Avengers Endgame- The Heist for everyones souls
To me the subtitle for the seemingly final addition to the marvel cinematic universes vast library seemed to fit my opinion of the franchise as a whole. I remember telling my friends before the screening that they could of named it 'Avengers: Extra Time', since if Infinity War was the Super Bowl, then Endgame was the match going into deep overtime. Exciting, yet heavily draining on the eyes. And yet when this film ended I was less relived, but instead content. After a whopping 3 hour run time, Endgame had become the send off to the 11 year saga that I wanted it to be.
After the infamous results of Infinity War, we see the Avengers (or whats left of them) in their darkest hour. Now looking to fix the the crimes done by the tyrant Thanos (Josh Brolin), they look to the always popular writing trope in comic book narratives, time travel. The first thing you should know is that if you have little to know knowledge of the marvel films or have not seen the precursor to Endgame, then you will be beyond lost as it pretty much begins right after the events of Infinity War. That being said however, it is quite clear that the intentions of the Russo brothers are to appeal to the fans themselves who have been on this journey since the first Iron Man film back in 2008. The film perfectly blends a sense of epic scale and grandeur with a the classic tongue and cheek comic book style that Marvel are familiar with. Thanks to the new time travel narrative, we see our heroes going back to the previous films of the MCU looking for the Infinity Stones, in New York, in space, but mostly New York. These are the moments where the film asks you not to take the time travel science too seriously. However it should be common knowledge that if you come into a comic book film expecting a physics dissertation on the science and ethics of space and time, then you're in the wrong cinema. And yet it takes this plot device with a spring in its step as the characters comment on the changes
to themselves over time. It reminded me of the meta narrative styles of Disney princess films as they critique their history for good and bad much to the audiences enjoyment.
But we also have our edition of new cast members along the way, although on of the more questionable additions was the inclusion of marvels newest avenger, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). A lot of people were speculative after it was announced that the Captain Marvel film was releasing after Infinity War and its massive cliffhanger. This made many fans assume that she would become the secret weapon of the team and would be essential to the plot even though the audience has barely had time to get to know her like the rest of the cast. Although while Carol Danvers did appear and make an impact on the action scenes, her inclusion was quite brief which made sense given that the plot relied heavily on the original Avengers cast. Another interesting choice of character was Thanos himself, who in this film is not the heroes journey villain we remember. Rather in this he has no stones and is a lot more familiar to that of the classic marvel villain who takes a back seat tot the heroes development which affects his personality quite a lot. This change may seem bad on the face of it but I think it serves the heroes quite well. It makes sense in the narrative since this is a younger, more abrasive Thanos. And it makes his character in the previous film even more impactful.
However with this focus on nostalgia comes a problem to the film itself. In terms of the plots pacing it was very frantic in its need to play it serious while also relieving the tension with comic relief moments. Where as Infinity War made it clear of the goal and kept the sense of danger looming closer and closer in each act, there was never a moment where I felt any danger or worry at all. Its as if the film started off at an eleven from the aftermath of Infinity War and rapidly decreased with silly references and characters being played for jokes. Filmmaking wise there was almost nothing to rave about other than a few impressive shots the were already used during Infinity War. Although the final culmination of the hero team against Thanos was probably the largest scale that the franchise has ever reached, even though the CGI became a hindrance to the action at times rather than a help.
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Nevertheless the true reason why this film will be remembered for years to come, does relate to Marvels greatest asset. The Avengers themselves. If Infinity War was renowned for its villains feats, then part 2 of this story will be about its heroes. This film was truly the send off to the original hero team that started it all, giving us endings to characters that have been with this franchise from the very beginning is definitely its strongest attribute. While many of the characters got their completed character arcs, it was Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Captain America (Chris Evans) that really stole the show. It truly does remind you how powerful a characters journey can be in films, especially if that character has been on cinema screens for 10+ years. Even when I had an idea of where these characters where heading, it still tugged on my heart strings to see them follow with the inevitable.
In the end, this film is the final addition to what has already become a staple of cinematic history. If you are a fan of this franchise then you probably don't need my recommendation since you've probably seen it day one. If you are curious and what to see how ridiculous this story can be, then you will most likely not be disappointed either. Yet we know that the idea that the story of the marvel franchise ending here is a ridiculous notion, however I would be quite contempt if I never saw another addition to this epic saga. After all, what kind of company would take a story similar to Return of the Jedi and add more cinematic content after a pretty conclusive ending, that would be just greedy.
Film Grade: A-
After the infamous results of Infinity War, we see the Avengers (or whats left of them) in their darkest hour. Now looking to fix the the crimes done by the tyrant Thanos (Josh Brolin), they look to the always popular writing trope in comic book narratives, time travel. The first thing you should know is that if you have little to know knowledge of the marvel films or have not seen the precursor to Endgame, then you will be beyond lost as it pretty much begins right after the events of Infinity War. That being said however, it is quite clear that the intentions of the Russo brothers are to appeal to the fans themselves who have been on this journey since the first Iron Man film back in 2008. The film perfectly blends a sense of epic scale and grandeur with a the classic tongue and cheek comic book style that Marvel are familiar with. Thanks to the new time travel narrative, we see our heroes going back to the previous films of the MCU looking for the Infinity Stones, in New York, in space, but mostly New York. These are the moments where the film asks you not to take the time travel science too seriously. However it should be common knowledge that if you come into a comic book film expecting a physics dissertation on the science and ethics of space and time, then you're in the wrong cinema. And yet it takes this plot device with a spring in its step as the characters comment on the changes to themselves over time. It reminded me of the meta narrative styles of Disney princess films as they critique their history for good and bad much to the audiences enjoyment.
But we also have our edition of new cast members along the way, although on of the more questionable additions was the inclusion of marvels newest avenger, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). A lot of people were speculative after it was announced that the Captain Marvel film was releasing after Infinity War and its massive cliffhanger. This made many fans assume that she would become the secret weapon of the team and would be essential to the plot even though the audience has barely had time to get to know her like the rest of the cast. Although while Carol Danvers did appear and make an impact on the action scenes, her inclusion was quite brief which made sense given that the plot relied heavily on the original Avengers cast. Another interesting choice of character was Thanos himself, who in this film is not the heroes journey villain we remember. Rather in this he has no stones and is a lot more familiar to that of the classic marvel villain who takes a back seat tot the heroes development which affects his personality quite a lot. This change may seem bad on the face of it but I think it serves the heroes quite well. It makes sense in the narrative since this is a younger, more abrasive Thanos. And it makes his character in the previous film even more impactful.
However with this focus on nostalgia comes a problem to the film itself. In terms of the plots pacing it was very frantic in its need to play it serious while also relieving the tension with comic relief moments. Where as Infinity War made it clear of the goal and kept the sense of danger looming closer and closer in each act, there was never a moment where I felt any danger or worry at all. Its as if the film started off at an eleven from the aftermath of Infinity War and rapidly decreased with silly references and characters being played for jokes. Filmmaking wise there was almost nothing to rave about other than a few impressive shots the were already used during Infinity War. Although the final culmination of the hero team against Thanos was probably the largest scale that the franchise has ever reached, even though the CGI became a hindrance to the action at times rather than a help.
Nevertheless the true reason why this film will be remembered for years to come, does relate to Marvels greatest asset. The Avengers themselves. If Infinity War was renowned for its villains feats, then part 2 of this story will be about its heroes. This film was truly the send off to the original hero team that started it all, giving us endings to characters that have been with this franchise from the very beginning is definitely its strongest attribute. While many of the characters got their completed character arcs, it was Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Captain America (Chris Evans) that really stole the show. It truly does remind you how powerful a characters journey can be in films, especially if that character has been on cinema screens for 10+ years. Even when I had an idea of where these characters where heading, it still tugged on my heart strings to see them follow with the inevitable.
In the end, this film is the final addition to what has already become a staple of cinematic history. If you are a fan of this franchise then you probably don't need my recommendation since you've probably seen it day one. If you are curious and what to see how ridiculous this story can be, then you will most likely not be disappointed either. Yet we know that the idea that the story of the marvel franchise ending here is a ridiculous notion, however I would be quite contempt if I never saw another addition to this epic saga. After all, what kind of company would take a story similar to Return of the Jedi and add more cinematic content after a pretty conclusive ending, that would be just greedy.
Film Grade: A-
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