It’s almost impossible to talk about Avengers: Endgame, the latest and possibly greatest offering from Marvel Studios, without spoiling it. The film is filled to the brim with the Marvel goodness that fans have come to love and expect over the 11 year franchise and there’s something for everyone to be found here; whether it be the jokes, the bonkers action (on FULL display here) or the perfectly crafted character interactions that make us all feel like kids playing with our action figures again. While the film will undoubtedly please most and shatter box office records, an uneven pace and some odd character choices may leave some slightly dissapointed.
Let’s start with the story, which I can only describe without spoiling things, as truly epic in scope as the Avengers must come to terms with the losses they have sustained and formulate a plan to fight back against Thanos (Josh Brolin). There’s been a lot of talk lately surrounding this film and the term “love letter” has been thrown around a lot. There’s really just no better way to describe it. Endgame works as its own individual story remarkably well, although it’s really a reward for the people who have stuck with the franchise through the last 21 films. The references are numerous and range from the totally obvious to the tiniest easter egg and I can’t wait to revisit the film time and time again to discover new tidbits, as I’m sure most Marvel fans will. The Russo Brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely prove once again just how adept they are at taking the traits that we love about these characters and playing them off one another in new and exciting ways. This shouldn’t be a surprise given how great the character interactions were in Infinity War, but the additions of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in particular, inject some new life into proceedings after so much of it was turned to dust. Rudd in particular gets to showcase why his particular comedy senses work so well in the Marvel universe and watching him interact with the founding Avengers was comedy gold.
Speaking of the founding Avengers, they all turn out the usual stellar performances which have been honed since their first stand-alone features, with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in particular proving why they are the faces of this truly massive franchise. Downey really gets to play with the psyche of Tony Stark in ways we haven’t seen before and it’s a joy to watch him tip between an overwhelming sense of failure and a rousing desire to fight back. Josh Brolin delivers another impressive turn as Thanos, imbuing the character with a sense of righteousness and confidence which is a hallmark of the best villains: he believes what he is doing is fundamentally right. Whilst Brolin’s motion capture work is extraordinary, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk proves that he is one of the most impressive actors working today to sport the green tights and face dots. He’s given a lot more to work with here than in previous Avengers instalments and it is remarkable to see him stretch his dramatic and comedic acting muscles, displaying so much emotion through facial expressions alone. Speaking of comedy, an interesting decision was made here in regards to the treatment of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who is saddled with the task of carrying majority of the film’s humour on his back. While he certainly manages it, and believe me there were some big laughs from him, the choice just seems like an odd overreaction of Thor’s response to the emotionally weighty events of the last film, and I can’t help but wish they’d done something different with him which stuck closer to how the character was represented in Infinity War.
Endgame clocks in at a meaty 3 hours and while this is necessary to conclude this chapter of the Marvel story, the pacing of the film suffers as a result. While we start off at a clip, carrying the momentum over from Infinity War, the film almost stalls and restarts as momentum must be rebuilt moving into the action-heavy final act. It’s an understandable shift given the events that happen yet it’s still jarring, and I found myself slightly let down that the film seems to lose the sense of urgency it establishes in the beginning at certain points. The scenes that do feel stretched out are weighted down by jokes and it almost feels at times as if the writers have been forced to meet the “Marvel quota” for laughs. While these scenes never stopped me from enjoying my time watching the film, they did diminish some of the emotional weight carried over from Infinity War. It doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom, but Marvel has proved before that they are more than capable of throwing in jokes that fit with the tone and don’t distract from the story being told.
As far as action goes, Endgame delivers in every way possible with some of the most ambitious fight scenes ever put to film. I won’t spoil anything but the last hour is jaw-dropping and worth the price of admission alone. The Russo Brothers began their Marvel career helming some of the best action set pieces in the franchise (the excellent elevator fight scene in Winter Soldier) and continued to top themselves in terms of scope in the Airport fight scene in Civil War and the Battle of Wakanda in Infinity War. This is easily their largest fight scene to date and it is ridiculously impressive how the duo managed to pull off fights this large in scope, whilst keeping the action completely grounded with the characters. The audience always has a sense of what is going on because the action is always tied to one of the heroes we have grown to love in past films.
Avengers: Endgame marks the end of an era, the culmination of an unprecedented franchise spanning 11 years and 22 films. Whilst not perfect, this is a wonderful celebration of the Marvel universe and a reminder of why we fell in love with these movies in the first place: they allow us to escape from our normal lives and enrapture ourselves in fantastical stories and characters that show us just how great we can be, whilst still being human and relatable at the same time. I felt like a kid again, sitting there staring at the screen in wide-eyed joy with a huge smile on my face for 3 hours. Is that not one of the most pure cinematic experiences you can hope to have?
Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Karen Gillan, Brie Larson and is in cinemas now.