Avengers: Endgame – Movie Review

[The following review contains no spoilers!]

Eleven years in the making, a gigantic twenty-one film setup, a stellar roster lavish with heroes and characters we love and one terrorising snap by Thanos. Avengers: Endgame has a lot, at times, too much, riding on its shoulders and the pressure to deliver and wrap up the film on a high note is sky high, in addition to the hype, which was off-the-charts.

Right after the events transpired in Infinity War, the Avengers, now limited to a few notable characters try to riddle out a rational manoeuvre to combat the antihero, Thanos. Or at least, obtain the six Infinity Stones to undo what the Mad Titan did in the previous film. Accordingly, the remaining part of this three-hour long narrative explains how the Avengers navigate through this colossal plan of bringing everyone back to existence.

Also Read: Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

Like it or not, we can’t deny the brilliance and the distinction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; which is one of the greatest achievements in modern-day cinema. Eleven years of setting up characters and building up a brand new universe all led to this moment, and Endgame delivers (at least for the last hour) and is a satisfying conclusion to many characters. Beginning with the positives, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, made sure that this movie felt like an epic finale by interconnecting through different storylines from the previous films in the universe which is an interesting route that they took to steer the ship.

Additionally, they’re certain emotional scenes in the first act of the film which are unlike anything I’ve seen in the MCU before. On that account, these scenes made the Avengers look more human, unlike the brash, fun attitude we’re accustomed to, and they added a layer of fear, heartbreak and desperation in everyone’s approach. Over and above that, the final act which I consider as the heart and soul of the film entertains and closes out on a promising note. The action set pieces were awe-inspiring to watch on the big screen. It is certainly a cosmical task to address every character and highlight their abilities and provide them moments to shine, and The Russo Brothers accomplish this gargantuan task flawlessly by introducing new collaborations and mash-ups between different characters which is again very entertaining to watch.

Also Read:Why Thanos is an Anti Hero: Editorial

Capping off the positives, the visual effects department deserves a special appreciation for all the hard work and time that they dedicated to making a movie of this scale work. Finally, the performances from the complete cast are fairly decent with Robert Downey Jr. standing out over the others which was only made possible because of the in-depth character and the emotional impact that it had by the end of the movie.

However, the movie suffers through quite a few glaring problems, especially in the first one hour. Primarily because of the slow build, the pacing was heavily inconsistent and underlines it’s titanic runtime of three hours. Intermittently, while plotting a course through various storylines, few scenes sail across the narrative like a whirlwind and end up pretty normal or forgettable. While there’s so much happening throughout the runtime, I can’t help but point out when the narrative sets up an entire scene so dramatically and easily find a solution to fix the problem. I can go on and spotlight many drawbacks of this film, but, that would obviously give away many plot points. So, maybe next time.

Also Read: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Review

Nevertheless, to recover from the deep and dark ending of Infinity War and not only deliver on a high note but, at the same time making it compelling and emotionally satisfying to watch, Endgame is a huge success and truly feels like an end of an era. Although it comes with a fair amount of issues and plotholes, the good outweighs the bad, and this movie provided me with the delight and entertainment that I bargained for.

Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade – B+