Okay it's not really a review, just a big slobbery sopping wet kiss to this amazing conclusion of 11 years and 22 films - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!
Yes, I've said it many times on this blog - I'm an unapologetic fanboy, I'm not a critic, I desperately want every super-hero movie to succeed and I'm very good at overlooking problems because to me, when I compare comic book flicks today with what I had to work with when I was a kid - there ARE NO PROBLEMS of any real concern in the modern superhero big screen world.
I mean seriously, this is what I had to watch when I was 10 years old.
Watch about 30 seconds, if you can stand it. Yeah, and this was one of the better adaptations out there. And who could forget this?
Sure, it's a dope motorcycle - but that's about it really.
And then now we have this -
Absolutely this is THE best time to be alive for action/adventure/sci-fi/superhero goodness up on the big screen. THIS IS IT!!!
And it's why I was so so excited to finally see Endgame last Sunday with my wife and kid. I had managed to avoid spoilers despite the film being out for three days - and thus, like most folks, I was completely surprised and blown away by the last 3/4 of the movie because the Russo brothers (in all of their brilliance) had deliberately withheld all but the first 20 minutes of the 3 hour epic for use in the trailers.
I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen from beginning to end, but from 20 minutes onward every frame was a complete surprise and an unexpected delight.
Okay - so here we go. I'm going to recap and expound on what I loved, which was pretty much the entire frickin' movie (and really I don't want to use 'frickin').
So be fairly warned thee says I - THAR' BE SPOILERS AHEAD MATEY! (Not sure why but I just typed that with a pirate voice inside my head).
Doing this by memory after seeing the movie only once - so forgive any errors in sequence or detail.
My favorite moments (yes, most of them)...
The cold open with Hawkeye -
Interesting side note: Not once has Clint Barton ever been called Hawkeye in the MCU, the closest was 'The Hawk" in Avengers one. Here in the cold open of AE he calls his oldest daughter by that moniker.
I felt a punch to the gut as soon as the film faded up from black. Quiet scene, no music, which was a perfect choice. I didn't know what precisely was going to happen or how it was going to unfold, but I felt dread in the pit of my stomach for this entire scene.
Thankfully we are spared the sight of Clint's children and wife disintegrating before our eyes, their disappearance happens super quick - when his back is turned - and somehow this is both a relief but also more devastating in it's own way. Our brains fill in the detail and anguish as we leave the farm and head into the Marvel logo.
Tony and Nebula Adrift -
Let me just say, my favorite character by far in this film, and one of my all time favorites in the MCU, is Nebula. The way her character has grown and changed exemplifies precisely what is so great and amazing about the MCU...
Yes, the special effects in these movies are top notch. Yes, the humor is always a fun kick in the pants and often makes us giddy. Yes, the killer app is that it's FREAKIN' IRON MAN and FREAKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA, etc. etc. coming to life on the big screen...
But what makes these movies GREAT, what makes them truly stories for the ages; is the deference and determination by the filmmakers to keep these characters as grounded and as real as possible. And over multiple movies we are allowed to get to know them, and watch them grow and change before our eyes.
I think Nebula is perhaps the very best example of this emphasis on realism and growth in the characters.
It is very powerful and moving to see how far she has come. The moment when she gently lifts a sleeping (unconscious?) Tony Stark and puts him in the captain's chair, had me welling up with tears for the second time in about 10 minutes into the movie.
She started out as a ruthless killer, desperate to please her maniac father. She has since fled from her tormentor, made peace with her sister, and has started to come around to the possibility of opening herself up to being kind and even tender with others. It is a remarkable and 100% genuine character arc from anger/pain into willing vulnerability.
Later in this scene, I loved the moment when Carol Danvers shows up outside the cockpit window. Very cool, and I was also very glad that the 'tag' in Captain Marvel was a self-contained scene that stayed in that movie and it wasn't a preview of a scene we would have to sit through in Endgame ala' Bucky's arm in a vice at the end of Ant-Man. This was a 3 hour movie, glad they weren't wasting our time with a replay of something we had already seen. Of course my wife and kid who didn't see Captain Marvel might have been a mite confused.
Nebula's reunion with Rocket was the third tears welling, lump in throat, moment for me. Very uncharacteristic of both of them up until the snap, now it makes perfect sense. We've been along with both of them and we get it.
Scott Returns -
Okay if there was one MASSIVE contrivance in this whole movie (and I understand there's actually about 50 small to medium ones) it's when the rat stumbles across the mini-quantum tunnel's control panel in the La Cucaracha van.
I can't help but wonder, in the 14 million + scenarios Dr. Strange looked at, were there several hundred thousand that had the rat taking a different route over the panel and so Scott never got out? If so, how did Stephen know that this reality in particular would have the exact right kind of clumsy rodent? (The internet is already abuzz with folks saying it was Splinter from Ninja Turtles).
Anyways, I digress a tad. I love how this movie took it's time to spend time with the characters in the first hour and I'm most grateful for the time we got with Scott Lange.
From his desperate search among the stone slabs at the San Francisco snap memorial, to his heart wrenching (in a good way) reunion with his now 15 year old daughter (who looks 20) - I'm so so happy that Ant-Man plays such a large role in this film.
Professor Hulk -
After striking out with Tony Stark, a lovely scene with Tony and his daughter in-between as well, Cap, Natasha and Scott hunt down Banner and he's Professor Hulk!
I never read any Professor Hulk comics, but I was well aware of what was going on with this character through the 90's - now I wish I had read some of these comics, maybe I still will!
Smart Hulk is hilarious! Love how he's a combination of not only Banner and Hulk's bodies, but their personalities as well.
Thankfully Endgame has the trademark MCU humor in abundance throughout. As usual, the filmmakers are ingenious about weaving jokes in and out seamlessly with the rest of the story. Nobody wants a selfie with Ant-Man!
So Tony can't sleep and figures out time travel and says "Ok" - so for the next half hour it's the Blues Brothers, we're getting the band back together!
Natasha returns the favor...
After a bad ass mini-fight scene that involves a dozen dead Yokuza gangsters, the Black Widow shows up to rescue her friend from a rain filled life of deadly justice. The interaction between the two actors is the real meat here, they both bring their A-game acting chops and the result is a very touching scene.
Thicc Thor -
Biggest laugh/gasp in the theater - Thor with a beer gut! The Dude Abides.
Love this development, a LOT. I know there's got to be a bunch of in-Cel neck beards out there who don't like Thor "turning into a joke" but I think Chris Hemsworth is so good and so dialed into the character, he's able to play for big laughs but also portray Thor as deeply troubled and struggling with the path to redemption. Cheers to the writers and directors for taking the unpredictable route with Thor, that also happens to make a lot of sense.
BTW, very excited to see Korg, he's my spirit animal. I've said it in earlier reviews, I want to BE Korg!
And so after Scott gets his taco blown away by the Benatar, and Hawkeye tests the time travel and agonizingly misses seeing his family - we are off to time travel, or rather, time heist.
They do try to explain it, in hilarious fashion by referencing every time travel movie ever made, but it's still a bit confusing. Somehow they are going to go back into the past and change things and they somehow won't effect their own past - I think that was the gist of it.
And so we come to that electric moment, when they drop into the time vortex and end up in New York in the First Avengers Movie! Wow!
I have to say, I was pleasantly bowled over at this story telling approach - what an amazing tribute to the MCU and an absolute love letter to the fans. Yes, it is fan service, but in the very best of ways.
New York, one city, three stones...
Loved Professor Hulk's half assed imitation of his old self.
Nice to see the Ancient One again, a fascinating concept that she (and who knows how many others) was also battling aliens just out of camera range. Very Back to the Future 2ish, bullshit though it may be.
Speaking of asses, America's ass is in fine form. LOVED Cap whispering "Hail Hydra" to avoid a direct callback to Winter Soldier. Genius!
Stark and Lang screwing up and allowing Loki's escape with the tesseract, how conveeeenient - but at least it gave us a great scene with Tony and his dad. Very emotional, once again. I really can't understand the film snobs who insist that these movies are corporate and soulless. Well, they may be corporate - but they absolutely are created by people who love these characters and scene after scene brings all the good kind of feels.
Also can't fail to mention what may be Stan the Man's last cameo - just lovely! I'd like to think they shot another 50 or so generic cameos in front of green screen so we'll keep seeing Stan for a long time, but you never know - this might have been it.
Also can't forget, Cap longingly looking at Peggy. Great to see Ms. Atwell back in the MCU. Also very much appreciated Kevin Fiege's relenquishing TV Marvel characters being banned from the movies (except for Coulson) by showing us the original Jarvis from Agent Carter. Loved that show! (Especially the first season...)
Rody and Nebula and an idiot...
Seeing Peter Quill do his dance from a different perspective... I don't know... yeah, I guess he's kind of a goofball!
Here's the mission of real consequence - when old Nebula and old Gamora are still baddies and set things in motion. Loved seeing Karen Gillan's remarkable work here, playing the same character at two vastly different times in her life. Also great to see Gamora again, even if it was one that effectively was Gamora rebooted.
Return of the most underrated Marvel movie ever!
Of 21 films, the filmmakers looked long and hard at which films they should return to - Guardians of the Galaxy, the original Avengers, and of course... Thor: The Dark World! Huh?
I confess, I really like, borderline love, TTDW. I think it is easily the most underrated film in the MCU. Natalie Portman is great, her friend is hilarious, the film never gets boring (though the Either and the Dark Elves are a bit convoluted.). The best part is the third act, with all the different portals and dimensions - expertly directed, shot and cut together. Dark World rules!
Here, fat Thor goes from a joke to an anguished hero in the blink of an eye. Renee' Russo gets a big juicy scene with Hemsworth, nearly 5 times as many lines as she had in both of her Thor movies combined.
It all works - yes, once again it's lump in the throat time. What wouldn't any of us do to have another chance at a conversation with a parent who has passed away? Thanks to Endgame, we get two of these great scenes.
Also, great seeing Natalie Portman, though I suspect that her shot is unused footage from Dark World.
What We Love the Most
Easily the most difficult and least fun, though emotionally enthralling, sequence in this time travel heist is Natasha and Clint's return to Vormir for the Soul Stone.
The Red Skull gets to do his thing, and then we get our hearts ripped out as BW and Hawkeye duke it out trying to kill - themselves, so the other one can get the stone.
I have to say, I was kind of shocked at the final choice. But we know that both of them are the kind that would not hesitate to lay down their life for each other, let alone half the universe. Yes, it's perfectly within character for both of them.
Natasha's death is shocking and sad, and now after the movie has finished it's even more so because it appears it might be permanent. That would be an amazingly sad, but super strong, choice.
Hulk Straps it On
So they all get back (except for my girl new Nebula) and Tony Stark of course figures out how to build an Iron Man-ish Infinity Gauntlet.
Hulk straps it on and does his thing - burns half of his body - but it appears that it worked. When Clint's wife calls, it is tear inducing moment #73 in this movie.
And then the walls come crashing down when 2014 Thanos (along with back in the day Gamora and new flavor Nebula who's a prisoner) and his big ass ship come through the time portal and rain hellfire down on the Avenger's compound.
Lovely touch with the birds in the courtyard before it all goes to shit. Yes, the snap has been undone, and as our heroes dig out from underneath the rubble, the big moment we've all been waiting for is coming.
Nebula literally killing her old self is a very powerful and emotionally resonant moment - it was also very gratifying for me and cemented Nebs as my favorite character of the movie and perhaps of the whole MCU saga.
But First, this movie's version of Thor and Rocket and Groot touching down on Wakanda
All of these movies have that singular moment - that one electrifying instant where you want to throw your arms up and cheer and scream at the top of your lungs.
In Infinity War it was when Thor/Rocket/Groot landed and the Silvestri score hit - hard.
In this movie, it's when Thor is about to get killed by Thanos, and SOMEONE ELSE wields Mjolnir!
That's right, they've been hinting at it since Age of Ultron, but it's true - Captain America can lift the hammer! "I knew it!" screams Thor with glee, and the audience roars.
And then, the ultimate comic book movie geek-gasm!
With the crackling of static in Cap's ear, we hear it "Cap, it's me Sam... on your left"
Yet another absolutely electric moment and what follows is simply the greatest super-hero comic book movie splash page to ever come to life on the silver screen. So amazing it's hard to put into words - it literally makes the giant fight in Civil War seem quaint in comparison.
Yes, they dragged everyone and their mother out to fight this fight.
I got the chills, over and over and over as every super-hero you could ever imagine tumbled out of Dr. Strange's portals to join in. Black Panther! Wasp! Spider-Man! This was it - 11 years and 22 movies all leading to this moment!
Loved how much time and care was spent to give just about every fighter their moment in the spotlight.
Greatly enjoyed Carol Danvers return to the fray, though it would've been nice if she'd taken out Thanos' ship BEFORE it unloaded all the bad guys right?
This is the scene that I will have to watch again and again when it comes out on home video - I know I missed a ton of cool stuff in the background. Reminded me very much of another one of my favorite movies Ready Player One, in it's scope and attention to detail.
Tony's death is handled well, and yes, I once again got a little misty. But the real waterworks started at the funeral...
Return of the Marvel King (or How many endings can we cram into this?)
The funeral scene was awesome, the Happy and Morgan scene devastating. This was my first true blubbery cry, though there had been plenty of occasional manly tear streaks up until that point.
My wife was a little perturbed that Natasha didn't get a full funeral - but I thought the scene with Clint and Wanda was a lovely way to pay proper respect to both BW and the Vision.
Thor joining the (As)Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty hilarious, and also will be delightful to watch if Thor stays in James Gunn's future movie.
And finally, Cap heading off to put the stones back - which insures that everyone gets to keep their reality, right? This is pretty convoluted and confusing, but I guess I'm ok with it. Cap goes back to be with Peggy (which is a beautiful last scene of the film, very touching and sweet) but somehow everything that happened in the MCU doesn't change right?
In other words, the snap did happen - five years did pass (though why is Peter Parker's friend still in high school?) and all the strong story choices (Gamora's death, Natasha's death, etc.) - none of that gets undone, right?
That was my takeaway, so I hope that stays true. I admit it is a teeny tiny bit annoying (I guess it's in my nerd DNA to nitpick a little bit) that Cap gets to go off and take a life for himself, not that I blame him, and yet somehow he still lives in the same reality as the original MCU and we see him as an old man? So there were two Captain America's, one that we know that got frozen and unfrozen and was in the Avengers - and another one who showed up out of the blue on Peggy Carter's front doorstep and (presumably) prevented her from marrying that other guy, or having kids for that matter. Kind of strange.
Oh well, this is such a minor nitpick for me, truly it is. Avengers Endgame was absolutely wonderful, and somehow exceeded my expectations even though there were already sky-high to begin with!
I can't wait to get back to the theater and see this one again, and again!
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Okay, one final quibble - appreciate that they gave all the characters a shout out in the credits - but I HATED the wobbly mirror-like visages that floated and bobbed about the screen. Do it correct guys! I hate to say it, but easily the best credits sequence at the end of a franchise finale is the one they did for the Twilight movies. Beautifully shot and artfully crafted - these credits in Endgame, I hate to say it, looked like ass.
Don't want to leave on a down note, I did indeed LOOOOOVE this movie, so much that as of this moment it easily sits on top of my MCU rankings. I will have to wait a month or two before I finalize it's position on my list, I will be sure to update this post when I do!
