Avengers: Endgame review – A masterpiece that honours both the past and future of the MCU

“A perfect movie to not only say goodbye to an 11 year storyline, but to also propel the rest of the MCU into the future.”

In honour of the Russo Brothers’ wishes, this spoiler review has hung back until today (Monday 6 May), otherwise known as the day that the spoiler ban is lifted! So prepare for an all out review of this monster of a movie that ties up the loose ends of 22 movies from Marvel Studios. I welcome you to ScreenHeads‘ Avengers: Endgame review…

The movie as a whole really messes with our expectations. Within 15 minutes, a lot happens that leaves us both intrigued and also left wondering what is going to happen for the next 2 and 3 quarter hours; Tony Stark and Nebula are saved by Captain Marvel. Captain America has a shave. The remaining Avengers go after Thanos and find he has used the stones again but this time to destroy them, which ends in Thor going for the head finally to…kill him. That’s the first minuscule section of the film, and then we are thrust into a five year time jump. You literally have no idea where the film could go from this point as it breaks the traditional formula. From the jump we see each hero adjusting in different ways to life where half of the universe is gone, then Scott Lang reappears and has a solution to everyones problems – using the Quantum Realm to travel through time, take the infinity stones from different points in history and use a new infinity gauntlet to wield the stones and bring everyone they lost back. This thrusts out heroes into an adventure that sees us visiting different corners of the MCU’s history.

First off, each actor brings their A-game and delivers different performances that compliment each other. Every hero has an arc in this film that fits the ending of The Infinity Saga and their journey through the franchise. Robert Downey Jr’s Stark wants to save everyone but not lose his daughter – who was conceived after the decimation – through messing with time travel and the infinity stones. Chris Evans’ Cap/Steve Rogers wants to make things right as he feels responsible for the team failing to stop Thanos as he broke off from from them and the law years previously. Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow wants to bring back the family of heroes that helped her become more than an assassin with blood on her hands. Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye – not seen since Captain America: Civil War – wants to bring back the family he lost through the decimation, which has led him down the path of becoming a vengeful assassin, much in like with his Ronan identity from the comics. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor…just wants to drink, gain weight and forget his duties and past, but under that humorous element of the character is Thor’s desperation to avoid responsibility and not let anyone down. Mark Ruffalo’s Banner, now a hybrid of himself and Hulk that is known as Professor Hulk in the comics, wants to do the honourable thing and use his noggin’ for good and to also give a plausible, effective explanation for how time travel works that comes off as pretty unique: whatever you do in the past simple creates an alternate timeline elsewhere, not effecting the future you came from.

I think it’s fair to say that each original Avenger takes the limelight in this film. Nothing against the rest of the hero line-up that spends a considerable amount of time in the film, but they’re only here to help move the story along e.g. Scott Lang’s connection to the quantum realm and Nebula’s connection to Thanos. Yes, they’re necessary but they aren’t the emotional centres of this film like our original Avengers.

We get A LOT of fan service through this story. We see hidden easter eggs and nods to the film series’ past as we venture to set pieces from the likes of Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of The Galaxy. They make this entire story worthwhile. Everything from the quick look at Hank Pym’s original Ant-Man helmet from the comics to Cap getting annoyed with his own ‘I could do this all day’ catchphrase is just brilliant. You can tell that the Russo Brothers really wanted the fans grinning from ear to ear for the films gigantic three hour run time.

Josh Brolin’s Thanos was very much the central character of Avengers: Infinity War, and with so much exposure in that film we get a lot less of him here. We of course see Thor behead him in the first section and then see him again throughout to build up to the film’s climactic battle, but his absence allows room to see our heroic roster develop properly one last time.

The tone of the film is so mixed. This usually is a downfall but it is done perfectly here. Messing around with the elements of time travel, space travel and the MCU’s history is the cause of many laughs through the film, but it is also the cause of some tears. Steve seeing Peggy Carter through that window. Tony finally getting to have a conversation with his father man to man. Thor being able to speak to his mother on the day he knows she will be killed. Barton and Romanoff battling it out to sacrifice themselves to get the soul stone which ends in the latter bowing out of in an honourable way. It’s all a beautiful way to remind us of how much our heroes have lost over their history and also reminds us how far they will go to do what is right. Perfect the original Avengers’ send off film. The death of Black Widow was not expected, especially half way through the film, but it felt right. the way she is in this film is a far cry from her first appearance in Iron Man 2 and we get to see how human she has become. She dies a true hero, showing her coming full circle from the loner assassin of Nick Fury.

Once the stones are acquired, we get Professor Hulk wielding the new infinity gauntlet (which makes logical sense as explained in the film) as he snaps everyone back into existence. It is confirmed to have worked moments later as Barton gets a call off his wife, but we immediately forget the fact that the universe is whole again thanks to a version of Thanos from 2014 being brought to the present day with his alien armada thanks to the evil Nebula from the same year. This is performed exquisitely. We, and the characters, get exactly what is wanted and we forget about it moments later thanks to a big ass conflict that blows everything out of the water. Executed smartly in my opinion, and it makes the next section of that film the bit more satisfying.

The initial fight between Thanos and the big three (Stark, Cap and Thor) is exciting. You are basically waiting for someone to bite the dust. The fight also gives us moments to cheer about. Cap finally wielding Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir (as hinted in Age of Ultron). Thor in his usual outfit once more. Even Thanos announcing that for once, he is going to really make it personal and rip Earth apart for The Avengers’ peskiness. The fight goes on until it is just Cap against Thanos and his HUGE army. He is about to take them on and then the best moment of the film. Every Marvel character and their dog returns in a beautiful sequence that just gives you chills no matter how many times you watch it. In one frame you have a gazillion sling-ring wormholes open and each hero stepping through them ready to fight. Then you finally, after 11 years, get the iconic ‘Avengers Assemble!’ that takes us into the all out war with The Mad Titan. If you weren’t smiling whilst watching this section of the film then maybe you’re more of a DC person, and I feel sorry in that you probably won’t ever get a moment like this from your franchise (burn). The CGI, scope and management of characters through the final battle is breathtaking. Every returning hero gets a moment to shine, which isn’t an easy feat when you figure how many of them there are.

The final battle once again brings us the big three fighting Thanos, and this time you just KNOW someone isn’t making it out alive, and that’s exactly what we are met with. Just as Thanos wrestles with Iron Man, throws him off, speaks his catchphrase of the film ‘I am inevitable’, he clicks his fingers and we find that Stark has committed the ultimate middle finger act to the villain of the MCU. Having scurried the infinity stones onto his own armour-inspired gauntlet, Tony Stark, the man who started the MCU, says one iconic line that he has became oh so known for. “And I…am…Iron Man”. *Click*.

The explanation from Banner earlier on that a mere human wouldn’t survive a click of the fingers with the infinity stones tells us one thing about the moment Stark clicks his fingers: he’s not going to survive. I think it is fair to say that that piece of exposition from Banner was a nod to someone of human blood was going out with a gauntlet on their arm.

We get a heartbreaking ending for Tony Stark in this film. from Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts telling him he can rest now knowing he gave it his all for the universe to his funeral that shows everyone in the MCU, including Harley Keener from Iron Man 3, Stark gets the send off he deserves. It’s the most emotional and poignant ten minutes that the MCU has ever produced.

We then shuffle on to Steve Rogers goodbye eventually, and this one was a tad unexpected seeings as we lost another primary cast member only minutes earlier. Rogers is tasked with returning the infinity stones to their original places in time and then return in just five seconds…five seconds later he doesn’t (is it just me who realised he wasn’t coming back the moment Banner starting counting down to his return?). Instead, we get an aged Steve sitting nearby on a bench, waiting to hand over the Captain America title to Sam Wilson/Falcon. Steve got to live the life he really wanted, which the writers were able to pull off amazingly. Everything from the make-up, acting and the camera looming over Rogers’ wedding band just long enough for ourselves, and the newly appointed Cap, to wonder who the lucky woman is is executed smartly. We then end the film on a heartbeat-skipping moment of seeing Steve in the early 1900’s with Peggy Carter, finally having that dance they promised each other at the end of The First Avenger before he became a frozen capsicle. It’s great. It makes sense. It fits Rogers’ story perfectly.

Now, this film is just incredible, however it does have it’s downfalls. What film doesn’t? The humour surrounding Thor’s weight gain is drawn out. It almost makes the hero simple comic relief for most of the film. Even when he is about to fight Thanos and he goes into his battle gear, you expect him to go ripped again for the third act but instead he is left with a silly design that doesn’t do the moment justice.

The inclusion of Captain Marvel is almost unnecessary. The hero was pretty much used as a easy way to save Stark and Nebula and then destroy Thanos’ ship in the third act. We were promised that Carol Danvers would be the most powerful hero amongst the roster and I’m afraid eight minutes of screen time doesn’t cut the Kree-Made mustard.

The explanation of ‘changing history will make an alternate timeline instead of messing with the future’ is made quite easy to follow, but unfortunately the film doesn’t follow that rule completely. Pre-Infinity War Thanos is able to go into the future to fight the Avengers, however that technically isn’t his future as he is a part of the new timeline from the moment Nebula, War Machine, Black Widow and Hawkeye arrive in his time to take the power stone. The same applies for Steve Rogers; living at least 60 years in a different timeline with Peggy Carter must surely stop him from coming back to the present he knew. Time wimey stuff is hard to do justice but..big, big, gaping plot holes here.

All in all, this is a perfect movie to not only say goodbye to an 11 year storyline, but to also propel the rest of the MCU into the future. A truly easy three hour watch that goes by fleetingly and leaves you wanting to go back and watch it again. The plot holes are there but the scale and emotional value of every single minute makes it easy to forgive. I look forward to seeing how Avengers: Endgame somehow effects the future of the franchise.

Score? Easy – 9.6/10.

Avengers: Endgame is in cinemas everywhere now.