Endgame Endgame User Review Thread (TAG SPOILERS)

[Mad Ones]

I wouldn't consider myself a loyal MCU fan and I think its formula's criticisms are fair since there are quite a few generic, soulless, and mediocre films in the series. That being said, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Spider-man: Homecoming, Captain Marvel, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are strong entries not only in the MCU but in the superhero genre broadly. The quality of these films made liking Infinity War even easier as the corners of the universe were brought together. The boldness of that film's ending made Endgame challenging - how do you *fix* the world without it feeling contrived, formulaic, low-stakes, and cheap?

Spoiler: SPOILER REVIEW

The movie is essentially broken down into three parts: 1) the feelings of being lost and aimless after the snap 2) plan-making and trips throughout the MCU's history 3) the final battle and wrap up.

Part 1:
The world felt deeply traumatized and not at all. The film pulled its punches here in depicting loss. In some ways, the world felt like it moved on. I know Cap and Black Widow haven't, but characters like Banner and Stark didn't seem haunted or obsessed. There was an air of sadness in scenes like the support group, but I can't say the loss was exactly felt. This isn't necessarily a criticism since the alternative would be trauma porn - a bad way to start a movie and also insensitive. But it does prove that the snap is a level of scale and scope that the movie isn't prepared to be held to. Yeah, it's sad that Peter Parker was dusted, but I've already seen his trailer for Homecoming. I don't care about Hawkeye or his family. etc.

I thought the movie effectively showed how unfulfilling killing and getting revenge on Thanos was. It was easy and felt like an anti-climax to Infinity War. Having the audience sit in that disappointment is a good strategy - it lets us understand characters like Thor and crave the big action that Thanos was supposed to bring. I found myself asking "ok now what." I really didn't know where the film was going or how we would narratively find ourselves in the big battle we were denied at the start.

Part 2:
I can't say time-travel is surprising, which in itself was a little disappointing and a little easy. Of course this impossible thing requires time-travel. I wasn't thrilled that the movie opened up endless debates and confusion regarding the rules of time and timelines. It's been done so many times before and I'm pretty tired of thinking along these lines - alternate timelines, time-paradoxes, plot/time-devices, etc. So I was a bit disengage when the characters started working on time-machines and made time-travel plans. It felt too easy when the problem was so surprisingly challenging and interesting.

But I warmed up to the time-travel once we actually saw characters go to the past. I went from skeptical and rolling my eyes to full-blown captivated by how well the recent past and recent movies were weaved together, improving continuity at times. It was bold to revisit Thor: The Dark World. It's a bad movie and I'd rather forget about it. But giving Thor a chance to talk to Frigga made it worth it since TDW criminally killed her off. I was happy to see the MCU use Renee Russo effectively instead of wasting her - everything about her was perfect, from the way she detected a spying Thor to her saying "I was raised by witches. I see with more than just my eyes." The movie showed us that she was cooler than we ever even knew.

I was impressed with the way that the Battle of New York was revisited since that was probably the most iconic entry into the MCU so far. It was hilarious seeing the difference between Banner-Hulk (Bulk) and old Hulk. Our Cap had no patience with Old Cap's righteousness. Hail Hydra. Connecting Shield in Avengers to the TWS in a way that makes sense. Loki disappearing with the cosmic cube. This was really well done.

Knowing how the movie ends, I loved the contrast between Tony resolving his Daddy issues while Steve can only catch a glimpse of Peggy. Black Widow's sacrifice came as a surprise to me. I actually hate Hawkeye so I was annoyed that she died so he could live, but I also would have been annoyed if he stopped her from being the hero she wanted to be. I'm still undecided if this was the appropriate send-off to the only woman on the team in the first Avengers Film.

Overall, it was pretty brilliant to use time-travel to revisit key moments in MCU history in a film that is ending an era. It felt familiar and fun, like seeing an old friend again. But it was also a new perspective and angle on the things we've seen before. I don't know how the time-travel makes sense in a logistical, time-line wonky way, but I'm sick of thinking about that stuff and I enjoyed what the film gave me too much to worry.

Part 3:
I've never cheered and cried so much at a block buster. The final battle was set up so well as our three core icons (Cap, Iron Man, and Thor) are met by the powerhouses the films have built over the last 10 years. I'll never forget seeing Strange's portals bringing everyone to the battle. Highlights include: Valkyrie on her Pegasus, Captain Marvel's entrance (with all the excitement, I totally forgot about her), Wanda unleashing her full wrath (I was so happy to finally see Jean Grey on screen...), and of course that shot with all the women (my audience cheered the loudest for this and I have to admit that it's probably my favourite moment in the entirety of the MCU). It's almost criminal that Black Widow wasn't there, though. "Hey Peter Parker, you got something for me?" Could this movie be anymore likeable? Cap with Mjolnir vs Thanos is the definition of epic.

Iron Man's send-off was the saddest thing. I'm not always the biggest Iron Man fan... He can be fairly domineering and sometimes takes up too much time in other people's films. But how many films has he been in? How many billions of dollars has he made? I can't deny that he's hugely likeable and elevates every scene he's in. He has done so much to make this world believable and relatable. I'm not sure if he could have gotten a better send-off. Ending with a callback to the first Iron Man film and a world-saving snap. Props to RDJ, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Tom Holland for making me bawl my eyes out.

Captain America got a really wonderful send-off as well. Not sure if I cried more at seeing Tony die or Steve Old and happy. The finality of this film really hit, but seeing him get that dance with Peggy is probably the best way to end this era. I was really impressed with all the call-backs and narrative parallels. I think this film showcases how well crafted the universe has been. The end credits were beautiful and I am so so so so so so happy that there was no end-credits scene. I sat through the entire credits like I'm used to doing and just thought about Steve and Peggy without that last image being dismissed by some silly end-credits set up.

While I'm not sure if time-travel works logistically and time-lines might be a headache, I can't think of a more perfect way to end this era.

 

[elgaz]

Spoiler

I retract part of my review, where I implied that the writers/directors handled time travel by not handling it. With Russo's confirmation, the time travel in this movie follows exactly what is explained (clearly): you can't change the past, any changes result in a new timeline. What isn't clear is what constitutes a change, but I can live with "significant", however vague that may still be.

The past is an alternate dimension/universe... an interactive recording if you will. Any "significant" changes will result in the continuation of this new dimension. Cap lived out his life in the "Shire" with alt-Peggy. They really left the door open for what happened over there. Since he didn't have to worry about timeline alterations since he already created the branch, did he get in more adventures? Where did the shield come from? Did we get 60's Captain America? Or did he just play it like we thought he would in the main timeline (keeping low profile with a new identity) How did Bucky seemingly "know"? Stay tuned

Spoiler

That story remains to be written and told, but they certainly left themselves that option - should they (or Chris Evans) wish to revisit Cap.

No matter what he said about grabbing some of that 'life' that Stark told him about, I can't imagine the Captain America we know and love went back in time to Peggy and then never used his abilities for good throughout the rest of his life. Especially considering that Peggy herself was also something of a heroine. They don't strike me as two people who would have been sipping wine and listening to the radio in their evenings. That's not to say he was out having the kind of extreme experiences he had whilst in the Avengers, but perhaps more low key spy type work.

Speaking of his life, I was curious what age the elderly Steve Rogers at the end of Endgame actually was. In the comics, the super solder serum was said to reduce the ageing effect greatly, meaning Cap could theoretically live 200-250 years. Assuming the MCU followed this canon, the (obviously elderly) Steve we saw in Endgame looked to be fairly well into that timeframe as opposed to being at the midlife stage. But if that was the case (and I'm doing very approximate figures in my head here) it would put the year at well past 2100AD. Does this mean there's a chance the guy we see sitting on the bench has not just lived his life up to that point and been waiting for them, but has actually come back in time from the future so he could meet them one more time at that critical point where the young Captain America stepped into the past and disappeared forever?

Of course, in the MCU Cap could just age like everyone else. But that would kinda go against the physical abilities we saw him gain.

 

[elgaz]

about the Thor-thing

Spoiler

I see some people have a problem with what he became. To me it was perfect. Thanos absolutely ruined Thor. He failed to save his home, his best friend, his brother and then he fails to kill Thanos right before the guy kills half the universe. Fat-Thor is earned. We've never seen the breaking point of an MCU hero before. To see one of the top core Avengers reduced to such a pathetic thing is haunting. It shows us how truly disturbed he was by his failure, unable to process it at all. I like the part when Korg says "We don't really use the Thanos-word here"

Spoiler

I would tend to agree for the most part. Even before Thanos, Thor had - over the course of a couple of years - lost his mother, father, friends, Mjolnir and Asgard. Then he got a severe beatdown from Thanos, lost his brother also and was left with literally nothing, drifting in space. Then just as he picks himself back up, creates a new weapon in Stormbreaker, and gets close to exacting his revenge on Thanos, the snap happens and half the universe dies. And Thor is left as the one who was only seconds away from stopping it all. The Thor we subsequently see in Endgame is a very broken one, and it's all earned.

With that said, I'd have liked them to have got rid of the fat suit by the end of the film and have him somewhat return to himself.

 

[Spidey17]

I can't wait to watch this again high.

 

[Silvermoon]

Spoiler

Does this mean there's a chance the guy we see sitting on the bench has not just lived his life up to that point and been waiting for them, but has actually come back in time from the future so he could meet them one more time at that critical point where the young Captain America stepped into the past and disappeared forever?.

regarding the bolded

Spoiler

No matter what, there's another 'jump' of travel that had to have happened for Steve to have appeared on that bench at that moment, there's no way he could have just lived his life and - knowing the day - gone to wait on the bench for that moment because he'd be waiting in the alternate branched timeline he created when he chose to stay behind. Not the Prime timeline that we were watching when he left and that the whole of the MCU has taken place in. I believe the Russos have confirmed this (there's a post in the "Let's talk the T word" thread that has the translation from a Chinese interview they did, "he lived his married life in a different universe from the main one. He had to make another jump back to the main universe at the end to give the shield to Sam."

You do bring up a good question, however, wondering exactly what age he is

 

[C. Lee]

Spoiler

I don't think it needed anymore. Not everyone needs to have some kind of long, drawn out discussion when patching things up. Sometimes it just boils down to saying "I want to move on." I know when I patched things up with people, it was usually hug it out and done.

Spoiler

Some times you don't even "hug it out"....at least not in my case. To make the story simple....a brother did something I felt to be terrible to our mother. I told him off, and we didn't talk for 7 years. This upset my mom all those years. We were both at mom's house one day....we chit chatted to make her feel better. Things are still not good between us....but we acted like it was in front of her. We weren't fighting to save the universe...so we didn't have to actually team up to work together like Cap and Tony.

 

[technobot]

Spoiler

how old was Steve at the end of the movie? Steve was supposedly born in 1918, so he's 27 when he goes into the ice, and ages ~11 years from when he's discovered until he leaves to return the Stones/be with Peggy.

If his body age (not real age) is ~38 when he goes back to alternate 1945, he would be ~109 (71 years later) in 2016, when prime Peggy passed in the MCU timeline. Does he make the jump back to main MCU at that point? Does he spend some more time with his (potential) kids/grandchildren?

I'm just guessing, but my interpretation of the "no, i don't think i will" is that he's keeping a secret for himself but it's still fresh for him. He got his life with Peggy but she (somewhat) recently passed, and about that time he decided to travel back to his reality.

I'm probably reading far too much into this but the more I think about it, the more I love his ending. Maybe he hung up his shield and spent most of his retirement making babies with Peggy, who can blame him? Or maybe, Steve being Steve, couldn't just sit there while a situation goes south, and continued saving the world with Agent Carter.

Shades of TNG's "The Inner Light"... seconds pass for the mainline MCU and Steve comes back having lived a lifetime, ready to pass on the shield. Was it real? Did he ever question the nature of his reality? I'm rambling...

 

[MovieSlave]

regarding the bolded

Spoiler

No matter what, there's another 'jump' of travel that had to have happened for Steve to have appeared on that bench at that moment, there's no way he could have just lived his life and - knowing the day - gone to wait on the bench for that moment because he'd be waiting in the alternate branched timeline he created when he chose to stay behind. Not the Prime timeline that we were watching when he left and that the whole of the MCU has taken place in. I believe the Russos have confirmed this (there's a post in the "Let's talk the T word" thread that has the translation from a Chinese interview they did, "he lived his married life in a different universe from the main one. He had to make another jump back to the main universe at the end to give the shield to Sam."

You do bring up a good question, however, wondering exactly what age he is

This is pretty much what I figured after I watched the movie for the first time. Makes the most sense.

 

[elgaz]

Spoiler

how old was Steve at the end of the movie? Steve was supposedly born in 1918, so he's 27 when he goes into the ice, and ages ~11 years from when he's discovered until he leaves to return the Stones/be with Peggy.

If his body age (not real age) is ~38 when he goes back to alternate 1945, he would be ~109 (71 years later) in 2016, when prime Peggy passed in the MCU timeline. Does he make the jump back to main MCU at that point? Does he spend some more time with his (potential) kids/grandchildren?

I'm just guessing, but my interpretation of the "no, i don't think i will" is that he's keeping a secret for himself but it's still fresh for him. He got his life with Peggy but she (somewhat) recently passed, and about that time he decided to travel back to his reality.

I'm probably reading far too much into this but the more I think about it, the more I love his ending. Maybe he hung up his shield and spent most of his retirement making babies with Peggy, who can blame him? Or maybe, Steve being Steve, couldn't just sit there while a situation goes south, and continued saving the world with Agent Carter.

Shades of TNG's "The Inner Light"... seconds pass for the mainline MCU and Steve comes back having lived a lifetime, ready to pass on the shield. Was it real? Did he ever question the nature of his reality? I'm rambling...

Spoiler

That all makes sense. But if we consider for one minute that the super soldier serum could enable to him to live to even 200 (if not more), then at circa 110yrs old he should still physically look like an average man in his late 40s/early 50s. The more I think about it, and considering how he neglected to tell Sam anything, I really do think this version of Steve Rogers has travelled back to this point from some alternate timeline far ahead. I hope that's a story that they explore at some point as it would be fascinating to see Steve's adventures through a century and more.

His MCU ending really was perfect. Ever since he was first introduced, he has dedicated his life and fought to do what he always believed was right, never shirking his duty or responsibility, driven solely by a relentless urge to serve not just his country, but the world. In some ways, Tony Stark was the antithesis of this - also a superhero who believed in doing good, but driven in some ways by a combination of his own quirks, obsessions, ego and insecurities and with very different methods to Captain America.

And yet, in the end Stark falls into a peaceful and tranquil family life - which is what motivates him to make that final sacrifice, to save all that he holds dear. There is no insecurity, no more question marks, no more doubt and certainly no ego - he knows what he has to do to stop Thanos and he steps up. And in turn, Steve Rogers also makes his last stand but comes out the other side a slightly changed man, with an appreciation now not just for 'duty' but for life - life that all of them fought Thanos to preserve.

It was the perfect arc for both of these pivotal characters; Stark going from the "I'm not that guy" self-doubting superhero to one sacrificing his life without hesitation, and Rogers finally being rewarded for a life committed 24/7 to those he sought to protect. And in some ways, it was also a perfect parallel to the service men and women who spend long periods serving their country and then returning home to a family life once their duty is complete - only in Steve's case it took over 80 years.

 

[Iceman]

I wouldn't consider myself a loyal MCU fan and I think its formula's criticisms are fair since there are quite a few generic, soulless, and mediocre films in the series. That being said, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Spider-man: Homecoming, Captain Marvel, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are strong entries not only in the MCU but in the superhero genre broadly. The quality of these films made liking Infinity War even easier as the corners of the universe were brought together. The boldness of that film's ending made Endgame challenging - how do you *fix* the world without it feeling contrived, formulaic, low-stakes, and cheap?

Spoiler: SPOILER REVIEW

The movie is essentially broken down into three parts: 1) the feelings of being loss and aimless after the snap 2) plan-making and trips throughout the MCU's history 3) the final battle and wrap up.

Part 1:
The world felt deeply traumatized and not at all. The film pulled its punches here in depicting loss. In some ways, the world felt like it moved on. I know Cap and Black Widow haven't, but characters like Banner and Stark didn't seem haunted or obsessed. There was an air of sadness in scenes like the support group, but I can't say the loss was exactly felt. This isn't necessarily a criticism since the alternative would be trauma porn - a bad way to start a movie and also insensitive. But it does prove that the snap is a level of scale and scope that the movie isn't prepared to be held to. Yeah, it's sad that Peter Parker was dusted, but I've already seen his trailer for Homecoming. I don't care about Hawkeye or his family. etc.

I thought the movie effectively showed how unfulfilling killing and getting revenge on Thanos was. It was easy and felt like an anti-climax to Infinity War. Having the audience sit in that disappointment is a good strategy - it lets us understand characters like Thor and crave the big action that Thanos was supposed to bring. I found myself asking "ok now what." I really didn't know where the film was going or how we would narratively find ourselves in the big battle we were denied at the start.

Part 2:
I can't say time-travel is surprising, which in itself was a little disappointing and a little easy. Of course this impossible thing requires time-travel. I wasn't thrilled that the movie opened up endless debates and confusion regarding the rules of time and timelines. It's been done so many times before and I'm pretty tired of thinking along these lines - alternate timelines, time-paradoxes, plot/time-devices, etc. So I was a bit disengage when the characters started working on time-machines and made time-travel plans. It felt too easy when the problem was so surprisingly challenging and interesting.

But I warmed up to the time-travel once we actually saw characters go to the past. I went from skeptical and rolling my eyes to full-blown captivated by how well the recent past and recent movies were weaved together, improving continuity at times. It was bold to revisit Thor: The Dark World. It's a bad movie and I'd rather forget about it. But giving Thor a chance to talk to Frigga made it worth it since TDW criminally killed her off. I was happy to see the MCU use Renee Russo effectively instead of wasting her - everything about her was perfect, from the way she detected a spying Thor to her saying "I was raised by witches. I see with more than just my eyes." The movie showed us that she was cooler than we ever even knew.

I was impressed with the way that the Battle of New York was revisited since that was probably the most iconic entry into the MCU so far. It was hilarious seeing the difference between Banner-Hulk (Bulk) and old Hulk. Our Cap had no patience with Old Cap's righteousness. Hail Hydra. Connecting Shield in Avengers to the TWS in a way that makes sense. Loki disappearing with the cosmic cube. This was really well done.

Knowing how the movie ends, I loved the contrast between Tony resolving his Daddy issues while Steve can only catch a glimpse of Peggy. Black Widow's sacrifice came as a surprise to me. I actually hate Hawkeye so I was annoyed that she died so he could live, but I also would have been annoyed if he stopped her from being the hero she wanted to be. I'm still undecided if this was the appropriate send-off to the only woman on the team in the first Avengers Film.

Overall, it was pretty brilliant to use time-travel to revisit key moments in MCU history in a film that is ending an era. It felt familiar and fun, like seeing an old friend again. But it was also a new perspective and angle on the things we've seen before. I don't know how the time-travel makes sense in a logistical, time-line wonky way, but I'm sick of thinking about that stuff and I enjoyed what the film gave me too much to worry.

Part 3:
I've never cheered and cried so much at a block buster. The final battle was set up so well as our three core icons (Cap, Iron Man, and Thor) are met by the powerhouses the films have built over the last 10 years. I'll never forget seeing Strange's portals bringing everyone to the battle. Highlights include: Valkyrie on her Pegasus, Captain Marvel's entrance (with all the excitement, I totally forgot about her), Wanda unleashing her full wrath (I was so happy to finally see Jean Grey on screen...), and of course that shot with all the women (my audience cheered the loudest for this and I have to admit that it's probably my favourite moment in the entirety of the MCU). It's almost criminal that Black Widow wasn't there, though. "Hey Peter Parker, you got something for me?" Could this movie be anymore likeable? Cap with Mjolnir vs Thanos is the definition of epic.

Iron Man's send-off was the saddest thing. I'm not always the biggest Iron Man fan... He can be fairly domineering and sometimes takes up too much time in other people's films. But how many films has he been in? How many billions of dollars has he made? I can't deny that he's hugely likeable and elevates every scene he's in. He has done so much to make this world believable and relatable. I'm not sure if he could have gotten a better send-off. Ending with a callback to the first Iron Man film and a world-saving snap. Props to RDJ, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Tom Holland for making me bawl my eyes out.

Captain America got a really wonderful send-off as well. Not sure if I cried more at seeing Tony die or Steve Old and happy. The finality of this film really hit, but seeing him get that dance with Peggy is probably the best way to end this era. I was really impressed with all the call-backs and narrative parallels. I think this film showcases how well crafted the universe has been. The end credits were beautiful and I am so so so so so so happy that there was no end-credits scene. I sat through the entire credits like I'm used to doing and just thought about Steve and Peggy without that last image being dismissed by some silly end-credits set up.

While I'm not sure if time-travel works logistically and time-lines might be a headache, I can't think of a more perfect way to end this era.

Enjoyed reading this

 

[kguillou]

about the Thor-thing

Spoiler

I see some people have a problem with what he became. To me it was perfect. Thanos absolutely ruined Thor. He failed to save his home, his best friend, his brother and then he fails to kill Thanos right before the guy kills half the universe. Fat-Thor is earned. We've never seen the breaking point of an MCU hero before. To see one of the top core Avengers reduced to such a pathetic thing is haunting. It shows us how truly disturbed he was by his failure, unable to process it at all. I like the part when Korg says "We don't really use the Thanos-word here"

Which is a concept I think most people are totally onboard with, its the execution of

Spoiler: Spoilers

Playing Fat Thor for jokes throughout the whole movie, that oh so familiar trap the MCU falls into where they opt for laughs instead of genuine drama. Yes, lets see a damaged, depressed, down on his luck Thor who has given up. Does it have to be jokey though? I mean, I get why they do it, especially post- the “dark and gritty” era of DC movies, they’re afraid of making the movie too dramatic and sober because they think the audience will think its pretentious and taking itself too seriously. Not to mention the weight of the subject matter in Endgame is already heavy enough that showing a depressed Thor could be the thing that tips the scales and prevents the audience from having a good time. So they played it for laughs to keep everybody awake during a three hour movie. I get it....but I didnt like it. I think Thor’s depression could’ve been a lot heavier and dramatic without it being a mope-fest. We already had characters like Antman, Rocket and Hulk providing plenty of levity in the movie.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Just finished my 3rd viewing, I wanted to wait till I saw it a couple of times before I wrote a review, wanted to make sure I was as enthused from it after seeing it a few times.

Pros:

- Captain America - You can just tell they wanted him to shine in this movie after being sidelined in IW for the most part. I loved every part of Cap's story in the movie in all 3 acts, and very happy that he got that epic moment and that ending

- Iron-Man - He's never been my most favorite Avenger, but watching him in this movie reminded me of how awesome and heroic a character he is. You can argue he's the true hero of this story.

- Nebula - Not since Jamie Lannister have I seen a villain to hero journey done so well. I barely noticed her in GOTG1, and now I find myself focusing in on her in every scene she's in. Her journey, character growth, her relationships with the other characters were some of my favorite parts of this movie.

- I was taken aback by how effective the humor was in the movie, it was never gratuitous and always came at the right time.

- The 3 act structure worked for me really well, I'd go 3 > 2 > 1 in terms of preference.

- The sheer amount of callbacks and Easter eggs in this movie are staggering, you can almost find a link to every other movie released before it.

- The time travel aspect took a little time to really figure out since they took such a departure for the traditional rules, but once established actually gave a refreshing take on one of the most used Sci Fi tropes.

- The stakes that emanated from Infinity War were paid off, I was afraid that they would go for a complete fix that could undermine the ending of IW, but I think they figured out a way to satisfy both ends.

- Tony and Cap's relationship, and the blow-back from Civil War - I'm glad they didn't choose to ignore that fracturing in their friendship and trust.

- The final battle is down right the stuff of legends, I never thought I would like a battle sequence more than the Civil War Airport sequence. Boy I was wrong, way wrong.

Spoiler

- I loved the way they integrated the returning characters, watching Cap stand alone against Thanos' Armada, only to see the entire Marvel Universe show up to have his back is something I will never forget watching for the first time.

- Scarlet Witch - She has been my favorite female character in MCU for a while, and I am ecstatic they gave her such a powerful moment. Her utter domination of Thanos was unmatched, that was the only time I genuinely saw fear in Thanos' eyes.

- I loved the girl power scene, especially all the ladies popping up 1 by 1 was amazing.

- Cap's Mjolnir moment exploded the crowd in my theater, I have never seen a crowd just go bonkers to that extent.

- Thanos - I'm glad they showed a more cruel version of Thanos who hadn't yet felt the abandonment of Gamora, and was still the brutal Titan that we had heard of prior to IW.

- Gamora - I am very happy and excited that they figured out a way to bring Gamora back, I can't wait to see 2014 Gamora interact with Peter and the gang and learn to love them all over again.

- Tony's sacrifice and death really got me, his iconic line was earned and really struck me hard.

- Avengers Assemble - We have been waiting for Cap to say those words since 2012, the wait was so worth it.

- Frigga - She was beyond awesome, and made me angry of how underutilized she was in Thor 1 and 2.

- Widow's sacrifice was hard to watch, because I knew it was coming as soon as they stepped of Vormir, she has been such a staple of the MCU, and I really wanted here to be there in the final battle, but I understand how powerful that moment was for her character.

- Spidey - My all time favorite charter in fiction, he wasn't in it a lot, but he got some awesome moments. I'm glad he and Tony got their reunion, and loved his goodbye to him at the end. Can't wait for FFH.

Cons:

- Captain Marvel - Wanted more of her, way more. And I hate her haircut, have hated it ever since the comics.

- Rocket - He was great in the parts he was in, but I wanted to see more of him acclimating to Earth and everybody acclimating to him. We get very little of that.

Spoiler

- Thor - This one is not really a negative, as more of an in between. I understand why his character choose to go into depression and said F it. He was really funny, but when the moment came in the final battle I couldn't help but wonder if it would have been better to have old school Thor.

- Hulk - It's not that I didn't like Professor Hulk, he was great, funny, charming, but what I desperately wanted was that rematch between the angriest version of Hulk and Thanos.

Overall

I absolutely adored this movie, I watched it three times and I am still jonesing to see it more and more. I liked it even better than Infinity War, which was my all time favorite CBM. This was such an overwhelmingly satisfying conclusion to the Infinity Saga and some of our most beloved charters. I'm sad we won't get to see some them ever interact with the returning X-Men and FF charters, but such is life. Major praise and thanks to Fiege, Russos, Marcus/McFeely, and the rest of the cast and crew, this was an amazing ride.

5/5

 

[UltimateWebhead]

I saw Endgame on Monday and decided to wait a full day-ish before posting my thoughts. I really loved this movie. However, I don’t think this is the best movie in the MCU—I liked Infinity War more. In fact, I’d say this might crack the top 5 at best. It’s for sure a top ten.

Endgame had some great emotional beats everything from the people left dealing with the aftermath of a ‘snapped’ world all the way to the end with its heart-wrenching turns. The acting, sound, cinematography was all so well done. In comparison though, Infinity War was the better movie. It had better pacing, the tension was palpable—it was the first MCU movie where there was a very real threat. I also enjoyed the action more in Infinity War. Every action scene in IW was memorable and honestly EG did have some cool moments however IW imo had much better choreographed fights and set pieces.

I’d say as far as ‘movies that wrap up a story’ go, Endgame is by far the best one I’ve seen. I just don’t think it was as solid a movie as some of the others we’ve had within the MCU. I’d give it a solid 8.5/10.

Now some spoiler stuff…

Iron Man

Spoiler

What a send off. Tony started the MCU and his sacrifice wrapped up the 1st era of the MCU. I loved his character over the course of all these movies. He will be missed.

Thor

Spoiler

Ugh. Ok. I get it. He’s been hit hard. Out of all the Avengers, Thor has lost the most…his father, couldn’t save his mother, watched his brother die in front of him, forced to kill his sister, feels guilty for leading half of the Asgardians to their demise, losing his home….it’s like what else can this guy lose? Oh yeah, he fails to kill Thanos—as the strongest Avenger and the only one wielding a weapon strong enough to kill Thanos, he ultimately fails. Thor has had a rough, rough deal. I can’t blame him for just basically giving up and turning to alcohol and gaming. So, yeah, I get it.

I’m not a huge Thor fan. But, I do love MCU Thor and I was upset with how much he had fallen. He was weak and pathetic in this movie. Even after a talk with Frigga, I was hoping he’d ‘wake up’ from his slump but nope…he continues to be the comic relief. Plus he had a poor showing at the final battle. He’s out of shape, sure I get it but eh, it was hard to watch.

Captain America

Spoiler

Again, I’m gonna miss Steve Rogers. He’s been the anchor. I’m glad that he got his happy ending though and I’m looking forward to seeing Sam take up the mantle.

 

[Mad Ones]

Enjoyed reading this

Thanks!

 

[Timebomb]

Just finished my 3rd viewing, I wanted to wait till I saw it a couple of times before I wrote a review, wanted to make sure I was as enthused from it after seeing it a few times.

Pros:

- Captain America - You can just tell they wanted him to shine in this movie after being sidelined in IW for the most part. I loved every part of Cap's story in the movie in all 3 acts, and very happy that he got that epic moment and that ending

- Iron-Man - He's never been my most favorite Avenger, but watching him in this movie reminded me of how awesome and heroic a charter he is. You can argue he's the true hero of this story.

- Nebula - Not since Jamie Lannister have I seen a villain to hero journey done so well. I barely noticed her in GOTG1, and now I find myself focusing in on her in every scene she's in. Her journey, character growth, her relationships with the other characters were some of my favorite parts of this movie.

- I was taken aback by how effective the humor was in the movie, it was never gratuitous and always came at the right time.

- The 3 act structure worked for me really well, I'd go 3 > 2 > 1 in terms of preference.

- The sheer amount of callbacks and Easter eggs in this movie are staggering, you can almost find a link to every other movie released before it.

- The time travel aspect took a little time to really figure out since they took such a departure for the traditional rules, but once established actually gave a refreshing take on one of the most used Sci Fi tropes.

- The stakes that emanated from Infinity War were paid off, I was afraid that they would go for a complete fix that could undermine the ending of IW, but I think they figured out a way to satisfy both ends.

- Tony and Cap's relationship, and the blow-back from Civil War - I'm glad they didn't choose to ignore that fracturing in their friendship and trust.

- The final battle is down right the stuff of legends, I never thought I would like a battle sequence more than the Civil War Airport sequence. Boy I was wrong, way wrong.

Spoiler

- I loved the way the integrated the returning characters, watching Cap stand alone against Thanos' Armada, only to see the entire Marvel Universe show up to have his back is something I will never forget watching for the first time.

- Scarlet Witch - She has been my favorite female character in MCU for a while, and I am ecstatic they gave her such a powerful moment. Her utter domination of Thanos was unmatched, that was the only item I genuinely saw fear in Thanos' eyes.

- I loved the girl power scene, especially all the ladies popping up 1 by 1 was amazing.

- Cap's Mjolnir moment exploded the crowd in my theater, I have never seen a crowd just go bonkers to that extent.

- Thanos - I'm glad they showed a more cruel version of Thanos who hadn't yet felt the abandonment of Gamora, and was still the brutal Titan that we had heard of prior to IW.

- Gamora - I am very happy and excited that they figured out a way to bring Gamora back, I can't wait to see 2014 Gamora interact with Peter and the gang and learn to love them all over again.

- Tony's sacrifice and death really got me, his iconic line was earned and really struck me hard.

- Avengers Assemble - We have been waiting for Cap to say those words since even 2012, the wait was so worth it.

- Frigga - She was beyond awesome and made me angry of how underutilized she was in Thor 1 and 2.

- Widow's sacrifice was hard to watch, because I knew it was coming as soon as they stepped of Vormir, she has been such a staple of the MCU, and I really wanted here to be there in the final battle, but I understate how powerful that moment was for her character.

- Spidey - My all time favorite charter in fiction, he wasn't in it a lot but he got some awesome moments. I'm glad he and Tony got their reunion, and loved his goodbye to him at the end. Can't wait for FFH.

Cons:

- Captain Marvel - Wanted more of her, way more. And I hate her haircut, have hated it ever since the comics.

- Rocket - He was great in the parts he was in, but I wanted to see more of him acclimating to Earth and everybody acclimating to him. We get very little of that.

Spoiler

- Thor - This one is not really a negative, as more of an in between. I understand why his character choose to go into depression and said F it. He was really funny, but when the moment came in the final battle I couldn't help but wonder if it would have been better to have old school Thor.

- Hulk - It's not that I didn't like Professor Hulk, he was great, funny, charming, but what I desperately wanted was that rematch between the angriest version of Hulk and Thanos.

Overall

I absolutely adored this movie, I watched it three times and I am still jonesing to see it more and more. I liked it even better than Infinity War, which was my all time favorite CBM. This was such an overwhelmingly satisfying conclusion to the Infinity Saga and some of our most beloved charters. I'm sad we won't get to see some them ever interact with the retrying X-Men and FF charters, but such is life. Major praise and thanks to Fiege, Russos, Marcus/McFeely, and the rest of the cast and crew, this was an amazing ride.

5/5

Wow Surfer. You are expressing my thoughts almost to a T. Well said. I think I agree with you on basically everything. Especially Hulk. Bravo. Glad you like it as much as you do.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Wow Surfer. You are expressing my thoughts almost to a T. Well said. I think I agree with you on basically everything. Especially Hulk. Bravo. Glad you like it as much as you do.

Thanks, I'm glad you had a blast as well.

 

[samsnee]

I honestly don't understand how two people voted this movie was absolute garbage. Even if you hated how they approached the story, I think

Spoiler

the last battle and music cue leading up to the Avengers Assemble line is pure comic joy

 

[Timebomb]

I honestly don't understand how two people voted this movie was absolute garbage. Even if you hated how they approached the story, I think

Spoiler

the last battle and music cue leading up to the Avengers Assemble line is pure comic joy

I don't understand either. Sometimes people just like to try to ice skate uphill.

 

[TheWallCrawler]

Spoiler

the last battle made me feel involved, like I was playing the last level of a hardcore video game that doesn't have a save function. The face Tony makes when he snatched the infinity stones and is about to deal the finishing snap, was that of a primal catharsis and I felt it

 

[8ulk87]

Spoiler

In my 3rd viewing i noticed this. Seems like a plothole to me.
Evil 2014 Nebula presents the Pym particles of good 2019 Nebula to Thanos.

How did the evil Nebula AND Thanos's ship both managed to go back to the main timeline?

Thanos managed to recreate the Pym particles presumably ? It was never shown.

Thanos can recreate them but Tony Stark AND Banner cant ?

 

[Spider-Fan]

Spoiler

In my 3rd viewing i noticed this. Seems like a plothole to me.
Evil 2014 Nebula presents the Pym particles of good 2019 Nebula to Thanos.

How did the evil Nebula AND Thanos's ship both managed to go back to the main timeline?

Thanos managed to recreate the Pym particles presumably ? It was never shown.

Thanos can recreate them but Tony Stark AND Banner cant ?

Spoiler

Same way Hawkeye brought the Benetar to the Quantum realm. They shrank it, shrank Nebula, then Nebula used the machine to bring them out of the Quantum Realm

 

[elgaz]

Spoiler

In my 3rd viewing i noticed this. Seems like a plothole to me.
Evil 2014 Nebula presents the Pym particles of good 2019 Nebula to Thanos.

How did the evil Nebula AND Thanos's ship both managed to go back to the main timeline?

Thanos managed to recreate the Pym particles presumably ? It was never shown.

Thanos can recreate them but Tony Stark AND Banner cant ?

From the Russos themselves :

Spoiler

Thanos may have got his hands on Nebula's Pym Particles, but how did the Mad Titan figure out how to use them and then transport both himself and his entire army into the future?

"There is a guy called Maw in his army, he was a great wizard. Thanos himself was a brilliant genius as well. Those two easily reverse engineered and mass produced Pym Particles."

 

[MovieSlave]

I believe it easily. Most other species and humanoids around the galaxy are far more advanced than the geniuses on Earth. That's why I really liked that line from

Spoiler

Rocket to Stark. Paraphrasing, "You know you're only a genius on this planet". It was something like that.

 

[Stark Bauer]

Saw it for the second time yesterday but this time in IMAX 3D. There are no pacing issues at all. Flawless editing. RDJ deserves at least an Oscar nomination for his role. I’m most likely not seeing it again until it is released on BR. Going to save up my money for Godzilla, Spider-Man, and the rest of the MCU films.

I’m still a bit disappointed that they didn’t include a Defenders cameo during the

Spoiler

cap AA the citizens vanishing meeting therapy scene or final battle

 

[JtheDreamer]

From the Russos themselves :

Spoiler

Thanos may have got his hands on Nebula's Pym Particles, but how did the Mad Titan figure out how to use them and then transport both himself and his entire army into the future?

"There is a guy called Maw in his army, he was a great wizard. Thanos himself was a brilliant genius as well. Those two easily reverse engineered and mass produced Pym Particles."

Sorry but these post-movie explanations are kind of lazy. And we're not talking "minutia" either. Harcore CBM fans seemed to accept them without question though.