Avengers: Endgame

(spoilers!)

Once upon a time comic book films were rare and mostly not very good. Once upon a time Robert Downey Jr. was unhirable. Once upon a time the idea that the movie based on a comic book will earn rave reviews and score nominations for major awards was unthinkable.

And then MCU happened.

22 movies. 11 years. Countless people involved in the making of the series. And now we have arrived at the big finale, where we had to say goodbye to this particular team defending the world.

The sheer scope of this film is hitherto unheard of (see what I did here?). The fact that Marvel pulled off making 22 films with only one disaster in there, which people quickly forgot about and the actor was recast, is amazing. To have a satisfying finale to such a huge storyline is challenging enough (just watch Game of Thrones totally fuck up in finale, I am sure of it) but to also manage to have all those nods and homages AND do so in a way that feels effortless WHILE introducing time travel element is truly an insane accomplishment. This film is a beautiful love letter not just to the fans but to the people who made it possible. And to the characters as well - Thor gets to see his mother, Tony his father, Cap gets to reunite with Peggy and finally gets that dance. Hawkeye gets his family back, Bruce is finally at peace with Hulk and Natasha finally wiped all that red in her ledger.
We get cameos from insane number of amazing actors, none more surprising than Robert Redford, who is allegedly retired and Natalie Portman, who we never expected to see in those movies again. It's like they called and these actors heard of this and agreed to do this with a smile on their face. Those cameos provide for this incredibly fun adventure where we get to travel with our heroes to the past - not only enjoying new scenes but reliving the past moments. It's so brilliant and so much fun, the amount of fan service here is delightful - we get to see Hulk embarrassed by previous Hulk, Cap fighting past Cap and of course - the comeback of myuh-myuh. There are even callbacks outside of MCU - with Tony's brilliant comment comparing Thor to The Dude and awesome visual homage to Aliens (when Clint sees the aliens approaching him in the tunnel).

The team ups are so much fun - Thor is joined by Jackson Maine Rocket, Tony, Cap and Scott team up with Bruce, Natasha is paired with Hawkeye and Nebula with War Machine. Captain Marvel isn't in the movie much but she is badass again and I loved the moment when she was trying to prevent Thanos from closing his fist. And I loved Scott Lang's more serious moments and the fact he was so motivated by the fact Hope was gone. He loves her so much!
Thor is the absolute MVP yet again. His arc makes perfect sense and I cannot believe some people have so many issues with it. Thor always had a reason to go on. In Infinity War it was his desire to defeat Thanos and make everything all right again. But in the beginning of Endgame it turns out that it is not possible so Thor loses himself. His family is gone, his hammer is gone, his home is gone. People drink for lesser reasons than this. Hemsworth delivers again especially in his dramatic moments and it's really affecting - when he breaks down when Rocket and Hulk visit him you really feel it. There's also a gorgeous character development moment for him with Frigga, And his new laid back attitude provides so many laughs. Hemsworth is such a delight and his are the film's funniest moments - when Thor attempts to explain the Aether to the others (Paul Rudd's delighted expression which mirrors my own whenever I watch interviews with Chris and Rocket's faceplam were hilarious) and when Rocket slaps him to get him to calm down.

And for all the complaints, Thor is the only one who will see again. Tony is gone, Natasha is gone, Professor Hulk isn't really Hulk, Clint is retired and so is Cap. And I for one, though I still find the rehiring of James Gunn disgusting, am very psyched for the next movie. And I'm fairly certain Hemsworth will be there to delight us for as long as Marvel lets him, because unfortunately for him, everything else he stars in flops.
There's a lot of talk about how Black Widow was treated unjustly because she wasn't in final battle, but I detest Scarlett Johansson, the lunching with Woody Allen, Marchesa wearing hag, so I have absolutely no problem with her not being there, in fact it made it better. I say take it further, have her solo be about another Widow and led by Florence Pugh. But to give the credit where its due, Johansson at least finally did something in this movie after years of sleepwalking as Widow. And as for complaints about the "forced" girl power scene I don't wanna hear any of this. Dudes led this thing for 21 out of 22 movies so shut the fuck up and let the women have their moment.

The Russos delivered on what was promised in that the characters who weren't there (Hawkeye) and weren't featured that much in Infinity War (Captain America) got to shine here. Hawkeye gets to be badasss and Captain America has so many amazing moments. The shot of him standing in front of the entire army is the film's most amazing moment. Well, most amazing until the portals opened up. And the crowds everywhere are going nuts at the moment when he grabs the hammer.
People have problems with Steve staying in the past. The ones who are being the most annoying about it are those who wanted him to rescue Bucky or bang him or whatever their underlining reason for all that rage is. We don't know if he didn't save Bucky in alternate timeline. Because this is what happened here - Cap didn't erase Peggy's husband. Him staying created another timeline and we simply don't know what else, besides finally reuniting with Peggy, he did there. Cap is a good person. And myuh-myuh deemed him worthy. Do some people think they know better than myuh-myuh? Please.

Also it's a comic book movie about time travel. Why are we overthinking this, people? Let's just  enjoy it and be spoiled because Marvel is certainly spoiling us time and time again. The last development with Steve was brilliant not only because it was earned (he deserved that dance and that life) but also because it was shocking. MCU is notorious for not killing off characters so it's surprising anyone died. But we all assumed if someone is going to go, it's gonna be Steve. He didn't have a family or a living love interest, while Tony had Pepper and now a child (an adorable child to make things even worse, goddammit it hurt so much). And yet it is Tony, who could never let go, who was the one who always knew they need to be prepared and who I believe was the first to use the phrase "Endgame" (in Age of Ultron) who is gone.
This is an extremely ballsy move for Marvel - Tony was the first hero and the franchise relayed on Robert Downey Jr.'s wit and charisma so often, and even very recently - they even put him in Homecoming to boost the box office. And now he is gone. Tony's death scene, with him being barely able to speak and Tom Holland outacting Paltrow's stiff ass was really brutal to watch and the feelings didn't stop there - there's a truly magnificent moment with all the heroes assembled at the funeral. This is the first Marvel movie that made me cry, in fact it was hard to stop crying.

The film other than bringing laughs and emotions did what Infinity War didn't deliver - the epic factor here is insane and it is greatly added by Silvestri's score which brings back a lot of familiar motifs from the franchise. The most incredible moment of course is when Captain America gets to say the long awaited "Avengers! Assemble," and the iconic main theme starts playing. It's the single most epic thing you will likely ever see. It's not an empty spectacle. It's 11 years of your life experiencing those movies, getting to know these characters and falling in love with them unfolding before your eyes.

Thank you 3000.

95/100
Avengers: Endgame (USA, 181 min, 2019)
Plot: After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe.
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson