Film Review - Avengers: Endgame (12A)

Let's go get this son of a bitch.

Oh were it that simple. Our MCU heroes have slugged it out with Thanos once already and suffered one hell of a losing battle. It'll take more than military tactics and brawn, if they want a shot at redeeming all they lost. Their task will require imagination and ingenuity, along with courage, hope and no little amount of sacrifice. They'll need, in short, to do whatever it takes. That brawn will come in handy too.

I added a proviso to my (pretty incandescent) review of Avengers: Infinity War. Magnificent though that film was, its ultimate worth rested on whether or not this follow-up could make good on its promise. Stakes had been established, loss suffered. If the devastation perpetrated by the big grape-juice guy were reversed easily and with no meaningful consequence, it would cheapen everything that made the first film such a satisfying experience. Twelve months on I am relieved to say that Endgame delivers what was required of it - in terms of spectacle and entertainment, but most importantly in those of sheer dramatic weight. Put simply, it makes the events of Infinity War count.

The film opens where it should - with a harsh reminder of how Thanos' 'snap' ravaged the Earth and far beyond it. Our surviving heroes are desolate, struggling to cope with a world plunged into mourning. Their instinct is for action, but options in that regard seem few. Only when a sliver of hope appears in the form of a plan as intricate as it is desperate, do they find a way forward. And that is all you're getting from me in terms of plot (in the unlikely circumstance that you haven't seen the movie yet).

One of Endgame's most satisfying aspects is that it allows time for grief to sink in. There's no easy brushing off of those traumatising Infinity events. True the plot elements of the opening act - the first of three distinct phases - click into place with commendable swiftness. Within that space, however, is a genuine sense of how much has been destroyed. It's the kind of deep character drama that you might never have expected to find in a comic-book movie - salved with characteristic Marvel humour, but profound and heart-wrenching nonetheless. Everything else in the movie is driven by that experience of deep loss, so that when those air-punching moments arrive later on, they feel properly earned. The flawed heroes with whom fans have lived for a decade are given space to live, breathe and develop - to work out old grievances and to wrestle with new emotions in some very unexpected ways.

There's a whole lot that's unexpected here - and even if you've guessed the story's general direction in all your fan theorising, it doesn't play out precisely how you might have predicted. The shocks come thick, even in the relatively subdued Act One, and once the Avengers' plan kicks in (a mid-section of multi-stranded virtuosity), it all goes a sublime kind of nuts. Fan service takes many forms, but here it's the very best kind - smart, well-honed and rooted in a plot that demonstrates moments of genius. Those who have invested time and emotion in the MCU as a whole are rewarded by a host of mini-surprises that will shiver them to their centre with delight.

As for Act Three - we were all expecting something immense, and in regards to pure operatic grandeur these climactic scenes do not disappoint. What they achieve in addition is a sustained Lord of the Rings-style focus on the key protagonists and their various dramatic journeys, even amid the apocalyptic mayhem. The emotional investments of two (and in some cases multiple) films pay off handsomely in character beats that bring tears of sadness and/or joy. This writing-directing power team - the Russos, Markus and McFeely - has now given us four colossal Marvel movies; they knew exactly what was needed to bring this franchise-story home and landed it to perfection.

Or nearly so. The Endgame character arcs are truly daring, some - arguably - working better than others. The endpoint of one character will be a frantic and divisive talking-point for years to come. And the story's key plot device is of a type that always threatens to drive this particular geek insane (I actually woke up trying to straighten it all out in my head). But those are personal issues and I can happily set them all aside and wrestle with them later. No enterprise this vast could achieve perfection and it's a testament to all involved that they got in the ballpark, let alone within mere yards of the end line. 

Avengers: Endgame doubles down on all the reasons people love the MCU - the humour, the heart and the heroism. It's intimately connected with all that's gone before, yet it brings a gravitas, a sense of closure, that's perhaps the biggest surprise of all. The actors who've made these roles iconic - Downey Jr, Evans, Johansson and the rest of them - have never treated this comic-book stuff with detached irony. They've lived and breathed it in all its glorious absurdity, allowing their characters to evolve, mature and appeal to our sympathies. This is the final stand they deserve - one that brings out these characters' best and confirms their importance for more than one generation. You remember that idea... The one to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more? Job most definitively done.

 

Gut Reaction: Intensity. Genuine sense of experiencing an epic, as I drank in every imagination-popping moment.

Memorable Moment: Too many to choose from, but there was one hug that I felt.

Ed's Verdict: 9.5/10. A resounding, risk-taking triumph that makes you appreciate Infinity War even more and reminds you why you love the Marvel Cinematic Universe in all its multi-faceted vastness. Unless you don't, in which case you're missing out on a whole lot of joy.