THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with 2008’s Iron Man, it was 2012’s The Avengers where the franchise made it’s mark because afterwards, the films would elevate their stories become more eventful throughout the 2010s and so forth. Due to shocking cliffhanger in Infinity War, the world was far from prepared for what would transpired in the finale to the dubbed ‘Infinity Saga’ that is Endgame.
PLOT
The 22nd film in the franchise continues 23 days after Thanos succeeded wiping out half of the universe. Carol Danvers rescues Tony Stark and Nebula who were lost in space as their ship ran out of fuel. Returning to Earth, they reunite with their remaining friends: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, James Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Rocket and Thor. When discovering that Thanos had used the infinity stones again at another planet, the heroes plan to go after him and take the gauntlet in order to undo what he did. Upon arrival, they discover that he was able to destroy them. Knowing this, Thor beheads him anyway. Five years after what transpired, Scott Lang escapes from the Quantum Realm as he was trapped just as the snap occurred. He goes to Avengers HQ and tells both Rogers and Romanoff of his experience. Five years felt like five hours for him. With that fact alone, he believes that they could possibly time travel to the past to take the stones and reverse what happened. When talking to Professor Hulk, an amalgamation of Hulk and Bruce Banner, he explains that changing the past won’t change the future but create alternate timelines. Stark, who had settled down and had a child with his wife Pepper Potts, eventually joins the mission after testing a theoretical model that would work when entering the quantum tunnel. When he joins his friends, he returns Cap’s shield as well. While Hulk and Rocket go to New Asgard to recruit Thor, they discover that the King has become overweight, battling depression of killing Thanos when it was too late. When Nat goes to Tokyo to recruit Clint Barton, she sees that he has become a ruthless assassin after his family disappeared as well. After a successful test run, the mission dubbed ‘Time Heist’ goes in motion for the Avengers. Ant-Man, Captain America, Hulk and Iron Man travel to 2012 New York, where the Avengers battled Loki, to get 3 infinity stones. When Hulk gets the Time Stone from the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), he discovers that the alternate timelines can be erased when the stones are returned where they came from. Cap is able to get the Mind Stone/Scepter from HYDRA agents, who are posing as SHIELD agents. When Tony and Scott fail to get the Space Stone/Tesseract, he and Cap go to an old SHIELD base in 1970 New Jersey to retrieve it there. Thor and Rocket go to 2013 Asgard, where the Dark Elves first attacked, to get the Reality Stone/Aether. Once Rocket retrieves it from Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor brings back his first weapon Mjolnir with them. Black Widow and Hawkeye travel to 2014 Vormir to get the Soul Stone. When the Red Skull (Ross Marquand), keeper of the Stone explains that there must be a sacrifice, Nat jumps off the cliff and takes her life before Clint could. At 2014 Morag, War Machine and Nebula retrieve the Power Stone/Orb, before originally being taken by Peter Quill aka Star Lord (Chris Pratt). Nebula is delayed from returning to her present after having a link with her younger self. This leads to her getting captured by a younger Thanos. When he looks through her memories and discovers his future victory, he sends his Nebula to the future. When everyone returns with the stones, the original Avengers mourn for the loss of Nat. Afterwards, a new gauntlet is made for the stones. Hulk volunteers to put it on because he can withstand the gamma exposure and immerse pain. He summons his own snap that would bring back half of the universe, but this would sacrifice the usage of his right arm. As that happens, 2014 Nebula is able to bring her Thanos to the future. Once he comes through, his ship destroys Avengers HQ. He sends his daughter to get the stones for him, but she fails as she is killed by her future self, who was also able to convince a younger Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to turn on the Mad Titan. As he waits, he takes on the trio of Thor, Cap and Stark with the new plan to wipe out the entire universe this time. With all three taken down and Cap’s shield is broken, Thanos’ army is preparing to attack. However as Cap gets back up, portals begin to appear. The first that opens shows King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), General Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) emerge. That same portal, Sam Wilson/The Falcon also comes out. In another portal, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Quill, Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) appear as well. Behind T’Challa, his Wakandan army including M’Baku (Winston Duke) appear and join them. More Wakandan forces appear through a different portal alongside Groot (Vin Diesel) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Wong (Benedict Wong) would also appear from his own portal with many sorcerers at his side. Hope Van Dyne/Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) flies out of a portal of her own, next to another where Ravagers led by Kraglin (Sean Gunn) also prepared to fight. Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) also flies from her own portal next to an Asgardian army that included Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and Miek. Pepper Potts is the last to arrive with armor of her own to fight. Scott emerges from the facility’s rubble as Giant Man, saving the trio of Hulk, Rhodey and Rocket in the progress. With the odds now being even, the battle continues. The new plan for the heroes is return the stones before Thanos gets them. Since they have the gauntlet, it gets passed from Clint to T’Challa, to Parker to the returning Danvers, who spent the past five years looking after other planets around the galaxy. Thanos destroys Scott’s van that had a quantum tunnel. The Titan fights for the gauntlet against Danvers, Stark, Thor and Cap. Before Thanos can put it on, Stark is able to remove the stones and place them in his own suit. He would then summon his own snap that would wipe out the Titan and his entire army. Due to the gamma exposure, this would take the life of the Iron Man. After the hero’s funeral, Thor points Valkyrie as the new ‘king’ of New Asgard as he chooses to travel with the Guardians of the Galaxy, who are now looking for the Gamora that fought alongside them. Cap returns the stones and Mjolnir to their original timelines, but chooses to stay in the past. An older Steve Rogers would appear and tell Sam what he did. He would than give him a new shield, passing the mantle of Captain America to him. The film ends when we see a scene from the past, as Rogers gets to have his long awaited dance with Agent Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter (Hayley Atwell).
THOUGHTS
I remember watching in theaters back in 2019, being part of what was arguably the biggest cinematic experience to ever be a part of. There were of laughter, cheering and tears throughout and besides each film of The Godfather trilogy, it was the best three hours of my life. There are many people I have to thank for making something so phenomenal but before I can get to the cast, there are six particular people I gotta give the most credit to. First is the man who’s been with this franchise since the beginning, producer Kevin Feige. If it wasn’t for him pitching this fictional shared universe, we would never make it this far. The next would be directors Joe and Anthony Russo as they succeed once again to craft such a massive arc and bring things full circle. The other pair would be writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for writing something that felt as if every page counted, which should be the case with every kind of movie. I always worried for the comedy being misplaced in these movies, yet once again we see it being used properly. From seeing a rat activate the quantum tunnel, to the fat jokes used on Thor, to seeing other iconic moments in the franchise from another perspective, to the time travel argument and Korg playing Fortnite on a PS4, I mean I’m always gonna chuckle out of scenes like that. Considering this was the end of an era, every callback was perfectly timed. The last would be composer Alan Silvestri as he gave another incredible score for being 10 times more epic than before. What can clearly be the biggest highlight of the film is the use of visual effects. While the motion capture performances are amazing, the best of use of this technology is at full effect during the third act ‘Battle for Earth’ sequence, as that was a moment where looking away is impossible. Seriously, it feels pretty hard to not get chills throughout that entire scene. From Sam saying ‘On your left’, to seeing the blipped heroes return one by one, to Cap finally saying ‘Avengers assemble’, it just becomes impossible at that point to not cheer as I did with the audience. I personally felt that this was the most unpredictable film I have ever seen from this franchise. I stand by with this opinion because honestly, I did not ever think I would see a villain die twice and time travel be a key factor, in the same movie. I will love this movie forever and ever but after multiple viewings, I gotta admit there are still flaws to such a great story. First off, I know Tony wants to get back home but if he wanted to avoid getting stuck in space, he should’ve inspected Quill’s ship, the Benatar first. Had he done that, he would’ve find some kind of supplies on Titan that would help along the way that would’ve avoided his opening predicament. And I know Tony is a genius considering that he figured out a safe model for the travels but how come we don’t see Scott talk to other quantum physicists about time travel before going to him? If Bill Foster disappeared too, they could’ve mentioned it. Scott losing his taco because of the Milano is hilarious but that’s on him because he should’ve heard that ship nearby minutes before he took it out. I only have one actual question about this film’s use of time travel: If the Avengers had a limited amount of Pym particles to travel, why didn’t Tony go to the base he would later mention to get more particles first? Had he done that, they’d have more chances from the beginning. Seeing 2012 Hulk complain about taking the stairs is just as funny Po from Kung Fu Panda complaining about it, but this is the Incredible Hulk we’re talking about. The big guy could just jump and he’d hit the ground in arguably 10 seconds. I was happy that Hulk brought back half of the universe but there are two big issues I had as that played out. The first would be why are the Avengers suiting up to see it happen? They are unaware that Thanos is coming back so it’s just an excuse to already be somewhat prepared when he returns. And why the hell aren’t they asking about Nebula’s presence? I know damn well they all must have bonded with her for the past five years and I don’t buy it that wouldn’t ask about her when Hulk is undoing Thanos’ actions. If any of them were somewhat curious, they would’ve stopped her from bringing back her father. Lastly, I am so curious on how did Cap’s trip play out. Did he really inject Jane Foster with the Aether and talk to the Red Skull when returning the Soul Stone? I’d sit down for an extra 20 minutes to see that play out. That way, I’d see an interesting buildup of him reuniting with Peggy. By the time you ignore those flaws, you will still love this superhero masterpiece. Back to the goods, I already know that I would not connect with all of these characters if they’re wasn’t such great talent behind them. Considering that there were many characters that appeared in comparison to Infinity War, I will go one by one with the few that actually caught my eye. For the last time, Robert Downey Jr. impressed the world for his performance as Iron Man, a role he had played for eleven years straight. This feels like the best outing he gave for the character since his first because here, he is reflecting his grief as he lost his confidence after the biggest loss he has ever had. It wasn’t just the loss of every innocent snap victim, he lost his protege that was Peter Parker, who he saw a son within. Failing to keep him safe, raising his daughter Morgan (Lexi Rabe) was his second chance of fatherhood. He was far from being at peace until going through this last adventure. We originally assumed he was after getting the shrapnel removed, but the living nightmare of Thanos changed that. So seeing Tony travel through the past, finally saying goodbye to his father Howard (John Slaterry) and make the sacrifice that would save the universe, peace was finally on his horizon. He said ‘I am Iron Man’ not because it was an awesome callback but that he finally became the suit of armor around the world he always wanted to make. His death is tragic because of the realization not just because of how we’ll miss him like his friends will, but that he couldn’t live peacefully as it took him to die for him to feel so. I admire the funeral scene because while it’s arguably the best use of Trent Opaloch’s cinematography, it was amazing to see everyone who had been positively impacted by him attend. Seeing Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) in attendance showed how much they respected him despite not liking him personally. Seeing Harley (Ty Simpkins) from Iron Man 3 as well was great because it meant how much he changed his life and implied that they still kept in touch. I was even more satisfied to see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as well at the end because to me, I don’t think Tony would’ve ever pushed himself any further had they not met. In their given time, the returning Iron Man cast make their mark in this finale as well. Jon Favreau’s presence as Happy Hogan symbolized not only how close the character was to the protagonist, but also how the franchise would’ve not been the same with the said filmmaker. Him talking to Stark’s daughter Morgan about craving cheeseburgers was a neat callback to the first film because it shows how well he knew his friend. Don Cheadle shows as much growth as possible with Rhodey, since he regrets taking the path of the Sokovia Accords, that led to his paralysis. Speaking of that, he made the character’s state feel just as realistic as before in Civil War, when he crawls out of his suit to save Rocket. Having said that, I thought that was a great physical performance done by him. Gwyneth Paltrow goes on a clinic by the end of the movie as Pepper Potts. Seeing her hold her tears until the love of her life is gone looked to be the most challenging and I thought she really owned it in general. What I like of the character here is that she is still as fearless as before in the end of Iron Man 3, due to joining the fight. Even though Tom Holland isn’t in the film much either, he owns it when becoming an emotional mess as well in the shoes of Iron Man’s protege Spider-Man. While I wish there was a scene where Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) gave him her blessing of being a hero, seeing her at the funeral is close enough. Like Downey, Chris Evans also had his own high note when playing Captain America for the last time. He had been my favorite of the original group at first glance because not only was he patriotic, but that he embodied the character’s courageousness and righteousness. What I liked about him here is that he becomes much smarter in his surroundings, whereas he understood his own weaknesses when encountering his younger self. What never changed about him is his will. Even after taking a beating and having a broken weapon that was his shield, nothing would stop him from defeating the injustice that surrounds him. Seeing his determination proved his worth to carry Mjolnir, an incredible moment I will never forget. It is sad that the last time we saw him, he was an elderly man because that means he’ll likely die offscreen. But I am still happy for him because based on his predicament when first meeting him, he deserved to rest like Tony and live the life he never had. When he saw Peggy as he traveled in the 70s, it was a hunch on what he would do in the long run. And I choked up seeing him have his dance with Peggy because I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see such a happy ending. I know fans are debating who should’ve taken his mantle between Bucky and Sam because both have done so in the comics on separate occasions. In this standpoint, Steve chose Sam because he saw the ‘good man’ in him the way Abraham Erskine did in The First Avenger. I do think Anthony Mackie played out the scene very well because with a minimum use of words, he is afraid of the pressure but is willing to give his all, and that is the spirit of Captain America. Although this wasn’t the last time we would see the Black Widow due to the character’s solo film that would be released afterwards, this movie ended her arc and Scarlett Johansson handled it very well. We connected to this character because the actress was able to reflect her strong willed, immovable and independent persona. It was hard to see her go because it was the last time she would show her worth. She always had due to helping Fury recruit the Avengers when Loki attacked, along with aiding Cap with taking down HYDRA. She even lead the Avengers during the past five years when no one would. Many things made her death sadder than we anticipated: Her selfless decision paid off as it ensured the success of their mission. She chose to do it because she had hope unlike Clint. She also had a lot of guilt on her plate but not just for losing to Thanos, but instead her actions as a Russian spy, meaning this was her coming to peace with her herself. Knowing all of this makes it hard to digest. As if it wasn’t hard enough, the only time the original group are together is when they mourn for her. It’s overall sad because of the conventional act of closure and seeing her put others before herself comes to show how much she grew, making her sacrifice honorable at the very end. Chris Hemsworth may not be done yet with Thor but this is easily another great outing of the god of thunder. I admit that I laughed of him appearing overweight because it was so unexpected but the longer we saw him, the more we saw that he wasn’t himself. The king was battling his own set depression because he couldn’t be satisfied with his revenge. While he could have felt so if he didn’t waste time but in general, that epiphany still stands. Because of such a personal failure, he is so shut off that he doesn’t feel like the avenger we all know him for. He couldn’t be whole again until he got reaffirmed when encountering his mother Frigga (Rene Russo) for the last time, along with taking Mjolnir with him, being reminded that his failures don’t make one any less worthy. And even in the size he’s depicted, he still kicks some ass. Hemsworth definitely owned this spiral of emotions and I am intrigued with what’s next for this character in the future. Mark Ruffalo still impresses me with his interpretation of the Hulk and he does a good job handling this interesting section of the character’s arc. The Professor Hulk gimmick was genius because it suits the character as he is accepting what he was once afraid of. Bruce originally wanted to be rid of Hulk in order be normal again until he saw the use of its abilities, leading to embracing the ‘best of both worlds’. It makes more sense because if he kept changing back and forth, he wouldn’t ever be treated as equal as he was in Planet Sakaar, becoming a logical solution in the process. Seeing him more proud of what he can do in a green physique is satisfying. Even through motion capture, the actor sold his emotional reaction to Nat’s death because it implies that despite not romantically involved anymore, he still loved her no matter what. You also respect him a lot more due to sacrificing his arm with his snap that brings back Thanos’ snap victims. Putting seriousness aside, I find a hard time not laughing of him reenacting his violent side when time traveling. Jeremy Renner’s return as Hawkeye hit our hearts like everything else we got in this movie. What made him different from the original Avengers is that he never had a personal loss until the Snap. Seeing him break from his common upbeat attitude to a broken, vengeful persona that is Ronin, was difficult to witness because he truly lost everything for the first time and he couldn’t know how to cope. Compare him to the others, it comes to show that people grieve differently. It even got worse for him because he witnessed the sacrifice of his best friend Nat and couldn’t stop her after trying. While it was a sacrifice he wasn’t prepared for, you saw some sort of relief in him as he answering a call from his returning wife Laura (Linda Cardellini). It was a subtle scene that spoke volumes. This is the case because he lost hope when she and his children were victims of Thanos. So I thought Renner played it out very well on Clint’s hesitance of regaining hope as he seems to choke up when answering the phone, along with the character’s depressed spiral and returning confidence. While he is still grieving over Nat, you still can’t help but he happy that he got back his reason to live. Paul Rudd is far from done playing Ant-Man at this point of the franchise but this does feel like his best take thus far. While he is still a gullible character, I was amazed on how serious/mature he got when he’s supposed to. It comes to show how much he had grown as well. It is pretty awesome how he is the unsung hero considering that he discovered time travel in his quantum experience. He has a tremendous amount of loss as well because while unaware of the fate of his friends, and after knowing that the Pyms were gone, he missed out on seeing his daughter grow up to be a teenager. He couldn’t even say that Hope was gone because it hurts for him to grasp with it. So the second he smiles as he is with her again during the battle, he couldn’t be anymore happier. Seeing how he was unable to cope with her absence reminded me of how Hank was with Janet. Although many of these actors have played these characters more than once, Karen Gillan was arguably the film’s breakout as Nebula. She truly has had the best growth because we first saw her as one who ruthlessly fought out of fear she had of her father. Now we see her become a brave, compassionate person due to being seen as an equal to Gamora and others. Seeing both sides of her coin showed Gillan’s range as she perfectly expressed the character’s evolution in one movie. The opening scene where she bonds with Tony is wholesome because from the first glance, he treats her equally without judging her, which is something she deserved so much. When you remember their time together, you’ll understand how tragic it had to be for her to lose one who was arguably her best friend. Her arc was so investing to witness because it was never forced on to her situation, but rather a result of her own reconsideration of what she deserves out of life. I really enjoyed what Brie Larson did as Captain Marvel in her solo film but I can’t say the same here because I don’t sense the chemistry she’s supposed to have with the cast. Her scenes were shot this before her own movie, which is bold but is also a mistake because it makes her scenes feel the most rushed. I still like the overall character as she still proves to be highly powerful. Seeing her destroy Thanos’ ship and not phase when he headbutts her were just so badass to remember. Because of how big of a cast this movie has, it does feel easy to forget some names. Bradley Cooper was one of the bunch because at this point, all you hear is not the actor but his character Rocket Raccoon. Even though he is more of a supporting character, Cooper still succeeds in embracing the character’s misanthropic persona from the voice alone. He doesn’t have a lot of change like the other heroes but seeing him bond with the returning Guardians during the climax, you knew he really missed them. Last but not least, Josh Brolin delivers another incredible motion capture performance with Thanos. Even in a younger perspective, the Titan believed that he is a savior through the act of genocide, making his determination more terrifying. “You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me”. That quote from him stuck to me because it puts realization on how people react to failure, which is something that’s inevitable for everyone. There are people who can move on and learn from it but there are others who can’t, the latter is the predicament The Avengers chose. What Thanos is trying to say is that they should’ve moved on. Seeing all of these arcs come together teaches the big lesson how it is always possible to recover from failure, no matter how low you end up going. In short, Avengers: Endgame will easily be recognized as the best superhero film since The Dark Knight as it successfully concludes an incredible story arc on a high note. Or as Morgan H. Stark would say, I love it 3000. So if you made it this far with the series, stop reading and watch this movie right now.
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