MARVEL'S AVENGERS: ENDGAME Non-Spoiler Review -Matthew Hawes
AVENGERS: ENDGAME is the culmination of over a decades worth of films featuring the assembled casts of Marvel's cinematic universe. This is the climax to the saga of the Infinity Stones, a storyline that has ran through nearly all the films concerning the mad Titan known as Thanos and his quest to control the fate of the universe.
Those of you who saw the previous outing, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, will recall the predicament the Marvel heroes faced after Thanos finally acquired the stones. The film's first act takes up during the aftermath of that event and show us how the remaining heroes have dealt with their situation. This part mainly focuses on characterization and setting up the plan to restore everything as it should be. Things pick up in the second act as the heroes set in motion those plans with varying results. The action revs up in the final act, with several great moments sure to please the crowd, and most fans. It is mostly successful in resolving ongoing character arcs and finishing up this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The three-hour length is needed to make this possible, and for the most part the film doesn't drag, especially after the first act.
I enjoyed the film overall. A film this grand in scope can't tackle everything exactly as each fan would like, but it does a nice job of wrapping up most things. Since this review is non-spoiler, I won't reveal anything major, but there is a big question left as tohow the world in the MCU has been affected by the results of what happens in the film. I am interested as to whether the upcoming Marvel films will address this or ignore it.
If you are a fan of the movie series as a whole, and have invested so much time into watching these characters develop and change through the years, you pretty much owe it to yourself to check out this film. In some ways it is a conclusion, but in other ways it will be a new beginning. Like most films, it is not without fault, but mostly the faults are minor and do not deter from the overall story being told. As far as ranking the film, I find it hard to separate this one from INFINITY WAR. They are two parts of a large story, so I would say in many ways I consider them on the same level of enjoyment for me. The first AVENGERS film still holds my position for personal favorite of the MCU films, with the first IRON MAN coming in second. I would rate this as a tie with INFINITY WAR for third place, which isn't a bad thing.
Oh, and for those that are curious, there is no after credits scene, nor even a mid-credits scene. I say this as a public service announcement. Your bladder will likely be grateful for this information.
-- Matthew Hawes COMICS UNLIMITED www.comicsunlimited.biz