movie just… ends. No teaser for a sequel. No mid-credit or end-credit scenes (something that has become a usual thing nowadays, thanks to Marvel).
For those that have grown up immersed in a world with heroes and villains doing constant battle, it’s 10 years’ worth of investment, and the self-indulgence can be forgiven. Marvel finally seem to realise they have no need to convert the cynics, and Endgame is, at its heart, about all the things superhero films always are: being true to yourself, the power of sacrifice, and the triumph of ‘good’ over ‘evil’ (if it’s ever that simple in the first place). When you start to detangle the knotty politics of the film, it falters, but it’s still liable to ignite a spark about anthropological ethics and the science of time travel.
Time and again, Endgame makes the point that family matters, whether that means biological ties — like Iron Man, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Thor have experienced — or those forged by duty. The final takeaway from this decade-long journey is that heroism isn’t defined by bravery or super-abilities, but by what one gives up for the greater good. Avengers: Endgame isn’t the best Marvel movie, but it’s surely the perfect denouement that this Cinematic Universe deserved.
By the way, there’s no reason to be disappointed because Endgame culminates the Marvel saga. Kevin Feige is ready with the upcoming plan for MCU Phase 4. Want to know what took place when Marvel was in Hall H at San Deigo Comic Con? Click the link below to know all about Phase 4 and beyond:
Marvel reveals massive MCU Phase Four film and television plan
The Film Reel 