Avengers: Endgame is the End of an Era

Rating: 10/10 (7 May 2019)

I went to see Avengers: Endgame three times: twice as a fan, once as a critic, and I can say that it did not disappoint. It was a wonderful blend of homage to the previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and tying up the loose ends for all of the characters we've come to love. Of course, the movie was not perfect but was overall an enjoyable Marvel movie that is definitely rewatchable.
The plot of Avengers: Endgame picks up right where Infinity War left off. All of the remaining heroes are scattered around and trying to find a way to reverse the terrible effects of the Snap. The movie throws viewers right into the action, with Tony and Nebula returning to earth and reuniting with the others within the first ten minutes, and the death of Thanos occurs right after. After the initial shock wears off, viewers are taken ahead five years, where we learn the whereabouts of our heroes. Tony has raised a family with Pepper, Hawkeye has become Ronin, Thor has become deeply depressed, and the rest are still searching for a way to reverse the Snap. This is where the wrench comes in; Ant-Man returns and suggests time-travel as a way to fix everything. They enlist Hulk (who is now a combination of Banner and Hulk rather than being two separate people), to help them. There were a few problems with this: introducing a new concept that changes everything from the past 21 movies is never a good idea for a film like Endgame, as it opens up too many possibilities, and this film was meant to be a closer to everything the MCU has become over the past 11 years. I had heard many theories on this, but I never expected the MCU to go in that direction. It felt like a deus-ex-machina and was kind of rushed in the explanation. Additionally, the inclusion of Fortnite with Thor and Hulk dabbing felt like cheap jokes to appease the middle school audience, and paints a grim picture of what society might look like by the year 2023.
The heroes split up on various quests to retrieve the stone, three of which pay tribute to past MCU films. Iron Man, Captain America, and Ant-Man head to New York to get the Mind and Space stones, while the Hulk goes to the Ancient One to retrieve the Time stone. Of course, this leads them to a sequence from 2012's The Avengers, which is my personal favorite among the MCU movies. We also got a hilarious Cap vs Cap fight scene. This was a great moment of fan-service, as we got to see where the team began. Ant-Man and Iron Man fail to get the Tesseract, and Loki gets ahold of it, disappearing into who-knows-where. Hawkeye and Black Widow head to find the Soul stone, which, any viewer of Infinity War can tell you, requires a sacrifice. In one of the more heartbreaking scenes of the movie, Black Widow and Hawkeye, two Avengers with a long history, fight to see who will sacrifice themselves, with Black Widow eventually winning out and falling off of the cliff. I was actually quite disappointed in the way they handled her death. As one of the core Avengers, Black Widow's death should have had much more of an impact, especially on Captain America, Hawkeye, and Hulk, though they spent only five minutes or so on her death before moving on to supposedly more pressing matters. Another problem I had was that they acted as if her sacrifice was the one good thing she was able to accomplish, which essentially erased everything she did in the previous movies. At the same time, the audience is treated to a flashback to 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, as Nebula and War Machine head to find the Power stone, which is how Thanos, Gamora, and Nebula from the past are alerted to the plan. Thor and Rocket travel to Asgard, in a scene from 2013's Thor: The Dark World to find the Reality Stone. It was quite touching to see Thor interact with his mother, who was killed in Thor: The Dark World, and even better to see Thor reclaim Mjolnir, his hammer. Iron Man and Captain America head to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters in another attempt to find the Tesseract. The audience is then treated to a scene in which Tony gets to something he's always needed to: speak with his father. In one of the more touching scenes of the movie, Tony is able to thank Howard and tell him how he truly feels, despite Howard not knowing who Tony really is.Once all of the stones are collected, the Avengers head back to the present day in order for Hulk to snap everyone back into existence. Once Hulk does so, Thanos returns for the final battle, which is the CGI army glory that Marvel fans know and love. However, the last battle is one of the best sequences in the movie, and, dare I say it? One of the best in the MCU as well. The audience is treated to numerous tributes to the previous films, such as Captain America finally lifting Mjolnir (a callback to Avengers: Age of Ultron), and Falcon's reappearance with "on your left" (a callback to Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and finally, Captain America saying "assemble", which I have been waiting for since 2015, also from Age of Ultron. What ensued was an amazing final battle that culminated in one of the most heartbreaking losses of the MCU: Iron Man, the character who brought the MCU to life. Tony steals the stones from Thanos and snaps, dusting Thanos and his army, though he is unable to withstand the power of the Stones and dies shortly after. Tony, as the heart of the MCU, is given a beautiful funeral that pays homage to 2008's Iron Man. Finally, Thor joins the Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America, in a surprising twist, survives the battle and goes to return the stones, deciding to stay and marry Peggy Carter, passing his shield to Falcon instead. While I was happy to see Captain America live out his life with the woman he loves, there were also problems with this. Peggy Carter had previously established herself as a strong female character who was much more than a love interest, as she had her own TV show. She told Steve to live out his life and move on, though he did the exact opposite at the end of the movie. While it was touching to see Captain America finally live his life, it did open up problems with the timelines, as there are now two Captain Americas, which is another reason that the time-travel was a risky choice for a conclusion movie.
All of the plot highs and lows aside, the chemistry of the cast, which has been developing since 2008, was phenomenal. It was amazing to finally see all of the characters from all of the movies interact with each other for the final battle. Many people seem to think that Endgame was a poor stand-alone movie, but when watching Endgame, one must consider its purpose. Endgame isn't meant to be a movie on its own. It's meant to serve as a thrilling and emotional conclusion to a 22-part supersaga, in addition to paying ridiculous amounts of fan service. The chemistry between the main cast and everyone else who has been there for the ride since years before, coupled with Alan Silvestri's breathtaking score, makes Endgame one of my personal favorite MCU films to date. There were some beautiful cinematographic shots in the movie as well, and the visual effects were woven seamlessly into the story. One of my personal favorite shots in the movie is the one where Captain America stands alone against Thanos's army. I felt that the scene really captured what Captain America was all about.
Of course, even at the end of the movie, the viewers are treated to a highlight-reel of each cast member, even those who barely appeared in the movie. This all culminates in the original six Avengers (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner) signing their names as some of their most iconic scenes play in the background, set to Alan Silvestri's main theme. Finally, as the Marvel Studios logo displays on the screen, the sounds of a hammer hitting metal can be heard. This is a reference to the very first movie in the MCU: Iron Man, as Tony builds his Mark I armor.
While it was sad to see the cast act together for the last time, I was satisfied with the ending that each character was given: Hawkeye got to be with his family, Captain America got his dance, Black Widow sacrificed herself for the greater good, Thor began on a new path, Hulk became truly comfortable with himself, and Iron Man accomplished all that he wanted. The movie has plenty of rewatchability (at least to me) and was stunningly done by the Russo brothers. Overall, Avengers: Endgame was the ending that the MCU deserved. While there were flaws (no movie is perfect), it achieved its purpose.