‘Avengers: Endgame’ Spoiler Review

Almost 11 years ago Marvel had given us the first movie to what would now become an experience. Twenty-one movies, hundreds of characters, billions of fans and one movie to end an entire journey. Avengers: Endgame is a love letter to all Marvel fans and is an ending no one will ever forget. Watching this movie makes you realize something immediately, this is a love letter. That’s what this movie serves as more than anything and that’s what it needed to be. As fans, we have all followed the MCU through a journey that has been incredible. Here is my spoiler review of Avengers: Endgame.

“When I drift off, I will dream about you. It’s always you.”

This movie begins with a very emotional moment and ends in that very nature. This movie isn’t about the big battles or even Thanos. This time around it’s completely an Avengers movie focusing largely on the original six. The prologue of this movie is a very emotional one that sets the audience in for an epic ride. We witness the death of Clint’s family and you can truly feel Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton feeling lost. His panic is portrayed perfectly as he attempts to find his family but quickly realises they’re gone.

Suddenly, we’re on the ship with Tony and Nebula in the middle of space. I just have to say that those two characters worked great for the brief time they were together. The movie really makes you understand that their situation is dire and Tony is left with no hope. On the other hand Nebula is angry, frustrated but she’s sad. Among all her emotions, she can’t do anything to undo what has been done. Character moments like these are absolutely crucial in the MCU, as well as in a movie this late into the ever-growing universe. Moments like these make you realize how human these characters are and beyond that, make you sympathetic towards them.

When all hope is lost though, this powerful light beams off of Tony’s face and we’re introduced to Captain Marvel. Can I just say this movie handles her really well. The Russo Brothers are constantly proving why they’re perfect for the MCU and this was no exception. While she was used sparingly I think that made her appearance in the movie even better, having her involved heavily would’ve either caused controversy or would’ve forced the movie to develop a character that hasn’t been fleshed out fully yet.

Man, Robert Downey Jr proves yet again he deserves all the awards when Tony is reunited with everyone at the Avengers HQ. Amidst his return, Tony confronts Rogers about not being there for him on Titan when he needed him and it’s a very compelling moment. The acting in this scene was top notch from everyone, however, it’s safe to say that Downey stole the scene.

“You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play”

And bam! Steve was proved wrong not once, but twice now. Tony essentially started the MCU and with every path comes an ending. For Tony the ending was his sacrifice and for Rogers it was his end as a soldier. The movie wraps up the two stories perfectly as Tony had his normal life as the billionaire and Iron Man. Rogers is given the chance to have that normal life everyone has been telling him to get and now he has it.

The movie makes sure it doesn’t just end these two big chapters without giving us possibly the best moments for both characters. For Rogers it was the inevitable wielding of Mjolnir and beating on Thanos. This moment alone made the entire theater go crazy, it was just perfect. Seeing the hammer head towards Thor as it then flies past him and onto the hand of Captain America was beyond exhilarating. However, it doesn’t end there for Cap. The moment every Avenger came together to battle, the scene zooms in on Cap and we hear the two words that every Avengers fan has waited for… “Avengers Assemble”. It was all worth the wait and looking back at it, I’m glad he hadn’t said it in Age of Ultron or in any movie prior to this. It was the perfect moment as Cap led every single MCU hero into their greatest battle.

For Tony, it was the snap. As sad as it was seeing his sacrifice lead to his death, it was also the perfect conclusion for Tony Stark. Starting off as someone who was rather arrogant and reckless at times, Tony developed into a wise character who was more than ready to “make the sacrifice play”. The movie goes full circle with his story as we see him lay down his life to ensure that Thanos would never be able to harm anyone again. Robert Downey Jr proved why he is the perfect Iron Man throughout his career with the MCU and knowing there’s a chance we’ll never see him as Stark again saddens me. The scene brought tears to my eyes and in those final moments, we see Tony resting around the people that loved him most.

“We’ve come a long way from Budapest”

Yes, you have. As a character I didn’t much care for in the MCU I quickly grew to love Clint Barton in this movie. I believe Clint Barton as Ronin is more beneficial for his character as it gave us an interesting view. We haven’t seen him this ruthless before and I absolutely loved it, it made perfect sense for someone who lost his entire family. On the other hand, we have Black Widow who is absolutely heartbroken, yet is attempting to hold onto hope. I have to say Scarlett Johansson is perfect here. Specifically when her and Clint are in Vormir and they’re deciding who sacrifices themselves for the soul stone. God, this was a heartbreaking scene. The two fight it off, trying to prevent one another from jumping. The acting is beautifully executed here especially as Clint is trying to keep hold off Natasha. Although, there was a bit of convenience in this scene… can you imagine if War Machine and Hulk got sent to Vormir. At this point, The Avengers didn’t know that you needed to make a sacrifice so it was a little convenient that Hawkeye and Black Widow were chosen.

“It’s That bad?”

With all the things this movie gets right there was bound to be something that wasn’t done too well. While it made sense to the story, Thor being presented the way he was in Endgame wasn’t a good choice. I don’t care that he was overweight, my issue is how he became the laughing stock of the Avengers. As someone I’ve grown to love and grown to appreciate how powerful Thor is, I quickly felt a disconnection to the Thor I saw in Endgame. That’s not to say this version didn’t provide for some really fun moments but when it came down to it I felt this development for the character was disappointing.

In saying that, what I found enjoyable about this development is that it led to Valkyrie leading New Asgard. I loved the inclusion of her character in Thor: Ragnarok and can’t wait to see more of her in the MCU. This particular path for Thor also led to him potentially making a return in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 which I think could be awesome. I love the constant bickering between Thor and Star-Lord and I’m excited to get more of it.

Overall Thoughts

I truly appreciated that this movie didn’t focus much on Thanos. As it was the end of the two biggest characters in the MCU I thought it was fitting for the movie to focus on them. I also loved that Sam has been given the mantle of Captain America. He deserves it more than anyone and has always been Steve’s guy. There were moments when Hulk looked a bit weird but I liked his development overall.

There’s a lot more that I could say about this movie but it would take more than just one review article to cover it all. Avengers: Endgame really feels like a perfect conclusion to an epic saga. As someone who loves these movies I can say I would’ve been okay with this movie being the last MCU movie. However, I’m definitely excited to see what comes next and for the eventual introduction of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. This movie was a solid 9.5/10 for me and it’s my favorite MCU movie.