"Endgame" not only delivers a cathartic experience greater than Infinite Warfare, but it also establishes definitive positions regarding the MCU's destinies

Rating: 9/10 (29 March 2020)

Finally, the long-awaited conclusion of a saga that was weaved ingeniously and meticulously for a decade by the House of Ideas, under the command of Kevin Feige. If before the studios practically did not bet on superhero films, ten years ago this reality changed completely when we saw "Iron Man (2008)" debut in theaters around the world, beginning a wide, complex and detailed shared universe, which gave life to characters that fans so longed to see transported to the cinema and becoming acquainted with others not so popular even among comic book fans. There were three phases that became known as the "Infinity Saga", in which we became intimate with Iron Homme, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange.
Filmed simultaneously with "Infinite War", the Russo brothers and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely continue to tell the story of the previous film. Here, superheroes must deal with the events of the previous film, in which half of the people in the galaxy were wiped out at Thanos' snap, including friends and family of our heroes. Those who are left are still, for more than three weeks, trying to locate Thanos who entered a portal and disappeared, while trying to find a solution to reverse what had happened.
The first fifteen minutes invest in revenge and the consummation of failure: an introduction. The next sequences, which make up a first, more melancholic, yet vigorous act in re-presenting characters and renewing the previous status quo, have an emphasis on the intimate, precisely what drives Ultimato as an experience: a great show on a colossal scale, but that cares about a dance, a feeling, a heart, a family.
"Ultimatum" gets it right by dedicating more than half its duration to intensify the hopelessness, mourning and disbelief that the characters and the audience were going through together. In that time, he takes the opportunity to strengthen ties between unlikely characters, such as Toby Stark and Nebula, and also to show how old friends, such as Natasha, Rogers and Barton, Tony and Thor and Bruce, led their lives five years after the events of the beginning of the movie. The characters have their own layers, monsters and voids, to add to the project itself, which is a mooring of several narrative arches, the sustenance of a three-hour cathartic work. Especially interesting is Tony's bow, living alongside his great love and his little daughter, being the counterpoint to Barton, who had his life transformed after the loss of his family, becoming a vengeful murderer who eliminates those he does not consider worthy. Meanwhile, Carol Danvers went on to help other planets that also suffered from Thanos' actions.
After the presentation of the current situation of each of the heroes, it is when Scott Lang enters the story, who managed to return from the quantum kingdom, after the post-credits scenes that we had followed in "Ant Man and the Wasp". He then explains that the laws of physics and space-time do not apply to the quantum realm, theorizing that they could travel through time through the Pym Particles and the portal. From there, after seeing an old photo of him with Peter Parker, Tony ends the time travel equation and the Avengers, with the exception of Danvers, split into groups to return to the past and retrieve the Infinity Stones and that's when Marvel takes audiences on an unforgettable journey celebrating 11 years of their shared universe, revisiting films like "The Avengers", "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier", "Guardians of the Galaxy" and even the controversial "Thor: The Dark World" .
Banner, Rogers, Lang and Stark return to 2012, during Loki's invasion of New York, to retrieve the Tesseract, Loki's scepter and the Eye of Agamotto. They also end up going to 1970 at the S.H.I.E.L.D. in Lehigh to get another version of the Tesseract, which was being tested by the military and to get more particles from Hank Pym, who had just invented them. Meanwhile, Thor and Rocket return to Asgard in 2013 to extract Jane Foster's Reality Gem. Clint and Natasha return to Vormir in 2014 to retrieve the Soul Gem, while Rhodes and Nebula go to Morag, also in 2014, where Peter Quill is about to steal the Gem of Power. This whole time travel will culminate in the great final battle, after Thanos discovering the heroes' plan, where the destiny of the universe will be at stake again.
The cast reaches the height of their characters' understanding, completing a whole development arc. In addition to the main cast, which is already extremely numerous, there are still several cameos from great actors and actresses who showed up in previous productions. Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Tilda Swinton, Natalie Portman, William Hurt, are just a few of those names, and some of them literally go silent and leave quietly.
With a million dollar budget of US $ 356 million, the film justifies the use of every penny and obviously will not have any difficulty in recovering and sometimes exceeding the high amount invested. They are effects used for the rejuvenation of characters, the construction of scenarios from different eras and worlds, dozens of intergalactic beings from the most different backgrounds and visual effects of a scale and perfection rarely seen. Not for nothing, "Ultimatum" was nominated for an Oscar in the category. Few times have we seen so many characters gathered together, with several actions taking place simultaneously, and everything wonderfully orchestrated by the precise direction of the Russo brothers, who manage to maintain a perfect unity and synchrony. The final battle against Thanos that takes up almost the entire last hour of the three that lasts the film, will be remembered as one of the biggest and most spectacular in the history of cinema. There, we can see the full potential of all the heroes presented by the MCU in these years should be a delight for fans of the universe. Not to mention the emotional and beautifully post-battle scenes that tie up all the last loose ends of the Infinity Saga. The audience is in tears. And it is not a daydream or exaggeration.
The soundtrack by Alan Silvestri, responsible for the famous Avengers theme, composed for the 2012 film, is once again perfect, elevating drama, melancholy and epic action to the tenth power. In the musical part, "Dear Mr. Fantasy", by Traffic, "Supersonic Rocket Ship", by The Kinks, "Doom and Gloom" by the Rolling Stones and "Hey Lawdy Mama", by Steppenwolf are some of the songs that are present. The production designer of the always competent Charles Wood and photography by Trent Opaloch, who uses and abuses the darkest filters that give the greatest degree of drama and pessimism that guide much of the feature film are used with mastery.
Throughout the film, the Russo brothers think millimetrically about each scene, sometimes to make the audience cry, sometimes to laugh and sometimes to cheer for the heroes in their battles. As well as the conclusion of the saga "Harry Potter", "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings", the great megalomaniac of "Ultimatum" will remain in the minds of the moviegoers as one of those epic films that practically everyone has watched. And the end, still holds great surprises, some that envision a future of the Universe, such as those involving Thor and The Guardians of the Galaxy and the passing of Captain America's baton.
"Ultimatum" works above all expectations: it not only delivers a cathartic experience greater than Infinite Warfare, but it also establishes definitive positions regarding the MCU's destinies. The film proves to have been planned in detail by the studio's creative minds, who know more than anyone else, how to please their audience. Although "Ultimatum" seems to be the end of the Infinity Saga, phase 3 will officially end with "Spider-Man: Far From Home", which should still have consequences for this film in the life of Peter Parker, especially with the death of someone very close and dear to the hero.