4.6/5.0
Upon my shameless fifth rewatch of this film, I just wanted to make a small continuation of my original review. Marvel has worked together for 11 years as a team to bring us the Avengers. Endgame isn’t for the average MCU watcher, this is for the fans and the kids who have looked up to these heroes since childhood. That isn’t to say anyone isn’t worthy of enjoying this film, but rather this is a solidifying memoir to say our final goodbyes to the Avengers we’ve been fighting alongside for so long. Whether you’re team Iron Man, team Captain America, or maybe Thor or Hulk happen to be your favorite Marvel superhero, all those inclinations are thrown out the window the moment you step into the theater. This is the last fight and we’re fighting it together as a team, as a fandom, as the Avengers.
The years have built up and the relationships we’ve formed have come to be a world of a huge ants, a morphed version of Bruce Banner and Hulk dabbing, and a Norwegian God serving our planet. These characters have come to mean so much to all of us and the thought of losing any of them is enough to stir up some emotions. Dread has built up as the day has arrived and we’re worrisome of who we’re about to lose from this family we’ve built. Regardless of the cinematic “art-house” views some of us uphold, this film is not for those viewers. This is for the fans; all of us scrambling to buy our tickets just to hold a seat on opening day, those who dress up on opening night, for all the cheers, tears, and laughter we’ll share one last time in theaters before we have to part our ways. I loved being able to be there opening night and seeing all the fans anxious and unaware of what’s to come the moment we all sit down together. Although, this was released back in April earlier this year, I was able to attend the re-release later in July and I'm shocked to see the theater still so packed with fans reciting the already memorized lines. That may seem excessive and dramatic to some, but to myself and others it’s a compilation of 11 years in the making.
Endgame is a gratifying finale to the MCU. It focuses on the major losses we’ve all shared. With its previous Infinity War, Thanos has managed to make himself either the most hated character or the best villain in the MCU. Taking the lives of half of the population definitely has left us wondering what will we do in a world without our favorite superheroes. Now the time has come to reflect on those losses and what is to come. The first act reflects on what most of use had theorized post-Infinity War, which is why not just get the stones back and turn back time to save everyone? Except the Avengers are just two days, too late. While this first act is quite rushed, the Avengers find the malicious Thanos ask him about the stones and kill him. And as fast as I typed that, was as fast as justice was served. Only it wasn't as gratifying as you would think. I mean, he did wipe out half the population so is it really worthy of what he deserved. No one was saved and Thanos was gone within an instant and everyone's left wondering, now what? Although, the vengeance of Thanos was rushed in to a quick 20 minutes we know that this can’t be the end. Except it is. The Avengers are left to move on and as are we. Just like that the 11 years we’ve thrown into this fandom are gone and as Captain America would say we just have to move on.
My personal favorite theme of the film is centered around loss and regrets. We have just lost half the population with no way of getting them back. The time has come to accept these losses and move on. The Avengers are not some to give up so easily, but what is there to do when there’s nothing left to fight for? The team is faced with what is truly feels like to lose and to disappoint those whom which you love the most. We’ve seen the Avengers do it all and somehow with a second to spare they surpass all evil and save the world again and again. Now they must face the biggest fight they’ve ever had which is accepting they’ve lost. What's a superhero to do in world that no longer needs saving?
I won't continue to delve into the rest of the film sequence by sequence, but the Avengers find their way to give everything one last shot. They travel back in time to known moments of the location of each Infinity Stone to prevent Thanos from ever collecting them. While each character is thrown back in time to seize the Infinity Stones is when I saw the theme of loss play hardest. Thor goes back to retrieve the Reality stones on Asgard so many years ago and suddenly we’re back in the world of “Thor: The Dark World.” Specifically to the day his mother died. Each character travels back to pivotal moments of their lives where they have come face to face with an ultimate loss. Thor watching his mother from afar desperate to try and reconnect one last time before her death. Coming to these moments has forced the Avengers to face loss for those whom they cannot save. They’re here in these moments for the Infinity Stones, but what of these people they couldn’t save and are forced to lose forever (again). Captain America is just a few inches away from Peggy, but struggles between his want to reach out for her and the essential mission at stake. It's a constant difficult inner battle between the future and the past. Tony comes face-to-face with another regret almost as haunting as Thanos. Tony is surprised to see his father one last time, only to find it’s the day of his birth. The beginning of Iron Man. I don’t want to get too in-depth about it, but if you didn’t tear up on the concept of Tony Stark forgiving his father and saying all the last words he wished he had said back on December 16th 1991, I truly don’t know what will. The Avengers are dealt a heavy hand when confronting their past losses and doing whatever it takes to retrieve the Infinity Stones to save those who they can.
It's difficult not to acknowledge the bigger underlying message that these heroes are so used to succeeding in all their missions, it's difficult for them to actually dwell and reflect on their biggest failure. In the initial moments following Infinity War it all seems surreal, to both the fans and the Avengers, that we have actually lost. As the long five years following the vengeful death of Thanos, it emphasizes the harsh reality of accepting they have lost and they must be forced to move on. As much as this film focuses on the past it also focuses on the future. Tony Stark has finally created the life with Pepper that has previously been sacrificed so many times for the life of being a superhero. Although the opportunity presents itself to try and pull off the time heist he is not willing to negotiate the life he has made with Pepper and his adorable daughter Morgan. But we later see buried under those emotions a part of him lingers over the loss of Peter, which essentially is what drives him to pursue the time heist. In reflecting in the past and the future, it's this same hardheaded unwillingness to accept that they've lost, that actually allows the Avengers to save the world one last time. In visiting the past some of the team confront versions of their past selves. We can see Nebula still holds on to the part of her that feels devoted to her father when they raid him on the opening sequence of the film. Later on we see her past self conflicted with the hold her father has over her and the possibility of the future she's created with her sister Gamora. Eventually Nebula kills her former self and in doing so has killed the part of her past that has been holding her back. This accentuates the urgency of how confronting the past is essential to move on for a prosperous future.
While I got through that depressing theme of “loss” there is so much joy to consider when traveling back in time. It’s a quick recap of all the films and happiness they brought. Visiting Asgard, Star-Lord’s dancing scene back on Morag, or post-battle New York City after Loki fucks everything up (I miss u!) for fun, brings the fans on a quick ride though the past 11 years. You can’t help but look up and smile in awe of all those memories shared between us and the heroes. Luckily I finished re-watching all of the MCU films before Endgame, but this was an awesome way to relive those moments for those who didn’t get a chance to reminisce beforehand. You find yourself smiling at our heroes and quite literally looking up to them. I felt like an absolute dork finding myself smiling at these moments and knowing I got to be there when that first fight happened and to see myself here for the last one. (Even upon my fifth rewatch I still found myself smiling like an idiot)
Like I said this film is for the fans. Anyone is free to enjoy, but those who have been along for the ride will catch on to the little Easter Eggs throughout the film for references of past films and it makes the experience all the more nostalgic. Which breaks our hearts even more to know this is the last time we’ll see them all together on the screen. There are so many tearjerkers and as one who doesn't often cry watching films, this one really tested me and had me emotional and bawling by the end. It’s an overload of so many things finally tying in together for such a satisfactory ending. It’s almost like we’ve been living on the edge of knowing whether our heroes are truly gone or if they can manage to pull through for one last battle. So watching Endgame is a fulfilling last breath of fresh air. And although we’re losing some of our favorite Avengers and we have to say goodbye, we can always come back to the films and to our family we’ve built.
I don’t want to speak too much on the deaths of these characters because, although the deaths completely tore my emotions apart I know we fought a great fight. I look at Doctor Strange and start to tear up, and as much as I wish he didn’t lift his finger up to say “one” he did. There was truly no other way and although, a part of me wishes no one had to go, I know if everyone lived it wouldn’t have had the same effect. Although in Infinity War people were taken from us, it’s not the same because Thanos took them from us. We had anger stirred up. But in Endgame Tony Stark knew. He chose to sacrifice himself for the greater good and no one can take that from him. Not even Thanos can say he won. Every character’s life who was lost in this film sacrificed themselves for something bigger than themselves and I think that’s what it truly means to be a superhero. It's heartbreaking to see a world where Iron Man doesn't exist, but his death almost feels right sending a "greater than life" message. I look back to the first Iron Man film in 2008 and I tear up to see what Iron Man has grown to be. To see my original re-watch review and what I said of Tony and it still holds to be true. “I am Iron Man” And I'm crying again.
Few have pulled off such epic series of stories and managed to create a gratifying and satisfactory ending. Much less to pay respect and homage to everything that has been building up to this moment. But Marvel really pulled off an exceptional ending. I know this is long, but it’s well deserved. It’s the ending of an era, but the beginning of a new one. I want to seriously thank the Marvel team, anyone who has helped on the comics or films, and thank the Avengers themselves for dedicating themselves to such a big fandom and sacrificing themselves endlessly for the fans. i love you 3000.
Excelsior.