Avengers: Endgame (2019) Mini-Review — Analytic Critic
After twenty-one films, the MCU was under significant pressure to properly end its massive saga in a satisfying manner while retaining the necessities of a standalone film: writing that doesn’t rely exclusively on previous material, actors who each get a decent share of screentime, and production elements that enhance the overall visuals and audio.
Shockingly, Avengers: Endgame does all of these things, allowing it to take its place as one of the two greatest Marvel movies we’ve ever received. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.
WRITING:
NOTE: This review will contain some spoilers. Skip the next three paragraphs if you want to avoid them.
Five years after Thanos has decimated half of the galaxy’s population (including earth’s), the remaining Avengers are trying to pick up the pieces of everything they’ve lost.
However, Scott Lang’s return from the quantum realm gives Bruce Banner an idea — retrieving the Infinity Stones from different points in their timeline to bring everyone back from the dead.
They’ll need Tony Stark to do it. Meanwhile, Thanos catches on to the Avengers’ plan… and has an even more bleak idea in mind this time around.
Avengers: Endgame had a lot of hype to live up to. After all, Thanos has been a threat since the first Avengers film came out in 2012. Honestly, this movie surpassed my expectations by a milestone.
The story, unlike Infinity War’s, is perfectly balanced with its pacing. There’s plenty of excellent action sequences, dynamic character development, and tense adventure scenes.
Out of all of the characters’ ending arcs, three of the main ones are fully fleshed out and perfect for their respective characters: Captain America, iron Man, and Thor. It’s because of these three that the film ends in a largely satisfying way.
The scale of the film is impressive, epic, and original for the most part. Dialogue is written quite well, too. The only issue with the story, then, is the number of plot holes it raises in its attempt to redefine time travel.
Is the script predictable? Yes. Well, for someone like me, anyway. Does that make it less fun? Not a chance.
CAST:
The cast is, again, much too large to cover, so I’ll focus on noteworthy performances.
Let’s start with the big three: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey Jr. All three are utterly fantastic, bringing a level of realism and conviction to what could have been a handful of overly silly characters.
RDJ is very theatrical, and Evans is wonderfully natural (despite being the opposite of his character), each playing well off of one another. But Hemsworth really steals the show here; he’s amazingly funny, yet surprisingly endearing, too.
Speaking of funny, Paul Rudd is quite good as Scott Lang. Rudd is mostly a comedic actor, though he certainly has his fair share of emotional moments that pack a punch, too.
To say nothing of Karen Gillan as Nebula would be a crime. Keep in mind that Gillan is a Scottish actress that pulls off an American — or alien/cyborg, in this case — accent without a hitch.
Between her dynamic abilities to emote and convey a serious tone simultaneously when delivering exposition, she was easily able to keep me engaged with the film.
Now for the not so good.
Then you have Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. None of them are particularly great actors, though I have to admit that they all have marginally improved since the last film.
And yes, Don Cheadle and Benedict Wong return in this film, unfortunately. Do I really need to say it? They’re both horrible actors, as far as I’m concerned.
Thankfully, they’re overshadowed by two excellent actors — Bradley Cooper and Josh Brolin (Got to end on a positive note). Cooper is by far the best Guardian in terms of acting talent, and all he essentially has to work with is his voice.
As for Brolin, I don’t think much needs to be said if you’ve seen ANY of his roles before. Brolin is one of the best actors of our generation, able to emote and play both a vulnerable father and a horrifying villain in Endgame. Few can match that skill. It only helps that you can easily tell that Brolin gives his all to every role he takes on.
PRODUCTION:
Returning for the final film, the Russo brothers bring incredibly epic cinematography and impactful action sequences that have literally been unseen before.
It’s a powerfully evocative film that had me experience every emotion at specific points, which is a difficult feat to accomplish in a single film. I even teared up in one scene!
Lighting is frequently dark, but handled well enough to never bring confusion to the viewer. Set design is immaculate, both recreating scenes from previous films with precision and crafting new ones that feature a massive scale.
Costumes and makeup are also superb, highlighting how far both have come since the beginning of the MCU. Certain scenes have the characters de-age, yet they still look quite authentic.
Not to mention the spectacular CGI and tense sound design… Brolin in particular appears incredibly realistic. Action sequences are complemented by impressive sound effects and an entertaining — if slightly underwhelming — soundtrack.
The Russo brothers clearly didn’t squander the massive budget they were given. In terms of production quality, Endgame might be the best film an audience has ever gotten.
SUMMARY:
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Endgame is perfect. But for a single blockbuster with a lot of history behind it, the movie delivers and then some thanks to excellent production elements that just fit nicely together. It is likely the greatest film Marvel will ever produce. It can only go downhill from here!
Avengers: Endgame gets a 9 out of 10.
