Avengers: Endgame (2019)
THIS IS COMPLETELY SPOILER FREE
Concluding a story being built over 11 years Avengers: Endgame was one of my most anticipated movies of the year but also one I was extremely nervous for. If this film didn't deliver it would have been devastating for the overall impact of this huge franchise which has been so well built up to this point, but it wouldn't be easy. This movie has to handle such a huge story with so many characters that it easily fills it's 3-hour runtime which is a lot of movie to handle and easily could have been too big for its own good. Luckily once again the Russo Brothers pull it all together creating another great edition in the MCU.
Concluding a story being built over 11 years Avengers: Endgame was one of my most anticipated movies of the year but also one I was extremely nervous for. If this film didn't deliver it would have been devastating for the overall impact of this huge franchise which has been so well built up to this point, but it wouldn't be easy. This movie has to handle such a huge story with so many characters that it easily fills it's 3-hour runtime which is a lot of movie to handle and easily could have been too big for its own good. Luckily once again the Russo Brothers pull it all together creating another great edition in the MCU.
And the most impressive thing about this film for me is how well it handles its runtime. Even though I normally like shorter movies due to the lack in quality most movies have, but I can handle a longer runtime if it is justified and well crafted like this movie is. The story is big enough that it is able to fill this runtime without adding extra filler or dragging at really any point. I was shocked as this film came to a close as it felt like a film an hour shorter than it actually was, this has stellar pacing and feels less bothersome to sit through than so many other movies that are half its runtime. With that said though I think plenty of audiences will disagree and feel bored simply because of how this film is set up. Unlike Infinity War that was filled with action from start to finish, there is a lot of this movie that is slow and calm. This is a modern epic that spends plenty of time in grief and hopelessness which I feel like will lose some but really worked for me. Seeing the world and these characters deal with the results of their failure in Infinity War was not only unique but impactful. One of the only issues I have with Infinity War was how it seemed the ending lacks any substantial consequences, but seeing the grief in the world and these characters give it more of a real impact and lasting effect. Even if the actual result gets changed it doesn't erase the trauma or pain that the world and these characters went through.
As I mentioned this is a modern epic not just in pacing and length but also in size, Infinity War was hyped up as the huge crossover event and it was huge but this film takes it to a whole new level. This movie has some incredible action scenes that are not only huge as far as their scale but also huge for the audience. Seeing these characters interact and go through their individual arcs mean something after the hours upon hours we have spent with them. I apologize for being vague but I really can't expand on that without giving away points in this film that I refuse to give up. This is a movie that you should go into as blind as possible especially if you are a fan of the MCU and these characters as there will be moments that make you jump out of your seat and get lost in their moments. I also like how unpredictable the plot of this movie is, it constantly defies expectations and it really felt like anything could happen at any turn. It never felt like this film was going through the motions or playing it safe which is really hard for most films to do.
The technical sides of this film are also of course incredible. The CGI almost always look impressive with only a few moments of awkward visuals that don't quite work. The score is also really solid, not quite to the level that Infinity War was at but it still plays well and brings together the sounds of the MCU into one solid audio experience. Of course, the acting is also really solid, by this point everyone is so well crafted in their performances with plenty becoming iconic roles for their actors. The one person I was nervous for was Brie Larson as Captain Marvel considering she was still figuring out her character in her solo film with no more chances to feel it out further between then and now, but she never stood out to me as awkward and fit right in with the other actors. This is not to say that the film is perfect though and I actually would put it below Infinity War and Captain Marvel (granted those are two of my favorites from this entire series). The main points that stood out to me were the middle portion of this film that does get pretty messy, where it still is overall impressive due to how big this film gets it still struggles with handling all of its plots at times and I think the jumping between stories could have been paced out better (to be fair I said the same about Infinity War when I first saw it but on a rewatch that issue went away, so that could be the case with this film on a rewatch also). I will also say that this film does create at least one major plot hole that really dug at my brain after seeing the film and really feels like a misstep in this otherwise well laid out story and I really hope that more plot holes don't come out as more people see the film.
Still overall Avengers: Endgame serves as not only a solid edition in the MCU but also a solid ending point for this period of the MCU. As a fan of this world, this movie has moments that meant something to me and I almost guarantee will mean something to you. The MCU will go down in history as one of the most impressive cinematic adventures ever done and this was the perfect icing on the cake for this series and these characters.