North Texas Daily

“Whatever it takes.”

Note: This is a 100% spoiler-free review.

After 11 years and an accumulation of 21 other films, we have finally reached the end game of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It does not seem real, to be honest, even though this has been a long time coming.

I remember sitting in a theater in 2008 unknowingly ready to witness the birth of this Cinematic Universe with the film that started it all, “Iron Man.”  At this point, I had honestly no real idea who Iron Man was as a character, even being an avid comic book reader. But alas, I still found myself sitting in this theater at a young age ready to witness something that would become a massive part of my life throughout the next 11 years.

I do not think I can fully explain exactly how perfect “Avengers: Endgame” is without endlessly rambling on. To keep it simple right now, “Endgame” is one of the greatest, most satisfying conclusions to a saga ever.

To get it out of the way first, there was only a very small amount of negative things I can say about the film.  There were a few decisions that were made in the first 30 minutes or so that I was not really on board with as they were happening. I will not say exactly what these decisions are to avoid spoiler talk, but it concerned an arc for a specific character.

As the film progressed, it became clear why these decisions were made and I ended up warming up to them simply because they made sense later in the narrative. Besides this very minor negative, “Endgame” breezes by with the force of a windstorm.

It is a three-hour epic but it felt like a tight 100 minute machine, well-oiled in all the right parts. The greatest thing about the film is its ability to consistently surprise. Marvel definitely has a formula down in terms of how it develops each story, but this film subverts said formula in almost every way.

I’ve read these comics for years so I thought I had a pretty good idea where this was going to go, but  “Endgame” takes the established Marvel formula, twists it on its head, then makes it feel fresh again which honestly has not happened in years, but has desperately been needed.  

It has been an absolute blessing seeing the original six Avengers grow with their characters like this. We all know they are already very talented actors, but they have all fully grown into their characters. Seeing them portray their respective ones in this penultimate movie was a treat to behold. It is almost as if you can feel the weight of the portrayal of these characters resting on the actor’s shoulders — all good and negative things of portraying these characters for years — because you can see it in their facial expressions.

Aside from the stellar characterization and storytelling, the film looks absolutely stunning in every frame. This film has some of the greatest shots in the entire cinematic universe. There are numerous instances where the beauty of the some of the shots is simply overwhelming. Some of the CGI has been spotty in previous entries in the MCU, but here it seems to be all refined and touched up to excellence.

The final action sequence is easily one of the greatest to ever grace the big screen. It is a vast conglomeration of epic moments, stunning fight choreography and brilliant design. My jaw was dropped for the entirety of the sequence and I would be hard pressed to find a better action sequence this year or any other year, honestly. 

Even after saying all this, I feel as if I still cannot accurately describe how “Endgame” made me feel as a whole. It appeased my love as a comic book fan by delivering one of the greatest comic book films to grace our screens while also appeasing my love for these characters by delivering satisfying arcs for them which compliment their development. It simultaneously appeased the film fan in me too by presenting an impressive and ambitious feat of filmmaking I can honestly say has never been accomplished like this ever before. In simpler words, it is as satisfying as you could ever hope it would be.

“Endgame” is a a once-in-a-lifetime film which will forever be heralded as a defining pop culture event of our times. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have crafted an astonishing masterpiece that I have no doubt will go down as one of the greatest comic books films of all time.

I can now happily say Marvel’s “Infinity  Saga” has wrapped up in extraordinary fashion that will go down as one of the greatest modern film sagas of our time. Be prepared for endless re-watches to come because you are going to want to relive every epic moment over and over again even if you might need to keep tissues around for each viewing. I am still in absolute awe of it all. 

Featured Image: Courtesy Facebook.