End Game (Spoilers)

 

SPOILERS

How do you review a film that is so dependent on one having seen (at least most of) the previous films of the MCU? How do you review a film that is so dependent upon you loving and caring for characters for you to get the most from it? All films are like this, but with Endgame, the most highly anticipated movie this century, this is so much more pronounced. There’s no point going into Endgame as a newbie. We have spent ten years (more for comic book fans) getting to know these characters and they mean a great deal to a lot of people. Stifled sobs were heard frequently throughout the screening, but none were coming from me. Despite seeing all but one of the MCU I still never felt love for the universe.


I can’t quite pinpoint why exactly I can’t muster such strong emotion for this universe, but it has meant that, despite it being something I constantly enjoyed, I never had an appreciation or love for it. One reason, which has been consistent throughout the series, that it could be is I never felt any tension. I always knew there would be more films and I always knew someone would save the day. That’s not to say I didn’t like the characters, I found their chemistry highly effective and one of the reasons I enjoyed the series of movies as much as I did, but that’s all I got from it. I enjoyed Endgame, but nothing more. Infinity War felt like it had something at stake, but with Endgame it never felt the same. I knew in the back of mind somebody would save the day.

Endgame is perfect for the fans with its regular nostalgic nods and epic timey wimey time travel story. Thanos makes for such a formidable enemy that the entire Avengers team is needed to bring him down. The film is frequently funny, the gags about Back to the Future land every time and many laughs are generated from the trips to the past (where their past selves are a burden to the current mission). Time travel stories are fun, they allow for plenty of leeway, but they do come with a few pitfalls. It mostly sticks together but there are parts that could have been better written. I wasn’t convinced by Hawkeye and Black Widow’s relationship (where they in love or close friends?) and Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One gives up her infinity stone without much persuasion (Bruce simply lied about Dr Strange giving away the stone and she bought it).

The film’s biggest writing flaw is its treatment of Thor. A beer bellied, overweight Thor isn’t a problem. It’s a perfect chance to develop the character into something other than a joke by examining his depression and PTSD which clearly is the cause of him being completely out of shape. Instead the movie doesn’t do that and plays the whole situation for laughs. This is in contrast to every other avenger whose circumstances are treated with sincerity rather than just humour. How can fans of a genre of film demand to have that genre respected when the film wastes a chance to take on a serious subject matter with nuance and sensitivity? Perhaps I am overthinking it, but this was poorly done not solely because its offensive (some have dubbed it so) but because it sticks out compared to the serious treatment of the other characters

The three-hour runtime zipped by pretty quickly. I was never bored but Endgame is a film made for the fans. Almost every character gets a moment in the spotlight, even the ones that don’t even get a line of dialogue (clear evidence that there’s too many characters to juggle). It’s a detriment to the movie because GCI finale becomes a mess as it tries to accommodate everyone thereby making the events of the battle unclear. It’s not a film made for the casuals or the uninitiated which is perhaps why I will only ever see the film once whilst the diehard fans will go to the cinema to see it multiple times. I just wished I loved it that much.

3.5/5