The twenty-second installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that first began in 2008 with Iron Man and the final film in Marvel’s so-called Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame is a terrific superhero movie that is both epic in scope and full of bittersweet emotions in which the audience feels a deep connection to the characters that have been part of Hollywood for over a decade. It follows the previous Avengers film in which the supervillain Thanos has vanquished half of the world’s population as well as half of the Avengers after he gains possession of the six Infinity Stones. Having the feel of a drama about losing loved ones, the majority of the first half of the film shows the comic book heroes in great despair and feeling hopeless in bringing back those who have vanished. Eventually, the surviving Avengers that include Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, War Machine, and Rocket devise a plan involving time travel to rescue the other Avengers and the millions of people lost. Although it does include the typical CGI-enhanced action sequences, the movie, unlike the rest of the franchise, is a very personal one in which all of our favorite characters are reunited and give very real human emotions as they cope with grief. At first blush, the three-hour runtime seems like it would be excessive, but the filmmakers are able to craft a very entertaining and sentimental movie that has just the right amount of time to explore some of the most memorable superheroes in what perhaps will be their last appearance together. Also, it does not always take itself too seriously by including some rather hilarious and fun moments that is reminiscent of some of the more comedic installments such as Guardians of the Galaxy. Overall, I found it to be a quite surprisingly heartfelt and emotionally powerful film that is very much a welcome relief from the stereotypical superhero comic book movies produced by Marvel, while also including elements of action and entertainment that has made the films so popular.
KEITH on Reels 