Avengers: Endgame (2019) Film Review

WARNING: Due to the very nature of this film, this review is full of spoilers for every film that's a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If (somehow) you haven't already seen the film, it is recommended that you watch it before reading this review.

When Iron Man came out in the summer of 2008, few could have expected that it would be the beginning of a franchise that would take over the planet. Spanning over 22 movies and several individual sub-franchises, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has held a strong grip on the cinematic landscape that was (and somehow still is) unprepared to face it, and the prize for such longevity came last year with the Earth-shattering Avengers: Infinity War, which took in over $2bn and left everyone in a state of intrigue as to how the surviving superheroes will resolve the decimation of half the universal population. Which is where Avengers: Endgame rolls in – the true conclusion to not only Phase 3 of the MCU (Spider-Man: Far from Home being the actual conclusion according to producers) but to the 11-year long Infinity Saga – which has remained elusive in its marketing and revealed little more than the coming justice for the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). Throw in a 3-hour runtime and a fan mantra that demands spoilers be sparse (although a major leak shortly before the release didn’t help things), the answer to whether or not a decade-long arc with regular character appearances can work has at last found its definitive answer: Yes, when done this well.

This entry is very much a celebration of its actual existence, as it repeatedly makes callbacks to the biggest and smallest moment from the past films that can either hinder or elevate a viewer’s enjoyment depending on its usage – for example, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) calls out to Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) during the Gauntlet tussle. An insignificant moment for most, yet in actuality a small reference to T’Challa’s disinterest in knowing his name in Captain America: Civil War, and a sign of a character’s maturity in the years since the events at the airport. The biggest nostalgia trip, of course, stems from the second act’s journey through some of the best bits of the previous movies (and Thor: The Dark World) as the remaining Avengers seek the Infinity Stones during the events of Marvel’s Avengers Assemble and Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s fun to see the simpler beginnings of both major teams in the universe alongside allowing for some fun character interactions with younger versions of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) et al (not to mention an amusing interlude showing what Chris Pratt’s infamous lip-sync sequence during Guardians’ opening credits looked like from the outside), and an interaction between two Chris Evanses presents a fun moment of admittance at both the core stance Steve Rogers takes but also how he looked during the first group venture. With guest appearances from Tilda Swinton showing how the Sanctum Santorum was involved with vanquishing the Chitauri invasion, various members of Hydra (Robert Redford!) and a loving return from Renee Russo as Thor’s mother Frigga, the second act is a marvellous (sorry) celebration ahead of the bloodshed that’s soon to follow.

But Endgame thrives more as a conclusion for the story arcs of each original member of the Avengers team. While some characters upon initial viewing may seem short-changed or given unfair justice in their appearances here – namely Scarlett Johannsson, Mark Ruffalo and Hemsworth – in actuality it perfectly fits their respective characters. Black Widow, burdened by the horrors of her past that she must always carry, admits in Avengers Assemble that not only does she have “red in my ledger” that she wants to wipe but that she owes Barton a debt for saving her from her past occupation, and with that her regular position as a member of the team – regardless of government approval – is her making up for her history. When it’s revealed SHIELD was in part aligned with Hydra, she tells Steve that the concept leaves her unsure as to what she is anymore; switching one criminal organisation with another. Even in Endgame, she remains dedicated to her cause even when everyone else has gone their separate ways and keeps a close eye on Hawkeye, despite Rhodey’s warnings. This is the man who saved her. And when the opportunity arises to finally repay her debt not only to society but to the closest friend she has, naturally she would take the plunge on Vormir and sacrifice herself for the Soul Stone. While it breaks your heart that she can’t be a part of the massive climatic battle – and especially her lack of presence during the ‘girl power’ moment’ – it’s her sacrifice that brings everyone together again; especially reviving Clint’s very being following his harsh fall into crazed vigilantism under the pseudonym ‘Ronin’. It’s established early on how distraught his loss was, and the sight of his home sends him rushing after his family when he tests the time travel technology, and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of his family alongside his misdeeds makes the conflict on Vormir even more heart-wrenching.

With Thor, his fall from grace is by no means unprecedented. Infinity War reminds viewers repeatedly that the Asgardian has lost everything at this point: brother dead by the hand of Thanos; father willingly lets go (in turn releasing Hela, who also perishes); mother killed by a Dark Elf, and what remains of his people decimated by the Titan at the worst possible moment. When he finally has the chance to exact vengeance on the villain, he fails, and in turn carries the burden of being responsible for Thanos’ victory. Naturally, his guilt eats away at him as he falls in to a depressive state of avoiding outside interaction or even mention of the event; surrounding himself only with alcohol and Korg (Taika Waititi) who appears to be just as comfortable hiding away from further conflict. Even when he mentions Jane Foster, he briefly lapses into an emotional state. It’s only when he gets the chance to talk to his mother, who immediately gets a grasp of the idea that he’s from the future, that he finally relinquishes his inner turmoil; the call for Mjolnir instilling confidence in himself for the first time in five years. Likewise, it’s that extensive period of being a hermit that reminds Thor that the throne is not what he truly desires, and in turn relinquishes his birth right in favour for Tessa Thompson’s status promotion.

When we first lay eyes on Bruce Banner, it’s as much of a shock to us as it is to Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, as it’s revealed that Banner and Hulk have become one in the conclusion to his long-standing battle with his alter ego. When he first appeared in The Incredible Hulk, we were presented with the dynamic in the tried and tested way, with Banner being resilient in not only refusing to give the power to the US military but also from letting it hurt the people he cares for (leading to his eventual control of the power in Avengers Assemble). Just when he was getting used to the control, Age of Ultron throws a spanner in the works with Elizabeth Olsen’s mind-meddling and the grasp at control lost. When Hulk awakens from his trance and sees humanity afraid of him once more, he’s reminded of the monster the public perceives him to be, and when given the chance to following the vanquishing of Ultron he escapes in a Quinjet. Hence why in Thor: Ragnarok he’s adamant to leave his new lifestyle and public adoration, and in turn refuses to turn back into Bruce who would try and repress him once more (and vice versa with Bruce refusing to Hulk out again until it was necessary). After failing in a one-to-one brawl with Thanos at the start of Infinity War, the Hulk refuses to come out again in the face of danger as a rebellious move against his supposed purpose to Bruce – he’s done being a wrecking ball thrown into the action because he needs to be. Hence his new appearance here as the combined “Professor Hulk” – the brains of Banner with the strength of the Hulk. A bizarre concoction, but a necessary one for the duo as they finally make peace with one another.

Even some of the smaller characters have strong amounts of depth handed to them, with Nebula (Karen Gillan) literally facing her menacing past head-on and having Thanos’ impact as a demented father figure presented to us. The Nebula we see in 2014 is a daughter trying so desperately to appease her father against fellow adopted daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) that she would do whatever she could to get even the slightest bit of praise from him, evident in the first Guardians when she tries to take the challenge of capturing the Power Stone from Xandar. Even the older Thanos admits that “perhaps […] I treated you too harshly”, which the 2014 version of Thanos must realise when he discovers the future version of his daughter conspiring against him – using her resentment for him now as a way to get the younger version of her to do his bidding now. When the two Nebulas face one another alongside Gamora and Clint, the 2023 version tries to get her 2014 self to understand, but she can’t. She’s too disillusioned by Thanos’ power to go against him and wants desperately to be his favourite daughter. And that’s why 2023 Nebula kills her – killing the past version of herself to show that’s she’s evolved past that.

Rocket, in the meantime, has finally come to terms that his fellow Guardians are his true family, following his behaviour in Vol. 2 which almost got them all killed. Now he’s come to terms that he was akin to Yondu with how he treated those around him, he finally began to take his actions to heart and apologise for them, and while in Infinity War he still largely jokes around with the rest of the team he also does act like “the captain” when dealing with Thor’s personal trauma. When Groot begins to fade away around him, his harsh outer shell disintegrates with it as he cries out to him, and when he reunites with Nebula in Endgame they share a moment of grievance, as they lost everyone they ever cared for. Rocket even finally admits to the Guardians being his family to Thor when the Asgardian tries to get out of retrieving the Aether – he would do anything to bring his family back, and a depressed God isn’t going to get in the way of that. Against all that surrounds him, one would assume that Paul Rudd would be lost in the shuffle, despite being a key part in the plan to retrieve the stones; but while he doesn’t get the same depth everyone else does, he instead plays the part of the surrogate: he’s the audience experiencing the madness of a time period where loved ones have disappeared (his reunion with his daughter being especially prevalent of this factor) and the one responding to the quips and the speeches. His journey from stealer to superhero has yet to reach its conclusion, but this entry does still present him doing heroic acts.

Of course, the big two have the biggest endings of them all with their respective retirements. Steve Rogers had never truly settled into the modern day following his freezing in Captain America: The First Avenger. His arrival into the 21^st century brought with it the skeletons of the past with SHIELD’s desire to harness the power of the Tesseract, then the combination of Hydra’s survival as well as his best friend Bucky’s (Sebastian Stan). For a while, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) was still there for him, albeit in a distressing state, but he put his focus entirely on sticking to his ideals and the Avengers concept. Scarlet Witch’s vision of Steve seeing Peggy again at a dance reminded him that the life he once lived is truly gone. He admits to Stark that the Avengers is his home at the end of Age of Ultron, but the combination of that home possibly being taken away from him for ideological reasons he doesn’t agree with, the death of Peggy and the re-emergence of Bucky sends Steve’s world spiralling out of control in Civil War, leading him into the dark path we find him on in Infinity War. He still thinks well of his fellow Avengers but can’t stand to go against his beliefs when the sake of the world is more important than what elected officials have to say.

In Endgame, we see early on that Steve, even so many years on, misses Peggy and resents the fact that he can’t ever live that life; and when he sees a framed photo of his former self on her desk in the 1970s, he truly realises that she too wishes that he was still alive. While his heroic actions were finally proven to be worthwhile when he triumphantly managed to call Mjolnir into his possession, it’s when he’s given the chance to go home that he takes it: he never fit into this new world despite his best efforts, and with the knowledge that his one true love never stopped loving him, he jumped at the chance to be with her and live a normal life. Steve Rogers told Tony Stark that “family, stability… the guy who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago” – he lost his chance. He got it again and took it, making his final goodbye worthwhile, and his belief in Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) taking on the mantle of Captain America – a man who came out of retirement for the sake of his country and stood by Steve’s same ideals – a worthy decision.

And then there’s Tony Stark. The man who started it all “in a cave… with a box of scraps!” A man who initially became the man he is solely for his own survival, before exacting revenge on the people who captured him using his weapons by unleashing his upgraded armour on them when they attacked a small village. A man whose biggest foes had been fellow businessmen, a Russian with a personal vendetta for the Stark lineage and his failing technology. But when Loki and the Chitauri arrived, that all changed. The wider universe that surrounded him finally collapsed on top of him and risked his own life in their ultimate destruction – the implications of which he suffers from when things become small-scale once again in Iron Man 3. He grows more afraid of a larger threat and stays up all night building new suits and becomes more isolated from the people around him. The Mandarin attack hitting him close to home was both a blessing and a curse; the wake-up call that should have brought about the end of Iron Man.

And yet, here he is in Age of Ultron still doing his thing. Scarlet Witch only pushes his fears more as he imagines the Avengers all dead and Steve asking why he didn’t do more to stop it. This of course leads to Ultron, and more weight on his heavy heart. Civil War sees him agree with the government over the need to “be put in check” as the one-two punch of separating from Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the news of an innocent boy being killed by his actions hits him hard. The conflict that soon follows just makes things worse as both sides – each with good reasoning – are unable to truly get along. Just when things do seem to finally be going right as he and Rogers put their differences aside for a larger cause, a tape plays: December 16^th, 1991. Bucky Barnes killing Tony’s parents. Steve – a man who was created and idolised by Tony’s father – aware that his best friend, the man he continually sticks up for, never told him this fact. It shatters their friendship, and the ensuing battle shows their destroyed friendship.

By Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War, he appears to be on the right track. With Tom Holland’s Peter Parker acting as something of a distant surrogate son of his (only really acting out when the boy went too far against his parenting) and his relationship healing with Pepper Potts, there’s a chance that thinks are finally looking up. But in comes Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Bruce Banner revealing that the Big Bad is coming. Thanos, the being that Tony has been preparing for all this time, is finally here. Tony immediately steps into action, and despite forgotten friendships is at least willing to reunite the Avengers to thwart him, before being stopped in his tracks by the arrival of the Black Order. He refuses to turn away from Titan because he wants to stop the Mad Titan before he can reach Earth, putting aside the fact that they not only harbour the Time Stone but also a teenage boy in their spaceship, and in turn pay the price when Thanos ultimately wins despite Tony’s continued efforts to upgrade his technology. And when Peter vanishes before his eyes, he’s also lost the closest thing to a son he had ever had.

Throw in a long period of isolation and starvation about the Benatar (the Guardians’ spaceship), and Tony is naturally rattled when he returns home. He lashes out against Steve for not heeding his warning about “a suit of armour around the world” and how they only lost because they were apart, and with that he goes away. He lives the life on a barn akin to how he prophesised in Age of Ultron and starts a family, officially retiring from the role of Iron Man. And yet, when the past comes crawling back with an opportunity to reverse the actions, he takes it – only because he knows that he wouldn’t be able to rest if he didn’t. Throw in an interaction with his long-dead father at a time before his birth – a moment where the two Starks finally bond and get along, albeit in a bizarre sense where John Slattery’s character doesn’t even know this is his son he’s talking to – and his might to face his biggest foe once more alongside Thor and Steve, alongside a heartfelt reunion with Peter Parker on the battlefield, and his past actions have finally had a proper conclusion. All that’s left is for him to take the ultimate sacrifice and destroy his enemy once and for all at the cost of his own life. He snaps his Stoned-fingers, and the enemy turns to dust around him, but dies as a result. He clearly tries to fight it, with what little power he still has, but when Pepper finally tells him he can rest because he won, he finally lets go. Steve Rogers told him in Avengers Assemble that Stark wasn’t the kind of guy who would put his own life on the line. Initially that was true, but when his world became larger and the people around it grew more important than his own, he took every chance he had, regardless of stakes, to make things right. The first arc reactor may have been proof that Tony Stark physically had a heart, but his final actions around the ashes of the Avengers headquarters proved that he had a caring heart too.

If a character does feel short-changed in this final outing, it is Thanos himself. While Infinity War presented a strong and powerful antagonist who you could agree with and was a true menace to all who opposed him, this Thanos plays out a little more stereotypically; a villain who wishes to wipe out all life as punishment to those who went against his belief. It isn’t an unexpected move – especially for a character nicknamed “the Mad Titan” – but it loses some of the impact that came with the initial process of gaining the stones. Likewise, newcomer Brie Larson is here more out of obligation than as purposeful in her role as Captain Marvel, as outside her saving Stark and Nebula from the depths of outer space and a couple of interactions with Thanos she doesn’t interact with the main story – although her excuse of having to protect more planets than just Earth is justifiable enough. Don Cheadle gets a decent amount to do, and his pairing with Nebula – a fellow artificially-augmented individual – makes for a unique rapport that unexpectedly works in action, but outside conversation about his paralysis has little insight, while surviving side characters Danai Gurira and Benedict Wong have minimal roles despite their powersets, but that’s more nit-picking than anything.

Despite an especially dark third act lighting-wise making 3D a slight struggle to fully comprehend, the visual effects seem to be a step up from Infinity War’s (which faltered at points involving the Hulkbuster and the Iron Man suits on top of the actors) and the combination of old footage and new blends seamlessly during the time travel section of the film. Alan Silvestri’s score harkens back more to the themes of old alongside his first Avengers score yet proves to be perhaps Marvel’s best score yet next to Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning Black Panther score as it perfectly encapsulates the tone certain scenes aspire for (‘Portals’ may be an MCU best). And while the Russos have proven once more that they expanded far beyond their comedic roots, it’s the screenwriting team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who are the true gauntlet-bearers of this piece, and who are finally getting the credit due for their hard work and dedication. The screenplay may not be perfect (with some comedic moments not landing quite as hard as prior Marvel movies) but, as examined above, presents a pitch-perfect finale for many of these characters.

If the Marvel Cinematic Universe was ever to end, Avengers: Endgame would be that textbook ending. Closing the book on countless character’s ongoing story arcs alongside this entire saga of movies, it’s difficult to imagine a Marvel universe without the presence of Iron Man, Captain America (a character who hasn’t taken a year away from the silver screen since his introduction in 2011), Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye or the Incredible Hulk, but if this franchise is to carry on, it’s good to know that it’s surviving under the blueprints handed down to them from these behemoths. But they aren’t going down without a celebration and a fight, and with a three-hour runtime that never feels like it, it’s a grand finale that actually feels grand in both scale and execution. 10/10.