Avengers: Endgame – 2 Part Film Review

Well, well, well I can honestly say that I was wrong in suggesting that Hollywood should stop making movies after Avengers: Infinity War. I obviously knew that Avengers: Endgame was due for release just 12 months later and would have to at least be on par with the former. However, Endgame went above and beyond in ways I never imagined, the pay-off of 22 intertwined films could not be more perfect. We’ve all seen the trailers and heard the theories, some of them true (I’m not saying which ones, they’ll be in the spoiler section) but you will not be prepared for what unfolds in the 182 minutes of cinematic history called Endgame. If you haven’t already, I Implore you to watch it now, today, ASAP before you start hearing bits and pieces from other sources, even the smallest bits of information will ruin your experience.

As you know, we pick up from the events of Infinity War and find our remaining heroes defeated, deflated and distraught. Iron Man and Nebula are lost in space following the battle on Titan, Scott is stuck in the Quantum Realm and the Avengers left on earth are licking their wounds in the Avengers compound. Their plan is to somehow find Thanos, retrieve the stones and put everything back to normal. Sounds easy enough. That is as much as I can tell you without revealing the plot, seriously. What I can tell you is how I felt throughout and following the film.

Straight off the bat, I was an emotional wreck, I went through every emotion known to man/womankind and I’m not ashamed to say there were tears falling from 36-year-old eyes. In true Marvel fashion they drop the tiniest bit of humour to break the tension. Conversely when there’s a chilled moment, BANG, something drastic happens. I also haven’t stopped thinking about it since Friday night, not because there are endless questions (there are some) but because it truly is epic, blink and you’ll miss something. THERE ARE NO POINTS IN THIS MOVIE WHERE IT IS SAFE FOR A TOILET BREAK!!!

Joe and Anthony Russo have firmly cemented themselves as AAA rated directors now. They’ve delivered us Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War and now this masterpiece. They understand the long history of the characters and the milestones they’ve hit in their retrospective comics. This allows them to create their own narrative and take us on different journeys and adventures. What’s the point in making a direct adaptation? There would be no surprises, no rollercoaster of emotions and fans wouldn’t care. Yes, the Russo’s have had help along the way in the form of fantastic screenwriting and massive praise goes to Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus for again somehow piecing dozens of characters and storylines into one amazing script.

Onto the cast. Everyone gives their all in this film, nothing is left on the table. Filming both films back to back was sensible in a logistical sense but it was a masterstroke for the following reason. They all looked exhausted, like they’d been through the events themselves. There are far too many to list here, I’ll give individual character breakdowns in part 2.

There we have it, the Infinity Saga is over. It will be another 22 films and 10 years until we get another event like this. Fans need to have patience in this time as the standard has risen and risen over the past few years. Every release can’t be of this magnitude, it’s impossible.

Following Endgame, what does Marvel have in store for us? Well one definite is Spider-man: Far From Home this summer and there where mumblings of sequels to Black Panther and Doctor Strange but no dates have been confirmed yet. There is also an Eternals film in the works and James Gunn has returned for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 but this will be a long way off as he currently working with DC on Suicide Squad 2. We also have the Disney streaming service going live in November with a host of mini Marvel shows. I won’t divulge the names of those shows here in case you don’t know just in case you feel they may be spoilers.

Scroll on down for some spoilers if you want them.

Thanks for Reading,

Ben

 

 

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You’ve made it, I’m presuming you’ve seen the beautiful epicness of Endgame? If not, welcome anyway, it’s your choice.

I’ll start with the plot. The theories were right all along and what a trip down memory lane that was, jumping back into Avengers Assemble, Thor: The Dark World and Guardians vol 1. Time travel through the Quantam Realm thanks to Scott and Tony via Bruce to retrieve the infinity stones. You need to be very careful when playing with this theme, but it was clearly laid out how and why it works throughout. All the ‘big’ time travel films get a mention, but their theory of time travel was wrong this whole time, who knew!? So going back and changing the past doesn’t effect your future, you get a different strand of reality, you’re future stays intact and in turn becomes your past. Mind blowing.

Moving on to a few easter eggs and call backs.

• One that has gone unnoticed by many, takes place during the opening scenes with Nebula and Tony. In a call back to Avengers: Assemble we see Tony offer Nebula food in a silver foil bag. This is reminiscent of the scene where Tony offers Bruce some dried blueberries in the Helicarrier lab, again in a silver foil bag. The action in which he does it is the same, arm out in the offering but no eye contact being made.
• Joe Russo (director) and Jim Starlin (Creator of Thanos) are 2 of the people talking at Steve’s survivor group at the beginning.
• Okoye reports there was an Earthquake under the Atlantic. This could potentially be the first mention of Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
• Captain Marvel now as hair that resembles her comic counter-part.
• Tony and Pepper did name their child Morgan as Tony described in his dream in Infinity War. We are led to believe she is named after Pepper’s eccentric uncle. However, Morgan is Tony’s eccentric uncle in the comics.
• Rocket is now wearing comic accurate attire.
• In Pym’s SHIELD lab in 1970 we see the original Ant-Man helmet, big and silver and shiny!!
• We also see Jarvis in this time frame. His first outing since season 2 of Agent Carter and the first appearance of an MCU tv character in the films. All the others have been film first Andy tv second (Coulson, Sif and Fury).
• New Asgard is set in Tonsberg, Norway. This is the site of the battle between Odin and Laufey at the beginning of Thor, the town that is sieged by Red Skull for the Tesseract and where Odin comes to die. Funnily enough it’s shot in Scotland and bottles of Irn Bru can be seen along with Scottish Beer Innes and Gunn.
• Korg and Meek are seen playing the popular game Fortnite. Not a massive finding but the game currently has an Endgame theme that can be played.
• Cap’s shield is broken by Thanos exactly how Tony saw it in his vison during the opening battle of Age of Ultron.
• Scott’s storage unit in San Francisco in number 616. This is the number of the universe in which the original comics are set.
• At Tony’s funeral there appears to be a sole bystander, this was Harley Keener, Tony’s young protégé from Iron Man 3.
• Also at the funeral, young Morgan asks Happy for a cheeseburger, this is a throwback to Iron Man when Tony returns from Afghanistan and asks Happy for cheeseburgers.
• Sam (Falcon) calls out “on your left” to Cap when he returns for the final battle. This echoes the opening scene in Winter Soldier.
• Cap finally says “Avengers Assemble”
• Before Cap makes the journey back to put the stones in their original place he has a reverse exchange with Bucky that mirrors an exchange from The First Avenger. In that film Bucky says “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back” to which Cap replies “I can’t, you’re taking all the stupid with you.” Here we have Cap delivering the first line and Bucky replying.
• Steve hands his shield to Sam to take on the mantle of Captain America. This reflects the current comic storyline. However, the comics see Bucky take up the mantle first.

Now I’m going to look at the 6 main Avengers and their individual storylines and what they mean in the future of the MCU.

Tony

Tony’s death brings him about 180 degrees from the selfish playboy we saw in Iron Man, 11 years ago. What a transformation we’ve seen in this character throughout the years. He may have been slammed for his creation of Ultron, but his intentions were well placed. He knew this was coming, he wanted a suit of armour around the world. He had the vision of the Avengers destruction and that has plagued him since. He’s lost all trust in his team and in his view he is right in walking away and starting a family with Pepper. His young daughter is what originally stops him from helping with the ‘time heist’ but upon seeing a picture of him and Peter Parker he comes to realise he failed the kid. There was only one-way Tony’s story was ending and him clicking his fingers to destroy Thanos and his armies was perfect. The Infinity Saga started with him and it had to finish with him. His presence in the MCU will be missed but we still have War Machine and now Pepper is suiting up as Rescue. He also got closure by speaking to his dad one final time. One of my favourite scenes.

Steve

The epitome of hope, the light which the Avengers follow and the reason for one final tear-jerking moment. Steve was meant to return after he returned the stones, instead he stays in 1945 and picks up his life with Peggy Carter. He stays in that time line and returns in the present day as 105 year old man, his serum wearing off. This was Chris Evans’ final film in his original contract, killing him and Tony off would have been too much. The decision to leave him with Peggy was the only option and gave the fans something they’ve always wanted to happen, to see Steve happy. He may return at some point in a future film, but he won’t be returning as Cap. If anyone tells you they predicted him lifting Mjolnir then they’re liars. Nobody was expecting this and yet it seems so right. We know he moved the hammer in Age of Ultron and Thor was very aware of this, but I believe he was worthy all the time and held off so he didn’t show Thor to be less powerful. Finally, he fights until the end, he gets knocked down but gets back up and retightens his shield straps. This is what makes Captain America.

Natasha

The third and final character to have their story end was Black Widow. She admits she never had a family before she joined SHIELD and then the Avengers. Her sacrifice on Vormir finally sees her ledger return to black, she feels this is the only way to redeem herself from the things she did in her past. Between her and Hawkeye they have a mini back and forth as to who will jump to get the soul stone. Before this, we see Natasha try and keep some form of Avengers team together, she feels it’s her duty to do so. Her death was a shock, I’ll be honest. It does raise 3 very valid questions; what does this mean for her solo film, is it a prequel? And what does it mean for her Disney+ series with Hawkeye, again when will this be set? Third question comes from Cap putting the soul stone back. If he replaces the stone does the exchange work in reverse and is Natasha now alive and stuck on Vormir?

Thor

Or should I say fat Thor. What a fantastic idea this was, he’s totally let himself go, living in a smallish house in Norway with Korg and Meek. He’s become an alcoholic and is totally in denial that Thanos defeated him. It’s safe to say he’s lost his place in the world and is struggling to be the man he believes he has to be. Thor is a total wreck on all fronts, the only thing that brings him back is a chance encounter with his mum, Frigga who quickly identifies that he’s from the future. This is enough to realign his purpose and fight alongside Cap and Iron Man. Now, will we get to see him team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and fittingly be called the Asgardians of the Galaxy? His bravado comes up against Quill again and he tries to assert himself as the captain of the Benatar. It remains to be seen if he was in James Gunn’s original plans for Vol.3. I also love the shot of him holding both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.

Bruce

Finally able to control the Hulk we see him as Professor Hulk throughout. He now has the brains and brawn to be useful in any situation but tends not to want to use his anger or rage. His scene with The Ancient One in 2012 on top of the Sanctum Santorum helps us understand his views on time travel and the unravelling of realities and alternate timelines. Once the teams return with the stones, he believes he is the only one strong enough to wield them and reverse the damage of Thanos’ click. He does just that and injures himself in the process. His story doesn’t really evolve from there and its unclear where we will see him next as he is predominately only cast in Avengers films, Ragnarok the only exception. What we do know is that he’s become quite a celebrity.

Clint

The opening sequence belongs to Clint, we see him pre-click with his family, 20 seconds later they’re gone and this leads him down the path we find him on 5 years later. No longer Hawkeye but going by the name Ronin he is bringing down organized crime one country at a time. Natasha persuades him to rejoin the Avengers after killing a Japanese crime lord in Tokyo. As he has nothing to lose, Clint is first to volunteer to try the quantum time jump and offer himself on Vormir to retrieve the soul stone. The Hawkeye character has been grossly underused to his full potential since his introduction in Thor and is seen as a weak character by many outside of the comic fanbase.

The remaining cast, with the exclusion of Nebula and Ant-Man don’t really have anything solid to add, they’re mainly there as ‘filler characters’. They are the only 2 that propel the story forward, Scott in act 1 and Nebula in act 2. Rocket is his usual self, throwing fantastic one-liners about.

And to top this mammoth review off let’s talk about the final battle. How awesome is it? Even without the stones, Thanos is still a formidable foe, he does have a massive army though. Luckily Banner had reversed the click and reinforcements appear at just the right time thanks to Doctor Strange and Wong. Thanos is also from 2014, so is a little younger in a physical sense. Add to that he still has his Cabal; Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight and Gorvus Clave. There’s a nice moment in the battle where we see the female heroes unite to give Captain Marvel a clear run at getting the Gauntlet to Scott so he can jump back in time through the miniature Quantum Realm device in the back of his van.

I could talk for days about this film. I’ve currently seen it twice and I plan on seeing it over and over in the coming months and years.

Thanks for reading the full article.

Ben