Avengers: Endgame Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

After the catastrophic fallout of Thanos’ snap, the remaining heroes gather for a daring mission while processing their grief. But can the Avengers change the course of time?

Genre: Action / Fantasy / Sci-Fi

Director: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Danai Gurira, Josh Brolin, Zoe Saldana, Brie Larson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Vin Diesel, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tessa Thompson, Dave Bautista, Evangeline Lilly, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Benedict Wong, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Redford, Tilda Swinton & John Slattery.

Run Time: 181 min.

US Release:  April 2019

UK Release:  April 2019

German Release: April 2019

This is probably my most anticipated movie of the year… The way that Infinity War ended left me longing for a conclusion, which I finally got to see after a long year waiting… And let me tell you, this final chapter of the Infinity Saga is better than I could have hoped for! Leaving us with the pieces of Thanos’ wipeout of half the universe, this epic focuses again on the core team before ending it in one of the biggest battles ever seen in cinematic history. This is pure entertainment! It is comic book pages come to life! It has purpose as well as emotion! So let’s get down to it… 

If Infinity War was the most ambitious Avengers project, this one is the riskiest, starting on a very bleak note. Thanos won; our heroes are defeated, left mourning, as well as dealing with the psychological aftermath of not simply failing Earth, but the whole Universe. It takes its time exploring the characters, showing the audience how much they have grown since we saw them the first time in their solo flicks or first outings. It explores themes of grief, depression, self-hatred, plus survivor's guilt beautifully, tying it all up in a majestic ending that gives a lot of the heroes poignant and satisfying conclusions.

Other plotlines open up new paths for well-established characters, or deepen their development. The "Professor Hulk” side arc feels like a natural progression of what both Banner and the Hulk have been dealing with since the first Avengers blockbuster.

The second chapter, covering the “time-heist”, is a nostalgic love letter to past MCU events, giving audiences a chance to witness some of the best scenes from a different perspective, while also adding, just like answering, some open questions. It also loosens up the dramatic, character-heavy first segment, speeding up the pace while adding a good bit of humour. The finale is the cherry on top, balancing out a massive-scale battle with tender moments of reconnection and sacrifice. 

In all honesty, the narrative is near perfect, flawlessly weaving storylines of over twenty movies together into one unmatched payoff.

Some of the best dialogue is delivered between Stark and a person I don’t want to spoil, spouting out lines that are instantly iconic. The writers also manage to sneak in callbacks from other past flicks in a natural, yet emotionally heavy form. Finally, Cap’s long-awaited rally cry had my whole cinema cheering, still giving me goosebumps thinking about it. 

As with my review for this one’s forerunner, given that the feature makes use of a massive catalogue of characters from the “House of Ideas”, I will once again focus on the most important ones.

This is first and foremost a Steve Rogers / Tony Stark tale. Both started off on opposite sides since the first Avengers, with Cap believing that Tony is nothing more than a narcissist, while the other believed that Rogers was an outdated idea unable to bring a team together. Here, their arcs come full circle as both mend their differences, while at the same time proving the other wrong about their first impression. Both characters also obtain well-earned emotional send-offs, which I hope will not be reversed in the future.

Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha Romanoff, in what is possibly her best rendition of the persona. The spy’s arc comes full circle in a bittersweet scene that sees her, together with Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, trying to stand up for one another. Talking about Barto, who was completely sidelined in the last movie, he gets a powerful opening that explains his motivations for rejoining the team.

Josh Brolin once again gives a phenomenal performance as Thanos, but Endgame presents a very different version of the Mad Titan from Infinity War. This isn’t the same alien we followed previously, but a younger version pulled from an earlier point in his life. More importantly, the film presents him largely through the perspective of Nebula, brilliantly played by Karen Gillan. Tortured, broken and repeatedly reassembled by her adoptive father, Nebula has an intensely personal understanding of her father’s cruelty. Where Infinity War was largely Thanos’ story, allowing us to understand his warped ideology, Endgame strips away that perspective, revealing the tyrant that Nebula has always known him to be.

Then there is Chris Hemsworth, giving a heartbreaking rendition of a broken Thor, a fun, yet different Hulk who managed to combine Banner's brain with the muscle of his alter ego, just like Scott Lang returning from the Quantum-verse, who is the key to trying to set everything in order. 

On a technical level, Endgame is just as impressive! Lighting plus the colour palette is expressive, adapting to the tonal shifts of the plot. Desaturated tones are used during the first hour of the film to emphasise the pain and loss. In contrast, warmer hues are used during the “time-heist” segment to evoke nostalgic feelings. The framing is equally beautiful, delivering canvas-like pictures of comic book tiles that have come to life, while the action uses smooth tracking for the big battle, as well as handheld shaky cams for more claustrophobic fighting scenes. 

Effect-wise, it is simply jaw-dropping. Be it the creation of villain Thanos once again or Professor Hulk, both beings look realistic, as if belonging in that world. It is also thanks to the use of revolutionary facial tracking technology that gives both personas their actors' expressions and uncanny facial nuances. The work done for the final battle is mesmerising, leaving one breathless.  

Similarly, the sound effects are solidly crafted. Be it the silent moments during dramatic segments, or the thunderous crescendo of Mjolnir's effortless gliding, the metallic swoosh of Stormbreaker or the layered chaos during the final conflict. Alan Silvestri’s bombastic orchestral score weaves expertly different character themes from different pictures together, creating one gorgeous musical tapestry that peaks with the “Avengers” motif.

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Verdict: If the MCU ended right here, it would be the perfect conclusion! Avengers: Endgame is the ultimate finale to an eleven-year-long saga, and I need to confess that for the first time in a long time, I am unsure about the future. The Russo Brothers knocked it out of the park once again, building a story that started as a bleak drama, centred on an exciting time-heist, finishing it off not just with a huge action spectacle, but also an incredibly emotional payoff. The sheer vastness of the cast should have made it impossible to pull off… yet once again, most characters obtain satisfying final arcs. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are the emotional anchors to this last adventure, while Scarlett Johansson gives a heart-breaking best performance as Natasha Romanoff. The cinematography is top-notch, perfectly framing the epic big battles with gorgeous long shots, while more tender scenes are captured with intimate close-ups. The effects are astonishing, plus the musical score is, as always, enticing. This is one of the best MCU blockbusters, absolutely deserving a 10 out of 10.

So, Avengers: Endgame, were you as pumped as I was to see this? What did you think about it? Are you a fan, or do you prefer Infinity War? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you for reading!