I
haven't done an entire post dedicated to my spoiler-filled thoughts
regarding a film before. Whenever I feel the need to discuss spoilers,
I've always done a brief section at the end of my regular reviews.
However, most of my opinion on Avengers: Endgame does revolve around
specific details so I felt the urge to do this. So, let's get into this.
If you have not seen this film yet, I recommend you do not read this, check out my review that I wrote a few days ago. That gives my overall thoughts with little to no detail. As for this, we'll be going deep into spoiler territory. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
3...
2...
1...
What I Liked
I'll attempt to go in chronological order of these events in the film. The opening sequence with Hawkeye's family fading to dust was the only scene I knew was coming. I thought it was handled really well. The lack of music and somewhat slow reveal of events made this a really tense opening scene and it appropriately set the tone for what was on its way. I am glad they chose this to open the movie and didn't make it a post credit scene to follow Ant-Man and the Wasp or Captain Marvel because I think it worked well here.
In terms of the introduction to the Avengers post Infinity War, I thought it was done interestingly. At first I felt it was paced badly due to the fact that within the first fifteen minutes or so they confront Thanos and kill him. It is also revealed that he used the stones to destroy the stones. But, the fact that these occurred so early on made the rest of the film more engaging. I think everyone expected this to be about the Avengers fighting Thanos, so the fact that he's killed almost instantly made me wonder where the rest of the film was going to go. That and he's killed by Thor chopping his head off. In other words, "going for the head", which was a great joke and one of many that relies on your knowledge of previous movies.
What follows for the rest of the first act are a lot of slow scenes. Usually you'd see this in my 'What I didn't like' section but here it didn't bother me. This was because it felt justified. The characters couldn't just brush off what happened in Infinity War and the opening sequence like it was nothing, they needed time to think about where on earth they're going to end up next. Five whole years to be exact. This makes the characters feel more realised as people and I felt more connected to them in this first act more so than a lot of other movies in the franchise. Cap and Black Widow in particular. The former runs a therapy group and hears about how people are coping with losses, which strikes a chord with him as he lost the love of his life, Peggy Carter, only recently. As for the latter, she is just lost and doesn't know what her future holds. The tone felt very appropriate and despite the lack of action and excitement, I wasn't ever bored to a large extent.
But, Ant-Man then shows up. He has spent five years in the quantum realm, but to him it has only been five hours or so. He manages to escape thanks to a rat that scurried over the control panel and started up the machine, lucky. He then searches around the somewhat empty city, finding a huge memorium dedicated to people who 'vanished'. He searches for his daughter, Cassie's, name but finds his own. He then returns to his home to find that Cassie is now a teenager and supposedly all alone. But, he also realises that the way time works in the quantum realm could be used to save their fallen friends. I liked what they did with Ant-Man in this movie, apart from some bad jokes, he was a likeable screen presence and the stuff when he's tiny is as fun as ever.
Once the plot regarding time travel as a way to save everyone is set off, the film really starts to get entertaining. Seeing all the characters go back to various scenes from previous movies felt very rewarding because I've seen and loved all (well, most of) the movies they revisit so it felt like a nice trip down memory lane as well as being a reminder of some of the best moments this franchise has offered. Going back to the New York battle was a lot of fun and it allowed for a lot of clever jokes. The best of which revolve around Cap. The part where he whispered "Hail Hydra" into Crossbones' ear when telling him why he has the sceptre was hilarious, but what came next with him fighting himself and responding to past Cap say "I could do this all day" with "I know" was even better. It was also nice to see the return of previously forgotten characters like Alexander Pierce and the Ancient One.
As for other moments of retrieving the stones, seeing Thor go back to Thor: The Dark World actually had me looking back on that film with fondness, so you can tell this movie did something right. They actually make fun of how stupid that film was, which is much appreciated. While some moments in this scene were played for laughs, it was still nice to see Thor's arc being explored further after Infinity War. Another moment involving getting a stone was on Morag (where Star-Lord finds the orb) and it was great to see him lip syncing to 'Come and Get Your Love' and looking like a complete idiot. This was made even better when he was knocked out in a comical fashion.
But the stone I was most curious to see the retrieval of was the soul stone. With it requiring a sacrifice of a loved one, I didn't know how it could work. What they did was heartbreaking. Black Widow and Hawkeye, while not having any romantic chemistry, were still good characters to choose for this scenario as they have shown a sort of love for each other in previous films, especially in Civil War during the airport battle. Seeing them fight over who gets sacrificed was so intense because it always seemed as if one person was going to jump off the cliff and die but they're quickly saved and then it happens to the other. And they properly fight, even when Hawkeye jumps off, Widow saves him and then sacrifices herself. This scene alone served as an enforcement of the love they have for one another, as neither of them want the other person to die. So, it was a really powerful scene, and it was even better to hear the same piece of music that plays when Gamora is sacrificed in Infinity War. Regarding Widow's death, I hope it is permanent. They do say it can't be undone in the film, and if that is true then it is a bold move made by Marvel. My friend / fellow Marvel fan said this was a missed opportunity to have Cap meet the Red Skull, but while that would've been neat, it would've sacrificed a really powerful moment and undercut a heavily foreshadowed moment.
When the gang lose the Tesseract, they realise they have to go even further back to get another version of it. They couldn't have chosen a better time. I loved seeing Tony run into his father. Although on paper it sounds extremely bizarre, the execution of it is great. They discuss what it's like to be a father, and what Howard's hopes are for his newly born son (Tony). This created a sweet moment when Tony feels as if he has pleased his father even though he is no longer with him in the present. Cap also had an endearing moment in which he sees Peggy and realises how he missed the opportunity to live his life with her, which serves as great foreshadowing for a later scene.
So, everyone (except Widow) gets back nice and dandy and it seems as if everything is going to be just fine. They do show the true struggle of wielding the infinity stones when Bruce, being the strongest, attempts to put it on. But, Nebula has brought Thanos to the Avengers base and informed him about the presence of all the stones. This brings me onto my point about Nebula. She was a really boring character in both Guardians movies and Infinity War (as well as aggrevating because she could've held Star-Lord back before he lost his temper!!!!). But here, she was actually interesting. She feels more like an actual person mostly due to her interaction with Tony and the other Avengers. However, it was really interesting to see that she actually had an arc. While retrieving a stone, past Thanos accesses past Nebula's memory file, which shows memories from present Nebula. This reveals to Thanos that he has the chance to get all the stones at once, as at the point in time he is from, he is hunting them down. Nebula realises that she has betrayed Thanos in helping the Avengers. She feels the need to please him. This is what prompts her to summon Thanos' ship to earth once all the stones have been gathered. But, her and past Gamora discuss what the future holds, and she realises that her relationship with her sister is more valuble than her one with Thanos. She then turns on him once again but only when it's too late. This really added some nuance to the character and I didn't feel like her presence was pointless or irritating, as I had suspected.
But then, the film gets better. Thanos no longer feels the need to wipe out half the universe as he sees from present Nebula that the result of it is not what he was hoping. He instead plans to restart the universe, and make himself a deity of some sort. This leads to a battle with three of the original Avengers; Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. And this has all sorts of great moments. The action feels grounded and the stakes feel real which made the fight more tense, but what made me adore this sequence, was when CAP WIELDED MJOLNIR!!! We all knew he could do it after he made it twitch in Age of Ultron, and this was finally the moment we saw him use it. This was the first of many moments that the audience I saw it with actually cheered. It felt so amazing, but nothing could've prepared me for what came next...
At this point, you've kind of forgotten that they managed to bring back the fifty percent of the universe that died, so imagine my excitement when the following happened:
- Sam calls Cap and claims he's brought backup, walking out into the scene saying "on your left" to him
- Black Panther walks out of a portal onto the battlefield
- The comrades lost on Titan including Doctor Strange, the other Guardians, and Spider-Man arrive
- Valkyrie on her Pegasus and Korg show up
- Scarlet Witch arrives
- The Wasp is back and Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man
- Pepper Potts has her own Iron Man suit
- EVEN WONG SHOWS UP
- And after the most grand shot of the entire film, which shows almost every single character in the scene, Cap says with all his remaining energy, "AVENGERS... assemble"
This is the dream-like scene I briefly touched upon in my review of the film. I adored this scene. The fighting choreography is bonkers yet still easy to follow and comprehend. The character team ups are still entertaining and awesome, there are still subtle callbacks such as Wasp referring to Captain America as Cap after criticising Ant-Man for calling him that, and more tremendous fighting and battles than I could ever have imagined. This scene alone is better than the entirety of Infinity War and probably the whole of the rest of the MCU, and in my personal opinion, this is one of the most epic and spectacular scenes in cinema history. We all say the "I am you father" moment from Empire Strikes Back, or the boulder scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the "We don't need roads" scene from Back to the Future, or the reveal of the first dinosaur in Jurassic Park are some of the most iconic and exciting scenes in film, but I think that in a few decades time, people will look back on this one mighty scene, and realise that no matter how difficult to film or how impossible an idea may seem, it can be done. And I think that it will soon become one of the greatest scenes that cinema has ever seen, and will ever see. I don't think I can possibly praise it any higher than that.
As if this scene didn't have enough characters in it, Captain Marvel shows up. Before I talk about the real punch of the scene, I was glad to see the latter wasn't in the film too much. We'd just seen her solo adventure and I was pleased to see it wasn't her that delivered the final blow to Thanos, and that the filmmakers left it to the originals to do the job. Probably a smart move as that would've ticked off a lot of fans, myself included.
But it somehow gets better. The man who began this entire series, as well as being the man we've followed for most of this journey, is Iron Man. He has come a long, long way since his first appearance in 2008. If there was anyone who had to give the ultimate blow, it undeniably had to be him. Thanos seemingly has all the stones in his possession and is ready to restart the universe. But, his snap does nothing. Tony managed to grab all the stones and he now wields them all. After saying his debatably most famous line, "I... am Iron Man", he snaps his fingers. All of Thanos' forces, himself included, begin to fade to dust. Last time we saw the heroes, now we see the villains. But, the snap has fatally wounded Tony. Pepper, Rhodey and Peter all go to see him. They exchange some tearful expressions, and are assured that Tony can finally rest. As they are, Tony's arc reactor goes out. He closes his eyes. He's dead. This was the death I knew had to happen, and they pulled it off in the most resonant way possible. The one we've seen the most progression of over the last decade, faces the enemy he's spent years dreading, and dies saving the ones he loves from him. You can't get more satisfying than that. This was when the tears began to make their way. Just when I thought it couldn't get much sadder, the original arc reactor is placed upon a small bush and floated out across a river. The camera then pans to essentially everyone who has ever been in this franchise, who watch and remember their fallen friend. That is another level of resonant. And then, the cherry on top, Happy tells Tony's young daughter about how much her father loved cheeseburgers, making us reminisce about the first time we saw this character, making us realise how truly big this journey has been, and making us feel rewarded for being there along the way.
But, is that it? Not quite. The stones have to be returned to where they were taken from, so Cap sends himself back in time to do so. But, he doesn't return. Sam then sees an old gentleman sitting on a bench, overlooking the lake. He goes over and it turns out to be a 100 year old Cap. He decided to change the past so he never have sacrificed himself, and instead lived out his life. He has the original shield, and gives it to Sam, his most trusted friend. He then looks back on the life he just had, thinking about all the memories he has made, most notably, being able to live with his lifelong love, Peggy, and dance with her until the end of time. And with that, the film ends. This felt so thematically appropriate and necessary despite the few plot holes it opens up. While it isn't explicitly said that Cap dies, it is implied to an extent. I hope that this was the last thing we see of him because it ties up everything regarding this character so well, that I think calling it a day is the best call. That's the other thing. Even though I know the MCU hasn't finished, far from it, I wouldn't be annoyed if this was the final entry. It has two really solid and emotionally rich farewells, and it feels like the ultimate culmination. That said, I can't wait to see where this franchise goes next, but I strongly hope that Iron Man and Cap stay out of the picture from now on. Because part of the journey is the end, and the end has been reached for them, in such a perfect way. Stan Lee is no longer with us, but he would be proud.
Even the credits were something special. It begins with a sombre wartime song to fit the theme of Captain America, but it then shows the best moments of every single character, and honouring the cast of the original six while Alan Silvestri's thunderous score plays in the background. This felt like a celebration of the people who made this universe a reality, and I loved it. The movie also features no end credits scenes, so that would even further enforce how this could be the end of the series. But, I actually like this because it makes this feel like the end of a large chapter of the MCU, even if it isn't the end of the end. Given how terrific this film concluded, the proper end of this franchise is truly something to look forward to.
What I Didn't Like
There was really one major problem I had with this movie. Thor. The decisions they made regarding him were questionble to say the least. He goes away from the gang for a while but he's visited by Banner and Rocket in 'New Asgard', populated by the remaining Asgardians. They run into Valkyrie and she explains how they only see Thor once a month. This all seemed hopeful at this point. I expected them to have to convince a miserable and depressed Thor to not give up the fight and that there's more to life than just drinking alcohol. After some convincing from Banner, he'd agree and follow them. Nope. That's about the opposite of what they do. Instead, they make Thor a drunk and goofy alcoholic with a huge beer belly that stays in his house to play Fortnite with Korg and Meik, and uses Stormbreaker as a bottle opener. The only resemblance of what I wanted is that Thor does act odd when Thanos is brought up. This was such a disappointment because, while it was somewhat entertaining, it didn't feel like it correlated with what they'd set up with Thor. If they had done what I wanted, then Thor's one to one battle with Thanos in the final battle would've felt so much better because we've seen Thor believe he can take down Thanos, fail doing so and have to watch half his comrades die in front of him, finally kill Thanos with no effect, lose motivation and think he's hit rock-bottom, before realising that there is still a chance, and he is still capable of saving everyone he failed to protect before. Then when he faces Thanos one to one, he achieves something. Even if he doesn't finish the fight, he still contributed and redeemed himself. But, instead, we had to watch a fat Thor plod around and constantly make jokes. You may be wondering why I have an issue with this when Thor Ragnarok has a similar version of Thor and that is my favourite MCU movie, but that doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest. That's because that film was comedic by design. Here, I wanted a more consistently serious tone with jokes and quips peppered throughout. The Thor in Infinity War was perfect because he made jokes and was entertaining alongside being serious. It was the perfect balance for the character. So, Thor being treated like a joke really didn't work for me. As he survived the movie and has supposedly teamed up with the Guardians, I am keen to see where he goes next, but I think Cap has reclaimed the spot as my favourite of the original six Avengers after what happened here.
Because that was my only issue, and because it is an issue that is so easy to fix, you can tell how close to perfect this movie was. I may actually raise its rating if this becomes less problematic upon rewatching, which I'm sure it will, hopefully.
Conclusion
Wow, this may be the longest thing I've ever written. I think I put more time and effort into this than my history homework I had to do this weekend. Hopefully now you understand my thoughts on a lot of the specific details in Endgame and I hope you enjoyed reading through them. To summarise, the slow scenes in the first act were fine and justified, the time travel plot allowed for creative and heartbreaking moments, the character of Nebula is much better now, the final battle is one of the best and most magnificent things I have ever seen in a film, and the deaths they chose with Iron Man, Widow and supposedly Cap, were necessary and bold. My only issue is that the direction Thor took wasn't the best. Beyond that, I still don't know if I prefer this to Infinity War. I can safely say it's superior to the first Avengers and Age of Ultron, but I don't think I can make the comparison with the predecessor until I've rewatched this, which I will try to do once my exams have finished. Also, linking to that point, I think that it is very neat that the Endgame for the Avengers is at the same time as the Endgame for me. My final exams are less than twenty days away and they'll most likely be the biggest things I've dealt with so far, much like how this is the biggest threat the Avengers have seen. So, there are some personal reasons to my enjoyment too. So, this was everything I was hoping for, and I couldn't be any more pleased.
In case you missed it, Avengers Endgame gets a 9/10
I don't know what film is next on the agenda, but I'm not convinced it'll compete with this.
If you have not seen this film yet, I recommend you do not read this, check out my review that I wrote a few days ago. That gives my overall thoughts with little to no detail. As for this, we'll be going deep into spoiler territory. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
3...
2...
1...
What I Liked
I'll attempt to go in chronological order of these events in the film. The opening sequence with Hawkeye's family fading to dust was the only scene I knew was coming. I thought it was handled really well. The lack of music and somewhat slow reveal of events made this a really tense opening scene and it appropriately set the tone for what was on its way. I am glad they chose this to open the movie and didn't make it a post credit scene to follow Ant-Man and the Wasp or Captain Marvel because I think it worked well here.
In terms of the introduction to the Avengers post Infinity War, I thought it was done interestingly. At first I felt it was paced badly due to the fact that within the first fifteen minutes or so they confront Thanos and kill him. It is also revealed that he used the stones to destroy the stones. But, the fact that these occurred so early on made the rest of the film more engaging. I think everyone expected this to be about the Avengers fighting Thanos, so the fact that he's killed almost instantly made me wonder where the rest of the film was going to go. That and he's killed by Thor chopping his head off. In other words, "going for the head", which was a great joke and one of many that relies on your knowledge of previous movies.
What follows for the rest of the first act are a lot of slow scenes. Usually you'd see this in my 'What I didn't like' section but here it didn't bother me. This was because it felt justified. The characters couldn't just brush off what happened in Infinity War and the opening sequence like it was nothing, they needed time to think about where on earth they're going to end up next. Five whole years to be exact. This makes the characters feel more realised as people and I felt more connected to them in this first act more so than a lot of other movies in the franchise. Cap and Black Widow in particular. The former runs a therapy group and hears about how people are coping with losses, which strikes a chord with him as he lost the love of his life, Peggy Carter, only recently. As for the latter, she is just lost and doesn't know what her future holds. The tone felt very appropriate and despite the lack of action and excitement, I wasn't ever bored to a large extent.
But, Ant-Man then shows up. He has spent five years in the quantum realm, but to him it has only been five hours or so. He manages to escape thanks to a rat that scurried over the control panel and started up the machine, lucky. He then searches around the somewhat empty city, finding a huge memorium dedicated to people who 'vanished'. He searches for his daughter, Cassie's, name but finds his own. He then returns to his home to find that Cassie is now a teenager and supposedly all alone. But, he also realises that the way time works in the quantum realm could be used to save their fallen friends. I liked what they did with Ant-Man in this movie, apart from some bad jokes, he was a likeable screen presence and the stuff when he's tiny is as fun as ever.
Once the plot regarding time travel as a way to save everyone is set off, the film really starts to get entertaining. Seeing all the characters go back to various scenes from previous movies felt very rewarding because I've seen and loved all (well, most of) the movies they revisit so it felt like a nice trip down memory lane as well as being a reminder of some of the best moments this franchise has offered. Going back to the New York battle was a lot of fun and it allowed for a lot of clever jokes. The best of which revolve around Cap. The part where he whispered "Hail Hydra" into Crossbones' ear when telling him why he has the sceptre was hilarious, but what came next with him fighting himself and responding to past Cap say "I could do this all day" with "I know" was even better. It was also nice to see the return of previously forgotten characters like Alexander Pierce and the Ancient One.
As for other moments of retrieving the stones, seeing Thor go back to Thor: The Dark World actually had me looking back on that film with fondness, so you can tell this movie did something right. They actually make fun of how stupid that film was, which is much appreciated. While some moments in this scene were played for laughs, it was still nice to see Thor's arc being explored further after Infinity War. Another moment involving getting a stone was on Morag (where Star-Lord finds the orb) and it was great to see him lip syncing to 'Come and Get Your Love' and looking like a complete idiot. This was made even better when he was knocked out in a comical fashion.
But the stone I was most curious to see the retrieval of was the soul stone. With it requiring a sacrifice of a loved one, I didn't know how it could work. What they did was heartbreaking. Black Widow and Hawkeye, while not having any romantic chemistry, were still good characters to choose for this scenario as they have shown a sort of love for each other in previous films, especially in Civil War during the airport battle. Seeing them fight over who gets sacrificed was so intense because it always seemed as if one person was going to jump off the cliff and die but they're quickly saved and then it happens to the other. And they properly fight, even when Hawkeye jumps off, Widow saves him and then sacrifices herself. This scene alone served as an enforcement of the love they have for one another, as neither of them want the other person to die. So, it was a really powerful scene, and it was even better to hear the same piece of music that plays when Gamora is sacrificed in Infinity War. Regarding Widow's death, I hope it is permanent. They do say it can't be undone in the film, and if that is true then it is a bold move made by Marvel. My friend / fellow Marvel fan said this was a missed opportunity to have Cap meet the Red Skull, but while that would've been neat, it would've sacrificed a really powerful moment and undercut a heavily foreshadowed moment.
When the gang lose the Tesseract, they realise they have to go even further back to get another version of it. They couldn't have chosen a better time. I loved seeing Tony run into his father. Although on paper it sounds extremely bizarre, the execution of it is great. They discuss what it's like to be a father, and what Howard's hopes are for his newly born son (Tony). This created a sweet moment when Tony feels as if he has pleased his father even though he is no longer with him in the present. Cap also had an endearing moment in which he sees Peggy and realises how he missed the opportunity to live his life with her, which serves as great foreshadowing for a later scene.
So, everyone (except Widow) gets back nice and dandy and it seems as if everything is going to be just fine. They do show the true struggle of wielding the infinity stones when Bruce, being the strongest, attempts to put it on. But, Nebula has brought Thanos to the Avengers base and informed him about the presence of all the stones. This brings me onto my point about Nebula. She was a really boring character in both Guardians movies and Infinity War (as well as aggrevating because she could've held Star-Lord back before he lost his temper!!!!). But here, she was actually interesting. She feels more like an actual person mostly due to her interaction with Tony and the other Avengers. However, it was really interesting to see that she actually had an arc. While retrieving a stone, past Thanos accesses past Nebula's memory file, which shows memories from present Nebula. This reveals to Thanos that he has the chance to get all the stones at once, as at the point in time he is from, he is hunting them down. Nebula realises that she has betrayed Thanos in helping the Avengers. She feels the need to please him. This is what prompts her to summon Thanos' ship to earth once all the stones have been gathered. But, her and past Gamora discuss what the future holds, and she realises that her relationship with her sister is more valuble than her one with Thanos. She then turns on him once again but only when it's too late. This really added some nuance to the character and I didn't feel like her presence was pointless or irritating, as I had suspected.
But then, the film gets better. Thanos no longer feels the need to wipe out half the universe as he sees from present Nebula that the result of it is not what he was hoping. He instead plans to restart the universe, and make himself a deity of some sort. This leads to a battle with three of the original Avengers; Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. And this has all sorts of great moments. The action feels grounded and the stakes feel real which made the fight more tense, but what made me adore this sequence, was when CAP WIELDED MJOLNIR!!! We all knew he could do it after he made it twitch in Age of Ultron, and this was finally the moment we saw him use it. This was the first of many moments that the audience I saw it with actually cheered. It felt so amazing, but nothing could've prepared me for what came next...
At this point, you've kind of forgotten that they managed to bring back the fifty percent of the universe that died, so imagine my excitement when the following happened:
- Sam calls Cap and claims he's brought backup, walking out into the scene saying "on your left" to him
- Black Panther walks out of a portal onto the battlefield
- The comrades lost on Titan including Doctor Strange, the other Guardians, and Spider-Man arrive
- Valkyrie on her Pegasus and Korg show up
- Scarlet Witch arrives
- The Wasp is back and Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man
- Pepper Potts has her own Iron Man suit
- EVEN WONG SHOWS UP
- And after the most grand shot of the entire film, which shows almost every single character in the scene, Cap says with all his remaining energy, "AVENGERS... assemble"
This is the dream-like scene I briefly touched upon in my review of the film. I adored this scene. The fighting choreography is bonkers yet still easy to follow and comprehend. The character team ups are still entertaining and awesome, there are still subtle callbacks such as Wasp referring to Captain America as Cap after criticising Ant-Man for calling him that, and more tremendous fighting and battles than I could ever have imagined. This scene alone is better than the entirety of Infinity War and probably the whole of the rest of the MCU, and in my personal opinion, this is one of the most epic and spectacular scenes in cinema history. We all say the "I am you father" moment from Empire Strikes Back, or the boulder scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the "We don't need roads" scene from Back to the Future, or the reveal of the first dinosaur in Jurassic Park are some of the most iconic and exciting scenes in film, but I think that in a few decades time, people will look back on this one mighty scene, and realise that no matter how difficult to film or how impossible an idea may seem, it can be done. And I think that it will soon become one of the greatest scenes that cinema has ever seen, and will ever see. I don't think I can possibly praise it any higher than that.
As if this scene didn't have enough characters in it, Captain Marvel shows up. Before I talk about the real punch of the scene, I was glad to see the latter wasn't in the film too much. We'd just seen her solo adventure and I was pleased to see it wasn't her that delivered the final blow to Thanos, and that the filmmakers left it to the originals to do the job. Probably a smart move as that would've ticked off a lot of fans, myself included.
But it somehow gets better. The man who began this entire series, as well as being the man we've followed for most of this journey, is Iron Man. He has come a long, long way since his first appearance in 2008. If there was anyone who had to give the ultimate blow, it undeniably had to be him. Thanos seemingly has all the stones in his possession and is ready to restart the universe. But, his snap does nothing. Tony managed to grab all the stones and he now wields them all. After saying his debatably most famous line, "I... am Iron Man", he snaps his fingers. All of Thanos' forces, himself included, begin to fade to dust. Last time we saw the heroes, now we see the villains. But, the snap has fatally wounded Tony. Pepper, Rhodey and Peter all go to see him. They exchange some tearful expressions, and are assured that Tony can finally rest. As they are, Tony's arc reactor goes out. He closes his eyes. He's dead. This was the death I knew had to happen, and they pulled it off in the most resonant way possible. The one we've seen the most progression of over the last decade, faces the enemy he's spent years dreading, and dies saving the ones he loves from him. You can't get more satisfying than that. This was when the tears began to make their way. Just when I thought it couldn't get much sadder, the original arc reactor is placed upon a small bush and floated out across a river. The camera then pans to essentially everyone who has ever been in this franchise, who watch and remember their fallen friend. That is another level of resonant. And then, the cherry on top, Happy tells Tony's young daughter about how much her father loved cheeseburgers, making us reminisce about the first time we saw this character, making us realise how truly big this journey has been, and making us feel rewarded for being there along the way.
But, is that it? Not quite. The stones have to be returned to where they were taken from, so Cap sends himself back in time to do so. But, he doesn't return. Sam then sees an old gentleman sitting on a bench, overlooking the lake. He goes over and it turns out to be a 100 year old Cap. He decided to change the past so he never have sacrificed himself, and instead lived out his life. He has the original shield, and gives it to Sam, his most trusted friend. He then looks back on the life he just had, thinking about all the memories he has made, most notably, being able to live with his lifelong love, Peggy, and dance with her until the end of time. And with that, the film ends. This felt so thematically appropriate and necessary despite the few plot holes it opens up. While it isn't explicitly said that Cap dies, it is implied to an extent. I hope that this was the last thing we see of him because it ties up everything regarding this character so well, that I think calling it a day is the best call. That's the other thing. Even though I know the MCU hasn't finished, far from it, I wouldn't be annoyed if this was the final entry. It has two really solid and emotionally rich farewells, and it feels like the ultimate culmination. That said, I can't wait to see where this franchise goes next, but I strongly hope that Iron Man and Cap stay out of the picture from now on. Because part of the journey is the end, and the end has been reached for them, in such a perfect way. Stan Lee is no longer with us, but he would be proud.
Even the credits were something special. It begins with a sombre wartime song to fit the theme of Captain America, but it then shows the best moments of every single character, and honouring the cast of the original six while Alan Silvestri's thunderous score plays in the background. This felt like a celebration of the people who made this universe a reality, and I loved it. The movie also features no end credits scenes, so that would even further enforce how this could be the end of the series. But, I actually like this because it makes this feel like the end of a large chapter of the MCU, even if it isn't the end of the end. Given how terrific this film concluded, the proper end of this franchise is truly something to look forward to.
What I Didn't Like
There was really one major problem I had with this movie. Thor. The decisions they made regarding him were questionble to say the least. He goes away from the gang for a while but he's visited by Banner and Rocket in 'New Asgard', populated by the remaining Asgardians. They run into Valkyrie and she explains how they only see Thor once a month. This all seemed hopeful at this point. I expected them to have to convince a miserable and depressed Thor to not give up the fight and that there's more to life than just drinking alcohol. After some convincing from Banner, he'd agree and follow them. Nope. That's about the opposite of what they do. Instead, they make Thor a drunk and goofy alcoholic with a huge beer belly that stays in his house to play Fortnite with Korg and Meik, and uses Stormbreaker as a bottle opener. The only resemblance of what I wanted is that Thor does act odd when Thanos is brought up. This was such a disappointment because, while it was somewhat entertaining, it didn't feel like it correlated with what they'd set up with Thor. If they had done what I wanted, then Thor's one to one battle with Thanos in the final battle would've felt so much better because we've seen Thor believe he can take down Thanos, fail doing so and have to watch half his comrades die in front of him, finally kill Thanos with no effect, lose motivation and think he's hit rock-bottom, before realising that there is still a chance, and he is still capable of saving everyone he failed to protect before. Then when he faces Thanos one to one, he achieves something. Even if he doesn't finish the fight, he still contributed and redeemed himself. But, instead, we had to watch a fat Thor plod around and constantly make jokes. You may be wondering why I have an issue with this when Thor Ragnarok has a similar version of Thor and that is my favourite MCU movie, but that doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest. That's because that film was comedic by design. Here, I wanted a more consistently serious tone with jokes and quips peppered throughout. The Thor in Infinity War was perfect because he made jokes and was entertaining alongside being serious. It was the perfect balance for the character. So, Thor being treated like a joke really didn't work for me. As he survived the movie and has supposedly teamed up with the Guardians, I am keen to see where he goes next, but I think Cap has reclaimed the spot as my favourite of the original six Avengers after what happened here.
Because that was my only issue, and because it is an issue that is so easy to fix, you can tell how close to perfect this movie was. I may actually raise its rating if this becomes less problematic upon rewatching, which I'm sure it will, hopefully.
Conclusion
Wow, this may be the longest thing I've ever written. I think I put more time and effort into this than my history homework I had to do this weekend. Hopefully now you understand my thoughts on a lot of the specific details in Endgame and I hope you enjoyed reading through them. To summarise, the slow scenes in the first act were fine and justified, the time travel plot allowed for creative and heartbreaking moments, the character of Nebula is much better now, the final battle is one of the best and most magnificent things I have ever seen in a film, and the deaths they chose with Iron Man, Widow and supposedly Cap, were necessary and bold. My only issue is that the direction Thor took wasn't the best. Beyond that, I still don't know if I prefer this to Infinity War. I can safely say it's superior to the first Avengers and Age of Ultron, but I don't think I can make the comparison with the predecessor until I've rewatched this, which I will try to do once my exams have finished. Also, linking to that point, I think that it is very neat that the Endgame for the Avengers is at the same time as the Endgame for me. My final exams are less than twenty days away and they'll most likely be the biggest things I've dealt with so far, much like how this is the biggest threat the Avengers have seen. So, there are some personal reasons to my enjoyment too. So, this was everything I was hoping for, and I couldn't be any more pleased.
In case you missed it, Avengers Endgame gets a 9/10
I don't know what film is next on the agenda, but I'm not convinced it'll compete with this.
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