By Paul Hall
The devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War have set the table for the Avengers to do whatever it takes to rectify things and bring the universe back from the brink of collapse. Can they do it with the current crop of Avengers, or is it too late for all of us?
It’s been five years since the events at the end of Infinity War, and those who remain are still searching for answers. Life has progressed. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has a daughter, while others are having a much more difficult time coping with loss. Still, the remaining Avengers are driven by the need to make things right in the world.
Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), better known as Black Widow, is driving the efforts to restore the world to what it was, but it isn’t until an Avenger (one who was not with the crew on the day of the fateful snap) returns that hope resurfaces. Natasha turns to Tony and Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) to put their intelligence to work to come up with an answer. Can the team overcome their differences, put aside their current situations and assemble in what seems to be a hopeless quest to return some normalcy to the world?
Do readers need more than that as far as a description goes? Most have made the decision already to go or not go to this film, so let me simply tell you a small portion of why I feel this was an extremely satisfying conclusion to the first chapter of an amazing journey.
And what a journey it’s been. When I first started reviewing films from the Marvel Universe, nothing in my wildest dreams could have expected the sheer quantity of films and characters who would be rolled out before me over the next 10 or so years. And the nice thing about any analysis of those films through the years is that it leads to the fact that even the films that were not the best in the series were still good.
In Endgame Anthony and Joe Russo have magically woven together multiple movies with diverse characters and plotlines into this cohesive wrap-up of sorts. It is a delight to see the continuity of characters continue in this effort and the delightful combination of story and effects melded into this complete film. Sure, at a minute over three hours of runtime, there was a little trimming that could have gone on, but not much.
The ability of the Russos to pay enough attention to most of our favorite characters while progressing the totality of the story makes for an experience that leaves us wanting more, but we’re content with where we have been taken by the time the end credits roll.
Thank you. Robert Downey Jr. started this thrill ride through the universe with Iron Man in 2008, and the talented actors who have come along through the years have each added their own personality, from Chris Evans as Captain America to Chris Hemsworth as Thor (with a different body type in this offering, by the way). The Avengers are a diverse group of heroes who are a microcosm of life, and we are a diverse group who can be heroes as well.
What will the future hold for this franchise? This is only the close of the first chapter of the story, and a heck of a chapter it’s been. Fighting for what is right doesn’t stop with this team of heroes. We all can be Avengers and fight for what’s right.
Paul’s Grade: A-
Avengers: Endgame
Rated PG-13
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
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