Green Goblin Reviews: Avengers Endgame
Well, I’ve just returned from seeing the culmination of over a decade of films created under the Marvel brand. I remember back in 2008, when Iron Man came out. I was bumming my way through college, working at a now-defunct video game store and stayed after the credits purely because my dad (who I went with) didn’t feel the need to rush out with the crowd. And for our collective laziness, we were rewarded with the post-credit scene that basically reshaped the entire film industry from the ground up. Both my dad (who grew up in Queens, reading the works of Silver Age Marvel when they were new) and myself knew immediately what it meant. We didn’t know if it’d just be a direct sequel or what, but we were excited. Then we saw the Incredible Hulk and the best-case scenario was all we could assume. We couldn’t not. Sure enough, after The Incredible Hulk, we got an Iron Man sequel, Thor, Captain America (dad’s favorite) and then the Avengers. They could have ended it right there if they wanted to. That film was an endzone dance that anyone could have walked away from and I’d have been satisfied, but they promised more. They promised the upper echelon of a supervillain threat. They promised what is essentially the Marvel Comics experience on film. They promised the cementing of their brand into the mainstream collective consciousness. They promised an entire universe.
And they succeeded.
They did it. They stuck the landing. It felt earned. It felt sincere. I can say, having just left the theater that I applauded and teared up multiple times, as did others around me. The closest thing I could honestly compare this film to is the culmination of a religious event. Avengers Endgame takes from the previous film in a way not seen before in the MCU and makes it work. I’m going out of my way to be very vague here, because I’ve seen no less than a dozen friends make the public declaration that they will insta-block anything that could even be remotely inferred as a spoiler. So bare with me as I walk on the eggshells as softly as possible and try and convince you why you should see the film that you statistically already have tickets pre-ordered for.
The film’s biggest emotional through-point is coping with loss. Obviously after the effect of the snap, the world is basically left without any real heading on how to move forward. I’m reminded somewhat of the rapture fiction, only without the sense of impending finality involved. Unlike Left Behind, there isn’t some grand endpoint after half of existence turns to dust; the world keeps turning and those that remain just have to keep on living. and it’s that inability to do explicitly that that forces the Steve, Natasha, and the remaining Avengers to bash their heads against a wall trying to come up with any real recourse after they’re left with literally nothing. The rest of the plot kicks in when Scott Lang (thought lost in the Snap) shows up on the Avenger’s doorstep with the vague remnants of a plan. It gets workshopped by some, others seek out teammates that have gone astray and the core film kicks in.
Every member of the cast is bringing their A-game here. Driving motivations change and evolve based on individual circumstances. The pairings in individual adventures (which have been completely left out of the advertisement) all work in fresh and unique ways, Downey nails probably the best role of his thus-far career, Ruffalo continues to prove that he’s still the best Hulk on film, Evans has basically become Captain America (both on and off the screen) in a way that I could only otherwise compare to the likes of Mexican wrestlers who never remove their masks in public and I’ll say that this is without a doubt my absolute favorite Christ Hemsworth performance as Thor. Scarlett Johansson and Karen Gillan are actually the most evolved pair in the film, giving their collective characters of Nat and Nebula more emotional range than ever before.
There’s really only one caveat I can have when it comes to recommending this film; and that is that you have to have seen every film. I mean it. I don’t mean “you have to have a passing knowledge of the characters and you can piece it together”. It’s a legit requirement this time around. Though, judging from the presales, I don’t think that’s going to be much of a problem.
I’m reflecting right now on how far this little experiment that Marvel started has panned out. In 2008, you’d be hard pressed if the average person could name more than 4 or 5 Marvel superheroes. In 2013, I couldn’t honestly tell you who the Guardians of the Galaxy were myself. Now, my mother has done the “Wakanda Forever” pose at a midnight premiere. My little nephews know that Eddie Brock got his symbiote removed and was given new powers by Mr Negative. Sony just made a Spider-man film involving the multiverse and Miles Morales and it took home the goddamn Oscar. Hell, a healthy portion of moviegoers stay after credits of non-MCU films just out of habit. This is truly a brave new cinematic world that Marvel has ushered in and I’m thrilled to have been along for the ride from jump. Happy to see where it goes, moving forward.
10/10 You know you’re gonna see it anyways. Who are we kidding? Excelsior!!