“There was an idea…Stark knows this…called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could” – Nick Fury
Eleven years. Twenty-two films. Hundreds of characters. Thousands of crew members. And countless hours spent in front of and behind the cameras, touring the world doing fan events and press tours. All of it leading in one direction. Avengers: Endgame probably won’t be what you expected but it was a fitting end to a remarkable journey.
There will be no spoilers here, for a film as highly anticipated as this one, nobody wants that. Besides, there were so many rumors surrounding this project, it’s just more fun to have the freedom to speculate. Those of you who have paid close attention to the films and to the promotional build up for this movie can probably read between the lines enough to have a reasonably good, generalized idea of what to expect from Endgame.
Joe and Anthony Russo have come a long way since taking over the reins for the Captain America trilogy back in 2014. They were a fairly well-known commodity on the TV circuit but untested as box office draws, yet their entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe signified a tonal change for everything from that point forward. Joss Whedon’s first two Avengers films were definitely action-packed, colorful thrill rides but there was a lack of gravity. Winter Soldier signaled a new type of storytelling for superheroes and that model was closely followed in Civil War. While it wasn’t officially given the “Avengers” title, it did more for the team and their character development than the previous films combined. Fleshing out the people behind the heroes…their motivations and their core values…was wholly important when it came to transitioning to the next level. It is difficult to encapsulate just how important the Russo brothers are to the MCU but without them, we may not be sitting here discussing potentially the most successful movie ever made. The sheer scope of their vision and their uncanny ability to wield so many moving parts, with what appears to be relative ease, is astonishing. Not only that, but their willingness and eagerness to include the established character narratives from the stand alone trilogies, and welcome it into their world, did wonders for the collective MCU and all the films that will follow in the wake of the latest events. What these two men have done in the span of five years is nothing short of incredible and they deserve all the credit. There should be no discussions about Best Director(s) that doesn’t include these guys…but we’ve seen how the Academy is.
All the movies under the Marvel umbrella have shown a level of adeptness when it comes to using comedy to build characters but, considering how things left off after Infinity War, I didn’t expect this movie to wield such a potent sense of humor. That is not to say it’s without the proper level of reverence and seriousness either. The screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is definitely driven by a lot of emotion but doesn’t lose sight of the fact the audience comes to these movies to have fun also. There are certainly instances of audience pandering going on throughout the script but that’s kind of to be expected…after all, this is in many ways a love letter to the entirety of the MCU and ultimately that’s not a bad thing. It’s both heavy and lighthearted with neither falling too far out of balance.
As a result of a strong script, there are standout performances from all the people you’d expect. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth all portray everything we love about them and then some. Besides that, it was great seeing them all together again too. With many of the characters snapped away at the end of Infinity War, Karen Gillan played a larger part as Nebula this time out. Due to the nature of her creation, she’s a complicated character and it was nice to see that complexity come to the surface in Gillan’s performance. With many good performances to be had, this was a particularly good role for Scarlett Johannson…in fact, this was the best role…and the best performance she has given…as Black Widow. Honestly, I was never really sold on her throughout the rest of her tenure. As the Russian spy–turned SHIELD operative–turned Avenger, she had primarily been relegated to witty quips and one-liners…rarely afforded the opportunity to be a grounded character outside of a few scenes with Mark Ruffalo and, as a result, it nerfed the potential Johannson could have put into the character. She has shown herself to be a strong performer given the right script and this was an emotionally layered and fragile performance for a character who’s shown little of those attributes in the past. Nobody was bad in this, there were just a handful of performances that rose to the top of a very crowded heap.
Even the music supervision was more meaningful, more self-aware. Dave Jordan learned the value of a strong soundtrack from his work on Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and used the same approach to help tell this story with notable tracks from The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Traffic, and Redbone. It’s also long, long overdue but Alan Silvestri’s original score has to get recognized for its brilliance this time around. Years from now, the Avengers theme will be recognized as one of those instantly identifiable film scores. Plenty of beautiful music has been awarded at the end of the year with nowhere near the staying power or fingerprint of Silvestri’s work here. Give the man his Oscar and call it a day.
Naturally, the visual design was all on point. Especially considering there was more on the table this time. Charles Wood should absolutely be on the short list (if not the front runner) when it comes time to hand out hardware for Best Production Design. Judianna Makovsky created some clean and modern team uniforms that were downright cool in red, white, and gray. Her work in the franchise, beginning with Civil War, has gotten short changed when it comes to many of her costuming efforts of recent years but it has silently been one of the most consistent backbones for these characters. Considering Black Panther took home Oscars in both categories last year, it would be exceedingly difficult to deny Endgame this time around.
So many things had to fall in place to make this all happen and IMDB may have to adapt infinite scroll to properly credit the bazillions of incredible artists, animators, make-up and effects artists, stunt people, hairdressers, camera operators, personal assistants, drivers, lighting technicians, engineers, prop masters, set decorators, and countless others. None of this could be actualized without them nor would any of it exist without Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Jim Starlin. Then there’s the wizard behind the curtain, Kevin Feige. This undertaking changed the industry forever and opened the door to a universe of endless possibilities. This may not end up being the best movie ever, a Best Picture candidate (although it should be as of right now), or even my personal favorite but there is no denying it’s something special. Even if you don’t like superheroes and the seemingly endless stream of movies that accompany them, Avengers: Endgame will soon take its place in history based on its undeniable cinematic brilliance…”Whatever it takes”
Recommendation: I’m sure most people who want to see this movie already have or are currently doing so. However, if you’re on the fence for some reason, go check it out when you can eventually get tickets. As soon as it ended, I was 100% down to watch the whole thing again right away and that’s the highest praise I can bestow upon any film…it rarely happens. It’s safe and enjoyable for the whole family, casual and hardcore fans alike. Go see it. Have fun. Be Safe.