Picking up right after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, this famous group of superheroes find themselves loathing in utter defeat. Not only has Thanos (Josh Brolin) managed to wipe out half of the entire universe, but it seems like he has decimated this comic book team's sense of hope for good. I find it incredibly difficult to discuss what I loved about this film without spoilers, so this is your warning. The arrival of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) at the Avengers compound 5 years after the fatal snap and after being stuck in the quantum realm is the one thing bringing this team back together. As they all learn about what can be done to reverse the mad titan's actions and bring back half of the universe, the Avengers' sense of hope and justice gets restored. Once again, the Russo Brothers have delivered on an incredibly engrossing storyline that only gets more enthralling as it goes along. Just like this franchise's previous entry, the story is paced immensely well, as my eyes were not distracted from the screen for a split second. The fact that these filmmakers were able to tell the multitude of various stories efficiently without losing their audience will never fail to impress me. What I loved most about this film, however, is its ability to balance the stories of each character and bring such satisfying conclusions to their individual arcs. All 6 of the original Avengers' storylines are concluded in such amazing ways and pave the way for the future of Marvel to start focusing on their younger characters.
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's script is the strongest aspect of this film that really brings everything together in such a fulfilling way. The entire first act of this film, after the surprisingly sudden "defeat" of Thanos, contains such a genuine, human story. I absolutely adored the writing in this part of the movie, as it focuses on themes of acceptance, loss, and even touches on depression and coping with inevitable grief. I loved seeing the emotion pour out of these characters and how they accepted the fact that they lost to the evil antagonist 5 years prior. Some of the most realistic and actually believable performances came from this act and I have honestly not seen that much focus and talent come from a superhero film in a long time. Towards the end of this film is when it truly hits audiences and becomes the emotional rollercoaster that fans deserved. And despite the fact that this movie is 3 hours long, it did not nearly feel like it due to the genuinely engrossing story.
As for the fate of our beloved heroes, the way that they were set up and concluded after 5 years of grief was incredible to see. Captain America (Chris Evans) goes back in time to live out his life with Peggy (Haley Atwell) as they finally get their long-awaited dance together. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), unfortunately, sacrifices herself to get the soul stone for the ultimate defeat of Thanos. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is stuck in some strange hybrid state that has yet to be fully flushed out. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) seems to be training his daughter to take over the mantle in the near future. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has seemingly joined the Guardians of the Galaxy and given up his throne to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) as she becomes the new Queen of Asgard. And as for the man who started this entire franchise, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) himself sacrifices himself through the Infinity Stones one last time to save all of the people that he loves most. I loved all of the callbacks and tying-up of loose ends that occurred throughout this film, especially in Tony Stark's funeral scene. The long, extended shot of everyone attending his funeral is really just a celebration of the entire 11 years of happiness and joy that these characters and stories have given audiences and it was fantastic to see (also where I teared up the most). This film is a flawless conclusion to these iconic heroes' stories and proves itself as a quintessential, nostalgic blockbuster. As previously mentioned, no matter your opinion on the quality or repetitiveness of these superhero stories, the impactful and emotional place that they hold in our culture will never be forgotten.
Perhaps I'm swept up in the nostalgia of the past 11 nerdy years of my life, but Avengers: Endgame is a prime example of how to do a blockbuster right. Not only have the Russo Brothers managed to culminate 11 years of fantastical stories into one tight script, but they have managed to get me to sob at a science-fiction film. I'm still finding it hard to entirely process everything that happened in this movie, but just know that fans and dedicated moviegoers could not have asked for a more perfect ending. And make sure to bring some tissues too.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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