Category: Uncategorized

By Cameron Craig

Avengers: Endgame is shaping up to be the biggest movie of our generation. Not only has no other movie had twenty-two predecessors, but the pre-ticket sales for Avengers: Endgame eclipsed the record holding Star Wars: The Force Awakens in just six hours. Avengers: Endgame slammed its way to a $60 million Thursday night opening, the highest of any movie ever made.

The movie is such a generational event that the film’s director team, Anthony and Joe Russo, have released a statement urging fans to not spoil the movie for others that don’t have the luxury of seeing it opening day or opening weekend. The only other time this happened was during the opening weekend of Avengers: Endgame’s predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War.

Marvel’s CEO Kevin Feige had the film and production under such tight wraps that even some of the actors didn’t get the full script, especially Tom Holland, who is notorious for telling too much in interviews. Films are usually shot out of sequence for budgetary reasons, so there’s a good chance some of the actors will find out what the end result looks like at the same time as the rest of us.

The adequately titled film is the climactic culmination of the Marvel franchise and the arc of Thanos and his quest to “correct” the universe in the way he seems fit.  Avengers: Endgame deals with the direct aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War as the remaining members of the Avengers attempt to restore what was lost after Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures.

Bringing back brothers and directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo along with Avengers: Infinity War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Avengers: Endgame shapes up to be a cohesive and satisfying journey through twenty-two movies, dozens of character arcs and numerous iconic comic book moments. It’s apparent there’s a lot on the Russo’s plates over the film’s run time of 181 minutes as they juggle character arcs while simultaneously introducing the audience to the layman’s version of a complex plot. After the official merger between Fox and Disney, there was speculation that the X-Men could appear in Avengers: Endgame but thankfully was quickly shot down by Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers as it would only bloat the movie.

The film is a marvelous spectacle on both the cinematic and technical side of filmmaking. Waiting in line at IMAX for five hours to see the Arri Alexa 65 IMAX cameras on full display is truly something special. It’ll be interesting if the film will hold its own at the 2018 Oscars like Black Panther did, and potentially win a Oscar for special effects. The film also comes equipped with an elegant score from Marvel veteran Alan SIlvestri. On the cinematic side, the Russo brothers masterfully concluded the 11 year saga that brought many people’s childhoods to life. The impeccably cast Avengers deliver their best performances yet. No actor will ever don the suit as well as Robert Downey Jr., and no actor will ever don the shield as well as Chris Evans. The film is flushed with sentimental moments and callbacks to previous Marvel movies and will have longtime fans cheering, crying, and when the credits roll, being thankful for having been part of such a genre-defining journey that’s truly the end of an era.

But I suspect that some people will have issues with the film’s three hour run time. Especially since the film immediately is introduced with some pacing issues and sloppy editing that occupy a good portion of the first act. I’m all for films having a slow build like Blade Runner 2049 (2017), but there’s a difference between slow builds and pacing issues. The pace at which audience receives information in the first act is presented in a little bit of an incohesive way. While just about every character has their arc completed with a bow tie on it, there are some character that are completely sidelined due to the amount on the Russo’s plates.

But nevertheless, all of the film’s qualms or flaws are easily forgiven and easy to miss as you’ll likely be too entranced in the absolute joy that is the climax of Avengers: Endgame. I can’t commend the Russo’s and Kevin Feige enough for pulling off what is the most ambitious film franchise of all time. Their incredible ability to successfully juggle all of the characters, grandiose cinematic storytelling and bringing it all to a beautiful climax cannot be understated.