Although I was invited to an early screening of Avengers: Endgame, I was unable to attend earlier this week because of schedule. So I ended up taking my daughter and myself to an early morning showing today, thinking that I’d have more than enough time to come home and write a quick review. I didn’t factor in a migraine. So while this movie review is coming to you fairly late, I figure that most people who saw the movie within the first 24 hours weren’t waiting around for a movie review, anyway.
Just to be clear, this is not a sponsored post. I paid for my tickets. This discussion is 100% spoiler-free and safe to read before seeing the film.
“We lost, all of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost part of ourselves. This is the fight of our lives.” —Steve Rogers/Captain America
About Avengers: Endgame (Official)
From Marvel Studios comes the most highly anticipated film ever in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—“Avengers: Endgame,” the 22nd Marvel Studios film to date and the climactic
conclusion to the cataclysmic events that unfolded in the top-grossing film of 2018, “Avengers: Infinity War.”
The Avengers franchise has had an unprecedented cinematic journey, spanning several galaxies over the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 11 years. Now the newest entry, “Avengers: Endgame,” brings to the big screen the highest stakes and deadliest showdown ever between the Avengers and the universe’s most powerful and deadliest villain, Thanos.
“Avengers: Endgame” picks up with the Avengers having been soundly defeated by Thanos, who, after collecting the six Infinity Stones, imposed his twisted will on all of humanity and randomly wiped out half of the world’s population, including many of the Avengers. In the aftermath of the destruction, the remaining Avengers are faced with their biggest challenge yet—finding the resolve within themselves to get off the mat and find a way to defeat Thanos once and for all.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), War Machine/James Rhodey (Don Cheadle), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is the most anticipated superhero film of all time and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
Gwyneth Paltrow also returns as Pepper Potts, along with Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. Josh Brolin also returns as the film’s infamous villain, Thanos.
Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is directed by Emmy Award®–winning directors Anthony and Joe Russo from an original screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. Kevin Feige is producing the film, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo, Trinh Tran, Jon Favreau, James Gunn and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo’s creative team also includes director of photography Trent Opaloch (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War”); production designer Charles
Wood (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Matrix”); editors Jeffrey Ford, ACE (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War”), and Matthew Schmidt (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”); three-time Oscar®–nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War”); Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Dan DeLeeuw (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War”); six-time Oscar nominee, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Black Panther”); and stunt coordinator Monique Ganderton (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Atomic Blonde”).
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Thor (Chris Hemsworth)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
Based on the Marvel comic franchise first published in 1963, “Avengers: Endgame” continues the lineage of epic big-screen adventures chronicled in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Ant-Man,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Doctor Strange,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Black Panther,” “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain Marvel” and the upcoming release “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” on July 5, 2019.
My Avengers Experience
Way back when the first Avengers movie came out in 2012, I was invited to attend the press event in Los Angeles. The press event happened to land on the weekend of some kind of performance for one of my kids, and I was already in the dog house for missing something in the past month. I declined the invitation (and have regretted it ever since). I wasn’t a die hard Avengers fan yet.
When Avengers: The Age of Ultron came to theaters, I got another invitation to attend the press event and this time I didn’t hesitate to say yes. By that point, I was a fan and my teenage kids were obsessed (for the record, the kid who I declined that first invitation for has regretted it too). Meeting the Avengers in person was a highlight of my life, alongside giving birth to my children.
What I thought about Avengers: Endgame
Endgame had a different feel from the other Avengers movies, but that’s to be expected after the way Infinity War ended. There is a very somber feel to the entire movie and much less of the Avengers humor that I’ve become used to with this series (don’t worry, there is a little bit of comic relief coming from Thor, of all characters….just wait).
I don’t know if it was my migraine (probably so) or the fact that the theater was uncomfortably hot or a combination of fatigue, hunger, headache, and everything put together that made the 3+ hours seem REALLY long. I was not bored. I enjoyed every minute. But I was uncomfortable. My daughter said the same thing. I recommend getting a drink and popcorn to break things up a bit, but take a good potty break before the movie starts because you’re not going to want to leave the theater during this movie.
Be aware: there is no end credit scene, so don’t bother staying until the last credit rolls. I had heard that this movie didn’t have the typical end credit scene, but I decided to stay until the end to make sure it wasn’t a rumor. It was not a rumor.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Nebula (Karen Gillan)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
I’m assuming that if you’re interested in seeing Endgame, you’ve already seen the previous Avengers movies and all of the Marvel franchise movies (including Captain Marvel). If you haven’t caught up with the previously released movies, do yourself a favor and have a binge weekend and get up to speed. Knowing who the characters are and why they’re important in the story line is going to make a huge difference. This is not a movie you can appreciate if you see it out of order.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), War Machine/James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
If you’re caught up and ready to see Endgame, I’m guessing that you have questions. And since this is a spoiler-free post, I can’t answer many of them except to say that your questions will be answered and situations will be resolved. After the movie, my daughter and I chatted for a bit….this really did feel like an ending. Unlike all of the other movies where there was always an opening for the next part of the story, this movie felt final.
My recommendation: see the movie in theaters (after you’re caught up on all of the Avengers movies, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man, Spiderman and Captain Marvel). See it soon before everyone is talking about what happens like everyone else already knows.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019
One more word about the movie: I feel like I could write a college paper on the way people react to grief based on the different character’s reactions to the grief that they all experienced in Infinity War. It was very interesting to see the varied reactions – from anger to sadness to staying busy to moving on and making the most of the new situation.
You’re going to enjoy it, but be prepared for an EMOTIONAL ride.
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This is by far one of the greatest cinematic events in history. This film was just a pure masterpiece. To be honest, the beginning was pretty slow, but after an hour and a half, the movie got epic. What a way to conclude the story of marvel’s most beloved heroes.