Avengers Endgame vs Avengers Infinity War
Goes without saying that this will be a spoiler filled article, so if you’re one of the five people yet to watch Avengers:Endgame, do not proceed.
Since the moment Avengers Endgame came out the world has been split into two factions. Ones who thought Endgame had nailed it, and ones who felt that Infinity War had done it way better. It’s probably not a clear and equal split, and is never going to be. But with debates raging online and offline the balance does keep tipping either ways at times depending on where you look.
Now pitting sequels against each other might be unfair, since Endgame is highly dependent on Infinity War due to its continuity. Whereas Infinity War can nearly qualify as a standalone movie, considering the minimum requirement to enjoy it would be to have at least a vague idea of most of the superheroes and The Avengers. But there are certain changes in flavours for both movies which lend an altogether contrasting feel while watching it.
Here are some of the points which serve as standard debate fodder:
Pacing:
Endgame had a fairly hard task of picking up from the dismal landscape left by the multi-gasp inducing ending of Infinity War. Some speculated the humour would be toned down in the sequel but still managed to safely toe around the oft gag and one liner heavy MCU films.
Despite nailing it with the cloud of mourning which looms over everyone’s head, Endgame starts off at a laboured pace and dials it up to 11 by the time the climax hits. Some claim the three part act felt like three separate movies, presumably due to its volatile pacing.
Infinity War scores well in that department since the action starts right off the bat and manages to stitch together parallel storylines, hence having the ability to switch the narrative at the slightest hint of a lull. From Cap’ and the gang protecting Vision to the showdown at Titan with Team Tony, the arcs are tied together beautifully through Thanos’ unrelenting crusade to bring balance to the universe. This sense of direction gave Infinity War a much more razor sharp focus against the wavering tempo in Endgame.
Epic Moments:
The magnitude of an epic moment is easily discernible due to it being directly proportional to the decibel level of fan cheers at the cinema. The idea of an epic moment can mean many things. A comic book fan might find pleasure in the relatively obscure references and easter eggs whereas for those introduced to Marvel through the MCU would find joy in the pure power twists that happen at seemingly hopeless moments. But this assessment is purely based on the sheer energy radiated by the crowd while watching the movie.
Captain America wielding Mjölnir and Falcon’s “On your left” callback from The Winter Soldier to usher in the Army of Avengers resulted in deafening cries of joy from the audience I never thought movies were capable of evoking. This was fan service done right.
Infinity War’s repertoire of epic moments is led by Thor’s arrival in Wakanda as he unleashes Stormbreaker. Followed by Spiderman pulling off an “Aliens” and Thanos vs Iron Man.
But the payoff in both the movies vary greatly due to the consequence of those moments. This is where Endgame races way ahead due to its nature of being a concluding chapter to a decade long MCU run by the writers going all-in for the fans.
Character Dynamics:
Endgame is a great deal about revisiting the original Avengers. Hence the focus does lie a lot on Tony and Steve since their fallout in Civil War. There are others such as Rocket, Nebula, War Machine, Captain Marvel and Ant Man in the mix, but they do tend to become accessories to a situation which is in service of the original Avengers.
Amidst revisiting the past come the controversial choices of The Fat Thor and Professor Hulk storylines, which left the audience opinion peppered over a spectrum from really funny to highly unnecessary. Hawkeye gets a deserving redemption from being poorly sidelined by his super powered teammates, and so does Black Widow. But the interactions amongst them are mostly with respect to reconciliation and rebuilding.
Infinity War shines through due to its mixed bag of unlikely character interactions that the MCU has been carefully working towards. Dr.Strange meeting Peter Parker, Thor’s teamwork with Rocket(Rabbit), the war in Wakanda to the odd conglomerate at Titan makes ways for some really interesting banter and quips made possible from the fact that these are all characters from various universes meeting each other for the first time.
These interactions show the meticulously planned manner in which the MCU had staggered their movies across the past couple of phases to quench our thirst for crossovers.
Battle Scenes:
When Captain America: Civil War (aka Avengers 2.5) came out, there was a huge complaint regarding the lack of number of characters present during the eponymous war. This led to people feeling the scene was altogether empty as opposed to the chaos that ensues in the graphic novel which it is based on.
The airport fight scene did effectively make use of its constraints and put in a fair mix of humour, superpowers and action choreography to create a throughly entertaining scene (this includes the arrested development easter egg). But it still had swathes of open unused battle ground potential.
Endgame seemed to be an emphatic answer to the meme. Even with the chaotic CGI fest that it unleashes in its last 30 minutes or so, there is still a dominant thread that makes the scene comprehensible and hence enjoyable. While the camera swoops around trying to swallow every character within the frame there are certain details that spring out on further viewings that brings each scene alive like an intricate painting.
The all inclusive finale felt like a fitting conclusion that couldn’t have been better. And it felt like a massive tribute to the fans who had been invested in the franchise since the start.
Infinity War only has the battle of Wakanda up its roster, which due to the relative scale would pale in comparison. But on its own it too accomplishes a terrific feat that eventually leads to the snap that ends it all. And that snap brings us to…
Thanos:
Even with an array of brownie points stacked in favour of Endgame, this is where Infinity War brings its A game. Thanos changed the face of Marvel villains, a problem that always plagued the franchise since its beginning. Even though Black Panther’s Killmonger was the first one to break out from the standard “Evil for the sake of being evil” trope, Thanos pushed the envelope by making the audience actually weigh and question his ideology.
Thanos wasn’t just a villain, he was a character propelled with the vision of a universal solution which he believed in thoroughly. Every thing he does is meant for what he believed was for the greater good. Captain America’s declaration “We don’t trade lives” is all that challenges his dogma.
His persistence for that goal and not just for mindless killing can be seen when he shows mercy to Quill, Tony Stark and others. While his sacrifice of Gamora comes at the price of incredible pain.
This brings a level of philosophical depth and hoists the movie on a higher level than the usual standard superhero affair by purely attaching a plausible rationale.
Endgame sadly demotes Thanos back to a genocidal maniac realm and dumps a dollop of undeserved injustice to the character that was build up in Infinity War.
Ending and Closure:
Both the movies have a heavy underlying theme of sacrifice. Infinity War deals with the sacrifices that Thanos makes to restore balance in the universe, even if it meant destroying half the universe. Endgame deals with the themes of martyrdom and sacrifice for the greater good.
Infinity War makes a bold move of ending the movie on a heavily bleak note, something that’s unseen in the MCU. Even with the hope that the deaths will mostly be reversed in the sequel, it gave an unsettling shock to those used the cheery popcorn endings to most MCU fares.
Endgame, too takes the hard step to let go of their main mascot, albeit in the most heroic way. It gets to bookend years of storytelling with a sense of finality and hope even in the midst of pivotal sacrifices.
It’s rather unfair to compare these two films on the basis of their endings, since the last movie always gets the advantage of having the closing statements. But then it was more about the effect that lingered after leaving the movie hall. Endgame ended with people having a “wow” plastered across their faces and resulted in a bittersweet feeling of something ending for new things to grow.
In a bid to choose a superior movie, there will only be wrong answers. Cause both films, although two sides of the same coin, inhabit two separate realms:
Infinity War is a bold and fresh take for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ability to make superhero movies that can be entertaining yet profound at the same time.
Endgame is the pure and distilled form of decades of world building that entertains by proving that the MCU knows its fans really well.
Depending on the time this question of choice is asked my answers might vary. At present though it’s clear, cause “We’re in the Endgame now!”
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