Avengers: Endgame – Spoiler Free Review
The best way I can describe Avengers: Endgame is like the series finale to the most epic TV show ever. If Infinity War was the cliffhanger before the final season this is the epic finale. And epic is the only way I can describe it, I feel like a lot of the things said in my Infinity War review ring true for Endgame and then some.
Endgame is a 3 hour movie but may possibly be the fastest 3 hour movie I’ve experienced. The way it’s tones change act to act it almost feels like 3 movies in one. In the aftermath of Thanos’ snap, the world is trying to figure out how to go on and our heroes are trying to do the same. We’ve seen hero movies where the hero fails but nothing on the level of Infinity War and we’ve never spent so much time seeing how those heroes cope and go one with their failure. Some of it has been seen in the trailers like Cap meeting with a support group but those scenes are eerie and really make the heroic moments to come that much greater. It’s one thing to see the hero who always win have some trouble but to see these characters we have known for 11 years truly be at their lowest and to see how they respond is what really makes them the heroes of our time. As I am watching the movie wind down I have to imagine the closest thing it can compare to was when Return of the Jedi was released in 1983. The collective end of such a pop culture phenomenon that takes over the cultural mindset. For this generation that is this MCU journey and to see it end so definitely felt like an important moment. The MCU will go on and they will keep making movies but Endgame feels like such a benchmark moment it will be interesting to see how they reset and move forward after coming off such a high.
The movie has it’s trademark Marvel humor and wit but it is easily the most dramatic of the movies with characters across the board delivering some very powerful performances. The type of performances you can only deliver when you have built these characters up over 11 years and 22 movies. That is a common theme is you can’t help but keep coming back to is how much more impactful and meaningful everything is because of the leg work and building that has been done over the last 11 years. It never gets old seeing characters on screen and interacting with each other. In fact if there is any possible complaint one could have it is that the movie leans a little too much onto fan service but it doesn’t feel that way because everything has been so earned and built up to slowly, none of the many pay offs feel cheap. The film hits hard emotionally and is probably the one word you will see popping up on social media, there were multiple moments you could audibly hear people in the theater sobbing and choking back tears.
At this point you know what to expect from a Marvel Movie and if you have devoted any time to even a majority of the Marvel catalogue there is so much in Endgame for you to experience I can’t recommend it enough, and see it soon with people seeing it for the first time. It’s movies like this that are meant to be experienced with other people, to cheer, clap and cry as a group. If you have hung in there and seen every Marvel movie multiple time there are little moments and nods you will pick up on and will make you feel like one of the initiated. I am happy to report I made it the whole time without a single bathroom break and I did not receive a reward when leaving the theater. Endgame represents a significant moment not only in Marvel’s movie history and going forth with the new Fox acquisitions and old actors leaving and the Russos not planning to direct any more this truly represents the end of an era as we move forward into the next phase. I’m not sure if we will ever experience anything like the last 11 years again, it was such a unique collection and even though studios will and have tried there will only ever be one Avengers Era and it has now come to an end.
If you would like to see my thoughts with complete SPOILERS you can check out my thoughts and reactions in the video below…
