Avengers: Endgame

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2019)

Avengers: Endgame
2019
Dir: Anthony and Joe Russo
Runtime: 3 hr and 1 min
Rated: PG:13

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Synopsis: After the devastating events of "Avengers: Infinity War" the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers band together once more to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe.

Last year I wrote a pretty crummy review for Infinity War and I'm going to make up for it by doing this one the proper way. First and foremost let me say that this is truly a cinematic event, such an incredible way to bring all of these characters together for a finale that is the Infinity Saga. I really don't believe that something as grand as the MCU can be achieved after this nor do I believe that this can happen on this scale again. And I'm not even just saying this as a fan of the MCU but as a whole, the 11 years and 22 films, this was an amazing way to end the journey. So much thought was put into this storyline from day one, when Nick Fury was at Tony Stark's home and told him he's become apart of a bigger universe. This film was made for the fans with elements that the MCU is known for as well as pieces that are taken straight from the comics. But because of that it will cause some that have not been following the MCU or do not know any of the comic book history of these character won't have as much of an appreciation of the film.

Prior to the film being released the Russo brothers wanted to state that Infinity War is its own film. It's Thanos' story and they wanted that to be a complete story. The Avengers fought and Thanos won. So they wanted to make that separation that Endgame was going to be it's own film as well. They confirm this well with making the difference between Infinity War not being a "cliff hanger". It's portrayed so that Endgame starts it's own storyline with Infinity War being actually concluded within probably the first 30 mins of the film. Then the film continues to create a new story, its own plot line, and the characters are set up to execute their plan to save the universe. To sum it up you have the original six avengers along with Rhodey, Nebula, Ant-Man, and Rocket all still trying to put themselves back together after the events of Infinity War.

With a runtime of 3 hours I can say that the pacing of the film is pretty good. The film certainly could have been shorter but they would just be cutting out the emotional parts of the film. While in the first act of the film may seem a bit drawn out if you peel back the "curtain" of the MCU you see that what they were trying to portray was depression and loss. The first act of the film is spent exploring how each of these chcaracters are dealing with their failure. With the stakes being so high in Infinity War for our heroes to lose it's something they cannot live with. From Cap holding grief meetings about the ones that vanished in the decimation to Natasha having a small group of Avengers still trying to do good in the world. Before the second act is in motion there is a bit of prelude to the second act. While the rest of the Avengers have pretty much lost everything Tony Stark has gained and leading up the stakes for him are as high as they've ever been. The second act is like a walk down memory lane of the MCU. While time travel plays a pivotal part in the story its used to build up the finale. You get to see some great revisited scenes from the earlier MCU films. At first it seems like all is going according to plan when a rock is thrown into the plan which causes Cap and Ironman to adjust accordingly which gives a great almost tribute to the past of the two characters. Oh and speaking of time travel in the beginning of the second act the rules of time travel for this film are explained. So just know ahead of time that it does not follow the standard rules of cinema time travel. The third act of the film is the grand finale and it acts as a finale to the story arc of the Infinity saga. We get our showdown we've been waiting for along with the perfect send off for some of the core characters that couldn't have been done better. Considering most of the film is CGI it looks really really good. There is a scene toward the end where the CGI looks a bit choppy even on IMAX I saw it but if your not looking for it you won't notice it. The casting and characters are all on point with everyone playing the roles they've been playing for years now along with most of these actors being veterans in their own right. I've read a few articles already with talks of RDJ getting a nomination for the Oscars which I could see happening and would be amazing. Most of the time the only time these films win or get nominated it's for music or VFX. I really think RDJ could get a nomination for his role as Ironman in this. I would recommend this for anyone that's a fan of the franchise or the comics. Very small kids maybe not so much considering it's so long and the story is a little intricate. Absolutely a theater watch and I really feel bad for anyone that didn't get to experience this opening night.

5/5 Easily. I've only talked to a few people that didn't like the film but as I said before those are usually the ones that either haven't read the comics or haven't been keeping up with the MCU films. It's really remarkable that we live in a time where technology has caught up with my childhood dreams of seeing these characters on screen. Seeing Cap pick up that damn hammer and say "Avengers assemble" it was like seeing something I've wanted out of these films all along but didn't know it until it actually happened. This film isn't really to be seen and broken down as a film on its own but as an ending to an era that has been built up for the last 11 years.

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