Ever since Avengers: Infinity War premiered a year ago on this day, people have been wondering “what comes next?” Now, with the release of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame everything has been revealed, and boy, was it amazing.
Granted, yes, there are a lot of plot holes in the film that come about because time travel is a stupid plot device and I really hate it. However, Endgame is a love letter to all the MCU fans who have been on this ride since the very beginning with Iron Man in 2008. SPOILERS AHEAD The film starts off with Hawkeye, who was notably absent in Infinity Wars he has given up the superhero life to live on his ranch with his daughter, two sons, dog and wife. We see him teaching his daughter how to shoot a bow and arrow. Everything seems great but the audience knows what’s about to happen. Thanos snaps his fingers. Suddenly, half of all living things disappears from existence, as seen in the last film, and for Clint Barton, that includes everyone in his family. Even his dog. It’s no wonder he goes all John Wick on everyone when we next catch up with him. Cut to- Tony and Nebula are on a ship floating in space with no way home. Nebula is one character that I have always loved, especially since her redemption arc in Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2. Nebula has become much more human and has a few touching moments with Tony, who has always felt more machine than human. Suddenly Captain Marvel is in space and is rescuing Tony where he is reunited with the original Avengers and Pepper Potts. This is the first time that I can remember that the MCU has required viewers to have seen a post-credits scene, this time from Captain Marvel. That scene is the only thing that bridges her movie, the pager in Infinity War and her appearance in Endgame which is odd because we all thought that first appearance would be much bigger. It wasn’t. Now that Tony is on Earth and sickly, he is resting but not before he gets a few verbal gut-shots in with Steve Rogers first. The team then plans to go after Thanos, just 22 days after the snap, now that Nebula has been able to tell them where he is. When they get to The Garden, where Thanos is ranching, we see that he has already destroyed the stones, harming himself, and doesn’t regret his actions. Suddenly, the biggest twist ever in a movie (if you’ve stayed away from theories) is that Thor chops off Thanos’ head in the first 10 minutes of this film. From there, all hope seems lost and the film cuts to five years later. Yes, the majority of everything seen in the trailers is at the beginning of this movie. The rest is a blank slate that can only include the one thing everyone figured was coming…time travel. The next 30 minutes seems very gloomy but there is plenty of room for comedy in the film. Sometimes too much comedy, but I wouldn’t be a Marvel fan if that bugged me. Ant-Man comes back, and his daughter is grown, we see that Hulk has become one with Banner and is now quote-unqoute Professor Hulk, and we find out that Natasha runs the Avengers all over the world with heroes reporting to her. The biggest surprise, even though it was foreshadowed in the beginning of Infinity War, Tony has a daughter. This is all cute and great (sarcastic, it’s sad) until Ant-Man believes he’s figured out time travel and they go to get Tony’s help and he solves Time Travel instantly. Yes, the next hour is basically Hot Tub Time Machine meets an MCU greatest hits reel. Things get crazy, they get emotional, they get exciting and they get confusing. That’s okay, because it works. The last hour of the movie is a huge finale fitting for the entire saga. That’s all I’m going to say about that. BIGGER, BADDER, MORE SPOILER-Y SPOILERS AHEAD: Now, when watching Infinity War I made a list of questions that I wanted answered and here I want to go chronologically and write about whether these things were answered or not. Where’s Valkyrie and Korg? When the film opens, we can assume Valkyrie and Korg have fled. Recently we learned that Valkyrie will be in “Avengers Endgame” so I assume this mystery will be solved there. Indeed, this was answered, sort of. We know that a bunch of Asgardians did live and are living on Earth (in what I assume is Norway) in a town called New Asgard. Meek and Korg are alive. Valkyrie is in charge. Everything is good, except Thor, which we will discuss later. However, it isn’t explicitly said how they escaped but I can fill in the blanks. Hulk is bested. During “Infinity War” Hulk seems to be too shy to come out. This will obviously have to be addressed in “Endgame.” It’s been five years, so I guess Hulk worked out his issues. However, he never fights Thanos again or does anything interesting in this film…so...to be continued, I guess? Wong guarding the sanctum? I am sure we will see more Wong in “Endgame.” As sure as I was, I don’t think we saw him at all except for in the end. That said, we did see Tilda Swinton again so that rocked my socks. "No more surprises" Tony promises pepper. He said he dreams he's having a child. These are obvious teases for what’s to come. Whether that means Pepper really is pregnant, maybe we will see the wedding finally. No matter what, this has to be resolved in “Endgame.” Damn it. This film did the thing. Tony comes home. He has a child. AND THEN HE DIES. I am so sad and salty, but I really do think there could be a future for Tony to come back 10 years down the line. Let Robert Downey Jr. take a decade off. What happened on Xandar? I guess this never really has to be addressed. It’s scary enough knowing that Thanos decimated an entire civilization in the pursuit of the first stone. However, I would like to return to Xandar soon. If not in “Endgame” then maybe in “Captain Marvel 2,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” or “The Eternals.” Like I said, I still want to return. I’m disappointed it didn’t happen here, but it was still cool that we got to see another point of view of the opening to the original Guardians film. We see the Spider-Sense for the first time in the MCU. And we better see it again in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” And we better see it again in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Ned? Aunt May? Were they dusted? If we don’t find out in “Endgame” then we better find out in the Spider-Man sequel. Whelp. I have more questions about them being dusted now that they are back than I did a year ago when they were dusted. More info about the children of Thanos? I don’t see us getting any answers about this. Maybe they will show up again in “Endgame,” but I would love a film all about Thanos. They did show up again, albeit briefly. Why don’t all the stones have protection spells? This may be nit-picky, but if the stones aren’t destroyed, we better see them all have protection spells going forward. This is one thing I am most upset about. I really thought that they would keep the stones but separate them. I understand why it happened, but does this mean the stones are really gone forever? Will we ever see full grown Groot again? Hopefully he is full grown by “Guardians 3.” See above. When did Vision and Scarlet Witch become official? If we don’t see more of them in “Endgame” we will hopefully get more of their story in the standalone TV series on Disney+ next year. I’m even more worried now because Vision isn’t even alive. But we know he will be in “WandaVision” so there’s that. How did Gamora find the soul stone? We will probably never find out. Gamora is back, at least. Kind of. Bruce and Nat's relationship!? This has to be in “Endgame.” It wasn’t even addressed. Only hinted at. I’m so disappointed because now Natasha is dead. Cap and Iron man reunion. This has to be in “Endgame.” It happened but I don’t think they ever forgave each other. Everett Ross and the Sakovia Accords? This has to be in “Endgame” or “Spider-Man.” I don’t even know where the world stands on this now. More Red Skull? I don’t care where, but he needs to pop up again. He did. Yay! Now give me more. What happened on Titan? Maybe this will be foreshadowed in “Eternals” since he says, “I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do it again.” Tell me more. How does Wakanda handle the loss of its leader? What Asgardians are still alive? This has to be in “Endgame.” Tell me more. Will Star Lord get his redemption arc? If not in “Endgame” maybe in “Guardians 3.” Thor is now in the Guardians so that is exciting in itself, but will it take away from his arc? Why does Thanos know Tony? Will goose appear? Doctor Strange knew that Tony is the key to defeating Thanos. All of this and more need to be answered in “Endgame.” Honestly, if “Avengers: Endgame” is anything like the last 20 minutes of “Infinity War,” I'm going to have a stroke. Anthony and Joe Russo have taken on a massive cinematic feat that is matched by nothing in history. Okay, so that ending. Let me say this: Avengers: Endgame gave me so much of what I wanted that I can’t complain about the stuff I didn’t get. There will be another 10 or 20 years of the MCU, at least. I can be patient. Maybe a lot will be revealed on Disney+. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan Lee’s final MCU cameo was in this film, and that is so sad. However, it was great to see his cameo be a de-aged version of himself in the 70’s. I loved it. I hope they find a great way to honor Stan going forward. ‘Nuff said. END CREDITS SCENE There are no end credit scenes and that is GENIUS. I am glad this film can be an actual “conclusion” (which I put in quotes because it obviously sets a lot up still) and that it can leave the audience on a note that feels final. Those credits were beautiful and felt elegant. They were reminiscent of Star Trek and the Twilight Saga as they each ended their films and said goodbye to their stars. I loved it. CONCLUSION What else can I say? It is impossible for me to look at this film without bias because I have invested so much, and I love this saga. That said, I know there are parts that are goofy, and I know that there are people who don’t like this film. However, if I have one last thing to say as we close this chapter of the MCU, it would be to don’t let others determine what makes you happy. This Infinity Saga has been incredible, and I have been honored to live in a time to witness it. Excelsior. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Erick L. Graham Wood
|