Ambition.
What does it mean to have it? Is it just having a lofty goal in mind with no means to complete it? Is it just wishful thinking that never permeates into something tangible, something that you can use to say, “Hey, I did something cool.”
We often say that we have ambition, but do our results really show? What if you’re somebody new to an industry looking to make a name for yourself? What if you’re a former rising talent who is trying to prove they’ve still got it? What if you’re a movie studio dead set on taking something so beloved and making it more mainstream?
It is with these perspectives that we have to look at Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of over twenty movies produced by Marvel Studios. Once again written and directed by the Russo brothers, it is an interesting case study on what it means to be ambitious in Hollywood at the micro and macro levels.
Note: If you have not watched Avengers: Infinity War, do not proceed. There will be spoilers for that movie mentioned further on.
The plot picks up immediately after the events of Infinity War. Half of the universe’s population has been wiped out due to Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his Infinity Gauntlet. Left with limited resources, it is up to the survivors of “The Snap” to find a way to bring back those who have died while still dealing with the ramifications of their failure from the last film. These survivors include Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Rhodey Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and more.
What you may notice about this list of survivors is that it is mainly composed of the original Avengers ensemble from the first film. This is no doubt intentional, as this was billed as the “end” of the ten-year plotline conceived way back in 2008 with Iron Man, both in title and in spirit. What better way to end this saga than to give most of the focus on the cast and characters who brought us here in the first place?
Which leads back to my emphasis on ambition. Captain America and Iron Man make up the majority of the emotional depth in the film. We’ve followed these two characters from their original movies to the eventual team-up in The Avengers to their separation in Captain America: Civil War to their reconciliation here. It was ambitious for Marvel Studios to plan such a long plotline connecting separate movies into a fleshed out crossover, let alone five times. It was even more ambitious for the studio to rely on these two actors in particular: an up-and-comer whose mainly remembered in absurd comedic roles like Not Another Teen Movie (Evans), and an actor who lost years of respect and work due to substance abuse issues (Downey Jr.).
Suffice to say, both of these actors have earned every bit of adulation from their individual and combined movies in the MCU, and they bring every ounce of emotion into their performances, specifically in the first act when they are demoralized by their failure to stop Thanos.
That is not to say that the other actors and actresses in the film do not breathe life into their roles as well. Chris Hemsworth adds a new layer to Thor as he shoulders the majority of the blame for The Snap (remember, he should’ve gone for the head), Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) have a solemn B-plot that impacts the rest of the film leading up to the climax, and many of the side characters who are revealed to have survived add nuance to their perception of events. There really isn’t a bad performance in the film, but I feel that Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel amounts to nothing more than a cameo (an odd choice given the huge promotional push for her solo film), and Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner essentially just becomes the comic relief (albeit in a clever way).
If it seems like I’m not focusing on the plot that much, it’s because it’s hard to go into without revealing huge spoilers. In fact, I can’t go into how exactly the remaining Avengers planned on seeking revenge on Thanos because it would inevitably lead into a plethora of questions as to how, why, and what-if. The most I can say is that the first hour of the film is build up. It takes it time establishing the new roles the heroes have found themselves in post-Snap while going through trial and error to come up with a long-term solution. Ironically, it also speeds through a lot of events within the first twenty minutes, starting with a failed attempt to restore balance, that initially made me concerned that the rest of the film wouldn’t pace itself.
By the second act, however, the film established what the major conflicts were going to be and let the events play out evenly. My major gripe is that it relied on a lot of humor to add some levity to the situation (I mean, half of life is dead, so let’s make a joke about a certain character’s weight). Yet the jokes were funny, so it was only briefly that I thought, “Wait, should I be laughing here? We just learned about this person’s regrets).
Then there is the final act…and it leads back into ambition. As a senior in high school who watched The Avengers right after prom, I remember thinking it was ballsy to have them come together. That famous circular pan of the core ensemble in the Battle of New York was, at the time, worth the cost of admission. Fast forward a few years later for Infinity War, and I thought, “They’ve peaked. There’s no way this crossover can be topped.” It was, memes aside, ambitious.
So when I tell you that the final battle of Endgame is ambitious, I mean it with absolute certainty. It looks and feels directly like a major comic book crossover event, and not in the general sense of throwing characters together for the sake of “checking off a list.” The way these characters were group up in the battle makes sense in terms of powers and abilities, there’s no outlier or feeling that one character isn’t “worthy.” Visually, it oozes with respect for the source materials, each frame a carefully placed brushstroke that graces the screen and rewards viewers for sticking around for over ten years. There’s even one Easter Egg that appears in the climax that is sure to get audience members jumping out of their seats.
As for the ending, that remains a secret. I remain steadfast in my pledge to #DontSpoilTheEndgame, but those who remember the eery silence in the movie theatre right after The Snap in Infinity War will face another moment of equal volume — or lack thereof. All I can say for the ending is that it too is ambitious, and a gamble that may or may not pay off for future installments.
Aside from a few minute details that don’t quite add up with the central plot device, one or two instances of major contrivances (the entire plot rests solely on the actions of a random animal), and my grievances with Hulk being underutilized yet again, Endgame delivers. It proves once again that Marvel Studios is the flag bearer for how to make a successful superhero franchise backed behind two major players in Chris Evans and RDJ. It is a visual homage to fans who have adored these characters for eleven years and enhanced by a cast who deeply respects their roles. The closest comparison I can give to a film of this scope and magnitude is to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, a three-hour epic that symbolizes finality and new beginnings.
Ambition isn’t just about starting a project, it’s about seeing it through to the end, results be damned. If this movie truly is the Endgame to this neat film experiment, then it’s been one awesome, successful, emotional ride.
Score: 4.7/5
