Avengers: Endgame

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Danai Gurira, Karen Gillan, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Bradley Cooper, Tessa Thompson

Director: Joe and Anthony Russo

Based on Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Comic Book by Jack Starlin.

Following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, we find the remaining superheroes as they deal with the fallout of Thanos' snap felt around the world. Together they must find a way to reverse the damage and bring their friends back to defeat Thanos once and for all.

With it being the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, instead of one of us reviewing the movie, we all decided to do our own mini reviews!

If you're already itching for more stories about the heroes in this film, find a local comic book shop participating in Free Comic Book Day tomorrow (May 4)!

POTENTIAL SPOILERS TO FOLLOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Dechelle:

As possibly the most biased fan of the MCU, I ate this movie up completely. It was something of a sad Adele love song to all of us who have been waiting over a decade for this saga to come to an end. From the start of the movie when we see Hawkeye’s family dust away, I knew this movie would punch me right in the feels. It only continued to do so as the Avengers lose all hope for bringing back the dusted, Scott Lang reunites with his now teenage daughter (speaking of, where is Judy Greer and Bobby Cannavale?!?!?), and we see Tony with a daughter, knowing what his fate will be. They even went as far as to do the impossible by making me actually care about Black Widow. Figures I care after she’s not around to care about anymore. And of course I cried like a five-year-old denied ice cream when the King of the MCU, Tony Stark died to save everyone else, even if they didn’t deserve it. The last of my tears were shed when our precious Captain America finally gets to live the life he’s so desperately wanted. I believe any man who pines after a girl for roughly eighty years, even if he makes out with said girl’s niece deserves the happiest of endings. Endgame gets an A for All of my tears, which is what I gave them in return for eleven years of movies that brightened my life.

Grade: A++

Jake:

Okay, I’ll be honest: I was in the bag for this movie long before it came out. From the moment a much purpler Thanos grinned in the credits of The Avengers. Hell, since Nick Fury uttered the words “Avengers Initiative” in the end credits of Iron Man. The phrase “fan service” gets tossed around a lot as a negative but as a die hard fan, I certainly don’t mind getting serviced. But let’s be real: this movie brings the goods. It may not stand on its own but it builds perfectly on everything that came before it. People can nitpick. Old Cap on the bench is certainly at odds with the film’s established rules for time travel but it’s also my favorite part of the movie (and one I predicted sort of in a March 16 Facebook post). I’ll take a perfect emotional conclusion over ironclad logic in theoretical temporal logistics. I know moments like the “girl power” one are contrived (and a low key response to legitimate criticism of the MCU) but I loved it anyway (especially imagining online MRA trolls getting all full of impotent rage). The time travel was great way to revisit the series’ greatest hits (also Thor: The Dark World) and get some great cameos in. (“Retirement,” Redford?) The dusting of half the universe let us spend more time with who was left, and while a hero victory was a foregone conclusion, I admire this film for letting the heroes stew in their utter failure for a while. We’ve lived so long with Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Thor. Three of those characters will continue on (and an additional one has a prequel coming) but it’s hard not to look at this as one hell of a swan song.

Grade: A very biased A+

Jordan:

Endgame is the Marveliest Marvel that ever did Marvel and I LOVED IT. I don't usually, but here I did. After thinking on it for a few days I've come to believe that I loved it because there was something conclusive about it. Finally it wasn't about the next thing. Checking boxes for the next thing, introducing characters for the next thing, random extra scenes for the next thing, and winking, always winking for the next thing. Finally we had reached that thing. Twenty-two movies to get to THE thing that all the things were doing things for. The fact that it worked at all is a miracle, but being one of the few Marvel movies to elicit a real emotion (other than the normal laughter and action excitement) is a true achievement. I didn't even think I cared as much as I did. Cheering, clapping, crying, the whole gauntlet. Oh! The action was well above standard on this one too.

Grade: A

Samuel:

As a non-fan, Endgame was the moment I really understood what the MCU had been building to all along. It justified some of the duds and stubs the series delivered along the way, as well as enriching its stronger entries, such as Avengers: Assemble, the Captain America Saga, and Guardians of the Galaxy. It's almost a shame that certainly many more movies are going to come after this, because this is the perfect place for them to quit. For one of our favorite mightiest heroes, this does mark the end of a long journey, and the sendoffs were satisfying, even for someone who follows these movies more as an enthusiast than a maven. If I had any complaints, it's that I have always cared more about Hawkeye's circumstances than the man himself and the whole Hawkeye-has-a-wife-but-also-loves-Natasha thing always felt a little undercooked. My biggest item of praise of the movie stands in stark contrast to the misfire of Alita: Battle Angel–and that is that they allowed shots to resonate and have impact. Producers take note–if Disney's indulgent 3 hour movie can take a second to hold on a shot, your big budget fantasy one shot definitely can. This movie probably would have made a killing no matter what, but I think what makes it a billion dollar movie is the heart, maturity, and vulnerability it lets itself have. Looking at you, Iron Dad Man, and you, Sweet Hulk, you, Depressed Thor, and you, Exhausted Captain America. What a miracle of a movie.

Grade: A

Wendy:

As a Marvel fan, I have spent a long time waiting for this film. For the most part, I will say that it lived up to, if not exceeded my expectations. I loved the humor in this film with everyone poking fun at themselves. I appreciated the way that the time travel was handled. I thought that overall, it was a great way to close the series. Yet with all of the positives of this film, there were two negatives that have been holding me back from fully loving it. The first was the, admittedly expected, conclusion to the sexist mishandling of Black Widow's character. Constantly reduced to tropes instead of being given an actual story, the final blow occurs when she is sacrificed, as if that was the biggest contribution to the group that she could give. Hawkeye became a literal murderer in this film and yet he was allowed to redeem himself without any difficulty or consequences. That doesn't sit well with me. My second bone of contention is the fact that Steve "I'm with you til the end of the line" Rogers left Bucky, who more than anyone deserved to go back and actually live his life, behind when he went back in time to be with Peggy. I think that the choice to have Steve go back and live his life is a wonderful one, but I also think that taking Bucky with him would have made it even better. Not living in a bubble, I understand that this would not work out with the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier, but I think it would have been a better service to their characters.

Grade: B+/A-

Tyler:

I think this was the perfect ending for the current Marvel slate. It provided a great amount of closure and fan service, while still maintaining the heart and humor of previous Marvel entries. The strength of these movies have been their casting, and with the jaw dropping amount of talented actors on display, this doesn't disappoint. The standouts for me are Karen Gillan, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey Jr. Gillan continues to build on Nebula and flesh her out as a character (one who admittedly I found a little annoying and over the top in Guardians of the Galaxy) while Hemsworth continues to flex his comedic muscles as Thor while maintaining his character's strong pathos. The universe began with Downey Jr. and he has found a way to keep Tony growing as a character. Also please put Paul Rudd in everything! The man can literally do no wrong. Not all is positive though, as the action is a little choppy and hard to follow. And if it wasn't clear enough before now, Marvel has never known what to do with either Black Widow or Hawkeye. The story surrounding their characters is disappointing, bland, and the resulting death is unnecessary. The one who died doesn't even get a big send off, which is also very disappointing. Marvel still pulled off a massive achievement and Endgame delivered exactly what the fans wanted.

Grade: B