What really needs to be said about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its triumph at this point?
Following the previous Russo Bros. directed culmination of producer Kevin Feige’s glorious decade long cinematic experiment, the universe struggles to recover from the decimation left by Thanos’ quest to use the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half of all known life in existence.
Fortunately for the deflated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the
miraculous return of Scott Lang has granted them a resource to potentially
reverse the damages of Thanos’ will, even if the world will never quite be the
same. They only have to go through Thanos himself to do it.
Reviewing “Infinity War” last year, I warned audiences away
from it if they weren’t fully caught up on the cinematic load out of the
franchise up to this point. While I stand by that decision on the foundation
that these grand finale features are not to be merely understood but savored
within the context of all that has lead to them, “Avengers: Endgame” almost
puts that impressive feat of production to shame.
“Endgame” pulls directly from threads laid out by every
single movie of the entire mega franchise for an all or nothing effect. That’s
not to say the movie will be beloved by all but you really don’t have a leg to
stand on in criticizing a lack of emotional impact if you have not fully caught
up on all 21 features.
That said, what propels the film further than the umpteenth
victory lap celebration party that was “Infinity War” is the shocking poignancy
of its drama.
Several characters featured in “Endgame” have high profile
sequels over the horizon but you’d have never guessed that were you gauging
their futures solely from this film.
Between “Iron Man 3” and “Captain America: Civil War,” I
thought I had seen Tony Stark at the highest and lowest he would ever be but you
will not be prepared for the journey this character undergoes and Robert Downey
Jr. stretches himself further in the role than ever before, reminding the
audience of why his performance launched this entire endeavor 11 years ago to
begin with and opening the doors to explore depths of these characters we would
never have previously conceived of before.
The usually comedic Ant-Man and Rocket Raccoon get to be get
to revel in being more somber and serious than ever before as crisis’s of faith
turn Black Widow and Hawkeye into ideological inversions, Thor’s brand of
comedy carries an inescapable streak of ironic tragedy, and Captain America struggles
with the fatigue of living nearly his entire adult life as a soldier of
conflicts escalating to scales inconceivable to him from the first day he
signed up for the Army.
All of the super powered action and antics are as wondrous
as ever but the level of humanity injected into these already thoroughly
developed characters for their last hurrah under the masterful hand of the
Russo’s and their production crew, who manage to keep the atmosphere tense and emotionally
overwhelming but never overbearing, ultimately turn out a film that may not
quite be the best of the MCU but cracks the top 4 easily.
The film doesn’t just feel like an ending to existing story
threads, themes, and character arcs but an end to the very modus operandi of
the MCU up to this very point as far as grand sweeping epics built on
intricately crafted continuity over uniqueness of vision.
Ironically, “Endgame” manages to end its revolutionary and
influential brand of blockbuster filmmaking with an inspired, emotional,
spectacular roller coaster of an event that feels like the rise of creator
driven visions ala “Logan” or “Shazam!” that are starting to win the favor of
audiences regarding the genre, perfectly pivoting to a future of boundless
potential and unknown possibilities.
I was crying within the first 15 minutes alone, the climax
is one of the most breathtaking visual displays I’ve ever bore witness to in a
theater, and by the final 15 minutes, I was so emotionally wrecked I was on the
verge of a serene out of body experience that made me happier to be alive now
than ever.
The only thing souring the immense payoff of “Avengers:
Endgame” was how thoroughly I had to acknowledge its success, while also
admitting to its very noticeable imperfections.
Where I struggled with criticizing “Infinity War” due to the
lack of precedent set for what it managed to accomplish, “Endgame” doesn’t
quite land in that territory despite achieving seemingly impossible higher
highs.
Although the story mostly works, the pretense of a balancing
act was clearly a victim of Thanos’ decimation.
“Endgame” doesn’t tackle every single central plot point or
character arc raised prior to and during this film but chooses to focus
intensely on the most important and potentially compelling, tackling a small
number of others in passing as they see fit, while others are nigh dropped. It
does remain consistently compelling but the number of threads that get passively
waved off in favor of some that do get fully articulated do become a
distraction.
Additionally, while keeping details sparse, time travel is
very much involved in the plot, opening its own can of worms with mechanics
that don’t quite mesh up with the things they establish throughout this movie.
Amongst the piles of underutilized characters and abandoned threads,
along with a climax that’s visually jaw dropping but with noticeable narrative
hiccups born from the need to keep things moving than get bogged down by
minutia, the sense of how messy the narrative becomes and was probably destined
to be is just inescapable.
“Endgame’s” sloppiness however not only feeds into some of
its imaginative charm but never outweighs the impact of what has been delivered
by both it and everything it sings its swan song for.
8 Assembling Heroes out of 10
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