Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson
As Thanos demands our silence on the plot of Avengers: Endgame, let’s take a more general look (without spoilers) at the latest Marvel offering that culminates a decade of the MCU and its Infinity Saga.
As the remaining Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Bruce Banner, War Machine, along with Rocket Raccoon, Nebula, and Captain Marvel) struggle to come to terms with Thanos wiping out half of all life with a snap of his fingers, they hit upon a plan to confront the mad Titan, and attempt to undo the work of the Infinity Stones.
Avengers: Endgame works better from an emotional perspective than it does in terms of narrative or character development. It delivers what the fans are expecting, as well as a couple of surprising developments, playing into what has made the Marvel cinematic universe so popular in the past. However, this is more than just a blatant fan service. Directors the Russo Brothers work to give us both those large and small emotional beats, be it in a dramatic battle, or in those more personal interactions. When that score kicks in and the music swells, audiences can certainly feel all that Endgame has to deliver, and it doesn’t disappoint with its big budget effects.
However, if we’re being entirely honest here, it also symbolises all the problems associated with a tent pole production as well. Avengers: Endgame starts off at a blistering pace, taking its lead from the shocking conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, but it soon breaks from this and becomes somewhat more indulgent. In part, this is due to the structure of the tale, by those few unexpected twists thrown in and trying to juggle the huge amount of character arcs of the film. Yet it could have also used a tighter edit than the three-hour film received. It’s hard to ascertain if this is due to the directors’ intent, or big named actors scrambling for more screen time. More often than not, Endgame handles these issues, but there are a few areas where it does drop the ball, as some characters receive short shrift.
The result is a satisfying end to the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (although the official end will come with Spider-Man: Far From Home later this year). Avengers: Endgame stays true to the spirit of the previous films, referencing both those and some of the more recent story arcs of the comics (Secret Empire, in particular, receives a couple of impressive nods). A few missteps in pacing and character arcs aside, this delivers almost exactly what fans demanded, and in a rather gratifying fashion.
DAVID O’CONNELL
