Avengers: Endgame

“Part of the journey is the end.”

Tony Stark

Where do I even start with this review, there’s so much I want to say but also so much I can’t say about this movie. Maybe down the line I’ll do a full spoiler review, but right now I’m going to try to keep it short, simple, and super spoiler-free due to the weight and anticipation of this film.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was born and has always thrived through the impossible. Eleven years ago, Marvel movies were nowhere near the same position they’re in today, the most recent films at the time being X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man 3, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Iron Man was not a well known character, Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t in a great point in his acting career, and the film was competing with the highly anticipated sequel releasing just a few weeks later, The Dark Knight. Although it only made just over half the box office return that Batman did, it worked, it held it’s own and brought this lesser known character into the spotlight, and eventually gave us The Avengers. Having 5 movies and four years of hype behind it, it had never been done before and it exploded unlike any movie had before. Fast forward to Avengers: Infinity War, one of the greatest shocks I think the world has ever experienced (film-wise), it again seemed impossible. Now we arrive at Avengers: Endgame, eleven years of hype, 22 movies leading up to this and combined with the impossible task of coming right off of Infinity War. Was Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, and the Russo brothers able to replicate what they had last year? Absolutely!

This movie is the season finale, it wraps up the entire MCU in a huge and glorious bow. Bringing together everything we have ever loved about this series, and wrapping up threads that have been around since almost the beginning. It was big, it was beautiful, and it’s impossible. I think I went through every humanly possible emotion while watching this movie, I laughed, cried, and cheered harder than I think I ever have. This movie gives more than anyone could’ve even imagined asking for, which causes it to run just over 3 hours long, but I didn’t at all feel like it was dragging or abusing it’s length.

Cinematography and VFX were absolutely stunning, with some moments that will be talked about for years and years to come. Acting was phenomenal, awesome performances from each and every actor and actress this film featured. Even though it does get complicated at points, I never once felt lost or confused which again is hats off to the directors and writers. This was a once in a generation event, much like Empire Strikes Back, and I don’t think fans will ever forget how they felt while they sat down in that theater.

This movie is a love letter and specifically made for those who have been around for the entirety of the MCU, so if you have never seen a marvel film before you absolutely will not feel the weight of this accomplishment. And that’s fine I think, although this is also a standalone movie, its purpose is to wrap up the series as a whole, you don’t start watching the Harry Potter films with Deathly Hallows.

Again, so many moments I want to talk about but can’t yet, I don’t think I have anything negative to say about this movie, it’s an accomplishment that I don’t think can ever be replicated. I do wonder how they’ll continue the MCU after this, but I’m very excited to find out. Whenever I rate movies I really enjoyed, I normally give them a 9/10 or even a 9.5/10 if they’re truly special, but this is one of the rare films where I’m going to go with a solid 10/10. Please go see this movie, please don’t spoil this movie, and I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. If you’re wanting to watch this as your first Marvel movie and see what all the fuss is about, you can, but I cannot suggest strongly enough that you go back and start with Iron Man and work your way up from there, it’s 100% worth the wait.

Avengers: Endgame – 10/10

“Excelsior!”

Stan Lee