Avengers Endgame is a movie about payoffs, it’s not just the culmination of the Infinity Saga that started with 2012’s The Avengers, but it also serves as the closing chapter to many of the characters whose journey started with 2008’s Iron Man. So whether you’ve been following the MCU ever since then or from any later point, whether you are a causal fan of the connected cinematic Universe or a die-hard comic lover who is heavily invested in the journey of these characters, you should definitely watch Endgame, simply cause there’s going to be massive payoffs for you that you’ll find both deeply satisfying and rewarding.
So yes, Avengers Endgame is worth your watching. But how much is it worth, whether it feels rewarding to watch multiple times (like the first Avengers film was) or is it just another Marvel flick that’s hugely entertaining but fails to be memorable in the long run, is what this review is going to be all about.
Avengers Endgame, in many ways, is the grandest celebration of everything that has defined and is continuing to define the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All the elements that makes it work and also holds it back are in spades in this movie, like it’s a glorious mix of everything that you love and don’t love about the MCU. To sum it up quickly, this film is a massive display of all of the characteristics that make a Marvel film, a Marvel film.
As a result, this film reminds us why these movies work so well and the reason they have become so endearing in their 10 plus years of cinematic history. It’s all because of how amazing Marvel has been when it comes to characterizations. That is the payoff you get when you’ve taken your sweet time to build up these characters from the ground up and make them grow through the films. Marvel’s greatest achievement is that they haven’t just made Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and the rest of the crew realistic on-screen incarnations of their comic counterparts, they actually made them real. By giving them individual character arcs that span through multiple films and all the subtle moments of humanity and growth which makes them feel like truly living, breathing people. And that’s why watching them finally get the closure they deserve feels so rewarding, so earned.
And this is where lies the single most important element of the MCU’s success—their attention to the characters and how they made the audience emotionally invested in them by building them up through the last decade. And Endgame is their creme-de-la-creme event where all of that pay off, in a huge way. Basically, this film rewards you for being an MCU fan, in a way that very few movie franchises have managed to do thus far.
Everything that works in Endgame, works solely because of how successful Marvel has been in making their characters endearing and close to us. That’s why the emotional moments stick so much, there are moments in this film that’ll make you euphoric, burst out in joy, and some genuinely gut-punching moments that’ll make you emotionally bleed. It’s suffice to say that this film is the single most moving cinematic experience that we’ve ever seen from Marvel, and the reason it works so well is cause how the MCU has got us close to these characters over the past years. In Endgame, it all pays off hugely well, both for Marvel and for us, the viewers.
Endgame also feels different than all the previous MCU films cause this movie is far more about closure than lending itself as a stepping stone to set up future events. In that regard, this is the most refreshing film in the entire MCU, and boy, does it succeed in doing that.
By being the follow-up to Infinity War, Endgame is also obligatory the most massive in terms of scope and events in the MCU, but what makes it stand out from all the previous ensemble films that have come from the studio, is that Endgame feels both intimate as well as sprawling, at the same time. And it shines in both of these aspects. And again, the reason it does so well is because of the massive payoff that comes from building up a connected cinematic Universe for over a decade, character by character.
But even though Endgame truly feels like the sweetest fruit of labor of 11 years, not everything in the movie works. Cause Endgame also contains all the elements that hold most of the MCU films back from becoming as great as they could possibly be. And even with all the enjoyable character dynamics and emotional twists, overall the film feels less than the sum of it’s parts, like the majority of the MCU films. I wanted to truly love this movie, but couldn’t and for me, the first Avengers movie still holds the place of the very best and memorable ensemble MCU film. This, sadly, is not on that level, though I truly wished it were so.
Part of the reason is that aside from bringing closure to the journey of some of the original six Avengers, this movie does nothing to break the over-satchurated mold that is now visibly taking it’s toll on the MCU films. The moments of levity also seems forced in many places, many of those big, spectacular moments felt like they could’ve been way better if the filmmakers were a bit more inventive and the third act, felt quite generic in lots of ways. The all-in, clash-of-armies-of-heroes-and-enemies set piece feels a bit overused and tepid at this point. We’ve been seeing the same structure since the first Avengers and it’s just a bigger and denser version of that same thing. Surely there could’ve been a more innovative way to build the finale.
And we also see new beginnings and major changes for a lot of characters, both old and new that really makes anyone want to see what happens next in the MCU. But for me, a lot of it also feels empty and cosmetic. After leaving the theater, I simply couldn’t get as excited for the future of MCU as I got after seeing 2012’s The Avengers, as much as I wish I could. Simply cause the MCU doesn’t feel as fresh as it did back in the day, it feels way too stuffed and spread out right now and lacks that laser focused feel it once had. This is what happens when fan service outweighs ingenuity.
While Endgame succeeds in bringing a fitting end to several beloved characters in the MCU, it also disappointingly lacks that element of greatness, which makes multiple viewings worthwhile, and rewarding.
All in all, Avengers Endgame is a truly all around enjoyable film, but it also falls short of being a truly great one. There are chances that over time, the film will be remembered more for being the final episode for several major characters in the MCU than being a truly great standalone film that passes the test of time. And as someone who has been invested in the MCU since 2008’s Iron Man, I truly wish it didn’t.
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