A completely spoiler-free mini review of Endgame devoid of any comments about any plot points: It’s fun. You should rewatch Infinity War beforehand.
Further spoiler-free comments on the movie and the overall experience:
On reflection, after discussing with wife and friends, and contemplation of my own reaction: it depends wholly on your relationship with Marvel movies and comic books throughout your life.
I think that if you’re a longtime comics reader and love MCU, then you may well have, as one friend put it, the greatest cinematic experience of your life. It’s the culmination of an unparalleled movie saga that far exceeds the scope of any movie series ever done to date.
But, that said, if you enter with those expectations, you may be disappointed. Another friend, a huge fan and childhood comics reader, left in a malaise, feeling the conclusion was somewhat less than it should have been. Me: I’ve realized that while I enjoy individual MCU movies as standalone, I’m not captivated by the three phase super arc.
I like, as a rule, the character driven standalones. Captain America The First Avenger, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man Homecoming, and Thor Ragnarok are particular standouts.
The “Avengers” movies are, for me, the weakest part of MCU movies. They have too many characters and too little time for them. And they conclude with yet another Epic Battle where all the action figures get smashed together for 20 minutes.
I didn’t like Infinity War last year. I rewatched it this weekend, but on its own terms without imposing my expectations for what an epic penultimate action movie should be. That made a big difference. I enjoyed it. It still didn’t “move” me. It was still an Avengers movie, to me. But it was good.
I went into Endgame ready for a three hour conclusion, open to whatever story it was going to be, with few expectations. I enjoyed it. It did some things with the story that genuinely surprised and impressed me. I was never bored, though a chunk in the middle was less engaging that it should have been.
The ending ... in all 14 million universes Doctor Strange examines, none of them didn’t have this climax. These are art, but they’re also commerce. But it was fine. And the denouement or epilogue or whatever, through earned storytelling and expert cinematic emotional manipulation really moved me at moments. The first time I’ve been really emotionally moved during any ensemble Avengers movie.*
Finally: I recommend you see Endgame this week, if you haven’t, before spoilers are unavoidable. This is a movie worth seeing at least once with no knowledge of how it plays out.
Epilogue: After Infinity War last year, I felt I had to be open to revising my view of it based on what Endgame did. For me, Endgame elevates Infinity War, making it better as part of a satisfying concluding pair.
* that's not exactly true. There are very brief moments from specific lines like "My secret is I'm always angry" and "She's not a lone" that are affecting. But End Game was the first time in any of the Avengers ensembles that got me in a sustained way based around the core story events, and not just quotable moments.
Further spoiler-free comments on the movie and the overall experience:
On reflection, after discussing with wife and friends, and contemplation of my own reaction: it depends wholly on your relationship with Marvel movies and comic books throughout your life.
I think that if you’re a longtime comics reader and love MCU, then you may well have, as one friend put it, the greatest cinematic experience of your life. It’s the culmination of an unparalleled movie saga that far exceeds the scope of any movie series ever done to date.
But, that said, if you enter with those expectations, you may be disappointed. Another friend, a huge fan and childhood comics reader, left in a malaise, feeling the conclusion was somewhat less than it should have been. Me: I’ve realized that while I enjoy individual MCU movies as standalone, I’m not captivated by the three phase super arc.
I like, as a rule, the character driven standalones. Captain America The First Avenger, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man Homecoming, and Thor Ragnarok are particular standouts.
The “Avengers” movies are, for me, the weakest part of MCU movies. They have too many characters and too little time for them. And they conclude with yet another Epic Battle where all the action figures get smashed together for 20 minutes.
I didn’t like Infinity War last year. I rewatched it this weekend, but on its own terms without imposing my expectations for what an epic penultimate action movie should be. That made a big difference. I enjoyed it. It still didn’t “move” me. It was still an Avengers movie, to me. But it was good.
I went into Endgame ready for a three hour conclusion, open to whatever story it was going to be, with few expectations. I enjoyed it. It did some things with the story that genuinely surprised and impressed me. I was never bored, though a chunk in the middle was less engaging that it should have been.
The ending ... in all 14 million universes Doctor Strange examines, none of them didn’t have this climax. These are art, but they’re also commerce. But it was fine. And the denouement or epilogue or whatever, through earned storytelling and expert cinematic emotional manipulation really moved me at moments. The first time I’ve been really emotionally moved during any ensemble Avengers movie.*
Finally: I recommend you see Endgame this week, if you haven’t, before spoilers are unavoidable. This is a movie worth seeing at least once with no knowledge of how it plays out.
Epilogue: After Infinity War last year, I felt I had to be open to revising my view of it based on what Endgame did. For me, Endgame elevates Infinity War, making it better as part of a satisfying concluding pair.
* that's not exactly true. There are very brief moments from specific lines like "My secret is I'm always angry" and "She's not a lone" that are affecting. But End Game was the first time in any of the Avengers ensembles that got me in a sustained way based around the core story events, and not just quotable moments.
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