First off, I enjoyed Avengers: Endgame (A:E). It’s hard not to enjoy this epic superhero tale, which unites a group of heroes in a daring plot to undo a horrific, universe-wide mass murder that’s been committed by an interstellar warlord named Thanos (well-played in motion capture by Josh Brolin). Even though time travel is involved, the Russo Brothers do a grand job in keeping a handle on it, making sure that the concept, as well as its execution, is understandable to lay audiences. And even if the science explanation is lost on some people, it doesn’t really matter, because A:E gets very far on its charm and excitement.
However, with a three hour running time, A:E can still be very unwieldy, and it even drags badly in many sections. I did not see A:E in the theaters, instead I waited for it to hit home video, and I’m very glad that I did this. I paused the movie after every hour for either a bathroom or a snack replenishment break, and these breaks actually made A:E even more palatable for me: it felt like I was binge-watching a three hour mini-series, instead of suffering through a long slog of a movie in a theater.
But despite watching A:E like this, the movie still dragged for me in some scenes, like when Nat (Scarlett Johansen) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) go see the Red Skull about a gemstone. The scene is boring and predictable because it’s a replay of the much better scene in Avengers: Infinity War, and you can see Nat’s sacrifice coming from miles away. The filmmakers carefully try to set it up so that it looks like it will be Hawkeye who will sacrifice himself--complete with Nat and her fellow Avengers clutching their pearls over how Hawkeye has gone over to the dark side and how he might now be irredeemable (thus making him suitable to take one for the team).
For one thing, where do the Avengers get off judging Hawkeye on hunting down and killing murderous criminals when they have each killed countless times in the previous Avengers films? How many faceless soldiers and minions have lost their lives in battle against the Avengers? But Hawkeye going dark (but still only killing murderous criminals) after the death of his family is too much for these hypocrites to handle. This was obviously a lame attempt to set us up for the “shocking” switcheroo of having Nat take the fall (literally!) for the team by initially having us expect Hawkeye to do it.
However, I never really understood why Black Widow and Hawkeye were on the Avengers in the first place, seeing how neither of them had superpowers. This little road trip to see the Red Skull could have been an opportunity to show how their cunning and wits made up for their lack of superpowers. But instead the movie has them dumbly following the rules that were set out for them, which didn’t make either character look very good, nor very smart.
Another thing that annoyed me was the continuation from Thor: Ragnarok in how Thor must now be treated like a joke. I understand the God of Thunder feeling regret over how things turned out at the end of Infinity War, but having him threatening a kid during an online video game is just silly. I don’t mind humor (the first Thor film, which I love, has plenty of humor), just so long as it doesn’t go too far over the top, like it did in Ragnarok and with Thor in A:E. I was glad when I recently heard that Natalie Portman will be playing a female Thor in a future film; hopefully she can restore Thor to her rightful splendor as the Goddess of Thunder.
And please don’t get me started on the Hulk. Oh crud, the poor Hulk…. Turning an unstoppable force--a rage monster who struggled to keep his humanity--into an overly chatty I.T. fix-it guy for the Avengers was just painful to watch. The Avengers films really didn’t do right with their handling of the Hulk.
But what A:E did get right was how Tony Stark and Nebula (Karen Gillan) bonded in the opening scenes. This was a sweet friendship between two characters whom you would least expect to become friends. And that final scene with Tony Stark whispering, “I am Iron Man…” gave me chills. Yet what I really loved about A:E was how it gave Captain America a far more graceful and satisfying ending when he was reunited with his lost love, Peggy Carter. This just felt so right, and it was the perfect moment to end the film on.
Out of the four Avengers films, Avengers: Infinity War remains my favorite. That film was the perfect build up of suspense and dread, all the way towards its bummer of an ending. But Avengers: Endgame is still an enjoyable, if overlong, thrill ride. Watching both movies back to back makes for a truly epic, almost operatic tale. But for those of you with a weak bladder, this saga might be best enjoyed in the comfort of your home. --SF
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