Avengers Assemble!
YES! I am finally tackling the BEAST that Avengers: Endgame! The monster hit of the year, the decade, the millennia, perhaps (arguably) EVER.
You may be asking yourself, why have I waited this long to do a proper review? The answer is simple; the blu ray just came out last week, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with it since then, watching it, loving it, absorbing it, and (even) getting a little sick of it. I listened the commentary by the Russo Brothers and the screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely a couple times already, mainly just because I love commentaries, but because it really helps to get deeper into the creation of such an epic film. Especially since the Blu Ray, behind-the-scene special features were pretty weak in my opinion.
When I watched the very first Avengers in 2012, what immediately impressed me the most is how expertly Joss Whedon handled each character (well maybe with the exception of Hawkeye, but we know he gets his due in Age of Ultron). Whedon gave all the major players (pretty much) equal screen time. Sure, Tony, Cap and Thor already had films out by then, so their characters we already established, but each MCU film has to stand on it’s own for any audience member who this is their first one. So the set-up for each character was excellent, the exposition was solid, and it had a lighter sense of humor that started to permeate more in all the subsequent MCU films.
Fast-forward to 2019, when over TEN years of MCU films have released and made more money than the GDP of most countries. And I for one, still LOVE the MCU and am not sick of it at all. I know audience goers got bored of superhero films, especially by the time Ultron came out in 2015, but they never ceased to kill at the box office and be a delight for the senses. ENDGAME released to record box-office numbers, which wasn’t surprising since it was the biggest film release event since the end of the Lord Of The Ring’s with Return of the King. After waiting a year to find out what happened to all the peeps who turned all “dust in the wind” at the end of Avengers: Infinity Wars, we got what I would say is about as a satisfying ending as possible, considering the sheer amount of characters and stories to juggle.
Like I mentioned with the first Avengers, how Marvel Studios has always managed to handle big casts never ceases to impress me, and Endgame is the MOTHER of all big casts. And also, like (again) in Avengers, the main characters were still Tony, Cap, and Thor, whose story lines came to a satisfying end (though we’re expected to see more Thor in the next Guardians of the Galaxy). But the extension of certain characters stories, especially Nebula and Antman, was a great addition to helped make the three hour run time not feel padded out.
Nebula’s story was what pleasantly surprised me the most. She was relegated to mainly a side character in the first two GOTGs films and Infinity Wars, but in Endgame she was really given time to shine. Her arc is the most interesting in the film to me, because, let’s be honest, we already pretty much knew how it was going to end for our main heroes, so her story development was a nice surprise. Having both Nebula’s searching for the Power stone and creating the video link between the two as a way for 2014 Thanos to gain the upper hand was so smart. Her old self’s disgust towards her current self really helped amplify how much she’s changed, especially since Infinity Wars. Plus she has some funny and heartfelt beats.
Scott Lang (Antman)’s storyline was developed nicely as well, though I for one kept wondering what happened to his daughter after that one emotional reunion scene. Did her mom and step-dad die in the SNAP or were they there too? Was she living alone? Was she even old enough to live alone?? A question I guess was (only) kinda answered in the end when we see them and Hope hanging out on the porch. But back to what I was saying, like Nebs, Antman really stepped his game up in, uh, Endgame, using all of the brainy stuff he gained from hanging with Hank Pym to help create the “time heist” plan. Then in the final battle, he grew huge again to save his homey’s Hulk, Rocket and War Machine. Also, I just really love the “taco scene” outside the Avengers headquarters, it always cracks me up when War Machine scares the shiza out of him then quips: “What’s up regular sized man?” HILARIOUS!
Which brings me to how funny the film was overall. It’s a pretty heavy film, especially with the sad continuation from IW where a lot of people “die.” Yet there is still a lot of humor sprinkled throughout, and it’s never over the top or unnecessary. Though the one time it felt off to me was when a sickly thin Tony looks at Rocket and says “For a split second there I thought you were build-a-bear,” to which Rocket replies “Maybe I am.” That moment felt a little forced to me as Tony is at the worst point he’s ever been in the entire MCU, he’s totally defeated and has given up. And yet he still has the energy to make a joke? I get this was a character moment for Tony, and a backstory moment for Rocket, but it didn’t work for me in such a dramatic scene.
As for other scenes that didn’t work for me at all. The “alcoholics anonymous” type scene right after the cut to FIVE YEARS LATER made me nauseous. I already couldn’t stand how Joe Russo put himself in the movie, especially since both his daughters are already in it. But it’s obvious they’re showing off how woke they are by having him be gay. And then Cap is just downright annoying with his “we can’t give up” speech. We already know he’s the always mr positive superhero guy, do we really need him to say it out loud so obnoxiously? Then in the final battle, the other “hey look at how woke we are” shot of all the women running together was cringe worthy. The question is, if the shot wasn’t included would anyone cry about it? These days? Probably.
So what is my END review on the END of ENDGAME? A few small annoyances aside, I loved it. I really did. As movie-goer, a film lover, and screenwriter. The sheer amount of character and story juggling is impressive alone, but it was executed miraculously well. It has all the heart and spectacle of an MCU film, turned up to ELEVEN!
I for one, can’t wait for the PHASE 4.
Keep writing,
Tim
