By Juan Calvillo
Marvel Studios has created an astounding end to their current cinematic phase in “Avengers: Endgame,” mixing action and moments of emotion perfectly.
The movie is an epic in every sense of the word. Strengthened by the large amount of amazing acting talent and action set pieces that are awe inspiring, “Endgame” will be a hard “Avengers” movie to top.
Taking place after last year’s blockbuster “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Endgame” shows the hopelessness caused by the villain Thanos after eliminating half the population of the universe. The remaining heroes are left with the after effects of their loss.
Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Robert Downey Jr., who play Captain America, Hawkeye and Iron Man respectively, are amazing at showing the distraught nature that comes with losing everything that they hold dear.
Renner really is firing on all cylinders, showing exactly what it would be like to suddenly be totally alone in a world gone insane.
Each of the titular Avengers gets a moment that shows just how beaten down the heroes are after the war against Thanos. Anger, dismay and self-loathing make up the spectrum of emotions.
No one shows these off better than Downey Jr. by making Stark a broken man. Each of the other Avengers is just as down, but Downey Jr. should be commended for how he’s able to bring the audience to tears despite his character being seen as a total jerk.
Scarlett Johansson, who normally portrays Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff as a stoic character, shows how hard the battle loss has been even for her. Her usually cool facade was cracked to show just how helpless and saddened the character feels.
One of the biggest changes among the characters is with the villain himself, Thanos.
In “Infinity War” he was a conflicted villain who loses so much to make the universe a better place, but in “Endgame” Thanos is a bad guy with no redemption arc possible.
This gave the movie a more clear cut good-versus-bad feel making it much easier to only be sympathetic towards the heroes and not feeling conflicted about the Thanos character.
“Endgame” is not only about the devastation that was wrought during the fight against Thanos. It’s about how despite being heroes, the characters are very much human.
Being very much human, the movie becomes exactly how the last few trailers and tv spots have labeled the movie. “Endgame” is about avenging the fallen with “whatever it takes.”
The movie is a mix of action and heist movie. As the story progresses, the heroes that remain decide on a daring gambit in order to set things right again.
This leads to some of the more unexpected and interesting moments in the film. The core Avengers each have eye opening moments that play out through the movie right up until it’s spectacular end.
Previous Marvel Studios films have been pretty to look at as well. “Thor” and “Doctor Strange” showed the amazing side of mythical heroes, while films like “Captain Marvel” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” opened up the universe to space heroics.
All these movies showcased just how advanced special effects have come. “Endgame” pushes the envelope right to the edge and even builds a bridge over to a whole new world of special effect action and storytelling.
The battles fought and the changes that characters go through in the movie are jaw dropping. The battles are epic and larger than life, and are reminiscent of blockbuster war movies like “Saving Private Ryan” with its epic fight sequences.
“Endgame” is a love letter not only to the audiences that have made Marvel Studios and their heroes household names. The movie has moments that are clearly made for comic book fans, paying homage to moments that only diehard comic readers would recognize.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have crafted a movie that balances emotion and action, pessimism and hope, and of course, is a perfect ending and beginning for Marvel’s cinematic universe.