Marvel Studios presents Avengers: Endgame which will be released in theaters on April 26th, 2019.
Following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, with half of the universe killed in an event dubbed “The Decimation”, the universe lies in shambles and the remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to repair the damage caused by Thanos and bring harmony back to the universe.
Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
The cast includes:
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man:
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America:
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange:
Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine
Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther
Paul Bettany as Vision
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon:
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier:
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Benedict Wong as Wong
Pom Klementieff as Mantis
Karen Gillan as Nebul
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Bradley Cooper as Rocket
Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia “Pepper” Potts
Josh Brolin as Thanos:
Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord:
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp
Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy” Hogan
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
Here we are, the week that Avengers: Endgame is set to be released. The direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, can you believe it? It’s been a full year already but at the same time this movie is eleven years in the making since the first Iron Man movie is 2008. This will be my non-spoiler review. I will do my best to be vague and tell you what I liked and didn’t like about the movie. I want all of you to have a fresh mind and experience to the movie like I did.
The movie picks up weeks after the events in Avengers: Inifinity War and we see how the surviving members of The Avengers are dealing with their new respected lives. I immediately felt the sadness and anger from our team as they reflect on their defeat. Those same emotions is what fuels the team to get up off the ground after Thanos punched them in the mouth. The remaining Avengers set into action a way to figure out a resolution to Thanos’ destruction.
I want to give credit to Marvel Studios, what we saw in the trailers and commercials for the movie comes mostly from the first 15 minutes of the movie, to help maintain that element of surprise and prevent fans from over speculating the direction of the story. Going into the movie I was warned the runtime, including the credits, is three hours long, so please plan your pee breaks accordingly.
For a three hour movie, the pacing was very good, while there were some slow points in the first and second acts, these slow moments did provide some great character building moments. For me I never felt bored at any point in the movie. After the events in Avengers: Infinity War, I was expecting Endgame to maintain a very dark tone. I was very wrong. I was surprised how much comedy and humor was present throughout the movie. While I’m all for humor to balance out all the sadness and drama we might see in a superhero movie. Most of the time these jokes felt very forced and not needed. Every time there was a dramatic sequence or conversation taking place, someone had to throw in a joke or take a shot at someone else. Believe me I know not every character needs to be serious and emotionless but when you are dealing with stakes The Avengers are dealing with, the constant jokes felt more like unwanted speed bumps to a nice flowing story.
I did get annoyed with a couple characters. Despite being known as two of the most powerful superheroes in the MCU they were more used for comedic use than anything else. I’m calling this the Guardians of the Galaxy effect. Ever since that movie came out and was a huge success that changed the landscape of the MCU. Guardians was known for its comedy and therefore I think future MCU movies want to copy that success and insert humor anyway it can.
For the sake of not spoiling certain characters story arcs, I just want to say this about the following heroes. Captain America is once again the MVP of The Avengers. I appreciate the amount of love and respect the Russo brothers have given towards Cap dating back to the first time they started working with Marvel Studios in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as Iron Man was remarkable, you felt the anger and his sadness towards other characters as a result from prior events dating back to 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The evolution of the Iron Man character of the last 11 years has been one of the most intriguing things to keep track of throughout the MCU. Hawkeye got more screen time and was a total badass. Captain Marvel was used sparingly and I liked her more here than her solo movie. While Avengers: Infinity War was Thanos’ movie and was the focus of the story, Endgame is an Avengers movie and puts the OG characters back to the center of attention.
The third act of the movie were phenomenal. Watching that last hour of the movie reminded me why I love superhero movies. Up until this point, the airport scene in Captain America: Civil War was the greatest superhero fight sequence of all time, but the fight scene during Endgame hands down passed it. I was blown away what we saw visually, what they honored from comic book lore and it felt like I saw pages of comic books come to life. Everyone had a moment to shine.
I will say this about Avengers: Endgame, this movie beautifully wrapped up the Infinity Saga and the main story lines we have been emotionally invested in for the last 11 years of the MCU’s existence. I loved all the call backs to previous movies which helped add new scenes and perspectives to moments of the older movies. There is also a ton of fan service which I had no problem with. The fan service helped me leave the theater feeling very satisfied after investing 11 years of my life of watching all of the MCU movies.
I had goosebumps and even teared up at many moments which reminded me why I love these movies. I can’t thank the Russo Brothers and everyone else involved for making this masterpiece. The emotions and feelings I felt throughout the movie is what makes going to the movies such a unique experience. I’m excited for the future of the MCU. While many stories wrapped up in Endgame, it left open many new stories to be told with newer characters. The future direction of the MCU is unknown but that alone is exciting. Thank you Marvel Studios for the fun ride.
I would rate the film: 9.25/10
Watch a special look of Avengers: Endgame.
Watch a clip from Avengers: Endgame.
Watch a look back at the last ten plus years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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