Requiem for a Shared Cinematic Universe

Rating: 7/10 (3 May 2019)

As the culmination of 21 movies, "Avengers: Endgame" bears a hefty investment from audiences. To merely call this an "event movie" would be to overlook how much the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ingratiated itself into mass culture over the last 11 years. For better or worse, the filmmakers understand this. One consequence I'm not especially fond of is that much time is spent on send-offs for the retired superheroes. I don't even too much mind the bloated some-three-hours runtime, nor that I listened to a cinema full of sniffling during the movie's sappier moments, but I do think it detracts from any semblance of a self-contained artistic or narrative work that could stand on its own. And, sure, I enjoyed some of the comic relief injected to lighten that mood--even if there were a few too many jokes at the expense of Professor Hulk, or Ant-Man's stupidity, or Thor's newfound obesity (c'mon, "Cheez Wiz" running through his veins--really?). On the other hand, I am fond of the self-reflexive use of time travel, to, in effect, return to some of the cinematic highlights of prior entries in the MCU. Because that's what "Endgame" is about: it's a movie founded upon a past of 21 other movies.
The scenes with Captain America interacting with his past in the 2012 "The Avengers," including a nifty reference to a scene from "Captain America: Winter Soldier" (2014) and of Thor reliving his memories of "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) are especially rewarding. It's a heritage we share with the movie and with the characters. Despite all of the humorous talk concerning the illogic of space-time-continuum fare such as the "Back to the Future" series, "Endgame," in one respect at least, follows the time-travel rules of "Back to the Future Part II" (1989). Both movies exploit time travel to relive highlights from and the success of prior movies--whether it's Marty McFly watching himself inventing rock-n-roll on stage from the first "Back to the Future" (1985) film or Cap fighting his younger and more naive self from the first Avengers assemblage.
I enjoyed this part enough, upon initial viewing at least, for it to largely compensate for the faults in other parts. That the final battle almost seems anti-climactic, dark and, naturally, cluttered. Or that while several of the characters have well-defined arcs, others do not, despite having also survived the dust turning in "Infinity War" (2018). Bruce Banner's lack of development seems especially egregious, as he continues to serve as comedic relief, as well as for spouting science-y exposition, in his last two appearances, which stands as a disappointing departure from the centrality of this character from "Age of Ultron" (2015) to "Ragnarok" (2017). Likewise, Thanos, after dominating "Infinity War," is reduced back to a run-of-the-mill underdeveloped villain. More minor characters also seem short-changed, including Okoye, the raccoon and Rhodey. Even some of the previously-deceased, like Gamora, are better rounded-out in a shorter amount of time. Perhaps, worst of all is the use of Captain Marvel here as a deus-ex-machina Superman--conveniently flying in at the last moment to save a plot in need. Moreover, the scene where all of the female superheros happen to be in the same spot is such a eye-rolling and self-defeating piece of self-congratulating political correctness or pandering (besides, as if Danvers needs help getting through a battle zone--she just blew up a spaceship by flying through it, for crying out loud). A similar scene, if on a smaller scale, worked more organically in "Infinity War."
But, I like the quieter moments, especially early on, which are something of a relieving contrast to the relentless momentum of "Infinity War." Perhaps, it's the appropriate send-off, too, for the characters who are well-developed here, including ("fridging" aside) Black Widow, Cap and Iron Man. The benefit of such fine acting talent, after all, isn't for their fighting skills; it's commendable that "Endgame" allows their characters some time to breath and reflect before moving on or saying goodbye.