WARNING! SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!

Endgame was phenomenal. Let’s get that out of the way first.

If you still haven’t seen Endgame yet, I would strongly suggest watching the movie before you read this, or if you’re simply bursting to read some horribly vague opinions on the movie, reading my Spoiler Free Review first. If you don’t have the time nor patience to do either of those things, I’ll just go ahead and reinforce my point that this is astonishing and shouldn’t be missed. For any fan of the MCU or Superhero genre, Endgame is immensely entertaining and satisfying. Now I’ve gone over that, you can either leave to go and see the movie, or read on to see me gush over spoilers.

Final Warning. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Also, full disclosure, this is pretty long (it’s a labour of love). If you want to know my opinions on something in particular, I’ve divided this review/discussion into sections.

Ok then. We’ll start by discussing individual characters.

(*Cinema Vault’s writer continues to be an emotional wreck in the best possible way*).

IRON MAN

In my opinion, this is Tony Stark’s movie, and rightfully so. His character is taken in such a dramatically brilliant direction that marks a fitting and emotionally resonant send-off for Robert Downey Jr., the man without whom none of this would be a reality. I will miss seeing this unique blurring of lines between character and actor grace our screens. That’s assuming he stays dead of course, which regrettably appears to be the case.

I cried in the cinema during his death scene (something which I won’t fully accept for a long, long time), which upon reflection was a really fitting conclusion to the arc that was started for Tony in the first Iron Man. He’s gone from someone only interested in himself and protecting his own interests to someone willing to sacrifice himself to save everyone and preserve everything that matter to him.

The execution of the scene itself is superb. Robert Downey Jr. does excellently delivering that final line (“And I… am Iron Man”), and I feel that no other actor in that cast could have really delivered that final line for their character in an emotionally resonant way. Then we get the scene itself, which made my eyes well up and my heart sink. When Pepper says, “You can rest now”, it’s just so impactful for someone such as myself, for whom the character of Iron Man as portrayed by RDJ has been an ever-constant in their life. Tony would never have been able to get over his obsession with keeping Pepper and the world safe – as he says in Iron Man 3, those suits had became a part of him. His sacrifice, and the fact that he was surrounded by all the people who mattered most to him in his life, all safe, showed that despite his death, he’d succeeded – he’d found peace and closure. And upon reflection, that was always the best possible end to his character arc.

Even if it’s one I’ll never get over on an emotional level.

Tracking his character throughout the movie, I love the fatherhood aspect added to his character. I loved it 3000 (*sob*). His chemistry with Morgan is beautiful, and while his death is obviously very harsh on his five year-old girl, the sacrifice was done to save her. Tony loving and raising Morgan was almost like the complete reversal of the character we saw in the first Iron Man. I also enjoyed the section in New Jersey when Tony and Steve time travel back to the seventies to acquire the Tesseract and more Pym Particles, and Tony’s conversation with his father. It was such a touching moment, reconciling Tony’s relationship with Howard Stark but also alluding to how in the same way Howard, ‘would have done anything for his son’, Tony would do anything for Morgan. That whole aspect of the movie was touching.

With a heartfelt funeral following his noble sacrifice, we may not like that he’s gone, but truly, Robert Downey Jr. will always be Iron Man.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Cap gets so much to do in his final outing! I’d definitely argue that whilst this is Tony’s movie (and that he is also the heart of the story), Steve is very much the MVP in terms of fan service and authentically awesome moments. I love the Cap vs Cap fight in New York, and how this slightly older and wiser Cap is able to use his enemies’ weaknesses against them (the elevator scene with the ‘Hail Hydra’ left a smile on my face, as did how he used Bucky against his older self during the fight scene). To cap it all off (forgive the pun) is when he’s able to lift Mijolnir, and how he’s proven to finally be rightfully worthy. Thor’s really cool about it too, which I loved. But that aspect of the movie, as well as that unbelievably awesome ‘Avengers Assemble’ in the third Act, were brilliant because they surprised me and fulfilled my expectations of things I’d been aching to see for so long in the MCU.

Cap’s send-off was not what I had been expecting going into the movie, however it’s particularly poetic when mirrored with Tony’s. Where Tony learnt compassion and sacrifice, Cap went from being that person willing to give up everything for the people who matter to him to actually doing something for himself. That last dance with Peggy was justified, and beautiful when you think about how alone Steve Rogers, this man out of time must have felt all these years. But he’s given closure in finally having that life he deserved. Obviously he’s the ‘sacrificial one’ so to speak in the comics, but Tony’s arc was inevitably more suited to it when you consider how sacrifice wouldn’t have really seen a character progression for Steve Rogers from that first Captain America movie.

I’m not sure how I feel about Falcon taking up the shield, but seeing as he hasn’t been fully developed yet, it is more or less a blank canvas for the creatives at Marvel to work with. I’m interested to see how this will affect the Falcon and Bucky TV series, but above all else there is a slight feeling that no matter how he handles that mantle, Falcon will never really be as worthy as Steve Rogers.

BLACK WIDOW

The character of Black Widow is now in an interesting position, because not only did she have to sacrifice herself for Hawkeye to obtain the Soul Stone (some people dislike that scene, I found it very emotional), but she also has an upcoming solo movie. One would assume that it will be a prequel to the movies we’ve seen thus far, perhaps detailing the ‘red’ on her ledger. But given her sacrifice, it would be interesting to see what led to this being a satisfactory conclusion for her character. Obviously it could be said that unlike Hawkeye, she didn’t have any dependents, with the Avengers being her real family, so perhaps it was a sacrificial gesture to show how much they mean to her. But my guess would be that her sacrifice is almost an exchange for the terrible things she had done, which is alluded to by dialogue in the sacrifice scene itself. Truly, considering Hawkeye’s brutal, unforgiving tenure as Ronin and the dark things Natasha had supposedly done in the past, the scene could not have been provided for two better characters.

Whilst her primary role in the movie is this sacrifice, there is every chance that at some point, maybe she’ll be brought back. She’s been a staple of this Universe for so long, and while the scene on Vormir is the emotional climax for her character, I have a feeling she could return at some point in the future. Who knows?

THOR

Thor is an odd character in many ways, because he has only really come to life and been used in experimental ways in the last three movies he’s been in. Therefore, it makes sense that his story is set to continue beyond Endgame. Most excitingly of all, it’s set to continue as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, which sets Vol. 3 up to be a riotously entertaining movie – or at least it has all the tools to be (Thor, the search for Gamora, the resurrected Guardians, etc). He has now given the responsibilities of ruling Asgard to Valkyrie, and is finally joining the team whose movies are most tonally similar to Ragnarok, which speaks volumes to me that Endgame acts as a medium through which Chris Hemsworth has finally embraced fully the new, fun transformation of his character.

Nothing commits more truly to that principle than the ‘Big Lebowski’ character turn that I could never have seen coming. Fat, drunk Thor is so smart, because whilst it’s a genius comedic movie which slots nicely into the narrative considering his failures in Infinity War, it also has a level of tragedy. It’s Thor visibly dealing with his past mistakes, and that balance between tragedy and comedy is really at the heart of not just the movie but the MCU in general. It’s why we love these characters, take them seriously and invest in the stories being told. Thor is played for a lot of jokes in this movie subsequently after he chops off Thanos’ head, yet there’s still a certain tragedy behind his character, and I’m excited to see that continue in the next Guardians movie.

PROFESSOR HULK

Out of the A6, Hulk’s arc in this movie is probably given the least depth, yet it’s also one of the most refreshing and fun. Obviously there’s a lot of humour, with the selfie scene and offering Ant-Man a tortilla wrap, but he references a lot of things we don’t get to see – how he and Hulk dealt with the snap, how he became Professor Hulk, etc – which bothered me a little bit. But his innocence despite his size and appearance is endearing, and Mark Ruffalo has evolved to become a wonderful comedic actor.

The biggest character moment for Banner in this movie is obviously his own snap, which made sense considering his power level. His arm is now mangled, and it will be interesting to see how far that heals. Perhaps the only thing that could fix it would be the return of Hulk at his most powerful and monstrous, although I’m sure Ruffalo is in no rush to let go of this version of the Hulk that looks like a ton of fun to portray. I’m sure we’ll see him return in future movies – maybe he goes to Wakanda to get that arm fixed…?

That opening scene was horrifying to watch. As soon as it began, you realised that the inevitable was going to happen and that Hawkeye’s family would disintegrate. In many ways, that sets up the stakes of the movie even after you account for half of all life in the Universe being in the balance. They’re personal stakes similarly to those with Tony and Peter Parker, and I enjoyed how these stakes shaped Clint Barton’s character.

The Ronin scene in this movie was so intense and awesome, and I for one would be very interested to see a Ronin movie taking place in between those five years, seeing fury and vengeance slowly consume this man after his family’s death. I doubt we’ll ever see it, but I enjoyed that aspect of the character. I’ve spoken about the Vormir scene, which was obviously very emotional, and in many ways, it lends to the idea that Hawkeye is the real hero of this movie. Or at least, he follows the Heroes’ journey, in a similar way to how Thanos did in the previous movie (evidently he wasn’t a ‘hero’, but his arc followed that structure). Clint starts with a goal, has to choose to accept the challenges presented to him, must sacrifice in order to complete his goal, and eventually does so.

As for his future involvement, I imagine we’ll next see Hawkeye grace our television screens in the rumoured Hawkeye TV show, where I presume we’ll see him train his daughter.

THANOS

I did have a sort of gut feeling that Thanos would be killed off early on, but it was still very shocking seeing him decapitated so soon into the film. I do like the idea that he was so committed to correcting the Universe that he had no further use for the Stones and destroyed them – it made sense, considering his dedication in Infinity War and philosophical way of thinking. Clearly, this wasn’t Thanos’ movie like Infinity War, but it’s a testament to the character and Josh Brolin’s performance that even after he’s been killed and his work corrected, he’s a real threat in that third Act. When he fought Cap, Iron Man and Thor, it genuinely seemed like any one of them could die at any given moment – I got a sickly feeling when he beat down Captain America’s shield. In the end, he watched his quest fall apart before him, and experienced what everyone had gone through after he’d snapped his fingers, which to me felt like justice.

Let’s talk Acts now.

ACT 1

Act 1 of Endgame is decidedly sombre, which is a smart choice on the behalf of the Russo Brothers. I noted in my Spoiler Free Review that it’s my least favourite of the three Acts, purely due to the sheer level of fun, entertainment value and shocks in the subsequent parts of the movie, but this first Act sets up the arcs of every one of those six core Avengers beautifully. From Hawkeye losing his family, to Thor, depressed after his failures in Infinity War and seeking out redemption in vain by killing Thanos after the point. I love how so many characters in this Act refer to the absurdity of the Avengers in a circumstance such as this, which genuinely gives the sense that hope is lost. Tony Stark’s speech after his rescue by Captain Marvel, the very Act of Thor killing Thanos but it having no effect on the outcome of the snap, Hawkeye’s activity as Ronin – it reflects the sense that the Avengers as a concept is designed to avenge something, yet it should really have handled the problem before it presented itself. Thus, the overarching theme of the first Act is guilt: guilt over failing to kill Thanos or over losing someone in the snap.

ACT 2

A lot of people dislike the time travel sequence of this movie, and whilst I won’t argue that it can be nit-picked to death and is often explained quite ambiguously, that’s beside the point. To me, this Act is a love letter to this Cinematic Universe. It captures the unique spirit of these movies even better than Act three. Even above that however, and discounting the plot service of finding the Infinity Stones across these past events in the MCU, I adore how the arc conclusions of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor are all foreshadowed through their interactions with figures from their past. Iron Man talks to his own father about the challenges of fatherhood, and the sacrifices a father must make, Captain America sees Peggy again and is reminded of the life he hadn’t enjoyed at that point in the movie, and Thor talks to his mother, something which inspires him to come out of his drunken depression and become the hero he once was.

Even discounting this, I loved the natural, quippy humour, and of course seeing these past MCU movies and how they have been honoured. There truly is a sense that the filmmakers understand not just the characters, but the things that make this Universe such a joy.

ACT 3

I don’t think I’ve seen a better third Act. The stakes are huge, the spectacle is unbelievable, the fighting feels emotional and lives feel like they could be taken at any second. When I watched this movie a second time in IMAX, the ‘Avengers Assemble’ moment was immense – I had a permanent smile, up until Iron Man’s death which I’ve already addressed. What more is there to say about it other than the obvious? The scene is just so satisfying, but despite the intense level of fan-pleasing and resurrected characters being thrown into the fray, you can still tell what’s going on, and the emotional punches (the aforementioned death in particular) hit. It’s just a testament to the Universe building of Kevin Feige, a tribute to these heroes, and does justice to the iconic Tony Stark. I was in tears of joy, sadness and out of pure astonishment. What else is there really to say?

Wow, what a movie. I feel so grateful that I’ve lived more or less my entire life with these characters, been able to grow with them, and watch these tremendous movies. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Until next time, thank you for reading, I love you 3000, and I bid you adieu! 🙂