Natasha Romanoff: “It’s going to work, Steve.”
Steve Rogers: “I know it will, because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t.”
Let’s be honest here – Avengers: Endgame doesn’t really need too much of a summary. Why? Well, it’s been a highly anticipated movie that has been eleven years in the making. It is only the epic finale to a decade long story arch. Therefore, the only summary that will be provided is that it is an emotional ride. While this should be expected, there will be spoilers throughout the review. So, if you have not seen it yet and do not want it to be spoiled for you – it is suggested that you stop reading at this point.
Also – my apologies for posting this later than other reviews. I wanted to ensure that people had ample time to watch the movie for themselves first as it has been highly anticipated by many.
Liked:
Tony Stark and Pepper Potts as parents. I absolutely loved seeing Tony as a father figure to his daughter Morgan. I do not think them having a child was something that was expected by fans, but it was welcomed warmly. Tony interacting with Morgan was a shift in his character arch as it added another side to him. It was adorable to see him tuck Morgan into bed and her saying “I love you 3000” to him. It had me smiling like crazy because he and Pepper were finally able to settle down and have a life together even after all of the destruction Thanos created. However, seeing that Tony had Pepper and Morgan as family made his death more saddening. It goes without question that it was a heartbreaking end to Iron Man’s story as he grew so much throughout his journey.
Captain America’s happy ending. I greatly appreciated that he was able to have a life with Peggy. However, the only part I am iffy on is the whole time traveling part as this would have changed his past. It was unclear as to what happened to the Captain America from the altered timeline. Additionally, I loved the scene where Captain America wields Mjolnir. It was funny and a nice nod to Avengers: Age of Ultron. Something that did bother me though was that he was willing to sacrifice Iron Man’s new family to undo the destruction that Thanes created.
People as a whole have complained on social media about Thor’s appearance in the movie. I think it is important to note that he was clearly depressed after failing to stop Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War – it cannot be forgotten that he lost his home Asgard in Thor: Ragnarök shortly before the events of Infinity War occurred. That’s a lot for someone to deal with. I thoroughly appreciated that Thor was seen as being depressed in Endgame because it is realistic and needs to be normalized more. Furthermore, the scene where Thor summons Mjolnir when he and Rocket were retrieving the Reality Stone was beautiful and inspiring. Why? Because he was able to reassure himself that he was still worthy. It shows that it is what inside that counts and that struggling with mental illness doesn’t make you any less of a person.
Conflicts:
It was tragic that both Iron Man and Black Widow died in the movie. The funeral scene was a beautiful sendoff for Tony Stark. It was well deserving, especially since he had undergone great amounts of growth throughout the eleven-year run. However, there should have been an on-screen funeral for Black Widow. Her death was just as tragic as Iron Man’s was and her last words “it’s okay” to Hawkeye had me crying. Black Widow deciding that she had to be the soul sacrificed to receive the Soul Stone instead of Hawkeye because he had a family was a powerful and emotional scene, especially since right before they got there, they said “We’ve come a long way since Budapest.” It really hit me in the feels. Both Tony and Natasha had honorable deaths in their fight to undo the destruction caused by the mad titan Thanos. There was no way to predict the outcome of the battle with Thanos. For all they know, it could have ended the same, if not worse than it did in Avengers: Infinity War. Therefore, I found Natasha’s death to be a bit sadder as she sacrificed her life to undo the destruction when there was the possibility that it would not have worked out in their favor. Her sacrifice would have ultimately been for nothing then.
I am always conflicted when time travel is used to try to change something as there are many factors to take into consideration and several things that could go wrong. There are two things that bothered me about it: Thanos from the past came to their timeline and the idea of removing an item from the past. One thing that I am questioning is what happened to the timeline past Thanos left? Do the events of it never unfold because he is defeated in the post-snap timeline? There are a number of questions and uncertainties about it. The Avengers time traveling to collect the Infinity Stones before they were stolen seemed iffy to me. Do their actions of removing the Infinity Stones from their respective timelines create alternate timelines? I know that Captain America returned the Infinity Stones to their respective timeline, but the logistics and the repercussions of it are uncertain and sort of nerve wracking.
Additionally, Hawkeye going on a murderous rampage after his family was dusted by Thanos raised some questions, uneasiness, and several red flags. Sure, it might have been a nod to whatever terrible decisions Black Widow had made in her past that he didn’t judge her on, but it was ultimately glossed over. Yeah, Rhodey did mention that he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to find him. However, it makes me wonder if Hawkeye’s actions would have been overlooked if he wasn’t a white male. It didn’t sit right with me.
Overall:
Avengers: Endgame is a solid movie despite some of the aforementioned conflicts and I highly suggest that you see it on the big screen. It was an exceptional conclusion to the eleven year long and twenty-two movie story arc. The battle scene is a bit rushed, but ultimately does it justice even though it is essentially an over glorified game of football. It will be interesting to see how exactly the events of Avengers: Endgame will be incorporated in Spider-Man Far From Home.