Jon Walsh
Every generation, there is a movie series that captivates people around the world. They transcend movie status and become memories. Memories that we spent with our friends and our families. Memories that remind us of both the good times and help us forget the bad. For the past eleven years, the films in the Marvel cinematic universe have done all of those things. They have been apart of the lives of millions of people, and they have helped us laugh, cry and gasp in awe at the action we were witnessing onscreen. They have been there for millions of children as they grew up, and have helped bring many people together. The most recent film in this saga, “Avengers: Endgame,” touches on every memory that has been made through these movies.
The premise of “Avengers: Endgame” must be kept to a minimum, as even the slightest revelation could spoil crucial parts of the movie. However, the basis of the film is that in the aftermath of Thanos wiping out half of life in the universe, the Avengers lick their wounds as they come to terms with what has occured. Nothing in the film didn’t work, feel forced or appear lacking in any way. From the plot to the acting, I would describe it as a perfect movie. While there were some slow parts, they at least had the benefit of some pretty humorous dialogue. In fact, there is a sizable portion of the movie that is slow, but it isn’t boring, far from it. However, the true exhilaration here comes from the third act. It is an awe-inspiring spectacle, one that will leave you with an emotion that I honestly do not have a word for. It is incredible.
Of the things that can be revealed about this movie is that once again, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth shine again. Each of their performances carry weight, and they perfectly play characters who truly feel like broken individuals and are finding their own ways of coping with that pain. In addition, Paul Rudd and his performance as Scott Lang (Ant-Man) brings in the levity to this fairly solem movie. Though the MCU has always had the proper amount of comedy, “Avengers: Endgame” doesn’t have as much of it. When there is humor, it’s usually delivered by Paul Rudd. Captain Marvel is also fun in this movie! While I didn’t particularly like her movie, I enjoyed her in this one. I felt as though her character understood the gravity of the situation the remaining Avengers were faced with, and she was expanded upon properly to make her both more entertaining and more likeable as a character.
The combination of both the spectacle and the emotions in “Avengers: Endgame” let it become much more than just a movie. That’s because “Avengers: Endgame” is not a movie. It is an experience. An experience that was eleven years in the making. The most unfortunate aspect about this movie has nothing to do with its quality. It has to do with the fact that people years from now who see this movie for the first time will never have the same emotional resonance with this movie and the other other twenty one films in the MCU as those that have waited eleven years had. This movie is amazing, but for it to be enjoyed properly, a person needs to have grown up alongside these movies and waited the eleven long years that stretched from the first “Iron Man” to “Avengers: Endgame.”
“Avengers: Endgame” marks the end of a chapter in the lives of many people. People like me who first saw these movies as children are now adults. I saw the first “Iron Man” when I was eleven years old, and I had just finished elementary school. Soon, I will be graduating college. We have grown up with these films, and they hold a dear place in our hearts. These movies will sadly never mean the same thing to the kids who grow up after them. But maybe that’s what will make these movies even more special in years to come. We will be able to look back and relish about the times that we could go to the movie theater and watch the Avengers assemble.
5/5 or 3000/3000 (you’ll understand it soon) stars