Reassemble for “whatever it takes” in AVENGERS: ENDGAME ✮✮✮✮✩
How do you follow Avengers: Infinity War (2018), a film sold as the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which unexpectedly left the door open for round two? Well, you go smaller — literally. The majority of Avengers: Endgame is a more intimate and focused piece of work than its predecessor, which stands to reason, considering half the universe was wiped out at the end of Infinity War. There are now fewer pieces on the metaphorical chess board, so Endgame has to conclude the story with the original Avengers assembling for a “time heist”.
Avengers: Endgame (hereafter Endgame) is impossible to review without spoiling something. The marketing’s done an uncharacteristically excellent job keeping its secrets, so a smidgen of information is a klaxon for spoiler-adverse fans. With that in mind, tread very carefully, but the assumption is you’ll be reading this after seeing it, which is highly recommended…
The first third of Endgame subverts many expectations, beyond the fact the surviving characters of Thanos (Josh Brolin) ‘snapping’ half of every living creature out of existence are licking their wounds. Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) lost his entire family, making him the Nora Durst of this Leftovers situation; Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) sits in on support groups for those left behind and suffering from PTSD; Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has become a focal point for the remaining Avengers and let her roots grow out; Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is marooned in deep space with “blue meanie” Nebula (Karen Gillan) and low oxygen reserves; and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) was indeed spared disintegration because he was trapped in the Quantum Realm (see: Ant-Man and the Wasp), so arrives home with a crazy plan to use that microscopic universe to travel through time and steal the Infinity Stones before Thanos collects them.
I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say The Avengers eventually reunite behind this bold plan, intending to do “whatever it takes” to change history, and the movie lovingly revisits iconic moments from the MCU, Back to the Future II-style.
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