Just as Doctor Strange foresaw in the climax of Infinity War, the Endgame is now here. If 2008's Iron Man served as the Genesis of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then Avengers: Infinity War is its Apocalypse and Avengers: Endgame is the final judgement.
After Thanos (Josh Brolin) succeeded in acquiring the six infinity stones, half of humanity is wiped out of existence leaving the Avengers devastated and nearly decimated. A last glimmer of hope arrives in the form of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) aka Ant-Man who we last saw trapped in the quantum realm at the very, very end of
Ant-Man & the Wasp which explains his absence during
Infinity War. Donning the Captain America shield, the Iron Man gauntlet, and the mighty hammer Stormbreaker, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) lead what is left of the Avengers including Black Widow's Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johanson), Hawkeye's Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Hulk's Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), War-Machine's Rhodey Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy with Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) in a final stand. Staying behind as back-up are their remaining allies: Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Okoye (Danai Gurira), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Wong (Benedict Wong).
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who prior to their involvement worked on comedies, have really made a name for themselves.They directed more MCU movies than any other filmmaker, many of which play a significant role in the Marvel-Verse and still find the time to invite a friend from their days on
Community for a quick cameo. A truly commendable achievement in cinema history.
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| The Russo Brothers Filmography |
Also deserving of praise are screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote all three
Captain America movies, as well as
Infinity War and
Endgame. Both writers got their cinematic start with the film adaptations of
The Chronicle of Narnia that sadly never got a proper resolution. Seeing them work on another film series all the way through to the end makes
Endgame all the more satisfying.
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| Screenplay résumé of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely |
In my review for
Infinity War, I compared it to
The Empire Strike's Back and
The Two Towers.
Endgame is more
Return of the Jedi than
Return of the King. As one critic pointed out,
Infinity War was more cohesive in its story presentation. From beginning to end we are drawn into the characters whether they are fighting or simply talking. With
Endgame, it has the feel of
Deathly Hallow's two parter structure with the first half serving as Part I mainly with exposition and Part II being the reason we all came for.
A certain element that I won't ruin here but suffice it to say, reminded me of a Captain Underpants book where a character comments on a certain direction the story has headed. Said element is brought up by the characters in Endgame and admits that its running on its own logic, even if the movie can't follow it at times. It does bring in the best of its main leads: Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. Present since Phase I with three solo-outings, Endgame has them at their most frail and knowing that this mission may be their last, makes it all the more heroic than anything that has been seen in a superhero movie.
Despite being marketed as the final Avengers movie that's not stopping Disney on producing more Marvel material (
Spider-Man Far From Home anyone?). A few details are left open for future narratives and with the upcoming Disney+ streaming service much of its original content will star certain Marvel characters. Don't watch their program list if you wish to avoid spoilers.
Avengers: Endgame accomplishes what its been building-up over the past eleven years; an epic and climatic superhero showdown, that shows the grandeur of the MCU, fixing and improving various loose ends in the saga, and bringing the pivotal story to a satisfying close.
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