Avengers: Endgame (2019) Review

"Part of the journey is the end."

-Tony Stark

Spoilers ahead!!!!!!!!!

With half the world's population gone, the surviving Avengers must gather their remaining strength and courage to find a way to get the Infinity Stones back from Thanos (Josh Brolin) and save everyone they've lost.

What Works:

Endgame gets off on the right foot with an incredible opening sequence.  We get Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) having a cook-out with his family only for all of them, save Hawkeye, to vanish.   It's a haunting scene and a great tone-setter.

I absolutely love how the first act ends.  We get to see several of the surviving Avengers subdue Thanos only to realize they are too late.  The Infinity Stones have been destroyed and it's seemingly too late to save everyone.  With all hope gone, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) straight up decapitates Thanos.  All of this happens in the first 20 minutes.  This left me with my jaw on the floor wondering what the heck the rest of the movie was going to be about.

When Infinity War ended with half of the world gone, I was really excited to see a film take place in the post-snap world.  I thought that film would be Ant-Man and the Wasp, but that wasn't the case.  We finally get that in Endgame.  It's a depressing world and the Russo Brothers do a good job of making the world feel empty.

It's really fun getting to go back and visit most of the other Marvel movies.  We have characters and locations from most, if not all, of the previous films.  It's kinda like a greatest hits album.  It's a lot of fun and I really appreciated the plethora of references and Easter eggs.

A friend of my said that this was The Return of the King of superhero movies and I wholeheartedly agree.  The return of those Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and everyone else who was snapped, along with their armies, is the greatest scene in the entire MCU.  I haven't felt such goosebumps since the arrival of the Riders of Rohan in The Return of the King.  It's such an awe-inducing moment that is filled to the brim with emotion.  It's incredibly satisfying to see all of these characters come together in one final stand against Thanos.

Finally, the death of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is really well handled.  I think most of us knew this was coming, I actually thought it was going to happen in Infinity War, and it was a fitting, if sad, end to his character.  Anyone who didn't tear up during this scene is a heartless monster.

What Sucks:

I have a couple of minor nitpicks with the time travel stuff.  It's a tough story to tell and I give the filmmakers props for going in this direction.  I certainly wasn't expecting it.  There are just a few plot holes and moments that don't make a ton of sense, but honestly, I'm willing to forgive all of it because the rest of the film is so powerful and incredible.

Verdict:

Avengers: Endgame isn't my favorite Marvel movie, but it's close.  The emotions are palpable throughout, we get a good sense of the havoc Thanos has caused, the first act is brutal and a great way to kick things off, and the ending is incredibly satisfying.  Endgame is a better film than any of us could have hoped and has absolutely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing