REVIEW: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ sets the sun on a grateful cinematic universe
In 2012, Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner), Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (played by Chris Evans) and Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) led the first ever “Avengers” cinematic storyline.
In 2018, “Avengers: Infinity War” saw these characters lose for the first time as Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) collects the six Infinity Stones seen throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Thanos uses their collective power to “tip the cosmic scales to balance” by decimating half of all life in the universe.
After “Infinity War,” fans had the bar set high as the film forced the Avengers to completely fail in their defense against Thanos. By the conclusion of “Infinity War,” many fans had their hearts broken as some of Earth’s newest and most powerful heroes were unexpectedly snapped out of existence.
In 2019, “Avengers: Endgame” sees Earth’s mightiest heroes reeling from the decimation and seeking to avenge the fallen. While the film maintains what could have been an uncomfortably long three hour and two-minute runtime, it hardly feels like an hour and a half has passed by the denouement of the film.
Furthermore, the ensemble cast, featuring nearly every character seen in the MCU, is an incredible and properly executed opportunity to showcase the amount of diversity and representation the Marvel Universe has committed to film throughout its many stories.
With brilliant pacing, directorial duet Anthony and Joe Russo have delivered an incredibly satisfying and unforgettable end to the story arcs of the Avengers featured in the first film.
While characters such as War Machine (played by Don Cheadle), Rocket Raccoon (played by Bradley Cooper), Nebula (played by Karen Gillan), Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson) and Ant-Man (played by Paul Rudd) assist the surviving Avengers in resolving the aftermath of the decimation, “Endgame” spends more time on the stories of the original six Avengers.
Each of the characters has gone quite a long way through their many journeys and various story arcs, preparing their characters for and tacitly positioning the Avengers to encounter one or more of the Infinity Stones present throughout Marvel’s 22-film “Infinity Saga.”
In this latest installment, many of the surviving heroes venture to space for the first time, exposing the more earthly among them to a larger cosmic scale than they’ve ever known, furthering their arcs as humans in a world full of gods, alien life forms and monsters.
Captain Marvel, who broke box office records in the MCU’s first female-led film, establishes wonderful chemistry early on among the remaining Avengers.
By the conclusion of “Endgame,” audiences are sure to leave with a strong resolve for all original six characters featured in “Avengers.” With plenty of fanfare and fun throughout, “Endgame” watches like a 90s era Marvel Annual Comic reads. With extravagant fan service, incredible visuals, performances and surprises, “Avengers: Endgame” is the best and most comic book-like story ever committed to film.
Altogether, “Endgame” is undoubtedly one of the most epic cinematic achievements of our time. As 22 closely intertwined storylines converge on one another and satisfyingly conclude while propelling forward new heroes into the future of the MCU.
Fans are still uncertain about Marvel’s future cinematic endeavors as the studio has yet to officially announce any films past the release of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” on July 5, 2019, concluding “Phase 3” of the MCU and leading into the next phase.
See “Avengers: Endgame” now in a theater near you and prepare for what comes next in the Avengers saga.
