Avengers: Endgame

This review may contain spoilers!

I still can't reconcile that a film in which the Hulk dabs is my favourite film of 2019 so far. I would give Avengers: Endgame a 9.5/10.

Avengers: Endgame comes right off the back of Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel as our heroes who remain must find a way to defeat Thanos and restore what has been lost. To say that this is an iconic film is a gross understatement, I have a sense that this conclusion of eleven years work will go down in the history of cinema forever. The beginning is incredibly emotional as we see the remaining heroes take stock of what they have and venture into a last ditch bid to bring all who were decimated back. Yet by refusing our heroes an easy early triumph the status quo we've come to know slips away, some of our heroes remain to patch up this world that has been broken by Thanos while others go on a complete journey that changes them somewhat. Ultimately they are pushed together again for the only plan they have left, which is a daring one and riddled with surprise easter eggs, cameos and callbacks to past MCU adventures. The third act of this film is rather flawless; pitching everyone against Thanos and his armies in the biggest onscreen battle I've watched since the Lord of the Rings films. It's an end filled with sadness, joy, nostalgia and legacy. Endgame brings about significant change and I honestly cannot wait to see what the future of the MCU will bring. The cinematography throughout is flawless, holding close those intimate moments, making large group conversations feel dynamic and capturing action sequences perfectly. The visual effects for Endgame are the best the MCU has ever been, once again you just have to look at that final battle sequence to see how far these films have come. The score is beyond thrilling and will have you on the edge of your seat, there are even a nice couple of soundtrack choices thrown in that add to the atmosphere of the film.

Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark, is always strong as one of the leaders of the Avengers and the constant dry wit; I enjoyed watching this character move from an arc that is somewhat selfish to an end that was self-sacrificing - it was exceptionally moving. Chris Evans, who played Steve Rogers, is the moral backbone to the Avengers and the one who never gives up in the face of adversity; seeing him stand alone against Thanos and his whole army alone was a moment in the film that got this character right to the core. Mark Ruffalo, who played Bruce Banner, is quite entertaining as the more confident, humorous Hulk/Banner hybrid; Ruffalo had some strong moments in the film and I think accepting the responsibility of using the gauntlet was the best. Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor, got to embrace a bit of the comedy he's clearly enjoyed doing more often in this film and he is undeniably good at that; yet Hemsworth shines when he brings forth the vulnerability his role is struggling with after failing Infinity War. Scarlett Johansson, who played Natasha Romanoff, acts as this hub of leadership in this film and is responsible for co-ordinating a lot of what is left after Infinity War; Johansson shows this great weight of responsibility her character has taken on and the road that takes her to is fitting if not deeply tragic. Jeremy Renner, who played Clint Barton, is a completely shattered man when we catch up with him in Endgame; this is a role who has lost a lot and pushes himself to a brink because of that that he very nearly doesn't walk away from. Don Cheadle, who played James Rhodes, has a very wry sense of wit that has always worked well for him; I think watching Cheadle have a connect with Gillan's Nebula over having to rely upon prosthetics was quite a powerful moment. Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Stephen Strange, is more mysterious and guarded in this film than he was in the first; Cumberbatch plays to the sad reality that he knows he has set up an Avenger to die really well. Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa, is fiercely amongst the fight the moment he enters; I enjoy watching this leader charge into a fight and immediately put himself on the line as he did.Brie Larson, who played Carol Danvers, is awesome to finally watch in an Avengers film; her self-assuredness shines through and she really shines as this beacon of strength. Tom Holland, who played Peter Parker, is such a fun character to watch as he still works his way through being a hero a little over his head; Holland and Doney Jr.'s last scene together is a harrowing one that comes full circle from Infinity War rather well. Karen Gillan, who played Nebula, has a very dispassionate way of interacting with others yet it's interesting seeing just how much this role has grown from the first Guardians of the Galaxy; Gillan's ability to express how much she has changed and her hatred towards Thanos shows that development strongly. Zoe Saldana, who played Gamora, was a nice return performance to watch again; I enjoyed seeing Saldana choose to betray Thanos in a way that was quite different from the first Guardians film. Evangeline Lilly, who played Hope van Dyne, has a really fitting reunion with Rudd, I quite liked seeing her fit into the fight in a manner that mirrored Rudd's own excitement in Civil War. Rene Russo, who played Frigga, is a welcome and surprising returning role; Russo's emotional reconnection with Hemsworth is one of the defining moemnts Thor goes through in the film. Elizabeth Olsen, who played Wanda Maximoff, is completely fuelled by rage and vengeance in this feature; Olsen presents a depiction of Scarlet Witch who is motivated by something dark and she becomes quite a dark figure because of this. Anthony Mackie, who played Sam Wilson, has one of the best lines of all the characters who get brought back; Mackie has to take on an incredible amount of responsibility come the end of the film which he takes on in a solemn, appropriate way. Tilda Swinton, who played The Ancient One, was an unexpect returning role that really lent a lot to this film; the incredible debate between her and Ruffalo was a masterclass to watch and her coming to the realisation of what the future would hold for her and the world was quite powerful. Jon Favreau, who played Happy Hogan, is really able to be present for his original creation in the MCU and give us some reflection of Iron Man; Favreau's final scene in this film is a powerful throwback to the first film we ever got and it's one of the most moving moments in my opinion. Maximiliano Hernandez and Frank Grillo, who played Agent Sitwell and Brock Rumlow respectively, really do a great job of recreating these professional SHIELD/HYDRA agent personas for Endgame; the callback to the elevator scene from the Winter Soldier was perfect. Bradley Cooper, who voiced Rocket, feels completely driven towards bringing those who were decimated back in this; Cooper really nails the way Rocket deals with the loss of the Guardians and throws himself into the work to bring them back. Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Pepper Potts, plays strongly against Downey Jr. and always has; this is one of the relationships in the MCU that has always worked wonders onscreen and their final farewell to one another is a moving moment. Josh Brolin, who played Thanos, is the antagonist that has defined the MCU at this point; Brolin presents a figure who is so confident and arrogant in his grand plan and you get the joy of seeing that turn to desperation and defeat over the course of the third act. Alexandra Rachael Rabe, who played Morgan Stark, is showing a ton of acting talent at such a young age; I saw a great deal of Tony and Pepper's traits within this performance showing a great level of ability from Rabe.

However, the best performance came from Paul Rudd, who played Scott Lang. Considering all the star power in this film Rudd might be a surprising pick for some, but ever since he completely stole the show in Civil War I have greatly anticipated Rudd' performance as the Tiniest Avenger. Of the cast I have to say this is a hero who feels the most human, he comes from a background where he's a father first and a hero second and that sort of motivation enables him to stand out from the rest. Rudd has a boundless sort of energy when it comes to this role and he is without a doubt the funniest in whichever scene he is in. There is a moment in this film where Scott Lang has to come to understand that the decimation event has taken place and seeing him panic at the thought of losing his daughter and react to seeing her again is one of the strongest scenes I watched in the whole film.

While I felt this was an iconic film it was certainly not without its flaws, especially in the first act. The attempts to make Hulk and Thor more comedic in their reintroduction grates strongly against the tone of the film and really needed to be levelled out, I think by making Thor fat they had a visual gag that was initially funny out of shock but felt significantly unnecessary as the film wore on. I also felt that having some remaining animosity between Tony and Steve just generated conflict for the sake of it, considering the experience everyone has just survived through their relationship being at odds with one another was surprising. The time travel plot device for the film was really creative and a ton of fun, but I think while it was enjoyable there is no escaping the fact that they tried to do something new with time travel that didn't always work if you looked at it too closely.

Tessa Thompson, who played Valkyrie, still lacks that strong ability to express her character's persona and role that she struggled with in Thor: Ragnarok; Thompson was very present but she didn't do anything with the screen time and her becoming ruler of Asgard feels like an undeserved plot development. Sebastian Stan, who played Bucky Barnes, is quite restrained in this film; Stan has given this role a very flat amount of energy in the past couple of films and I've become a lot less excited about the Winter Soldier. Danai Gurira, who played Okoye, was very present in the big battle of the film but wasn't given as much opportunity to stand out; Gurira delivers a line that is very similar to Infinity War in a setting that isn't very different either. John Slattery, who played Howard Stark, was a nice cameo and all but the interaction between him and Downey Jr. was undeniably bland; Slattery just had a completely gruff tone and that whole conversation only had emotional depth due to what Downey Jr. was putting in. Taika Waititi, who voiced Korg, just comes into the film and completely messes with the tone of the first act; Waititi's sense of comedy is really intrusive and doesn't fit an epic feature like this. Linda Cardellini, who played Laura Barton, isn't a role that you really feel a lot for when she gets decimated by Thanos; these films haven't done much to establish Hawkeye's family so Renner does most of the legwork for this emotional scene. Robert Redford, who played Alexander Pierce, is a cameo that the film didn't particularly need; Redford's cut and dry bureaucrat isn't interesting for much more than some extra insight into the first Avengers. Chris Pratt, who played Peter Quill, just acts rather goofy and slapstick when he reappears in Endgame; Pratt is only given screen time in this film to set up the next Guardians of the Galaxy film it felt like. Ross Marquand, who played Red Skull, was a very exciting watch in Infinity War but a bit boring this time around; Marquand doesn't do a thing differently from his first portrayal and that just makes Skull rather monotonous. Emma Fuhrmann, who played Cassie Lang, is present during one of my favourite moments of acting in the film but she does nothing to contribute to it; I hope Fuhrmann shines in future films but right now I think shunting out Abby Ryder Fortson for this moment was a mistake.