Part of the journey is the end: this line quoted by virtually every piece of “Endgame” marketing material is undoubtedly true. Whether it went on for ten years or a hundred years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) crescendoing story-line would eventually come to its conclusion; its “Endgame.”
While the MCU will go on with smaller story-lines beyond this, virtually everything about “Endgame” is laser guided to deliver the most satisfying conclusion to the story-lines that have entangled these films for the last ten years. It does so with broad gusto and unexpected twists that may find a few scratching their heads.
This is not to say they’re confusing; despite its massive three-hour run-time, “Endgame” actually feels quite brisk and avoids most of the pacing issues featured in other superhero blockbusters. Rather, “Endgame” spends a lot of its time highlighting the impacts these events, large and small, have had on the universe and characters that inhabit it.
It is, in the truest sense of the word, a celebration of what Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige started ten years ago and what it has evolved into: a group of remarkable people coming together with broad humor and broad swings to try and make the world a better place.
However, given the ending of “Infinity War,” directors Anthony and Joe Russo take an opportunity to play with expectations. Not just in the sense of actual plot, but in the character’s motivations and their smaller moments.
What this has allowed them to do is create what is almost the weirdest MCU film yet, and they do so with creativity. There are likely plenty of plot holes under the surface, but there’s at least an internal logic that everything is unflinchingly running on that makes it possible to ignore most of it and see what these moments are: fan service disguised as plot progression.
Each of the actors are all bringing their A-game, and show the most gumption and dramatic fervor in their smallest scenes. Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., especially, deliver top of their career work, showing exactly why these films have stood above their counterparts.
It all works so well because of the people; not the action or spectacle. Before their subsequent films, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Reiner were all relative nobodies. The same goes for the likes of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Clark Gregg and Sebastian Stan.
These are now people intrinsically tied to these characters they’ve dedicated years to performing, with the kind of lifetime association they’ve achieved being on the level of something like “Star Wars” or “Star Trek.”
“Endgame” ends up delivering not just with its action and finite nature, but because it zeroes in on allowing these character moments to shine through - it consists of people with extraordinary abilities allowing themselves to fight for their own interests some of the time.
This isn’t a film about people saving the world because it’s their job or because they have to.
By playing into that ideal, it means the punches hit harder and matter more. It isn’t about saving billions of people; it’s about saving the few. That’s what matters and that’s what projects the film into the realm of being a truly emotionally satisfying climax.
To pick apart “Endgame” any further would be to miss the point of its existence: this isn’t a normal film, this is a culmination of years of work. This is a three-hour third-act for the MCU. It’s a miracle that it works without suffering from massive tonal problems and pacing issues.
But it also exemplifies the best and worst that the MCU has to offer. Sometimes the humor seems out of character with the scenes going on, sometimes the action can be jarring or quickly paced, sometimes the visuals are a bit shoddy. It feels less like film-making accidents but instead, it’s a commitment to a singular vision of a cinematic style that was started ten years prior.
Funny enough, the best way to describe “Endgame” is with the man and movie that started it all. Like Tony Stark himself, “Endgame” can be a bit bombastic, overblown and self-congratulatory. But it also works hard to earn that bombastic-ness. Several shots seem worthy of being hung on walls, almost as if the film momentarily splits into Greek-style murals of action and superhuman feats.
Sometimes it’s down on itself and other times it feels heavy-handed. But at the end of the day, it’s exactly what it should have been. A celebration and a glorious conclusion, warts and all. It does feel like a massive undertaking, like so many action figures being smashed together inside of the mind of an uber-fan. It’s a massive victory lap for the MCU, pulled off in as graceful and creative way as a victory lap possibly could be.
But…who cares? This is a film meant for those, across so many ages, lives, personalities, who have grown with these characters at various times in their lives. It’s a celebration of the hope that can be inspired by characters and adventures so outlandish they can’t possibly be true. For so many, they are as real as they could possibly be.
To write anymore would be to do a disservice to the work that has been done. It’s satisfying and emotionally powerful, that’s all that needs to be said. So go embrace the finale. Part of the journey is, indeed, the end. But it can also be a celebration. What a Marvel-ous celebration it is. 5/5
