Avengers: Endgame

There's no denying how much of a cultural event the Avengers movies have become in the modern age. This group of heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming together to battle a malevolent forces have become iconic since their first adventure in 2012 with the first two films being helmed by Joss Whedon before the Russo Brothers took over. At this point, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has dubbed the first 22 movies in this franchise The Infinity Saga and it was inevitable that it would reach a conclusion. This brings us to that finale with Avengers Endgame, which was directed by the Joe & Anthony Russo and is their final project with Marvel Studios. The anticipation has been built over 11 years, the fact that some of the actors contracts would end here, and the 3 hour runtime cemented how much of a finale it would be for this arc. In the coming weeks before its release, I limited myself with the marketing campaign to make sure I enter in as blind as possible. I went into the crowded auditorium to see how I would feel about the franchise after going through what I would consider a series finale and left it emotionally exhausted but incredibly happy with the results.

Note: I will add a spoiler section to cover those big moments and details 1 week after this review is posted. And there's no end credits scene in this film but a nice little homage to the original 6 Avengers actors to keep an eye out for.

Do I need to watch all 21 MCU films for this? With an event as large as this, not every film in this catalog is important or relevant for this grand feature. The experience certainly has rewards for those fans who have stuck through all of it. But after watching Avengers Endgame, I can confirm that the following are more relevant to view for Endgame: Iron Man 1 (2&3 optional), the Captain America trilogy, all of the Avengers films, both Guardians of the Galaxy films, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok (first film optional), and Ant-Man & the Wasp (first film also recommended) in the chronological order. I paced myself with those entries by watching two of them per week as a refresher to prepare.

What's it about? Taking place sometime after the events of its predecessor, the story follows the surviving heroes going through harsh trials to remedy the devastation done to the universe by Thanos. The best way to describe all of this would be the most comic book movie ever made due the crazy unpredictable aspects capable of catching its viewing crowd off-guard. The focus on how each member of the group is affected by the harsh reality of the situation and their motivation to fix the damage done to their lives has enough emotional strength built up from the previous adventures. The journey that takes place once the pieces have assembled leads to a wild ride that ends with one of the best third acts I've ever seen and experienced. The reward for fans both old and new who have stuck around with these characters reaches a strong satisfaction for actions that they thought they would never get. It's different from Infinity War was due to their respective character focuses but both compliment each other very well.

For as well made as the film is, there are some noticeable drawbacks that pop up with so much happening. The first act has pacing issues with the narrative setup it's dealing with (it's still a good beginning). The climax in the final act is so enormous that it gets chaotic and hard to clearly see what's going on at points (a bit cluttered). Due to the announcement of MCU shows being on the new streaming service Disney+, small parts of the script are reserved for sending certain individuals on their way to those adventures (not all of them carried weight in the actions). And there's product placement in the first act that could have been removed and sticks out like a sore thumb for a minute. All of these issues are very minor in the grand scheme of things and most are easy to forgive.

How are the original 6 Avengers members? Because the contracts of most of core actors expire here, the script provides them a strong focus in delivering arcs that complete their respective characters journeys. To keep thing spoiler free on this end, I will provide a brief summary of their treatment. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) are both fantastic as they have solid concluding material to work with as their respective endings are fitting for them and their acting is the best here (notably the latter). Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johanson) are great with the script giving them strong arcs that allows them to show their emotional range that pays off their development from Age of Ultron.

Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) has been finally allowed to reach the potential that his character dynamic was capable of and has redeemed himself after his embarrassment from Infinity War. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) took a little getting used to after he goes through a change in the first act but found his footing with the actors natural charisma being entertaining to watch. Each of these characters and the supporting players all have good moments to shine where the stakes have never been higher.

Overall Consensus: Avengers Endgame is a great blockbuster reward for the audiences of this franchise with solid performances, deep emotional context, an ambitious story, fun fan service moments, and a satisfying conclusion. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿🎟 Runtime: 3 hours 2 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy superhero blockbusters. You are a fan of the MCU that has seen all (or most) of the entries and want some great fan service moments. You want to see how the Infinity Saga concludes the storylines for its lead heroes. You don't mind the 3 hour runtime as long as narrative flow is smooth and engaging.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You dislike the superhero genre. You aren't a fan of the MCU. You dislike 3 hour long blockbusters.