Guest Review: "Avengers: Endgame"

   Most of us in the U.S. won't see the new Avengers movie until Thursday - but my friend Mark lives on the other side of the world (in Australia), and he's just seen it and kindly provides his (spoiler-free) thoughts. What a guy! Take it away, Mark:

   To start with the obvious - this is a film that needs no real introduction. Everyone has been waiting for it, and everyone knows basically what it’s about. However, Marvel Studios has been leading up to this for - what? - 11 years and umpteen films. So will it meet your expectations?

   I think the likely answer to that is “yes.”

   Avengers: Endgame contains many developments that most viewers were likely expecting. But it has a lot of twists, turns, highlights and tragedies that I certainly wasn’t anticipating, along with a genuine emotional depth.

   The film commences shortly after the conclusion of its predecessor, as the surviving cast members regroup to consider how they can strike back against Thanos.

   The action kicks in almost immediately - and after a few minutes, takes a completely unexpected turn.

   The next half hour is grim and downbeat. It manages to show the impact of Thanos’ actions not just on the heroes, but on the general population. However “idealistic” Thanos’ motives were in destroying half the population of the Universe, the outcomes are not what he envisaged.

   Perhaps aptly, the film’s emotional upswing begins with the reappearance of the star of one of the more lighthearted Marvel movies - Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, who plays a quite substantial role (as does Rocket Racoon, whose interactions with other characters remain a joy).

   From there on things being to really click into high gear, as the heroes devise a plan to perhaps - just maybe - manage to reverse Thanos’ actions…..

   It would venture into genuine spoiler territory to give away any more story detail, but rest assured that the following lengthy build-up leads to a climax that is both well worth the wait and literally earth-shattering.

   In a film with such a multitude of characters, many other than the core cast obviously have only a relatively brief screen-time.  Nonetheless, nearly all get their moments to shine. Captain Marvel appears early on but is not featured as much as one might expect - given her power levels, it’s perhaps understandable she’d be used sparingly.

   The female heroes aren’t ignored though; the climactic battle against Thanos features probably the best depiction I’ve yet seen of the power of the Scarlet Witch, and there’s one panoramic scene with all the female heroes standing against the Mad Titan - an obvious response from the film’s makers to criticism of underutilisation of women characters in earlier Marvel productions.

   There were also cameos by quite a few key supporting characters from earlier Marvel films. It may be worth refreshing your memories of those earlier films, as a few key scenes are revisited - though they’ll probably come flooding back to you.

   Naturally, all the biggies -  the original “Avengers” - get their turn in the spotlight. Yes, that includes Hawkeye, who has a much more prominent role than many would have expected. I felt it did a lot to counter the sneers about him being a perennial afterthought.  Jeremy Renner’s scenes and interplay with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow worked particularly well, showing a real depth of feeling between their characters.

   The character highlight for me was Thor, a shattered man / god who gradually rebuilds his confidence and self-worth, while still managing to provide the film’s comedy highlights. For me, Chris Hemsworth will now and forevermore be “The Dude of Thunder”.

   The treatment of Banner and the Hulk may generate some controversy. Some will hate it while others will love it (particularly Peter David fans), but it’s completely in keeping with the character’s long history. Of the main characters I thought he was the most under-utilised, though Mark Ruffalo delivered another fine performance.

   Once again, Robert Downey Jr delivers a wonderfully prickly performance as Tony Stark, who has nonetheless grown emotionally over the course of his time as Iron Man. He retains his “opposites attract” relationship with Captain America - very different characters, frequently in conflict, but ultimately friends and allies.

   Perhaps not surprisingly, Chris Evans’ Cap is the emotional heart of the film. He’s the everyman who tries to help people deal with the aftermath of Thanos’ actions, he has at least one truly heartbreaking moment in the course of the action, and if you don’t find that you’ve something in your eye during one particular scene in the film…  well, you’re harder than I am. Plus as we’re told, he has “The Ass of America” (though in my part of the world we’d pronounce it “Arse”).

   “Endgame” is a long film - including credits, just on three hours - and while that zipped by, it meant that there was a lot to take in.  I’m still trying to process everything that occurred, and figure out exactly how it was structured. Though I’m sure there will already be dozens of YouTube analyses, at the time it was just one huge, majestic rush. In any case however it’s a film to allow to flood over you, and save the analysis until later.

   So, just how actually _good_ was “Endgame”? Well, I’m sure that I could nitpick over a few plot details, but really…. for a film like this, I lose all my critical faculties. At this point I honestly can’t think of any substantial criticisms.

   Frankly I thought it was bloody fantastic, and could happily go back to see it again tomorrow.  

   Just not at 8:30 a.m. again - that’s a little early for me.

   In the words of an old Australian TV host - “Do yourself a favour!”  Go and see it.

Mark Cannon

Canberra, Australia

24 April 2019

PS - 

Oh, and on the important things from a comics fan’s perspective - there’s a nice tribute to Stan at the start, along with his usual cameo. There are also plentiful creator acknowledgements in the end credits, with a prominent one to Stan and Jack early on. Others are buried a bit deeper, though nevertheless still there, including a pretty prominent one for Jim Starlin. Good to see.