32) Avengers: Endgame (2019)

(3's out of 5)

"Everybody wants a happy ending. Right? But it doesn't always roll that way." 

Director
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Cast
Robert Downey Jr. – Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Evans – Steve Rogers / Captain America
Mark Ruffalo – Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Scarlett Johansson – Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner – Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Don Cheadle – James Rhodes / War Machine
Paul Rudd – Scott Lang / Ant-Man
Brie Larson – Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
Karen Gillan – Nebula
Danai Gurira – Okoye

Now that October is over, I can get back to writing commentary on this platform. It has been a while since I've posted on this page as I was focused on coming up with a thread of horror reviews for October over on 1000daysofhorror.blogspot.com. Go check them out!

Anyways, since I've already watched and reviewed the previous Avengers movies, I need to finish off that short thread with my thoughts on the last of those films to date. 

No doubt the Marvel Studios thinks their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) hit its zenith when the mega-super collective masterpiece, "Avengers: Endgame" came out in 2019. And it certainly is one hell of a movie spectacle with its cavalcade of stars dressed as iconic figures and heroes, the likes of which certainly hasn't been seen on the silver screen since "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." 

After the release of "Avengers: Endgame," Marvel tried to keep up some momentum with its MCU, but it hasn't quite hit that peak that Endgame reached. In fact, Marvel had some pretty low lows. Brie Larson as Capt. Marvel certainly added absolutely nothing to the whole MCU - speaking of low lows. (Cough, cough, "The Marvels" cough, cough). 

All in all, the best days of the MCU are behind us now. Regardless, money still needs to be squeezed out of the rag that is Marvel comics, so Marvel movies still pop out after...what...twenty-plus years?

There's a variety of lists and rankings out there that tries to rank best to worst Marvel movies. IMDB's list "All The MCU Movies Ranked Worst To Best" puts "Avengers: Endgame" as the best MCU movie to date. Considering everything and everyone packed into it, along with its captivating plot, I guess it's "the best." Or maybe that's because it has the best average scores on a variety of movie scoring websites? 
"Avengers: Endgame" begins less than a month after Thanos (Josh Brolin) erases half of all life in the entire universe from existence as seen in the previous movie, "Avengers: Infinity War." So, there's a lot of really pissed off people and aliens and whatever else out there. 

Tony Stark/ Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are out in deep space floating around just as they were from the last movie. 

Super-duper girlboss, Capt. Marvel (Brie Larson - Disney's very short-lived poster girl for girl bosses) rescues them and they all reunite back with the rest of the Avengers. I heard there's a deleted scene in this movie in which after rescuing them and bringing them back to Earth, Capt. Marvel makes dinner for the Avengers and then bakes them a pie. I don't know. That's what I heard. 

By the way, I should mention that if you're a 40ish-year old white dude, please make sure to consult Brie Larson as to whether it's o.k. for you to watch whatever particular movie you want to watch and then dare to form an opinion about it lest that movie isn't for you. Our sweetheart, Brie, made that clear in her 2018 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards speech regarding the movie "A Wrinkle in Time."  

I wonder if she has since seen the memo stating that the most powerful people in Hollywood are those who shell out cash for a ticket. I think the late actor Bob Hoskins (a white dude) said that? I don't remember, though. 

Anyways, enough about Brie. I know Disney has had enough!

The top priority now for the Avenger's and all other superheroes - SpiderMan, Black Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and all the rest of them - is to find Thanos, utilize some time travelling trickery thanks to the magical know-how of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and stop him from snapping his fingers (literally) to erase half of the universe's population. To prevent this snap from having any effect, they need to take the infinity stones from Thanos which gives him that power. 

Thanos is hiding out on some deserted planet. So, all superheroes unite under this one cause. This is their one and only chance! 

This movie tries its damnedest to be a colossal epic, which I won't claim isn't colossal. I will say it lacks depth despite its efforts to at least feign depth. 

The emotions and feels are there. In fact, the film presents a sense of emptiness impressively well. With all the emptiness from the huge loss of life everywhere, as well as the sadness alongside the comedy, battles and action, all supported by complete fan service, the entre spectacle feels a little too uneven at times. The whole movie really works itself trying to keep up with itself. 

I think the movie is stuffed with so much fan-service working with all its might to keep the movie afloat alongside the effort to be that colossal spectacle, both aspects loom over any character emotion and drive. This all hits a climax in the final battle scene, which is what audiences want to see, and rewatch, and rewatch. 

Josh Brolin as 'Thanos' in "Avengers: Endgame."

None of the characters are very relatable. The movie is 181 minutes of self-involved superheroes saving not just the Earth but the whole galaxy. I mean, it is a comic-book movie so that scenario makes perfect sense. It's a huge task with nothing much to take away other than experiencing a game-changer of a comic-book based movie with huge stars back at it again for the whatever-teenth time. 

In other words, if someone asked me what I got out of this movie, all I can think of is the mere thrill of watching a movie that no doubt considers itself the comic-book movie of all comic book movies, even when it comes to the other movies within the respective cinematic universe. 

It throws everything it can to wow the audience unlike anything Hollywood has ever done. And, to its credit, as an entertainment experience, it certainly accomplishes that. But that's as far as it goes. There's little substance to the characters and even the story. 

The movie really takes its time. It goes step by step which I have mixed feelings for. In the negative column, it feels too pretentious and long. The audience knows what's going to happen already so why drag it on for three hours. In the plus column, again, the audience knows what's going to happen, so the movie makes it interesting and engaging...or tries to. The honest effort is there. 

There is plenty of explaining but at least the movie also shows what the characters are trying to accomplish rather than constantly talking about it. I think the first Avengers movie made that mistake. 

All these superheroes fighting in the same universe makes so many of them feel redundant. Again - fanservice. Otherwise, why does the movie need Thor and Hulk, and also need Hawkeye who just shoots arrows? He's several talents less than Batman.  

Hawkeye is only there because of his name and role in the comic books. The movie really works itself to make sure all these characters are packed into the story and actually have something worthwhile and entertaining to do. Whether that something is relevant or not is debatable. 

The movie does succeed in delivering a long-anticipated satisfying payoff as Kronos is avenged for his ultimate crime. Even that is drawn out as if to really hammer in the feeling of satisfaction for the audience. 

Of course, a good epic take down comes with a tragedy or scar. In this case, Tony Stark/ Ironman sacrifices himself for the sake of the world. Such a scenario feels pulled straight from a comic book writer's mind. 

I don't think all the performances are terrible as many of the actors manage to convey some emotion, particularly Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) quiet retirement as Capt. America. 

I think the logical culmination of the entire Avengers movies up to this point is the final epic battle, which is certainly one of the biggest big screen spectacles as far as live-action comic book movies go. 

It's well executed though saturated in CGI effects. All things considered, movies are meant to entertain before anything else. And this certainly entertains. 

Despite all the characters all doing something different for the same cause, their respective stories manage not to get lost on the audiences. It is all tied together well. 

The movie knows how big it is. I guess that's no revelation. However, the underlying premise of time travel and multiverses gets convoluted. It gives the already loaded movie an overstuffed feeling. The time travel part of the story makes the story as a whole come across as more complex than it needs to. It could still be a decent movie with a less convoluted storyline. Like the endless thread of time and space, the movie feels like an endless thread. It just keeps going for as long as it can as the second act ends and the third act begins. Again, it's three hours and it feels like three hours. 

I suppose the time travelling plot point is a resolution that goes outside of any standard movie resolutions. I think I've seen a lot of multiverse movies at this point, it's already repetitive in my head. 

Despite this jam-packed story line, the movie relies a lot on its own callbacks and fan service. 

There's so much to say about "Avengers: Endgame." I guess it all boils down to it being one giant spectacle of a film that is determined to outdo any other movie, comic book based or otherwise, that has ever come out of Hollywood before. 

"Avengers: Endgame" is one lofty and emotional (give or take) conclusion to the saga. It’s not perfect no matter how much it might think it is. It feels like one final celebratory extravaganza of the whole entire MCU covering the previous decades up to now. Or, rather, up to 2019.

And now there's a new Avengers movie coming out. Anyone who saw the 2025 movies, "Fantastic Four: First Steps" surely saw the mid-credits scene with Dr. Doom. 

I'm curious to know what else the story thread will bring in the upcoming ""Avengers: Doomsday" will bring. Like the comics, the stories never actually end no matter how many grand finales and send-offs are thrown to the fans in the audience.

The best part of the entire movie, hands down, are the Guardians of the Galaxy. The first two Guardians movies remain my favorite of the MCU movies.