500 Days Of Film Reviews Avengers: Endgame... spoiler free
The universe has been devastated following Thanos’s brutal use of the powerful infinity stones. Can the Avengers and their remaining allies assemble once more to undo Thanos's actions?
Is It Any Good?
The beginning of Avengers: Endgame - the last film in Marvel’s Infinity Saga - takes us back to the chilling devastation of Infinity War. These first moments set the scene for a film that is less about conflict and violence (although there is plenty of that) and more about grief, guilt and the power of family.
In this way, Endgame feel less the second of a two part film and more a movie unto itself. Indeed, as befits its lengthy running time, several films co-exist here - a heist movie, a slapstick comedy, a sci fi adventure and an intimate character-driven drama about love and loss, despair and hope.
Most of what we have already seen in the trailers for Endgame plays out (in many surprising ways) during the film’s opening minutes. Bold narrative decisions are made - leaving me to wonder just what direction the movie would take.
However, there was never any doubt that I was in the safest of hands.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely,
their cast (and what a phenomenal cast this is) and crew have more than earned our confidence in their abilities. As a result, we can relax and enjoy this last chapter of the Infinity Saga.
The sense of an ending looms large across Endgame - as does the film’s desire to do right by its many heroes and its many, many fans. Incredibly, given the sheer number of beloved characters, the movie largely succeeds.
Of course, even a movie of Endgame’s length cannot afford to spend as much time with all of these iconic figures as we would, perhaps, like. The time flies by. Thankfully, however, everyone gets their moment in the sun.
Adding to the film’s tension, is the sense - often absent in the franchise’s previous films - that there are real stakes here. No one feels safe and the Russo brothers make us fear for the fate of our favourite characters.
At the same time, the film never toys with our emotions. You feel that everyone involved in Endgame respects this series as much as we do and we all want the same thing - to reach a satisfying conclusion.
To everyone’s credit, they succeed. There are shocks and surprises, brilliant moments of comedy, deeply emotional scenes, inspiring sequences and several times when you’ll likely want to punch the air with excitement.
Yes, you could point to plot holes or question the film’s overall narrative sense and, no, Endgame is not without flaws. However, this is a film that has been made with such love (for its story and for its fans) that any such criticisms fade into, well, dust.
Endgame feels like a momentous event in cinema - the culmination of an incredible feat of storytelling. I still don’t want this to be the end, but could not wish for a better way to say goodbye.
Random Observations
As this is the end of the Infinity Saga, there are no post or end credit scenes in Endgame. For Marvel completists, however, there are a few seconds of audio at the very end.
Have you seen Avengers: Endgame?
If you have, what did you think of this film. Let me know in the comments section below or let’s chat over on Twitter. You can find me @500DaysOfFilm