Movie Review - Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame

Non-Spoiler Review

Avengers: Endgame is the 22^nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic experience and marks the end of a story arch that has been growing for ~10 years while also being the direct sequel to the highly successful Avengers: ‘Infinity War’.

The movie has carried an insane amount of hype along with it, long before even the first trailer came out (largely due to the cliffhanger ending of ‘Infinity War’) and is tracking to possibly be the first movie to hit the 1 billion dollars mark world wide opening weekend. All that is good and dandy – but the real question is: is it Good?

Here is the Non-spoiler review for Avengers: ‘Endgame’ to help you make up your mind if you want to see this movie or not.

Cinematography – 8.5

The Marvel movies aren’t really known for their amazing cinematography outside of ground breaking CGI work that has helped revolutionize superhero visuals in a non-campy way. Unfortunately for ‘Endgame’, nothing regarding visuals in ‘Endgame’ is all that impressive in relation to what we’ve already seen from the Marvel Universe.

 Aside from that the fight choreography was heavily reliant on CGI for most of the film. The few fight sequences that were done more practically weren’t as impressive as the stunts pulled off in Civil War or Winter Solider for example. There were too many times when the camera would zoom in on a character’s gadget and jump cut into said gadget being drawn. It’s been done in other movies but just seemed to be executed a bit sloppier here.

Some of the settings in ‘Endgame’ are just reused settings from past movies, but at times it certainly felt like they were on a stage rather than immersed in a different world. This is mostly since time on-screen is spent far more on the characters than their settings. There’s an effect that they try to go for in ‘Endgame’ that was used in a famous pop culture movie from the late 80s/early 90s, but it’s not done as well.

The hiccups aren’t too appalling, but they certainly could have been better.

Screenplay/Story – 9.5

‘Endgame’ has the difficult task of being the back half of one of the most successful superhero movies ever in ‘Infinity War’. Not only that, it also is meant to be the final chapter in the Infinity Saga, a saga that has been in the making since the First Avengers movie, 7 years ago. There are a lot of story threads, character arcs, and plot holes to close out as well as a lot of fan expectations (and service) to be met. ‘Endgame’ really shines in delivering here. While there are some plot holes that are left to be inferred or assumed, and some new ones created near the end of the film, for the most part ‘Endgame’ admirably closes out the Infinity Saga (and Phase 3 of the MCEU) in a very satisfying way. The small holes and many convenient McGuffins aside - this is mostly what fans were hoping to get since Infinity War. This film is what we were promised nearly 10 years ago.

Writing/Dialogue – 9

The writing for ‘Endgame’, specifically on the script side, is mostly perfect. The actors here have been living these characters for quite some time and in many ways embody them perfectly. The banter between them is believable, charming and often witty. There is a lot of attention given to call backs from previous movies and dialogue delivered at earlier times in the Cinematic Universe. Again, for fan’s who have held onto every word that has been uttered the last 10 years, the rewards are great. This isn’t the best the Marvel Universe has offered - ‘Infinity War’, Civil War, and Black Panther certainly set the standard – but the dialogue never seems off and writing and transition here is smooth.

Acting – 10

A great screenplay and script are all for naught without performances to execute them. ‘Endgame’ offers the best acting we’ve probably seen in a Marvel Movie to date. The actors who have been living these lives for much of the decade really give it their all in their performances, almost as if it’s their last. The movie balances being humorous, suspenseful and emotional and the characters help really drive the right emotions home at the right time. Kevin Fege cast so many great actors in perfect roles in the past 10 years, and in ‘Endgame’ those portrayals s are fully realized.

Intangibles -10

This is basically a quick review on the part of the movie that I can’t really throw into a bucket. This is where I capture the emotions of the movie, the impact of the movie, the homages of the movie. And it’s through the roof for Avengers: ‘Endgame’. The feels are there. The laughs are there. The moments you’ve craved (if you’re a superhero fan) are there. This movie caps off what a cinematic universes saga NEEDS to be. This is the standard. The legacy of this movie will be spoken about for years to come.

Overall – 9.5

‘Endgame’ carried a lot of weight, a lot of responsibility, and a lot of weight behind it coming into its existence. The bar was set high over and over and over again for Marvel with each successful movie, and for ‘Endgame’ – the bar was at unprecedented heights. And it nails it. It absolutely nails it. Avengers: ‘Endgame’ and Marvel set the standard for years to come for what a cinematic universe can do - SHOULD do. The film provides Closure in a neat, well-acted, well planned package and delivers over and over again. It’s a great film and you should certainly seek it out

Key:

Cinematography

The visual experience of the movie including angles, camera work, special effects, choreography

Screenplay/Story

The Story elements of the movie and how they all tie together and are organized in the film

Writing/Dialogue

The words and explanations used to explain and drive the movie. IE – the script

Acting

Includes performances, execution of scripts, and choreography

Intangibles

The movie’s effects on emotions, history, and the cinematic world (subjective to me)

Rating Scale:

1= Grade School Performance/Amateur Work

10 = Oscar Worthy/Revolutionary