SPOILER-FREE Movie Review: AVENGERS: ENDGAME

There can be only so many of those franchise spanning sprawling epic kind of films.

Not that the Russo brothers don't know how to pull it off; the directing team have already proven their astounding capacity to handle a veritable menagerie of super-beings thrown in into a tapestry of increasingly complex plot-lines since they directed CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER back in 2014. While this film presented a fascinating spy drama plot delving into a vast conspiracy shaking the foundations of S.H.I.E.L.D. all the while exploring Captain America's survivor's guilt, the following 2 films, 2016's CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, and last year's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, steered clear of character developments to focus on bringing bigger and bigger spectacles putting a growing number of heroes in jeopardy.

With CIVIL WAR, INFINITY WAR and now AVENGERS ENDGAME, Anthony and Joe Russo have successfully upped the ante and they have, beyond all expectations, managed to win with flying colors.


The film has its limited appeal (although the MCU series' amazing profitability seems to warrant such a gamble) ;  it will make most sense to the fans who have seen most of the previous films in the series, very much like it was the case with INFINITY WAR, but even more so, as the plot requires to have a good knowledge of the previous films, not only to fully appreciate the references, but to fully care for characters that shows up onscreen for often less than a minute. Granted, some appearances, albeit short, can pack quite a wallop, and the script by MCU veterans Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely manages to adroitly unravel so much drama, humor and action in the epic 3 hour long duration of the movie that you sometimes are left with no time to ponder on the brevity of some sub-plots.

There is a multitude of such fascinating turns in the story that would deserve their own movie by themselves, and that may indeed feed the plots for upcoming installments of some of the solo stories to come, but are left as mere teases, just enough to provide information, but not quite enough for the emotion to fully hits. One such example is Scott Lang (Ant-Man, played with effortless charm by Paul Rudd) returning home after vanishing for 5 years in the Quantum Realm. Discovering a land wounded by Thanos' (a superb Josh Brolin) world-shattering snap, where half of the world's population was turned to dust, leaving the survivors battered and weary, still reeling under the shock of the loss of their loved ones. When Lang comes home, he is met with the results of his long absence, which in itself might have deserved more screen time. But then again, as stated, the film is already clocking at 3 hours, and there is barely anything that should be cut in the first place.

This is not to say that the film is all sound and fury with nary an emotion to be felt. In fact the beginning of the film has a poignant melancholy to it, where the surviving heroes from ''the snap'' are still reeling from the ultimate defeat from the last film. And there is still plenty of humor to be found, including Chris Hemsworth's increasingly comedic interpretation of Thor, which was the highlight of THOR: RAGNAROK by Taika Waititi 2 years ago. I'm not certain his deconstruction of the God of Thunder will please longtime fans, but he, alongside Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, provides most of the laughs in the film.

But as was the case in the previous films by the Russo Brothers, the emotional center of the film is definitely Captain America and Iron Man, who benefits from the deepest characterization and some of the best scenes from the film. Robert Downey's Tony Stark has been the linchpin of the MCU ever since Jon Favreau's IRON MAN in 2008, and his character stands in the film as the one with the most to lose if he returns to the fray in a desperate attempt to save the World once again from the threat of Thanos. And Steve Rogers, beautifully portrayed by an earnest Chris Evans, will have the crowd cheering in one of the most fan-pleasing scene I've seen in years, which had me yell ''Oh yeah!'' in the theater.

The film is not perfect, of course. No film really is. The pacing can be all over the place, and it can leave a lot of questions unanswered. But it never leaves you much time to ponder. Some moments can be predictable, but some moments can be completely, utterly shocking. But it is a perfect wrap-up of this first 11 years of Marvel movies, bringing fun, thrills, and a fair amount of tears in its wake.

 But after all the insane magnitude of these crossover story-lines, I am hoping for a bit of a break. Don't get me wrong; I am glad to see the saga of the Infinity Stones draw to a close and have enjoyed the ride. But I hope it takes a few films before we are taken on another one of those franchise-spanning saga. Like a roller coaster ride, it can be tremendously exciting  yet exhausting.