Avengers: Endgame Review

With the spoiler ban lifting today, here’s our reviews of Avengers: Endgame. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t watched the film (obviously).

I’m no Marvel fan, so I really can’t judge most of the characters’ personal storylines, neither in this film nor in the MCU. I’ve watched several of the previous films, so I was more-or-less familiar with the characters (some more than others), but that’s just about it for me. In fact, I wasn’t even expecting to go see Endgame in the cinema, let alone twice.

And yet.

Some of the reviews of the film call it a “love letter to the fandom”, and the truth is, you don’t need to be a Marvel fan to see just what a love letter it is. You don’t need to be a Marvel fan to feel that pure satisfaction at the appearance of all the allies over the years and the “Avengers, Assemble!” as the battle begins. You don’t need to be a Marvel fan to feel the power of the female superheroes gathering behind Captain Marvel (though you may need to be a woman to fully appreciate it). You don’t even need to care much for Marvel to actually enjoy this three-hour-long movie enough to not notice the time flying by.

For the most part, I really did enjoy it enough to not notice the time. Hell, I enjoyed it enough to go watch it again, in IMAX 3D (more about that later). And it’s not a common thing for me. Even with the Marvel films that I did watch, I spent most of the time criticising the characters, the plot, and how cliche it all was. I was never one for “just enjoying” anything I watch. But honestly? This one I actually quite enjoyed.

Some moments felt too long, or predictable, or downright stupid. Captain America in the support group – while the sentiment was nice, that scene was far too long (and sappy; he was far more believable with Natasha in the following scene at HQ). The restaurant bit with the Hulk – again, I like the sentiment, but it was a bit stretched. Thor’s entire storyline was irritating – even for Thor (come on, quit the whining, you twat). Captain America fighting himself – nice, but again, too long. The whole Hawkeye/Natasha “no I’m the one sacrificing myself!” scene was sweet at first, but by the time it ended I was just rolling my eyes (far too long). In general, some of the fight sequences were just too long, especially in the final hour of the film. These scenes may work in full length in a two-hours movie, but in three hours packing these scenes together just starts to feel like too much.

And as said, some of the scenes ended up in the stupidest way. Especially the going-back-in-time scenes. The blue girl obviously knew she and Thanos and the green girl were looking for the stones in 2014, so why the fuck wouldn’t you tell the rest of the group instead of screwing up the mission (Tony is smart enough to have known not to let her travel back, thus solving their problem)? The Hulk being furious about taking the stairs was obviously there after Avengers 1, and an angry green giant crashing through your building isn’t the sort of things you just forget, so why not go another way or at least leave with the Tesseract quickly? I get that it was done for some scenes to happen (Tony meeting his father, Captain America seeing the woman he loves, and the massive Avengers vs bad guys battle), but come on, there had to have been a better way to make it happen. And not that I’m judging or anything, but where the hell was FRIDAY when the blue girl was activating the Quantum Tunnel again (you know, just a warning to the gang would’ve been nice), and how the hell did she get Thanos and his people through without any Pym Particles (as she obviously used her future counterpart’s to go forward in time)? And how the hell did the stones have no effect on Thanos in Infinity War, but suddenly they can fry him and anyone who tries to use them in Endgame?

The time travelling approach didn’t make sense either, but that’s a whole other story.

That being said, a lot of these questions don’t necessarily come up while you’re watching the movie, which says something about how captivating it is (not the long scenes though – I wished I could fast forward some bits while I was watching). And there are so many utterly gorgeous scenes, both in terms of cinematography and emotionally. Seeing Tony with the blue girl was adorable, and later on his scenes with his daughter were utterly beautiful. Scott’s reunion with his own daughter was really touching. The connection between Natasha and Captain America in that Avengers HQ scene was lovely. Tony talking to his father feels even sweeter now that I’ve watched Iron Man and I know how little contact he had with his dad. And the final scenes, all the way from the end of the battle to the end of the film… well, I was crying my eyes out. And that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say about a Marvel movie.

But then again, I never thought I’d be cheering along with the rest of the audience at a Marvel film either. And I did. Honestly, it was impossible not to cheer when one by one, each gang showed up through the round bright gates, joining the Avengers in the final battle against Thanos – the war to end all wars, so to speak – all armed and ready to beat the crap out of these people. Everyone coming together to take a final stand, and Captain America’s “Avengers – Assemble!” was easily the high point of the film, and it was absolutely impossible not to be joyous about it, even if you’re not a Marvel fan. The truth is, this scene has to be one of the most satisfying scenes in history of filmmaking. And as a woman, seeing the women taking a stand together, all helping Captain Marvel deliver the gauntlet, was truly empowering. There was definitely a sense of pride and achievement at that point.

In the end of the day, Avengers: Endgame was the peak of the last 11 years, and Marvel knew that damn well. And anyone who watches it knows it, too. Because Marvel fan or not, geek or not, comic book lover or not – everyone can feel it, just sitting in the theatre, watching the film.

Final Score: 8/10; surprisingly good for Marvel.

---

*I did promise a word on 3D IMAX, so here we are: seeing this film on an IMAX screen is just about the ideal way to watch it. Having a sense of depth was absolutely wonderful, although I wasn’t quite feeling the 3D much in some of the scenes. In places like Vormir, where snow/ashes keep falling throughout the scene, the 3D is extremely present and you feel like you might get dirty with that snow/ash yourself. In other scenes, like the ones on Asgard, you hardly see a difference between 3D and 2D. In the end of the day, it really depends on what’s happening in the scene and where it is set.

Still, watching it in IMAX is significantly better throughout the entire film. This was the first full-length feature I watched in IMAX, which made it even clearer to me just how much better IMAX is. It’s probably no surprise, since the film was shot entirely with an IMAX digital camera, but watching it in IMAX just feels right, kind of like playing a nowadays music track through a surround sound system (as opposed to old stereo tracks, where you hear different parts of the song in each ear, which is extremely annoying). It’s not that there’s anything missing in a regular cinema (I think); it’s just that the moment the film starts, you’re drawn completely into it, far more than you are in a regular cinema. The screen fills your entire view, the film’s audio becomes nearly all you hear, and even the people getting out in the middle of the movie seem like tiny spots rather than actual people (unless they’re in the couple of rows in front of you). 

In the end of the day, IMAX is an immersive experience, and you can just tell this movie was made for it. And watching it in 3D IMAX is truly the perfect way to see the film.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Thank you, Marvel, for these eleven years!