On Saturday afternoon, I went in theaters to see the finale of the "Infinity Stones" story arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Endgame is the cinematic event of a generation, as the movie that 21 movies have built up to. I will do my best to explain my opinion of the movie, and I'll do my best to avoid spoilers. (For this one; expect many spoilers for Infinity War, because this is a direct continuation from that movie.)
The movie begins in 2018, very shortly after the Snap. If you've been living under a rock since April 2018, here's the short of it: Thanos has succeeded in gathering all six Infinity Stones, and has snapped his fingers to destroy exactly half of all life in the universe. That includes superheroes, and that's not counting all of the characters who died prior to the Snap, whether it's in Infinity War or in films that came before.
(For the record, everything I've written here is either shown in trailers, or a part of Avengers: Infinity War, so there aren't major spoilers for Endgame in these paragraphs. I've made sure of it.)
The remaining heroes are left to pick up the pieces. It is the first major battle that they lose. Tony Stark is trapped in space with Nebula (an ally to the Guardians of the Galaxy), aboard a spaceship that has run out of fuel, who knows how many lightyears away from Earth; Steve, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, Rocket and others are mourning the ones who have been lost. Getting together in support groups, trying to regain a sort of meaning to their lives... On his end, Hawkeye has changed radically, now acting as a vigilante.
After his plan was successful, Thanos has retired to a farm on a distant planet, content with his achievement. The Infinity gauntlet now broken, the six Infinity Stones still in his possession (or at least, so everyone assumes), enjoying life after his twisted modification to the universe.
With the addition of Rocket and Nebula to the roster, the Avengers may have a way to go to space and, who knows, fight Thanos and defeat him this time. There is a way to undo what's been done. However, this would require the Infinity Stones...
Meanwhile, in a different location, by a random lucky accident, Scott Lang returns from the Quantum Realm (sorry, spoilers if you haven't seen Ant-Man & The Wasp). His instinct, after seeing what the world has become, is to head to the Avengers' Headquarters with another idea on how to restore the universe. Loudly calling by the front gate for Steve and Natasha to let him in.
As these paragraphs imply, there is a time skip taking place between the realization of their defeat against Thanos and the moment where the heroes are ready to strike back. A trailer and some promotional material shows the heroes heading towards their destiny, in matching white and red outfits. This is it; this is the final phase. Their last chance to make everything right again. The risk is great: They could lose everything they haven't already lost.
If you've been following even slightly the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and even if you haven't, the title kind of says it all), this is a finale of sorts for the past 11 years' worth of movies. As a result, it has a lot of the beats of a standard finale; events from most past movies are referenced, remarks and nods are peppered in here and there. They feel at times like rewards for the persevering fans who've seen most or all of the films, but mostly they serve to further the impression that this is it, this is the end of a major story arc. And of course, if you're a fan, that knowledge helps you understand better many of the character motivations throughout this 3-hour film.
No, not kidding. This movie is 182 minutes long. No intermission. Hope you've got a strong bladder if you don't want to miss anything. If that can be a relief, for once there are no scenes cut into the end credits, so you can leave as soon as they start rolling, without fear of missing out on anything. (The employees at the theater I went to made sure to tell this to everyone before we walked in to sit.)
I do have a couple comments regarding the film. Big warning, if any kind of spoiler gets out, it could be things hinted at in the coming details.
-I like that the movie gives a bit more focus on some of the secondary heroes of past films. Nebula, in particular, gets a lot of screentime, and it's nice to see a new dimension to her after her transformation from antagonist to ally throughout Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2 and Infinity War.
-I also like that the film wraps up nicely some of its heroes' character arcs throughout the MCU. This treatment is reserved mostly to the original Avengers, as you can imagine, since they've been around for the longest time in the franchise. However, the culmination of each original Avenger's arc may not please everyone. Some details don't quite check out, some resolutions add a heap of new questions, and at least one will most likely be considered a VERY controversial decision on the Russos' part. I'll admit, that one annoyed me.
-As the finale for 22 films' worth of content, it is strongly advised that you see most of the previous films before coming to this one. Not just for the call-backs, but also to understand some of the characters and why they're there. Infinity War is practically a required watch. On my end, I still haven't seen Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Ant-Man & The Wasp or Captain Marvel, but I got through just fine. But if you want the best experience, I guess it's best to catch up on all of them in a way or another.
On that note, do you need to see Captain Marvel before seeing Endgame? No. You might like to so you can understand how Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel and where these amazing power levels came from, but ultimately she only appears for roughly 1/5th of the runtime of Endgame, and her role is unfortunately limited to a deus ex machina. She's just too powerful to be used any other way in this film.
-Somewhat spoilers, but among the many action scenes of this film, there's one where some women of the MCU get to kick ass together. The moment, while fun, is actually pretty short and lost in the midst of all that's going on. It feels a bit on-the-nose as well, rather contrived. I can't complain about the effort, it's a good intention, but it does feel forced. And sure, it's nice and all, but it's not all that much considering the male characters of the MCU still get the crux of the interesting character arcs in comparison.
-As you can expect, there are loads and loads of moments that reference events from the comics, events that weren't seen in the MCU yet. Some of them are major elements while others are just references; with some knowledge of the comics, there are some moments that become a lot funnier, others that become a lot more meaningful. I'll keep it to that.
-Last but not least, this movie becomes confusing. A lot goes on at the same time, in part because of the enormous cast of characters, but also because of the resolution of the story. Science-fiction fans will certainly love to see it all unravel, but people who overthink things (like me) will see more than a couple issues with the way things happen. It's, um.. complicated, messy, and the in-universe explanation might not please everybody. I would love to explain what I mean, but I am doing my damndest to say nithing major about it.
But ultimately, it's a fun ride, and a well-deserved finale for the MCU's Infinity arc. Should you go see it? If you have been following the MCU, you might as well! If you haven't, first, how? I want to know your secret for keeping away from a franchise that has taken over the world like few series have before. Second, if you really haven't seen any films, this is a really bad place to start. And merely catching up on a few will not be enough. This movie really is meant to be seen after you've seen most of the previous films (I would say more than half, but having seen 80 to 100% of the past films will make for a better viewing experience.) If you've been casually catching up with the MCU, like I did (seeing movies as you come across them on TV, or buy DVDs or use streaming services here and there to get them, depending on the mood at the moment), you might be fine in the long run.
Fun fact: When I went, the theater room the film was screened in used the 3D version of the film during the previous screening, but was supposed to have the 2D version for the one my mother and I went to. This had not been changed for our screening, so for five minutes we had the blurry image of the 3D version. Thankfully, it was switched back pretty quickly.
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