"Avengers: Endgame": Movie Review

The Avengers movies are one of the longest and best running movies to ever be put out. Year after year people are expecting a bigger and better movie than the one before it. The movie I will be reviewing is Avengers Endgame. Avengers Endgame is Marvel’s latest and greatest movie added to the Avengers series and boy does it not disappoint. Compared to the previous movie, Avengers Infinity War, this movie seems to be a big step up. The lackluster Avengers Infinity War concluded with Thanos finally getting all six Infinity Stones he so desperately wanted, which he successfully did and wiped out half of all life, including famous characters such as Black Panther, Star-Lord, and Spider-Man. This review will not have any spoilers so if you have not seen the movie, first of what are you doing, second your safe.

Avengers Endgame starts a couple of weeks following the extermination of half of the life in the world. The surviving protagonists are trying to pick up the bits and pieces to find out if what Thanos did can be reversed. It is a more attentive, oriented movie, even though its storyline pulls elements from a dozen other films. Although Infinity sometimes feels overwhelming, Endgame gives a chance to be, well, courageous to some of the more iconic characters of Marvel Cinematic Universe history. Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and Thor break free from the mob, aided and abetted by Hawkeye and Ant-Man. They are no longer pure pawns in a scheme powered by Thanos. In a way, this is the latest Avengers, and the closest team of superheroes reminded me of the appeal of the first Avengers, one in which different personalities can bounce off each other instead of only looking like they were locked into a wild ride going in the same direction. It also makes room for some of the franchise’s best acting work, particularly from Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., who you know when watching this movie, have transformed Captain America and Iron Man into something for an age larger than life. The most rewarding part of Endgame is how much it offers the story arc they merit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s two most popular heroes, rather than just burying them in a sea of cameos from lesser actors from other movies. It becomes an ode to the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe in the way this canonizes them.

What works best about the screenplay for Endgame by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is that one gets a feeling of looking back rather than just trying to set the stage for something to come, probably for the first time. This film includes elements of what viewers recognize and appreciate about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, remembering character actions, backgrounds, and series storylines, such as Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Call it a cheap fan service, but one of my biggest problems with these films, particularly the Infinity War, was a feeling that they are simply advertisements for movies that still must be made. Endgame has no such aspect. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will certainly continue, but this film has a finality and depth given to it by the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been lacking by the others.

It must also act as a movie, of course. The middle hour is as enjoyable as ever, but there are certain times in which I wished I could sense a human touch under this beautifully crafted, carefully planned movie. I longed for some of the awkward pauses in the severity of the scenario in the long first hour of build-up to lead to anything that seemed normal or acting judgment which didn’t seem like it was conducted through a committee. For years, certain facets of Endgame have been foreshadowed by other movies and finely tuned by the hundreds of people it takes to make such a movie.

People are not lining up at dawn to challenge them for Avengers Endgame, though. It’s about satisfying commitment, loyalty, and hopes. Whatever its shortcomings, Endgame does all that, and with deep respect for the people who have rendered this story a real cultural sensation. The stakes are high, and the findings echo. It’s an incredible cultural event, the kind of thing that goes beyond traditional film critique to become a shared experience for fans all over the world. My only question is how they will be able to top this movie in the years to come and keep their audience engrossed in the movies they put out in the future.

Works Cited

1. Markus, C., & McFeely, S. (Writers), & Russo, A., & Russo, J. (Directors). (2019). Avengers: Endgame [Film]. Marvel Studios.
2. The Avengers (Motion Picture). (2012). Marvel Studios.
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron (Motion Picture). (2015). Marvel Studios.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy (Motion Picture). (2014). Marvel Studios.
5. Captain America: The First Avenger (Motion Picture). (2011). Marvel Studios.
6. Smith, M. D. (2014). The Marvel Studios Phenomenon: Inside a Transmedia Universe. Bloomsbury Publishing.
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9. Stein, L. C. (2015). Millennial Avengers and the New Hollywood. In M. D. Denson, L. Eckel, & A. Tolkach (Eds.), Avengers Assemble!: Critical Perspectives on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (pp. 49-62). McFarland.
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