Avengers: Endgame (2019): Written
by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by the Russo
brothers. Starring: EFFING. EVERYONE. Running Time: 181
minutes. Based on the comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Rating: 3.5/4
What does it all mean? After 22
movies spread out over 11 years and astronomical sums of money both
spent and made on the massive, global juggernaut that is the MCU,
what is left to us now that Endgame has, well, ended the game?
Whatever comes next for Marvel, its competitors, and the whole
concept of shared cinematic universes, there will never again be
anything quite like the drawn-out experience that has now come to a
very specific end. The MCU has inspired devotion and hatred in equal
measures of intensity, with the only point of agreement between both
sides being that it is something truly impossible to avoid or ignore.
But to what end? How deep will these roots reach, and will be good
or bad for film-making as an industry?
I feel wholly inadequate to the task
of tackling any of these bigger questions. Set aside the fact that I
am neither a rabid fanboy nor a devoted hater of the MCU, it's also
way too soon; I still need to digest the movie I just saw.
Now don't worry, I'm not going to get
into spoiler territory. What would be gained anyway by trying to
recount the plot? Anyone who cares enough has either already seen
the film or knows more or less what will happen; after The Snapture,
only the original six Avengers, plus a few extras, are left behind,
and they have to find a way to deal with the fallout and figure out a
way to respond, if there is one to find. And they proceed to do
that, through a runtime that, yes, is extensive, but one that is
thoroughly earned by the end.
Fittingly, the bulk of that time is a
devoted send-off to the original six members of the Avengers squad
(though Bruce Banner is ultimately left a bit short). Whole
sequences- some short, some extensive- center around each of them
revisiting or reconsidering key moments from their past, reflecting
on how much has changed within and around them. This, in turn,
inevitably draws the audience in to a similar level of reflection- a
lot has happened to us, too, as we've watched this group battle all
manner of magical, powerful, or fantastical being. The characters
and actors have changed, and so have we, and the film's awareness and
embrace of this is what will make it deeply emotionally satisfying
for all of us who've been on this ride from the beginning. This,
however, may also make the film too dense and plodding for those who
do not feel any emotional connection to the characters; Endgame
will convert no haters, that much I feel safe in saying.
But oh, what a final ride this is, and
I can't help but feel a certain bittersweetness in knowing that this
original squad will never again assemble, at least not in the same
way. The best of the movies will always be there, but at last, there
is nothing left to anticipate or build towards. Much like the
conclusion of The Last Jedi two years prior, there is, for the
first time forever, the sense that the stories and characters from
this world are free to go just about anywhere from here. That the
possibilities of what could come next truly are endless.
Now, whether or not Marvel will
actually capitalize on that in a satisfying way remains to be seen,
but for now, let's enjoy the panoramic spread of all this movie
offers up for our viewing pleasure. Endgame seeks to cram in
pretty much everything, from the small to the inexorably vast, and in
my eyes, it nearly always pulls it off. There are many moments, many
shots, many lines of dialogue that will get audiences howling with
laughter or cheering with aplomb.
But what will give the movie real
heft, in the end, is its relentless focus on providing moments of
closure, or redemption, or whatever was needed for the original cast.
I won't delve into the specifics here, but it hardly counts as a
spoiler to say beforehand that the biggest resolutions surround
Ironman and Captain America, since that is what literally everyone
has been predicting forever. I found both to be excellently
well-done, each one fitting for the particulars of two cases where
the actors and their personas have become synonymous with both their
individual characters and the Marvel brand as a whole.
Beyond those two, though, I think I
personally was most moved by the final big moments given to Hawkeye
and Black Widow, both of whom have, like Bruce Banner, tended to get
rather shortchanged over the years. I feel Jeremy Renner has ended
up forgotten far too often- no one was ever tuning in to the MCU to
see the latest exploits of Hawkeye, Japanese Yakuza Destroyer- so I
was glad this movie gave him a chance to remind viewers that, oh
yeah, there's a reason he was nominated for an Oscar for The Hurt
Locker. Johansson gets a scene with Steve Rogers early on that
allows her, with minimal dialogue, to give us a far better sense of
who Black Widow is than an Age of Ultron flashback ever could,
and it might have my favorite usage of a peanut butter sandwich yet
shown on the big screen.
The most unexpected and unique
treatment may be reserved for Thor, though, and while viewer mileage
may vary, I personally loved every second of this, erm, “new and
improved” King of Asgard, and the doors left open for him going
forward is definitely what excites me the most. Paul Rudd's Ant-Man
is also one of the survivors, and his effectiveness in his scenes as
very much an audience POV figure is a reminder that he might be one
of the most underappreciated of the Avengers crew so far; a
post-Snapture reunion with his daughter in the beginning of the film
carries Steve Rogers/Tony Stark levels of pathos, but unlike the
latter, was something I was entirely not expecting.
If one character gets the sort of
turnaround many were not anticipating, though, it was Nebula. Given
that she was originally not supposed to outlive the very first
Guardians movie, she's come a very, very long way, and if Guardians
2 wasn't enough to get her a solid fan following, Endgame
should do the trick.
Endgame is a massive, carefully
sculpted canvas with a ton of colors, tones, and themes thrown up
onto it. It is everything people love and hate about the current
blockbuster scene. It is maybe half-a-dozen movies crammed into one,
and it is a testament to the dedication of the literal army behind
its creation that the whole thing doesn't fly off the rails. But
then again, why should that surprise any of us? This whole franchise
effort is the work of countless artists and creators over years, all
of whom have put immense effort into making us laugh, cheer, and cry.
Why discount the end product as worthless pop culture? Endgame,
and indeed the entire MCU, is
an example of how the best human art can be collective just as often
as it is individual, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.
-Noah Franc
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