Review of Avengers: Endgame (2019) by Viddiot — 30 Apr 2019

Avengers:End Game provides an entertaining climax to the current generation of Marvel Super hero films however, like Hawkeye and Black Widow at Vormir, it came pretty close to falling from the cliff and failing the mission in a few places, but thankfully crisp (not rushed) pacing provided a life-line whenever we were staring into the abyss.

We begin with a continuation of the gloom cast by the end of Infinity War, and are invited to a heartbreaking picnic with Hawkeye, this scene is played well; not overdone. It is sad and reminds us of what has been at stake, and the recent defeat of the Avengers. It sets the tone for the film nicely; we are going to have to confront the emotional debris left in Thanos' wake over the course of the next few hours. We settle in for the ride.

The only problem with the picnic scene is it happens during the day, while over in Wakanda...presumably simultaneously, it was also daytime. I suppose we can just re-imagine Hawkeye's farm was in Africa. But it certainly looks more likely a good scene was developed and shot without much thought going on regarding the time-line of events. Which is strange, because as the film goes on. Time becomes a central issue.

Stark is rescued,avoiding certain death twice in the space of a few days now...he returns bitter and damaged, as are all our heroes. We go after Thanos then take a break for 5 years.

Thor is suffering PTSD. As a big fan of The Big Lewbowski,.

I enjoyed his transformation here, but had some horrible Luke Skywalker flashbacks, which I think are the main trigger from some of the outrage on-line at this decision. I think it works here, because Marvel has always had a comedic element. Thor had a compelling reason to be in the state he was in, and the writers allow us to see him rise from the ashes of himself again as the final battle looms.

Once the time travel story begins, we came close to the fall. The constant referencing of films (as with Spiderman in Infinity war referencing the Alien franchise) and revisiting scenes from previous films seemed to bog the story down. Rather than making me feel connected to these characters because of their familiarity with the actual world, I felt pulled out of the fantasy...the effect was to break the fourth wall and rather than finding it charming I felt it broke immersion. Despite this being essentially a fun entertainment piece I hate it when immersion gets broken and I'm forced to realize I'm in a room full of people I don't know, (despite the enjoyment of the shared experience of watching a film in a theater),I came here to escape all these people for a few hours. Luckily, the time travel sequences are handled briskly, and are used to set up some nice moments with Captain America (which pays off nicely at the end) the Tony, Mr Stark, Jarvis triangle and then Thor with his mother.

My only disappointment with the film is the transformation of Thanos (or regression?).

He was a mystery for so long, and then his motivation and cold logic were one of the best things about Infinity War. His personal sacrifice and strength of will to persevere toward his goal, were terrifying and unique. Unfortunately, here we take a turn, and his philosophy is reduced to a simple desire to destroy all life, and remake the world(s) in his own image. Oh...this interesting and complex villain is now just a regular Bad Guy. Let's just all beat each other up now.

The climactic fight is spectacular, there is a sense of real peril for most of our heroes and the film manages to keep us on edge. There are a few cringe moments, but again it's a subjective and personal question of taste, little things that don't really damage the film but we could have done without.

Captain Marvel again giving us an unwelcome Last Jedi Flashback, flying though Thanos's spaceship in a reflection of the Last Jedi Light-speed ram.

In the midst of battle, everything pauses conveniently as a few reunions take place, the whole Grrrl squad moment was a cringe, but thankfully they moved on quickly and didn't make too much of a deal about it.

Jump to the final moment of the battle and here comes the coup de grace..'I am....Iron man'. Now that moment was excellent, and was worth sacrificing the Thor 'I went for the head' climax by positioning that as a surprise at the start of the film. We got the best of both worlds there.

So in conclusion. A worthy part 2 to Infinity War, which was a very hard act to follow, let alone to try and top. The film looks beautiful, the action sequences are easy to follow and mostly avoid 'shaky cam'. A sad but satisfying end for Iron man; his heroes journey is complete. Having grown from self centered to self sacrificing over the course of the films. Captain America says farewell and his decision was logical and consistent to his desires, and Thor seems a great fit for the Guardians of the Galaxy.

I look forward to watching Infinity War and End Game back to back in a marathon someday soon.