11 years and 21 films has led to this moment. Avengers: Endgame has premiered with an astounding box office opening, grossing $1.2 billion in it’s opening weekend alone, and is sure to make at least another billion before it leaves theatres. Set right after the events of Infinity War, where alien tyrant Thanos succeeded in wiping out half of all life in the universe, the remaining Avengers have one last chance to set everything right and bring back all the people Thanos killed, whatever it takes. Are people just buying into the hype of this movie and overlooking major flaws or is Endgame a truly great ending to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as we know it? This film is very hard to talk about without spoiling it, but I’ll do my best.
To start out with the performances, every single one of them is commendable. Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) give their all in what might be their last time playing these much-adored characters. Robert Downey Jr., in particular, is a standout performance- completely broken after the events of Infinity War before hope reinvigorates him. His performance is so good, I truly believe he deserves an Oscar nomination for his work. If Black Panther has proved anything, it’s that superhero blockbusters are just as worthy of Oscar praise as other, more serious movies. Even though MCU’s verteran female, Scarlett Johansson, is undoubtedly a talented actress, I generally find her very unemotional and her best roles are when she plays a robot like in Ghost in the Shell or Her. However, in Endgame, Scarlett finally delivers the touching performance I have been waiting for, thereby proving her artistic abilities. Endgame opened with all our Avengers in a state of devastation and/or chaos, none more than Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner who does strong justice in portraying the complete emotional trauma that his character has experienced.
Despite having only about three notable action scenes in the whole 3-hour runtime, what Endgame lack in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The final battle, particularly, is a sight to behold, and unlike some other action scenes, it’s easy to figure out what is going on. Every main character has their own moment to shine, and there are tons of Easter eggs in the background for those looking for them.
The movie is extremely well paced. Not once in the entire three hours did I ever feel that the scenes dragged on or something should have been cut to make a more cohesive story. Every scene has a purpose and is engaging with the audience even with the absence of action.
There’s only one negative I have to give, and that’s the villainous Thanos. He’s easily the best character in Infinity War and, in my opinion, tied with Eric Killmonger as Marvel’s best villain. However, in Endgame, he seems very toned down, and more like the dull villains of previous Marvel movies.
Other complaints I have are very spoiler based, so I won’t dare ruin the surprise for you dear readers.
More than anything, Avengers Endgame is a pitch perfect ending for the MCU. While it’s not exactly my favorite, it is easily in the top ten. Other than retaining the wonderful characterization of Thanos from Infinity War, I can’t think of a way to improve this movie. I was completely satisfied with this film, to the point where if this was the last Marvel movie to ever be made, I wouldn’t be upset because they left on such a strong note. But, considering how much money MCU has already made, we’re sure to see some of these characters back on the big screen and I’ll be there on the opening night for the new era of Marvel movies.
Avengers Endgame gets an easy 5 out of 5 stars.
