Written by: Kevin Berge
A moment of silence for the quiet death from Infinity War to Endgame of Captain America's facial hair. (Image Courtesy of: BGR.com)
Quick Take: Avengers: Endgame is the greatest piece of fan service ever put on screen. Beautifully crafted with care and attention brought to a decade-plus of storytelling, it is silly, ridiculous, emotionally powerful, utterly engrossing, and the most impossible success of a film I have ever seen.
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***This entire review will not contain spoilers for the events of Endgame. A spoiler-filled discussion will be released this weekend. As long as the reader has seen Infinity War, they will not run into any spoilers for the MCU beyond basic set-up for this film. However, those who are invested in the MCU should already know that they're going to see this movie, and I would implore you to go in blind.***
Just last year, I called Avengers: Infinity War "just about the biggest movie ever made". It was impossible achievement that culminated a decade of storytelling into one powerful climactic struggle. However, it was not the biggest movie ever made. That would be Avengers: Endgame.
Where Infinity War takes risks over the course of its run time and often struggles to balance its focus, Endgame has a singular focus as unadulterated fan service. That is not meant as a negative. How could a movie meant as the definitive end of a massive cinematic universe spanning 11 years not be fan service?
Over the course of three hours that fly by, Endgame tells the story of the original heroes of this massive Marvel cinematic universe coming together to topple evil. It reminds fans of how an ignorant billionaire playboy, a scrawny determined kid from Brooklyn, and an arrogant Norse god came to be the protectors of Earth.
It isn't just about Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor though. Everyone gets some moment in this story. In particular, the rest of the original Avengers all play key roles. This is easily the best story of Hawkeye's run in the MCU, and Black Widow feels as fully realized here as she ever has been.
All this is to say that this is a movie made for the fans. It is beautifully acted, gorgeously shot and directed, and written with an understanding of every movie that came before. It is all done to create an emotional ride that truly culminates this epic journey, likely having a greater impact the more invested the audience member is in what came before.
It is not a perfect film, but how could it be? It dances with so many characters and stories that it was always going to leave most everyone with less to do than they should have even the central trio. It makes some ridiculous and flat-out silly decisions whose mileage will vary based on the viewer.
***This entire review will not contain spoilers for the events of Endgame. A spoiler-filled discussion will be released this weekend. As long as the reader has seen Infinity War, they will not run into any spoilers for the MCU beyond basic set-up for this film. However, those who are invested in the MCU should already know that they're going to see this movie, and I would implore you to go in blind.***
Just last year, I called Avengers: Infinity War "just about the biggest movie ever made". It was impossible achievement that culminated a decade of storytelling into one powerful climactic struggle. However, it was not the biggest movie ever made. That would be Avengers: Endgame.
Where Infinity War takes risks over the course of its run time and often struggles to balance its focus, Endgame has a singular focus as unadulterated fan service. That is not meant as a negative. How could a movie meant as the definitive end of a massive cinematic universe spanning 11 years not be fan service?
Over the course of three hours that fly by, Endgame tells the story of the original heroes of this massive Marvel cinematic universe coming together to topple evil. It reminds fans of how an ignorant billionaire playboy, a scrawny determined kid from Brooklyn, and an arrogant Norse god came to be the protectors of Earth.
It isn't just about Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor though. Everyone gets some moment in this story. In particular, the rest of the original Avengers all play key roles. This is easily the best story of Hawkeye's run in the MCU, and Black Widow feels as fully realized here as she ever has been.
All this is to say that this is a movie made for the fans. It is beautifully acted, gorgeously shot and directed, and written with an understanding of every movie that came before. It is all done to create an emotional ride that truly culminates this epic journey, likely having a greater impact the more invested the audience member is in what came before.
It is not a perfect film, but how could it be? It dances with so many characters and stories that it was always going to leave most everyone with less to do than they should have even the central trio. It makes some ridiculous and flat-out silly decisions whose mileage will vary based on the viewer.
Remember when this franchise was about stupid Americans fighting for their country. So glad it evolved to be about blue android aliens. (Image Courtesy of: nbcnews.com)
At its core though, Endgame feels like the MCU truly come to life. While I love the past work of The Russo Brothers in this franchise, they have had a tendency to flatten the imaginative and colorful edges of the franchise to this point. They tell great stories but sometimes by flattening characters to fit into the same story.
Here, each character has a distinctive style driven by a return to the roots of the franchise. The humor works better here than it often has in recent films. The way the movie calls back to past films also leads to visual and audio echoes that truly bring forward those stories once more.
Infinity War creates the most fully realized villain in the franchise, but Endgame is all about the heroes once again. It relies on that film's work to make Thanos's impact on this story earned without spending too much time on him. He looms large, but he does not overpower the journeys of the central heroes this time around.
What I love about Endgame more than anything is that its constant emotional moments have not just been earned by this one film but an attention to detail built on the back of years of storytelling. I felt my own attention and commitment to this journey was being celebrated without ever being gratuitous.
This is a movie dominated by risky decisions even if it never quite takes the jumps some may have hoped. It is the end of an era and the set up for a brand new legacy. Phase 1-3 completed the journey of three completely unique heroes who brought together an entire planet of special people to stand together.
Even getting into the storytelling and thematic focus points of this film would get too far into spoilers, so I'll leave it all for another article this weekend. For now, I just want to say that despite minor gripes here and there with Endgame, I came out of this movie absolutely spellbound.
Not every movie in the MCU has been great, but every single one has been worth it to get to this moment where I can look back at the entire journey and smile.
Here, each character has a distinctive style driven by a return to the roots of the franchise. The humor works better here than it often has in recent films. The way the movie calls back to past films also leads to visual and audio echoes that truly bring forward those stories once more.
Infinity War creates the most fully realized villain in the franchise, but Endgame is all about the heroes once again. It relies on that film's work to make Thanos's impact on this story earned without spending too much time on him. He looms large, but he does not overpower the journeys of the central heroes this time around.
What I love about Endgame more than anything is that its constant emotional moments have not just been earned by this one film but an attention to detail built on the back of years of storytelling. I felt my own attention and commitment to this journey was being celebrated without ever being gratuitous.
This is a movie dominated by risky decisions even if it never quite takes the jumps some may have hoped. It is the end of an era and the set up for a brand new legacy. Phase 1-3 completed the journey of three completely unique heroes who brought together an entire planet of special people to stand together.
Even getting into the storytelling and thematic focus points of this film would get too far into spoilers, so I'll leave it all for another article this weekend. For now, I just want to say that despite minor gripes here and there with Endgame, I came out of this movie absolutely spellbound.
Not every movie in the MCU has been great, but every single one has been worth it to get to this moment where I can look back at the entire journey and smile.