The Final Resolution: Avengers: Endgame Movie Review

By Justin Robertson and Liam Day

Before reading this article, please be aware that the article includes spoilers. Recently released movie, Avengers: Endgame, is perhaps the most anticipated film in recent memory. The box office numbers are already showing this with the movie becoming the highest grossing movie in cinema history, making over two and a half billion dollars in three weeks. The film is the fourth installment of the Avengers series, which combines characters from numerous Marvel superhero movies. As the series has become more and more popular, Marvel has involved more superhero characters, such as Captain Marvel and Black Panther. Endgame continues the story that was developed in the previous Avengers installment, Avengers: Infinity War. In Infinity War, a powerful villain named Thanos collects the six infinity stones that gave him ultimate power over the universe. Once Thanos collected all of the stones, he was able to exterminate half of all living creatures in the universe. Endgame follows up on the aftermath of this catastrophic event and the attempt by the surviving Avengers to fix their mistakes. Despite various shortcomings for the film, the positive elements outweigh them and allow the film to now be the highest grossing movie of all time.

Avengers: Endgame gave us everything that Infinity War did not, including a moment of all the Avengers together on one planet to face off against Thanos and his army. The timing could not have been any better, as all of the fallen Avengers return to help Captain America right as his back is against the wall. Glenelg Junior, Nate Baker, says, “The final fight was really violent and interesting to watch because I didn’t know what was going to happen.” This feeling was shared by millions of viewers, as the faceoff between Thanos and the three leading avengers, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man, was a thrilling way to conclude the everlasting rivalry between Thanos and the Avengers. Along with concluding the series, the last battle was also able to show the strength of Thanos even without the infinity gauntlet.
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Behind fictional features, comedy might be the memorable part of Marvel films, and Endgame was filled with it. There were plenty of jokes and antics that added a much needed comedic relief to an intense story. One scene in particular was very humorous and had some pop culture references. To travel back in time, the surviving Avengers visit Thor, who becomes an alcoholic and overweight man following the events from the previous film. Thor and his friends are seen playing Fortnite, the popular 3rd person shooter video game, and trash-talking with online opponents. Although the trash talk had nothing to do with the movie’s story, it was very funny and gave audience members a laugh. Another iconic and comedic moment occurs when Ant Man says, “That’s America’s Ass.” This line generated plenty of laughs in the theater and memes on the internet. Glenelg Senior, Rushi Patel, says, “I definitely enjoyed Ant Man’s presence as well as his most iconic joke [about] America’s ass. Those kind of jokes are what separate the Avengers movies from other films.” The inclusion of these brief comedic moments not only add comedic relief, but also make memorable lines that will be recalled for years.

When the official runtime of the movie was released, it was surprising to many of how long the film is. With a runtime of three hours and two minutes, Endgame is one of the longest movies in recent memory. Glenelg Junior Grant Smith says, “I liked the length, especially because of how much tickets cost.” This component is not often considered as important as other factors, but Smith makes a great point. The movie tickets themselves combined with buying food makes going out to the theater a very expensive experience. According to Fox Business, viewers of Endgame at AMC Theaters spent nearly thirty million dollars on concessions during the opening weekend of the film. If people are to pay this much for a movie, Endgame can make up for the lost money by producing a long and invigorating film.

Despite the hype about the film, it seems as if Marvel could have taken their time with the plot more in order to produce the best movie possible. The whole premise for the plot is based on the ability to go into the quantum realm and time travel. While superhero movies frequently rely on fictional aspects, time travel seemed to be too complex. In the movie, the Avengers time travel to capture the stones and return them to the present time, thus giving them the ability to reverse Thanos’ actions. Glenelg Junior, Jack Walsh, says, “I thought the movie was really interesting, but the whole time travel aspect of it was kind of confusing.” Instead of having Thanos destroying the stones, a better plot to the movie might have been for the avengers to hunt Thanos once again to regain the infinity stones. This would ensure that there is a constant conflict between the superhero group and the malicious villain and there are no confusing aspects about time travel.

Every movie has flaws, and while Endgame has multiple of them, the film is still a must-watch. The combination of action, character involvement, and comedy compliment each other to produce a legendary finale to the Avengers series. Whether new Avengers movies are made or not, the series can now be regarded as a superhero masterpiece.