I have been an unabashed Marvel Cinematic Universe fan ever since the original Iron Man caught me completely off guard back in 2008. Now, 11 years and 22 movies later, we come to the concluding chapter of the MCU's Infinity Saga and my god do they ever stick the landing. Much has been made of the three hour run time of the film but there is not an ounce of fat in this film. It is lean and moves at a steady pace in a truly epic way. The challenge with this review though is going to be how to review this while maintaining this film's ample number of surprises.
Following the events of Infinity War, our intrepid heroes are left reeling and trying to put their lives back together in the face of unparalleled defeat. Half of all living beings on Earth were wiped out by Thanos' snap. Left to pick up the pieces, they try to find a way to live in this new world they are faced with. Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr) is stranded in space with Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) trying to find a way back to Earth. Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) retreats to a settlement with the remaining Asgardians on Earth. Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) leads a support group for others impacted by the Snap and Natasha (played by Scarlett Johansson) is keeping the midnight oil burning at Avengers headquarters, keeping tabs on the others, while also trying to track down, with help from Rhodey (played by Don Cheadle), Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner), who went off the map after losing his family to Thanos. Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo) has made peace with his inner Hulk and is trying to move on with his life as well. Things start looking up when Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) is suddenly released from the Quantum Realm (where he got stuck at the end of Ant Man & the Wasp). Horrified at what happened while he was gone, he develops a daring and bold plan to set things right, turning to the Avengers for help, needing everyone's help to pull it off.
The film was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. What they manage to accomplish within the runtime of the film is fantastic as they pay homage to the previous 21 films in the series, tying everything back into this film and making it look so seamless in the process. The manage to juggle a massive cast of characters while at the same time giving every member of the team their moment to shine. This film is absolutely epic in scope with so many parallel storylines as our plucky heroes try to undo what Thanos did. At the same time it is all easy to follow as all the plot points converge together. The film also, in that now classic Marvel way, transitions seamlessly from thrilling action to gut-busting laughter to heart wrenching emotion. But even more so here because this film really feels like a conclusion of sorts. Sure, many of the heroes featured will go on to more movies, but this is the last outing for a number of them and the filmmakers really craft a meaningful final goodbye for them. I know I'm being really vague here, but there are so many surprises in this film I really want to preserve.
Robert Downey Jr, the one who kicked it all off, makes his tenth appearance as Tony Stark and continues to find new depths in the character, showing the mileage his adventures have taken on him. Chris Evans likewise gives a great performance as Steve Rogers, who is trying to figure out his place in the world Post-Snap. The film also finds a really clever and amusing way of showing how much Steve has grown and changed over the films. Chris Hemsworth gives one of his best performances as Thor, who has perhaps lost more than any other Avenger, between losing his home world of Asgard, his brother Loki, and half of his people and is living with the remains in New Asgard, reveling in utter defeat, a broken shell of the God of Thunder he once was. And yet, the way Hemsworth portays him is fantastic. You can tell that everything he has been through has taken a drastic toll, but he is still able to pick himself up and be a worthy team member to the Avengers. Yet, Hemsworth finds a great balance with the character, showing Thor putting on a brave face and yet underneath you can tell he wants to scream underneath. Scarlett Johansson also has a nice turn in this film as the defacto leader of The Avengers in the absence of both Tony and Steve, left to keep things running with the fractured remains. It was also nice to see Jeremy Renner getting more to do this time around as Clint Barton is left reeling after the loss of his entire family, taking him down decidedly darker path than before. It's a bit meatier that what the role has been in previous Avengers films and Renner runs with it wonderfully. Mark Ruffalo also has a great turn here as Bruce Banner, finding him in a rather unexpected place Post-Snap. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil it.
Overall, Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of the last 21 films and is an ending of sorts. Of course the MCU will continue on in many ways after this, but it feels like a definitive ending with some wonderful callbacks to just about every movie in the series up to this point. I'm tap dancing around spoilers here so forgive me for not elaborating. The film more than earns it's three-hour runtime as it jumps from plot point to plot point leading to an epic and emotional climax. It's a hell of a film, especially if you're like me and been following this series since the beginning. It may just be their best one yet.
