Entering the Endgame, the surviving heroes now linger in a pseudo-apocalyptic world where mankind grieves over the vanished. In a state of defeat, the Avengers splinter apart to their separate ways, each one losing their edge. It lingers for five years, before a one-in-fourteen-million chance emerges. Once the gang is aroused to the possibilities of undoing the damage and restoring what was lost, they assemble once more for a seemingly-outlandish scheme to steal the infinity stones from the past so they can seize control of their future.
Endgame is the dramatic counterpart to Infinity War, just as Kill Bill Volume 2 backfills the story for Kill Bill Volume 1. Endgame spends much of its middle acts capturing the characters at their lowest--Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr., dependable as ever) hangs up the suit and opts for a humble family life. Having lost his family, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) becomes a ninja-like vigilante, contrasting with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and her efforts to keep Shield glued together. Thor (Chris Hemsworth, displaying incredible flexibility in drama and comedy) lets it all go as he recedes to his new digs in Norway. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) mellows out. Only Captain America (Chris Evans) maintains the optimism to reunite all these pieces, all thanks to the sudden reappearance of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the breakthrough information he carries with him. Let us not forget that Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and War Machine (Don Cheadle) also become part of the team, and yes indeed, Captain Marvel (Brie Larsson) pitches in her help when most needed.
The Marvel universe now embodies dozens of characters, and even with half of them missing, the script takes the time to scrutinize the remaining leads as they experience fallout. The film is at its best with the dramatic weight bearing down on each hero as they gradually learn to rise from failure, and reconcile lingering heartaches with their loved ones (Tony Stark and his father, Thor and his mother, Scott Lang and his daughter, and even Rocket and his shipmates). Just like with Star Wars and The Fast and the Furious, this is a series about families, and we see how many families are torn apart, brought together, and ultimately patched following the damage caused by a tyrant who never had a family and created a fake one through conquest.
The most remarkable thing is that Endgame doesn't have to do so much heavy-lifting--as the twenty-second film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's simply the payoff for twenty-two films' worth of setups. Every film has contributed to the "endgame." Details, characters, plot progression are never wholly lost, retconned, or revised as the films progressed. With the Back to the Future inspired "time heist" going on, the film goes so far as revisiting old films to show new angles on past events and make certain connections that provide closure to certain character arcs. For the main Avengers team--Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow--this is their swansong and each character is sent off with a sense of gravitas. The result is a cascading catharsis. The emotions are what makes the film stand out, moreso than the humor (which doesn't hit its mark as well as previous films) or even the action.
Oh boy, there is action to behold and the final battle is a magnificent sight that'll satiate those who've sat through twenty-two films to see the end-all-be-all superhero brawl. When it happens, it's a magical, cathartic moment that reminds me why battles in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings seemed so grandiose and magnificent. I do have to call it out for having too many shots that are dark, confusing, and sloppily edited. It's also the mother of all deus ex machinas--the logic behind it eludes me.
The logic in the story overall is rather hard to grasp, especially since the writing seems to handwave our preconceived notions of causality and time travel, suggesting that the characters can screw with history all they want without consequence. I feel like it's more of a free pass for the writers and directors to skimp out on those details so we can buy into the larger twists. There are one or two parts where it felt like the writers painted themselves in corner and tried to patch over some plot holes in clunky ways. It is also easy to nitpick on how the world is portrayed, which is not quite apocalyptic enough considering half of all life was obliterated previously.
If you're going into this blindly without seeing the other twenty-one Marvel films, you may come out of it overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters, arcs, plotlines, and worlds that are braided together. If these movies were a TV series, then Endgame would be like the season three finale. But instead, it's the payoff for eleven years' worth of films. It is captured with steady and confident cinematography and editing. Props, costumes, sets, locales, and special effects look polished and pleasing, and aligns with past movies sublimely. Alan Silvestri's score sets the valiant mood and tempo as reliably as ever. A fair quality film, but your impression of it will hinge entirely on your familiarity with the series.
The uninitiated would undoubtedly just see a noisy mess in all of this, but for the fans who have kept up, this is your reward for being part of the MCU family--a truly epic and emotional experience that brings together every hero one last time to make everything right. It's not perfectly-written, perfectly-thought-out, or perfectly-balanced, but this is a case where the story overrides the plot for the better. The sheer catharsis and closure this film provides makes the last eleven years worth it. Thank you Avengers--everything is as it should be now.
4/5
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