You can read our Infinity War Review here to get our thoughts on the first part!
The End Of The Beginning
Avengers: Endgame is not a perfect film. It has plenty of issues both with pacing during its middle portion and a few character inconsistencies that prevent it from being a better title. However, as a conclusive chapter to an epic saga and a follow-up to last year’s Infinity War, Endgame is a fantastic film. It’s an action blockbuster but one with tinges of bittersweet victory at the end, one that’s not afraid to take its viewers down some dark roads whilst combining all its characters into one final, epic battle to bow out with. After a brief prologue, the film picks up not long after the events at the end of Infinity War. The remaining survivors on Earth band together to destroy Thanos once and for all in the hope of collecting the infinity stones and snapping everyone they’ve lost back into existence. Of course, things aren’t as simple as they seem and after a pretty devastating truth is revealed, we cut forward five years where the real story begins. From here, the group formulate a new plan, with the help of Ant Man, to stop Thanos and reverse everything that’s happened before. Clocking in at a little over 3 hours, Endgame is a long film. It’s one that’s almost too long at times, with a middle portion that’s bogged down a little but more than makes up for this with some very clever plot developments. As this is a spoiler-free review I won’t divulge what these are but suffice to say, there’s some great call-backs to the previous 22 films, paying homage to the Marvel legacy in a believable and clever way. Now admittedly Infinity War has the better moments out of the two films. Thanos is a much better villain and threat in the first film too, with plenty of experience and a story that feels a lot tighter and well written compared to Endgame. However, given the epic nature of the plot, it’s sometimes easy to forget this Thanos isn’t the same one we saw in the first film. Again, for fear of giving away spoilers, there’s a plot development here that takes things in a really interesting direction. The same can be said for the various skirmishes that crop up throughout the film too and these certainly help add some dimension to proceedings. Of course, all the usual Marvel shenanigans are here, including the trademark humour and one-liners that have become a staple of this series. Of course, with this comes obvious character casualties and much like the past few films, Thor is ultimately used as comic relief rather than a legitimate, deep character. Hulk’s new look is something that’s likely going to divide the fan-base too and given the hype around Captain Marvel, her limited screen time and questionable presence on the battlefield certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Still, Endgame is a really good film. It’s a fantastic action blockbuster and the perfect way to close out an epic cinematic universe. There’s no denying that Marvel films have absolutely changed the landscape of cinema since the first Iron Man was released all those years ago and what better way to pay homage to what’s come before than with this. Although it is a little overlong and a few of the characters feel lacklustre and under-utilized, there’s enough here to make for a highly enjoyable film nonetheless. While I personally enjoyed Infinity War a lot more, mainly due to its perfect pacing and tighter script, Endgame is a brilliant superhero film in its own right and certainly up there with one of the best films released this year.
