CLICK HERE FOR A SPOILER FREE REVIEW

There aren’t adequate words to describe what a visceral and emotional and thoroughly satisfying movie this is. From the visuals, to the writing choices, to the way it ties literally every prior MCU movie into its grand scheme (in big and in small ways), Endgame is a film like no other. It’s huge, epic, and but for one minor complaint, entirely satisfying.

There were multiple moments during the third act where I thought to myself “if this was the last MCU movie ever, job well done.” I couldn’t have said that after Civil War or Winter Solider or Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor: Ragnarok. Great as those movies are they couldn’t have been the end of the franchise. Too many things would be left hanging, too many character arcs would be unfulfilled.

With Endgame, this felt like the end, the series finale, the final chapter. I know there are more movies coming; Black Widow is getting a prequel film, The Eternals and Shang-Chi are on the docket, Dr. Strange 2 is coming, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is back on the menu. Still though…

it feels like an ending.

If nothing else it feels like a reset. Two of the “big three” (Iron Man, Cap, Thor) are out of commission, two of the other three big Avengers (Natasha, Clint, Hulk) are too. The rest are mostly newbies with only one or two films under their belt. It’s going to feel lean, at least until X-Men and Fantastic Four finally debut. Endgame is, as its name sounds, very much an end to the core team of heroes we’ve enjoyed over the past eleven years. It’s fitting and wonderful then for it to be a movie that celebrates all that came before it.

You can check out our spoiler free thoughts on the movie HERE.

For those who have seen the movie, here are random reflections as I look back on the MCU’s big sendup to its ten year history…

CHARACTER ARCS

Captain America

Endgame at times, especially at the end, felt like the final Captain America movie more than an Avengers film. The arc of a hero lost in time (The First Avenger), who lost his faith in government (The Winter Solider), lost half his family (Civil War), lost an unloseable war (Infinity War) and finally won and decided to lay down his arms. Speculation before the movie surrounded whether he or Iron Man would die (or both); Cap’s exit was better than a noble death. He got to be the noble hero and then start over and just be a noble man.

Thor

His was the most surprising and yet absolutely fitting of the three. Of course the overly emotional Thor would have a breakdown after all he had gone through. He lost his mom, his dad, his country, his hair, and when he finally had his big moment to be the hero…he failed (and then failed again by getting to Thanos too late). All of those losses happened in such quick succession there wasn’t much time to process it all. Five years later he’s fat, drunk and done with it all. Of the big three, he was always the most likely to survive since it seems like his writers have only now finally cracked his character. His arc from cocky to defeatist to humbled would have been enough to carry the movie all by itself; remarkably it was just one of many satisfying plot threads.

Iron Man

Fittingly the movie ends where the franchise began. In hindsight it always made sense for Iron Man to make the sacrifice play. His character arc over the movie was probably the film’s best realized plot thread; Stark ended up the only man in the world whose life seemed to improve after the snap. He retired, settled down, and started a family. The writers did a great job giving Stark every reason to stay grounded and not get involved in the plot…until his old obsessions kicked back in. Giving him everything he ever wanted and then forcing him to have to sacrifice it all to save the day made for the perfect close to his arc.

THE PLOT

Even knowing the basic gist of the plot and having been spoiled by a rando on Reddit that Tony dies after snapping Thanos, I was still incredibly surprised throughout the movie.

There were so many cameos, little moments, and other winks and nods, not to mention some of the WAYS they went about the plot. I didn‘t see FatThor killing Thanos in act one happening. I didn’t see the Stark/Roger’s reunion starting off so bitterly, with an emaciated Tony basically throwing out an “I warned you about this!” before retiring to a happy ending before the five year jump.

I wonder though, what would have my response been had I gone in totally blind. It was the biggest love letter, fan servicey movie I’ve ever seen (in the best way) but the biggest part of that fan service was known to me a year+ ago (how the heroes were going back to past movies to gather their own stones).

I cant imagine how surreal it would have been to see “NEW YORK 2012” pop up mid-battle without knowing it was coming.

It was crazy enough knowing about it.

Bonus thumbs-up to Ant-Man running around the Battle of New York since he was originally supposed to be a Phase One hero and thus should have been there in the first place

As for the way the story broke down, it’s interesting the choices made in the story: The heroes get a victory over Thanos early on, but it was a hollow one. It was pyrrhic. Then, when they finally beat Thanos “for good” it’s not the one who actually caused their misery; it was the Thanos from six years before the snap. It wasn‘t phyrric but it still felt slightly unsatisfying all the same.

That’s really my only complaint with the movie, and it’s very minor as I understand why it was done and how it serviced the plot: Killing Thanos in Act One was hollow because it accomplished nothing; that’s fine because it’s Act One and the heroes need to start off on the wrong foot (that‘s good drama). But killing Thanos in Act Three was also hollow because he didn’t even know those heroes or the struggle they went through in the previous movie.

Case in point is Wanda. She pops down in front of him and says “you took everything from me!” He replied: “I don’t even know who you are.” That moment would have been more cathartic if she had been able to get back at the Thanos that killed Vision, and not some past version of Thanos that had no emotional connection with them.

But, as I say, that’s a minor gripe, not worth worrying about.

As for the basic heist plot in the middle of the film: It was executed perfectly. Drama (Stark and Stark), comedy (Quill singing without the soundtrack), action (Cap vs Cap), surprises (the first Sorcerer Supreme and ALL the cameos), you name it. The whole sequence was the very best of Back to the Future II, mixed with the very best of every previous MCU film, sprinkled throughout, in big and small ways, from beginning to end.

There really aren’t adequate words to describe what a visceral, emotional and thoroughly satisfying movie this is. It is, simply put, the best possible way to conclude a decade-long story. I am blown away.

10/10 – Bravo.

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holy55

1 year ago

I was screaming a lot (internally) during those 180 minutes. It did feel like a love letter as you said. Black Widow’s death was spoiled by my friends, but the rest of the plot wasn’t, so I was really delighted to go back to The Avengers or when I saw Loki again.

I have so many things I’m excited about this movie, but that will turn my comment into another review, so I’ll hold it in. Instead, I’ll add one more item to your minor complaint list: the time heist.

Rob Duggat

Reply to holy55

I hear ya, I kept thinking, “Okay, it’s not too late for an interesting sub plot to develop…” throughout the entire thing. Even when it was clear that we were stuck with the “takes itself too seriously” death scene as the real climax of the film I was still hoping there would be something alluring to a story line that hasn’t been explored yet on film. So many to choose from when you consider the comics.

Reply to Rob Duggat

On the contrary, I didn’t think another subplot is necessary. Infinity War presented us only one question of how to redo the snap. One extra sub-plot would probably make the hours more packed, but I’m not sure if I’d like it that way. I’m also unfamiliar with the comics, so maybe I missed something.

Which death scene do you think is taking itself too seriously?

Arabella

I finally saw the film and was a little disappointed. Maybe I built it up in my head too much, since it’s rare to find a film that both critics and fans are raving about. The action is good, but that’s what every one of Marvel’s films excel at. It just wasn’t the unforgettable ending that I expected.

Silver

Reply to Arabella

I think sometimes us fans become highly invested in certain characters and we have an idea of how things should go, then we’re bummed when it doesn’t happen. I read the comics as a kid and I didn’t like how Black Widow’s character was treated in this movie. It was’t a bad movie per se; I just had different expectations.

Reply to Silver

Yes, I guess that’s true enough. I’m still disappointed that Black Widow died because I figured she’d be the new leader. It’s admirable that she sacrificed herself and I suppose it kept with her character though.

SaveMe

The fight between Natasha and Clint for the Soul Stone was so frustrating. What a genuine and beautiful friendship! I was hoping that returning the stone would bring her back. After all, how do you exactly return the Soul Stone?

Natasha Yves

I’m looking to the heist plot and Stark vs Stark humor now! I’m not a big fan of the hero movies recently but the avengers’ movies have nailed the formula down. Tony has to be my favorite character by far.

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REVIEW: Avengers Endgame – Spoiler-filled observations

CHARACTER ARCS

Captain America

Thor

Iron Man

THE PLOT

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