Avengers: Endgame (2019) - Movie Review

Well… here we are. After 11 years, 21 films, over 18 billion dollars in box office receipts and twice as many geekgasms, we have reached the finale of this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s been a long journey, and while part of me is excited for what's in store for this finale, there's still a lingering problem here: How in the actual fuck am I supposed to write a review for this thing?

More specifically, how am I supposed to write about this film in my usual detail-obsessed fashion without getting into any kind of spoilers? I don’t exactly want to be assaulted right after I post this, and yes, that is somehow a possibility. I will try my damnedest to give my take without spoiling anything, but seriously, of all the films I’ve reviewed on here, this might be the hardest one I’ve had to write about purely out of fear of spoiling the endgame. See you on the other side.

When I looked at Infinity War, while I found it quite enjoyable, part of me was somewhat underwhelmed because I knew that it was only the first half of the true finale. Hell, my few gripes with that film were largely to do with me recognising certain strained attempts to set up this film. And having seen this film, I feel like that approach was warranted because this is precisely what it needed to be: A cinematic event that concludes over a decade of storytelling.

All the things we’ve come to expect from the MCU are here in abundance: Great performances, even chances for the characters to shine in the spotlight, terrific special effects, and some truly amazeballs action sequences. However, after how Infinity War concluded, “what we’ve come to expect” might not mean all that much, considering the rather unprecedented way that film ended.

The film very quickly makes it a point to set up the main action but also acknowledging the very real and dour story opportunities afforded by the Decimation. It shows writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely taking full advantage of what they’ve set up, and for a film this colossal in scale, it sets a good precedent for what comes next.

And what comes next is, in every way possible, a fitting conclusion to the last 11 years’ worth of films. Everything from major plot details to character arcs that have been building and developing all this time, even seemingly minor beats that got fans salivating over the implications, are paid off here and done so in spectacular fashion.

In every previous MCU review (save for Black Panther), I’ve brought up how watching all the previous films was pretty much required to get the full effect of the latest release. It’s here where that methodology ends up bearing the most fruit, as this is the kind of film that rewards those who have stuck with this series and picked up on the finer details. Much like Logan, this feels like a fitting end not just to its series up to this point but also to its own era, one that gives a nod to what came before and one that subtly gives way for whatever comes next.

Cinematic events like this are rare, even in regards to the MCU. Last time a film in that canon felt this… important, for lack of a better term, was back in 2012 with the first Avengers. The first Avengers was also the only film in this franchise that got full marks from me critically, and I’m gonna be honest: This film might be the second. As a bookend for what began all those years ago with Iron Man, as a resolution for all that plot and character growth, and just as an action-adventure epic in its own right, this is simply marvellous. I was genuinely worried that this was going to be a hype disaster, where the build-up would be let down by the final product. But if anything, it’s that build-up that makes this film even better than it already is on its own.