AVENGERS: ENDGAME Review: The Perfect Swan Song for One of the Greatest Franchises in Film History

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Breathe easy, Avengers fans, Endgame is here. And it’s marvelous.

There’s a lot of moving parts in Avengers: Endgame, and I think it’s best that you go in cold, so the plot and riveting surprises are fresh for you. That’s what I did, and I haven’t had as much fun seeing a movie in years.

If us girls are honest here, I don’t even know where to begin talking about this movie. I’m going to do my best without giving anything away that you don’t already know from the amazingly limited amount of information released on the film. (Kudos to the director’s the Russo brothers and Marvel for being able to keep spoilers or much of the plot from leaking and making this movie into something special before it even released. That’s admirable dedication.)

Endgame opens cold. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is target practicing with his daughter on his land. Life is good. He’s happy. The camera cuts to his shoes, where we see his house arrest anklet, which reminds the audience why Hawkeye wasn’t in Infinity War, and we know the devastation he’s about to face. It’s coming — the snap. We already know what it does. As he enjoys his time teaching his daughter how to be an ace at the arrow, Hawkeye steps away for a moment and comes back in complete confusion — his daughter and entire family have vanished. Avengers: Endgame begins.

I’m going to stop right there with plot and, well, everything else that happens in the movie. I could tell you an abridged version of the synopsis, but that’s not possible. There’s so much happening inside Endgame; I’m not sure where to begin. What I can tell you that is this film couldn’t have been a more perfect swan song for The Avengers we’ve grown to adore on screen for the last eleven years.

You know how sometimes cast and crew defend a film panned by critics by saying it 
“was made for the fans, not critics” (looking right at you, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which I actually love.)? Let’s get something out of the way — critics are fans. This is why we write about movies. We love them, and real critics are required to be honest about what we see. That’s a challenging part of the job. (You think I wanted to hate Justice League? As a diehard Superman fan since childhood, as well as Man of Steel and BVS, I wanted to love Justice League, which had only a small trace of director Zach Snyder. But this movie is not good. At all. Snyder should not take fault for that — Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon (who helped stepped in to finish the film but strangely did not want to take credit for “helping a friend”) — are to blame. Snyder poured his heart and talent into the excellent Man of Steel and BVS which you can see with his slick visuals and honest portrait with sincere feelings on what would happen if an indestructible “alien” came to earth, accurate storylines, as well as easter eggs fans are just now discovering years later, and Whedon wrecked his vision with the very unbalanced Justice League. Added to that, Warner Bros. put all the pressure on Snyder to build the entire DC Cinematic Universe, and that’s not fair. Imagine how much weight that is on your shoulders when Marvel has a full team of talented people working hard together on every movie. This is why all of their films are so successful. Warner finally realized this and brought in directors Patty Jenkins and James Wan to carry on the DC legacy Snyder started. More are coming. Now DC has a team.

All that mumbo jumbo said, the delicious Endgame is made for fans, by fans (the remarkably talented Russo brothers, who made Infinity War, Winter Soldier, and Civil War). This is very important, so pay attention: You must have already seen every single Avenger movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to understand Endgame’s plot, and to appreciate the abundance of jokes and callbacks (there's three hours worth of both) from the previous 21 films. The movie is truly incredible, but the fans who have journeyed with The Avengers since Iron Man in 2008 will love every second of it so hard. I sure did.

So much talent poured their hearts into this film. The Russo brothers did a slack-jawing job with concluding The Avengers’ Infinity Stones story, and Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Karen Gillan, Scarlett Johansson, Renner, and the rest of the team gave their characters' powerful performances you will never forget.

Endgame is not just a remarkable movie; it’s an unforgettable experience. I was wowed, I laughed, I applauded, I cheered, I cried, and I left as the end-credits rolled with a giant smile on my face. Whatever it takes, see it in theaters this weekend.