Avengers: Endgame

One word: Epic. Two words: Fan Service. 

Nonetheless, kudos to the Russo brothers and Kevin Feige for crafting a fitting finale that never felt at all like it was 3-hours long. An unabashed fan service final film that daftly balanced character work, action/CGI extravaganza, emotional drama and physical comedy. However, as epic as Endgame was, it was surprisingly a tighter ensemble drama than Infinity War. There were emotional payoffs that felt earned, although ultimately the story - and the storytellers - lacked the bravery to have more consequential narrative beats.

The film was neatly divided into three acts and each act could easily have been a movie unto itself. This was good in terms of structure and storytelling. It was clear, objective and succinct, but then it also resulted in briefer and narrower character arcs that did not allow non-major characters to be anything more than narrative devices or plot contrivances. And it was this that made the film felt fan service-y. But, this film/franchise was for the fans...we cannot deny that or complain about it.

Narratively, there were a couple moments that zigged when you'd expect it to zag, and that was surprising and rather well done. Initially, the story never actually went where you'd expect it to go (especially, if like me, you had been absolutely spoiler-free). However, by the end of the first act, things got more predictable - still fun, but predictable. And that predictability stayed till the end which dulled some of the more emotional beats. As aforesaid, nothing truly consequential or unexpected happened in the end.

There were lots of hero moments, and my fellow theatre-goers were great sports! Lots of whoops, claps, and ooooohs. But the best kick-ass moment happened at the final climatic scene. Woo hoo!

And as for the final battle, it was well-directed, and every hero got a chance to shine but...back to the beginning...fun, epic, predictable and inconsequential.

The three leads were ostensibly Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth and this film was essentially culmination of their respective films and the end of their story for this Phase of the MCU (or as Marvel calls it, the Infinity Saga). They get the most screen time and the most significant character developments, and it really did pay off for the fans. Especially for Iron Man and Thor, the Russo brothers honoured their history whilst forging a suitable ending to their arcs.

The second tier actors would be Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and surprisingly Karen Gillan. Johansson, Renner and to a lesser extent Gillan carried the heavier emotional weight of the film, whereas Ruffalo and Rudd (and Bradley Cooper's Rocket) were more comic relief. And that was a great balance.

Speaking of comedy, Hemsworth’s and Tessa Thompson’s comedic talent should really make the new Men in Black worth a watch!

These last two Avenger films were clearly different from the first two Joss Whedon entries. They got larger in scale and more epic, but smaller in character moments. And although Endgame tried to address it, eventually it still became a big comic book-wide, universe-wide, battle against the bad guy. The first Avengers film was more about a group of heroes learning to work together to defeat an intergalactic threat; this last film was about a group of heroes already working together to defeat an intergalactic villain. That slight difference altered the tone and dynamics of the films. 

In all, the Infinity Saga was an exciting experience with a satisfying conclusion. It will be exciting to see how the MCU continues on after this. Who will be anchoring the next Saga?

PS: There are no mid- or post-credits scenes...at last!