Avengers: Endgame
By James Davidson
“Avengers: Endgame” is perhaps the most anticipated movie of all time. It’s the culmination of eleven years and 22 movies made by Marvel comics. All 22 movies have been tied together in some way with characters and storylines interlacing. It’s a cinematic universe like nothing anyone has ever seen before. Last year the penultimate “Avengers: Infinity War” came out, leaving the audience waiting to see the conclusion after Thanos, the big evil bad guy collected the six powerful Infinity Stones and destroyed half of the population of the universe with a single snap.
I have been going to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies since the beginning. Since the original “Iron Man” was released in 2008, I have yet to miss a theatrical release of an MCU movie. I have been so emotionally invested in the characters and storylines for so long, it will be a little difficult for me to write a totally unbiased review. But I will do my best. Warning, there will be slight spoilers of the general storyline ahead, but I will try to keep them to a minimum.
Tony Stark/Iron Man is stuck in space with seemingly no escape, and the remaining Avengers are trying to cope with the loss of their friends and teammates. While they are dealing with this loss, they are also trying to figure out how to find Thanos, and the Stones, and reverse the snap to return their friends and family. They finally come up with a plan only to discover that Thanos has destroyed all of the stones to prevent them from reversing what he has done. After reuniting with a thought-lost character, the remaining Avengers create another a plan to go back in time to steal the Stones before Thanos can get to them and reverse the snap that way.
This movie is everything that it was advertised to be. It wrapped up a decade’s worth of movies and storylines magnificently. There were no plot holes or loose ends, the film gave me exactly what I wanted; closure. It was an ending of epic proportions. If you have seen even one Marvel movie in the past eleven years, I strongly suggest that you go see this movie.
You don’t have to have seen all of the MCU movies to understand what is going on in this one. You will still enjoy this, even if it is your first Marvel movie. I do suggest you see the others though. It will only enhance this already amazing film. You will understand the slight nuances that make this movie even better.
“Emotional” is a great way to describe this movie.There were several parts that will bring a few tears to your eyes. Even if you haven’t seen all of the MCU films, if you’ve seen any of the movies, you will have an emotional connection with this one. Because of the time travel storyline, there are many call backs to past movies, characters, and storylines. All of the storylines were wrapped up wonderfully with many callbacks to seemingly inconsequential scenes in past films that end up being very important.
The time travel storyline was done very well. It’s hard to do time travel in a way that isn’t confusing for the audience. But this movie does it very well. There are great, joking references to other great time travel movies, such as “Back to the Future”. The humor is exactly what I have come to expect from Marvel. It cuts the seriousness of the film in just the right places.
The one issue is that the movie is three, that’s right, I said three, hours long. While it is a very long film, it’s paced well and didn’t seem that long at all. There is plenty of action to keep you interested. I think the movie needed to be that long in order to fit everything that needed to be included. However, it’s definitely worth sitting through it for three hours to see the ending of a lifetime.
“Avengers: Endgame” is the perfect ending to a decade’s worth of buildup, if you have seen even one Marvel movie in the past eleven years, I strongly suggest you go see this movie, but make sure to bring plenty of tissues. I can’t wait to buy this movie to complete my Marvel collection. This movie earns 5 out of 5 stars.
Film Fodder 