#to remind you of a Better possible future rather than the shortcomings of present reality :/

[takaraphoenix]

Movie Review: Avengers Endgame

I’m already tagging it with like four different spoiler tags, but just in case someone who hasn’t gotten to see it yet forgot to block spoilers, review under the cut:

The short of it first: I love this movie. I, however, also hate this movie. There were many wonderful things about it and many things I disliked or that upset me. Overall however, I think the balance made for a perfect ending to the MCU. (Which, makes me feel really weird about the fact that there will be... more MCU.)

Fair warning, this review will not be in any particular order, more like... what comes to mind. Because there was just so much happening in it. So I’ll bolt the particular hero each section will be about, for easier navigation.

First things first, we gotta talk about the time paradox. Look, I know it’s not a plothole, it was very much intentional, they set it up from the moment Bruce met the Anient One, however it still drives me insane that they killed Thanos from 2014 and... it changed nothing in their time.

If Thanos from 2014 is dead, he can never even go and collect the Infinity Stones and this entire reality should cease to exist. The Ancient One’s explanation on how removing something from the past leads to a split timeline makes little sense to me, because it first and foremost should change this timeline.

I know it’s most likely meant to set up the multiverse - the x-Men, it’s going to be used to work in the X-Men, probably also the Fantastic Four. But the lack of explanation as to why changing your own past does not affect your present time was rather... frustrating for me.

Same goes for “Loki escapes punishment in 2012 with the stone”. How did the stone end up in the 70s then? And what impact does this have on the Thor timeline? Will he wreak more havok? Or change to good earlier?

For a movie working the primary angle of time-travel, answers about the paradox created were... too scarce for my taste.

IRON FAMILY

That being said: My Tony Stark stanning ass is absolutely living for the fact that Tony just... solved time-travel in one night, casually, like it’s nothing.

And as such, I gotta talk Tony first, don’t I?

I am now 100% the Tony-Nebula friendship that everyone was expecting after Infinity War and in the reality I will be accepting from hereon out, Nebula and Tony get to stray friends.

Though, a dynamic I did not expect to absolutely love and stan is Rhodey and Nebula! Oh, that was so good. Generally, Rhodey in this movie was so good. He is usually just treated as the add-on to Tony and in this movie, he was... so much more than that and seemed to stand on his own a lot. (Yes, he’s still in this section because he is still part of the Iron Family so sue me.)

At first, I was honestly frustrated that Pepper was just... The Wife And Mother and seemed to have so little... input into things. Like, support, brainstorm along with them, anything. She deserved to be more than that.

I genuinely don’t have an opinion on Morgan. Like, yay, Tony got to be a dad, but also she was just such a generic Child with no defining personality traits, which granted, there was no time in this movie to establish that, but having no time is not an excuse for shortcomings.

What really broke me was Peter though. Peter being the reason Tony invents time-travel, even though it could mean losing Pepper, losing Morgan, losing his own life - Peter is what pushes him over the edge into helping. And then the reunion. The hug, the confusion on Peter’s face. And gods did it wreck me when Peter cried over Tony’s body.

I mean, generally, Tony’s death wrecked me. I’m starting to cry again as I write these words. I fully admit that it was perfect. There is virtually no better way to have Tony Stark go out than by him single-handedly in the most literal way possible saving the entire planet and the universe, with his last line being “I am Iron Man” as he wields the Infinity Stones - seriously, if you watched this movie and still try to post Anti Tony shit, I have to wonder what movies you even watch because this entire damn franchise literally rests on his shoulders, holy shit.

It was... It was the most perfect ending for Tony possible. But I still hate that it ended. I wanted an Ironheart movie where he mentors a potential Riri Williams for the future of the MCU, I wanted Tony cameos in future Spider-Man movies, I... wanted him to get the chance to grow old and see his daughter grow up.

But holy shit that funeral. Everyone. Just... everyone. Even Harley. Which, admittedly, I only figured out after wrecking my brain for an hour trying to figure out who that lanky brunette kid was that stood around alone and then remembering that Harley should have had a cameo in this movie too and--oh. That... that was really a deep dig for the Iron Man stans and I wished it had been a tiny bit more prominent. Like, having him and Peter talk, even just for a brief moment, about Tony, to remind us who Harley is and what those two have in common. That’d have been a nice touch.

TEAM ANT

Scott being the one to come up with time-travel as the solution was kind of hilarious to me, considering he isn’t a scientist and he has never encountered time-travel before. (I mean, Stephen literally introduced time-travel to some of them as a thing that is possible before.)

Legit, one of the two only times I cried in this movie was when Scott searched for Cassie’s name on the memorial and then was reunited with her. Paul Rudd played it so well and so heavy with emotions, it was amazing.

Hope, well, due to having been dusted, she got a shorter end of the stick. Which, in itself, should not make me salty because obviously did the dusted ones not play a huge part in the movie - but the fact that she was dusted to begin with, seriously, they dusted more female characters than they did male characters and there are already so few female characters and I am still salty that in a movie called Ant-Man and the Wasp it was entirely about one Wasp getting un-fridged just to then have them kill off two Wasps.

I have to admit, I have a certain saltiness that while Hank got a cameo in the 70s, Janet again was not deemed important enough. She got a non-speaking role to just... stand there during Tony’s funeral. That’s it.

TEAM CAP

Steve. Gotta admit, this movie brought me back to St0ny. Civil War completely killed that ship for me, but I really, truly loved how they worked Steve and Tony together again in this movie. From the first confrontation when the ship lands, to Tony screaming at Steve in the compound and them then slowly rekindling again. Because the emotional outburst was needed and deserved and had it not come, something would have felt... cheap.

I’m not sure how I feel about how they solved things with him and Peggy. Honestly, I’m so tired that Peggy post the first Captain Marvel is literally just Steve’s Love Interest, even though she was so much more. When she appears, it’s only to dance with Steve or to be sad about Steve and it’s... frustrating. And I don’t know how much they just changed her life by having her and Steve get married in the 70s. Not to mention, uh, what did Steve do in the past 50 years? Just hide out at home? Since Captain America’s face is kind of recognizable.

Look, Steve and Peggy getting married and growing old together, being happy together, is absolutely the dream ending for Steve’s storyline. Genuinely. But this was too big a thing to be so casually handled. The ripple-effect that two Steves in one timeline have, the implication that this Steve really did give up fighting bad guys, during four decades where no Captain America was there to help, it’s... so very, very vague. I know there was no time to dive into this in full length, obviously, but that doesn’t quite excuse it.

I love that he handed the shield off to Sam though. He is easy to establish as the new Captain America since we all already know him and honestly, the only two options would have been Sam or Bucky - and... please just let Bucky retire, that boy’s been through too many decades of shit don’t force him to live up to Steve now, so yeah, Sam is the better fit there.

That being said, Bucky. I liked that Steve handed the shield off to Sam, but I was missing a proper Steve-Bucky reunion. Bucky nudging Sam to talk to old!Steve and even before that, after getting undusted, there was... nothing. After 75% of Steve Rogers’ plotline in the MCU being centered around Bucky Barnes, the least they could have done would have been a proper, heartfelt reunion and a last conversation between the two. So Steve didn’t want to tell Sam about the marriage? One more scene. One where Bucky sits down next to Steve and Steve tells Bucky about his life with Peggy, even if just shortly, but... that was something that was missing, for me.

Clint was... there. I just... I don’t know, man. He was out there murdering criminals for five fucking years and they couldn’t track one archer during all that time and now he’s supposed to go back play house with Laura? I honestly, genuinely would have preferred that they killed him off at that point.

Also because Natasha deserved better. They fridged her. They took the only female member of the original team and basically killed her off for the others’ man-pain. Seeing those five guys crying about her at the lake felt like really nothing but fridging. She died so they could have the stone, she died so Clint lost her - that was literally the only note on that. She died so Clint would lose her. That’s the definition of fridging and it makes me mad, because apparently during those five years, she was like a leader to everyone else.

I was, honestly, ready for them to spin off a female Avengers team after this movie. Led by Natasha. And that they did her dirty like that makes me mad.

Wanda was also in this movie. She was badass, that’s something. (This is literally the nicest you will ever hear me say about MCU!Wanda.)

WAKANDA

They really did Wakanda dirty. Mainly so because they did them dirty in Infinity War already - aside from Okoye, they literally killed off every single significant cast-member from Black Panther.

Shuri, I’ll hand it to you they had to kill off because otherwise Steve and co would have had an alternative to go to instead of Tony and thus they wouldn’t have brought the team together as they planned. But the way she was treated after? She didn’t even have a speaking role in this movie, damn it. Not even... one line... She and Peter never got to interact. She got a bit of action, but not much.

T’Challa at least had a speaking role, but also suffered from having been dusted in the previous movie and thus only getting ridiculously little screentime.

M’Baku! He had one scene. He ran through the screen once. That was it. That’s just... ridiculous. He didn’t even get a major throw-down or anything.

And Okoye? The only undusted one? I am genuinely disappointed that she was not part of the team. They got the whole gang together, but the gang didn’t include anyone who wasn’t an OG Avenger or a Guardian. Valkyrie and Okoye should have been brought onto the team too.

Never mind Nakia, she didn’t even get a cameo at the end like the queen did. She was just like... Sharon Carter and Jane Foster: Not found. And yes, I get it, you can’t get all 200 MCU cast members, that doesn’t make it less frustrating when key characters are just... missing.

THE ASGARDIANS

The humor around every Bruce and Thor scene was... very Ragnarök. That’s not a compliment. It’s jarring, considering that this is an Avengers movie and I would have preferred their regular characterization over that one-off movie one with its... strange, cringey humor.

Seriously, they did Bruce so dirty. He was little more than a punchline. He’s a genius scientist, but now he’s a poser in the body of the Hulk who rather takes pictures with fans? And who completely screws up time-travel - but don’t worry, it’s hilarious so it’s okay.

And I better not start with Thor. Look, I approve of the fact that he grieved, that he was shown to not handle shit well. But... the extend in which he didn’t handle shit well was... not satisfying for me, but that’s a matter of taste I suppose. I didn’t like that he killed Thanos off just like that when Nebula was right there - and yes, Thor lost a lot, but Nebula would have had the right to kill him off and Thor took that away from her.

I did love his conversation with Frigga though. That was... incredibly well-handled and very nice and exactly what he needed to get at least most of his shit together again.

Though it really frustrates me how... ridiculous it was that he didn’t save Frigga. What makes anyone who got dusted more worthy of being saved? They died too. They were killed off too. It was a legitimate kill. But here, you decided that going back in time to save them is okay. When Thor however gets to be right there and have the chance to also save his mom... that’s a no-no? Why? That’s bullshit. You are altering things, saving people who died, but you get picky about what people get saving? Fuck off.

Valkyrie was... why was she not part of the team. They went and picked up Thor for the mission. They sent Bruce to pick up Thor, Bruce who knows Valkyrie the best after Thor. Why would he not also take her with them because they could have needed the backup?

And I don’t know how to feel about her as a king either. Maybe... Maybe let the Asgardians vote? Try democracy if you say you no longer have monarchy? You can’t just... appoint the next king like that.

Where exactly did her pegasus come from, by the way? I mean, did they have time to save the stables in Asgard too...? Just, where?

Also on the note of characters who didn’t make it into the movie I’d like to give honorary mentions to Sif, who I love and dearly miss and also would have wanted to meet Valkyrie.

THE GUARDIANS

Same as with Cap and Bucky, I was salty that Rocket and Groot did not get a heartfelt reunion.

And that Quill getting to see Gamora again was handled as a joke despite just how... emotionally loaded it could have been.

Drax and Mantis were... also in this movie, I guess. Some of the dusted characters came out shorter than the others.

Also, I really don’t know how I feel about Thor joining the Guardians, to be quite honest. Not... my favorite idea, because him and Quill have such a bad, obnoxious dynamic and it was already annoying during Infinity War and now during Endgame and both had like... five minutes of it. An entire movie with it would just give me a fucking migraine.

FEMALE AVENGERS TEAM??

And also, on the note of a female Avengers team - that group-shot of every female hero looked really fucking epic, I had tears in my eyes when Okoye repeated Natasha’s words from Infinity War; She’s not alone. That was... that was a bit much for me, but personally, I found it really undersold.

They took the time out of this movie to show us a shot we have all already seen. That big epic “first time of all the Avengers in one scene” shot.

They had the time for that, but they didn’t fully give that to the girls. It was clear they were trying to recreate that moment with the female Avengers, but it was such a split-second image - the least they could have done then would have been to give it a proper spin, to pause, to really show it off. Show off what female heroes Marvel has to offer right then and there.

And yes. They absolutely had the time for that. They could have just cut the damn shot that we have all already seen in favor of this new one, for example.

And since now seems to be as good a time as any, let’s talk about Captain Marvel and her hair. I love it. It made my lesbian heart really very happy.

Part of me hated that she was off-world for most of the movie, most of me knows on a rational level that the had to have her off-world or else things would have ended too quickly. And I liked how they explicitely pointed it out in-universe too, through Rocket and Carol.

Stephen was also in this movie. Not very much due to having been dusted and not actually doing a lot, but him telling Tony what to do was... It made me cry some more. And I guess Wong also got a brief cameo.

IN CONCLUSION:

So, on the overall, I complain a lot about how the dusted ones came short, how certain emotional scenes could have been deepened.

There would have been an easy solution to that. Make one more movie. Make this finale a trilogy instead of a two-parter. There were so many characters with individual plotlines in this movie and they deserved to be heard. Endgame should have been a two-parter in my opinion.

Also, I don’t like the five years time-jump. I just... yes, yes, big tragedy, lots of people dead, but somehow I find it incredibly unrealistic that five years into the future, the world would be slowly turning dystopian and no one moved on even a little bit? Life... Life would go on, somehow. And this made it look like it just didn’t.

I’d have had an easier time had they put this one year later, but I guess then Morgan couldn’t have been an adorable girl and would have just been a screechy baby so they needed the time-jump, huh.

Still I think five years was too much on the overall. Clint out there, murdering criminals for five years without being caught by the Avengers?

But yes, in the overall, I really did enjoy the movie. While some things came to short, they still put a pleasant amount of focus on the emotions and dynamics. It was heartfelt, emotional, sad, it gave Tony and Steve both the end they deserved. It did however still include a lot of things that didn’t sit right with me or that I thought were fault and I do still require a more elaborate explanation on the time paradox.

The total sum of this movie however was the perfect ending for the MCU. Which... is actually kind of a problem considering there is more MCU happening? And while, yes, I am totally here for Captain Marvel 2 and Black Panther 2, I... honestly... am basically done with the rest? And those two mainly due to the quality of their first movies and the fact that they happen isolated. Space and Wakanda. Not... yet another story in New York but this time without the Avengers you know and miss now.