Avengers Endgame – As I reflect……
3 Weeks before the Avengers movie trailer started popping up all over YouTube, I noticed a rather very strange pattern. The final chapter of Avengers wasn’t being marketed as aggressively as the 1st Avengers. Nor was any buzz being created as Marvel studios had done in the past.
When I asked my hardcore avenger fan-friends, the response was, “Does Disney even need to market this movie after all these releases?” And they were right. After all the financial box-office success that Disney & Marvel studios has enjoyed, I had no doubt they were right.
In fact if you look at the top 10 marvel movies and how much they have grossed
- Avengers: Infinity War – $2.04 Billion
- The Avengers – $1.5 Billion
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – $1.4 Billion
- Black Panther – $1.3 Billion
- Iron Man 3 – $1.2 Billion
- Captain America – $1.1 Billion
- Captain Marvel – $1.09 Billion
- Spider-Man 3 – $890 Million
- Spider-Man: Homecoming – $880 Million
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – $863 Million
The total itself is a staggering $12.409 Billion.
However, I couldn’t shake off the feel that this time round the final chapters of the Avengers felt more like a very secretive gathering of its cult members & not a movie for the general public. And only those who were given the invite, would get to know what was truly happening. And added to all this – the movie trailer itself was very mysterious (thankfully). Given that most of the studios nowadays share the entire movie through a trailer (which I seriously do not understand the logic behind it) aka Hobbs & Shaw (or any F&F trailer) – I was glad that finally one studio had the common sense not to leak the whole movie out.
Both Marvel & Disney ensured that level of secrecy and privacy was so strong – that even rottentomatoes didn’t have any reviews, updates, ratings or even opinions being shared on its website. On top of that it seems that the studio, the producers & directors shot multiple endings with multiple scripts being purposefully leaked out to the public so that general public that loved leaking movie endings wouldn’t be sure as to which ending was the right ending.
Sadly, in a day and age where nothing can be kept hidden for too long in the Internet world – details did leak.
And so…yesterday, the first details were out and almost everyone said one common thing:
- “The movie made me cry”
- “The movie was nothing like the predecessor”
- “This movie was emotional”
And so I mentally prepared myself for an emotional movie with an emotional storyline. And this is where the movie review begins
Avengers Endgame – The Movie Review
I finally made sure I got myself a seat on the 1st day, 1st show of the Avengers final chapter. And here I am in the movie theatre waiting for the movie starts.
The movie begins with the broken fragments of what was shown in the trailer….
- Hawkeye and his family…
- Tony Stark and Nebula…with Tony saying his final goodbye….
- And then…voilia… Captain Marvel comes in….
- Then the camera moves to Captain America, earth and Tony Stark coming down to planet earth, the emotional reunion and reality that the Avengers lost their team members.
The next scene is where all the avengers are sitting together counting their losses. What surprised me here was Tony Stark being old, the spirit of the avengers broken and the entire team destroyed in their morale. More than that…. Tony was totally broken. Totally broken. It was actually surprising to see him like a broken old man – something that wasn’t visible in any of the previous Marvel movies. In the past he looked like an invisible, unstoppable & witty James Bondesque kind of character who will never give up no matter what. However, this time round – he looked like he had enough.
Captain Marvel also made her entry into the Avengers universe but personally speaking – her character, her presence & her contribution in the movie was….hardly anything worthwhile. And with what was shown in the previous movie, I expected her to be some what so critical and crucial to the movie that I felt major screen time would be dedicated to her.
I was wrong.
Back to movie.
Right in the beginning itself
And what happened next came as an absolute and total surprise to me – the entire team or whatever was left of it – landed on the planet where Thanos was there…and they actually captured him!
Thanos was nothing but remnant of his previous glory. He looked more like a farmer version of Shrek doing his work and minding his own business…. Well that was until the avengers attack him…. literally attack him…. chopped off his arm that had the stones retrived….. Nothing.
Seems that after destroying the worlds, he also destroyed the stones because he didn’t want the immense power of the stones to corrupt any single life form because with it, the power could make anyone invincible and then cause incalculable harm. So after destroying the worlds – he destroyed the stones… for good.
And then before you know it….. Thor with one single swipe… chopped off Thanos’s head and that was the end of him.
I sat there wondering…. Er…. thats it?
Movie over?
Well…. That was exactly when the movie began.
So without getting into too much detail….. Let me outline the entire movie with these bullet points….
Avengers Endgame in a Nutshell
- The earth has lost 50% of its population & the avengers are totally disbanded
- Ant man appears out of the quantum space, he meets up with Captain America & the remaining few avengers to convince them about Quantum Space and creating a machine that can go back into the past – more like a time machine so as to change the series of the events in the past and correct the future.
- Tony Stark has a baby girl which makes him very endearing
- Captain America tries to convince Tony Stark of the time machine but Tony Stark is having none of it. He literally states that he is not prepared to take any adventurous risks.
- Oh….did I tell you that the HULK is now a full Time Hulk – so its the brains & personality of Bruce Banner but the physique of Hulk – like he says – the best of both worlds.
- Since Tony Stark says no to creating the Time Machine they approach the next big brains in the movie – Bruce Banner, who after a bit of convincing – says yes.
- Tony Stark being Tony Stark and yes – the fact that he held himself responsible for the death of Peter Parker, even though he said no, keeps fiddling around on his advanced level AI computer network to see how one can possibly create the perfect environment for time travel… and lo & behold, he succeeds in doing it
- The avengers manage to bring the Time Travel machine together however with comedic results aka Antman and his gimmicks
- Tony Stark comes back to join the Avengers and help them set the course right this time round (again)
- HULK going to get Thor back is the most comedic scene in the movie.
- Thor is totally out of shape and this brings about countless laughters
- Black Hawk’s Character is really dark, hurt, cold blooded & vengeful. But as expected, Black widow convinces him to come back.
Avengers Endgame – What I loved about the movie
- The storyline this time round is pretty suspenseful.
- The script is engaging and intelligent
- The dialogues were very entertaining
- The dept & effort that was made into characterization was truly commendable
- In fact the question that engages the viewer is the dilemma what Tony Stark goes through – Would you take a gamble to save the world and risk what is most important and precious to you – your family? Your loved ones? Your children? A perfect family life to save the world?
- The movie is peppered with humorous bits all throughout with Antman & the Hulk being the class clowns. Oh and can you guess the biggest clown among them all – Surprise – Surprise – Its Thor!
- The central crux of the movie is how to get the 6-stones all at once and how 6 groups are sent to make this happen. The catch however here is – if anyone of them fails – all fail and everything is lost
- Banner visits the Sanctum Sanctorum and convinces the Ancient One to give him the Time Stone
- The characters fighting themselves or showing two sides of their personalities (when they go back to the past) was seriously entertaining
- Thanos of the past intercepting the Avengers into the future really made the movie reach its climax
- The war scene is seriously epic – more like Lord of the Rings meets Star Wars
- Out of all the people Iron Man screws up getting the stone but as you watch the movie, you realize the reason.
- Peter Quill or Star Lord getting punched while dancing
- Nebula telling Gamorra why she fell for Peter Quill – because it was either him or a tree
- Director Favreau’s cameo
- The direction they took Thor’s personality
- The end AFTER all the credits rolled.
Avengers: Endgame – What surprised me?
- The movie is emotional in its nature
- There is a lot of emphasis on family, relationships, love, sacrifice & family values
- The amount of work, effort, time and perfection that was involved in being true to the script along with the painstaking details that went into bringing to life the past scenes (when the heroes go into the past battles and relive those past movies scenes) was baffling! I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I can only imagine how much effort & time must have gone into ensuring each scene was executed to perfection
- Hulk not being able to handle the power of the stones but Iron Man being able to do the same
- Thor obtaining the past version of his hammer, Mjolnir.
- Captain America being able to call on Thor’s Hammer – that was a shocker!
- Michael Douglas is shown young which is a wow
Avengers Endgame – Touching moments in the movie
- Tony Stark with his daughter
- Tony Stark with his Father Howard Stark (when he goes to the past)
- Thor meeting his dead mom in the past and his mother not judging him for his failures
- Iron Man hugging Spiderman (remember when Tony Stark was opening the door and when Peter Parker thinks its a hug – Tony tell him, he is only opening the door)
- Iron Man’s death & obituary with ‘Proof that Tony Stark has a heart’
- Rogers chooses to travel back and live his life in the past with Carter. He appears as an elderly man and passes his shield onto Sam Wilson.
Avengers Endgame – What is worth watching again
- Tony Stark with his Father (when he goes to the past)
- Thor meeting his dead mom in the past and his mother not judging him for his failures
- Captain America versus Captain America while admiring his own butt 😛
- How the entire movie was edited
- The Iron-Man inception moment with Captain America
- Natasha & black arrow go yo the same place – where they have to jump to get the stone (thanos threw his daughter to get the stone)
- The Epic War Scene in the end
- The single moment when all the women super heroes unite to protect Spiderman’s inability to protect the stones
Avengers Endgame – Just so that you know….
- Product placement is pretty intelligent with Audi (driven by Iron Man) and PUBG taking the top slots
Avengers Endgame – Drawbacks of the movie
- Captain Marvel
- Captain Marvel’s presence in the movie
- How Captain Marvel destroys Thanos ship in the end
- The hype created in the trailers about Captain Marvel and the role she would play in the movie
- Did I say Captain Marvel?
Avengers Endgame – So Moment of Truth
The Avengers Endgame is a movie made for the hardcore Avenger fans – those fans who dedicated their last 10 years into watching, analyzing and studying each and every marvel movie & franchise. This movie is the culmination of all the hard work, the effort, the creativity, the time, the heart & soul that each and every participant of the Marvel Universe put into making the Marvel Universe a movie magic reality.
Even though the movie is 3 hours – you will not feel time pass by. And to be frank, even if they come out with an extended version of 6 hours – I am pretty sure each and every Avengers fan would sit through it and watch it. It is that intricate and that much enjoyable.
But…. since there has to be a BUTT…. If you are a normal moviegoer or normal average avengers fan – this would be an average movie with is good but not great. Primarily because there is so much and I mean SO MUCH to be added into each and every scene to the point the movie felt rushed.
It is but obvious that the directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo had the most difficult, more pressurized & most challenging undertaking to ensure their final masterpiece would be one for the ages. And I can tell you without a doubt – they deserve the respect, the praise and the honor of the ages.
There is always a once in a life time movie that comes and leaves it mark on a generation. You had the Star Wars (the 70’s George Lucas one), the Matrix trilogy, the Lord of the Rings and now….The Avengers.
All I can conclude with is what I stated before….. To the normal moviegoer, this is a good movie – nothing great as it involved too many plots, sub-plots and too many loose ends that had to be closed from the previous movies of the past 10 years. However, For any hardcore Avengers Fan this movie is without a doubt the greatest gift they can ever asked for.
To the Rossou brothers – Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, I hope you get an oscar for your efforts. If not, I hope you are swimming in a pool of a gazillion avenger dollars.
Thank you for everything you have done for us Marvel & Avengers fans.
Avengers Endgame – Overall rating
7.8 out of 10
Loy Machedo
PS – You will have to watch the movie another 3 more times to do justice to this movie.
