4/26/19 - Avengers: Engame (2019) - 7+/8-/10

Avengers Endgame can be summed up in one word: satisfying. With a gargantuan, one would have said impossible, task, despite all the odds..they still, mostly, did it. With the number of individuals, character tales, in jokes, and their position behind the proverbial dramatic eight-ball, I can’t think of any property that accomplished so much. It encompassed the range of previous works to feed into this mammoth undertaking and turn out something poetic and exhilarating. Intensive episodic storytelling in a medium like television shows is a fine comparison but comic books are the obvious analogue here. Avengers felt like the ultimate comic come to life. Ultron was the disappointing overpriced sequel series. Infinity War was THE event book, blowing our minds. But Endgame was the giant company spanning splash page crossover Summer spectacle that came to a profound narrative shift. And as opposed to most comic versions, this one really nailed it, with stakes as deep, hefty, and final as possible. Worth it all in every sense.

Emotional development and gratifying story conclusions that would deserve high marks on the TV scale, let alone a film one. The feats of storytelling, audience winks/call backs, and meaningful moments are feats hitherto untried and certainly unaccomplished. I think Infinity War may be the better & more fun film, but the triumphs Endgame manages i think were much more trying and treacherous. It could have easily fallen apart, but it was such a success, not only bringing it all together but bringing us further, and forever. Favorite moments from the film, in the most cryptic non-spoilery manner: hail Hydra, space puppy, and hammer time. Pretty epic.

As joy inducing as it was, perfection eluded it. It must be given credit for doing so much, but it did wax and wain with its tone. There was some lag during our long emotional build up as well as our Return of the King-esque denouements. These were needed to build us up and nestle us home, but I can see how it might wear on a viewer. As long as it is, there is also the short shrift problem. One, possibly more characters, are given the promised idea of ample screen time/importance, but doesn’t quite get there. Sure there are “plot reasons”, but as an engaged audience we get a whisper when we were expecting a shout.

Probably the biggest issue, no matter how on board you are with the franchise, its characters, or the drama on display, is the film’s core plot conceit. (read in spoilers below)... That said, it didn’t kill the enjoyment, just put a dash of salt in the midst of this mound of sugar.

The amount of rousing drama that is paired with significant core character developments was tremendous. Where most of the core Avengers wound up emotionally, especially Iron Man and Captain America, is an astounding display of long term layered storytelling and arc fulfillment that thinking on it still kind of boggles the mind. Nearly something of all 21 films comes into play, making it all jigsaw together and mean so much; truly more than the sum of its parts. If you have been a fan of this franchise, I can’t imagine not being touched to the point of misty eyes, full belly laughs, or near fist pumping cheering. Avengers Endgame lives and dies up to its namesake and one would have to question if we will truly see its like again. I wouldn’t say it is the best of them all, but it is certainly worthy (wink).

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***Spoilers***

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Time travel is the big issue. For one, it is the application of the trope. One would assume they are using multiple universe theory to explain their use, but it is hard to grasp. Of course we just go with it and it is still fun. it allows for plenty of fun and character moments, but we get some obvious conundrums like the Grandfather paradox (ex. if Cap went back and changed the passed so differently, being in a different timeline, how did he wind up back in our timeline, especially if we are to believe that nothing changed?) and the biggest problem with time travel; stakes. Once a property of any sort introduces time travel, how can there be true permanence to any event? If something bad happens, why don’t wouldn’t they just go back and change the past, especially if it doesn’t appear to negatively influence their current present/core reality? It is the proverbial Pandora’s Box, of which the lid can rarely be replaced.

Other spoilery thoughts:

• Am I the only one that wasn’t really onboard with Professor Hulk? Sure, it is a fun shift, but he didn’t feel fully utilized and I wonder how much can be squeezed from this singular note, especially as it is so antithetical to the conception of Banner/Hulk.

• When they specifically mentioned “50% of all living beings” erased, I wondered about food sources and internal gut bacteria? Wouldn’t those be huge issues? Also, are pro sports, like the Mets, no longer a thing post the Snapture?

• How EXACTLY does Tony get the stones from Thanos? Is it nanotech in his armor speaking with the nanotech in the other glove? Were they just barely in there in the first place? Just cuz?

• The Monkey’s Gauntlet wish fulfillment protocol needs some ‘splainin. If you die at anytime BEFORE the snap, you stay dead, but snapped souls come back; why? Why can’t you will Vision back into existence? Or anyone else that has been lost? I know because of story reasons but… tell me why.

• Sure Captain Marvel is cool at the beginning, and has a bad ass deus ex Marvelicha, but this didn’t help me really get into her as a character and I can’t be the only one who was expecting so much more from her, am I?