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Apr 26, 2019 · See what critics have to say about the epic finale of Marvel's Infinity Saga. Find out how they rated the movie, watch the trailer, and see the cast and crew of Avengers: Endgame.
- (556)
- Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- PG-13
- Robert Downey Jr.
Apr 24, 2019 · A spoiler-free review of the epic conclusion of the MCU saga, praising its spectacle, character arcs, and fan service. Read why this film is a satisfying end to a decade of blockbuster filmmaking, and how it rewards the love and patience of fans.
- Marvel delivers a fitting and surprisingly poetic payoff to the Infinity Saga.
- Avengers: Endgame Gallery
- Every MCU Movie Review Since Avengers
- Verdict
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
By Laura Prudom
Updated: Jun 22, 2020 10:40 pm
Posted: Apr 23, 2019 10:00 pm
This is a SPOILER-FREE review of Avengers: Endgame, but honestly, you probably still shouldn’t read it. If you’re already sold on this movie, go see it, come back, and let’s compare notes. If you’re not, read on for some reasons why you should be.
The less you know going into Avengers: Endgame, the more you’re likely to enjoy it. Obviously, you wouldn’t have clicked on a review of this movie if you didn’t want to know something about the culmination of a decade’s worth of Marvel’s superhero storytelling, but trust me: more than Avengers: Infinity War, more than any Star Wars movie, Endgame is truly a story that needs to be experienced. Forget all the external noise from the deliberately vague teaser trailers, perfectly-calibrated celebrity soundbites, and footage leaks, and just strap in for the ride.
What you take away from Endgame may depend on how deeply you’ve connected with any number of the 21 movies that preceded it. If you’re curious, for example, whether you need to have seen Captain Marvel to understand her inclusion here, it's not required viewing in terms of plot but it does give context to her appearance in a way that might otherwise feel a little jarring if this is your first time meeting her. Overall, this is a movie that rewards your knowledge of the MCU in its entirety.
While Infinity War did its best to juggle an enormous roster of heroes spanning the entirety of the MCU’s history (to mixed results, depending on who you ask), it’s no spoiler to say Endgame rightly narrows its focus to the original six Avengers (with an assist from their fellow survivors), giving them each a well-deserved moment - or several - in the spotlight. The cost of sidelining so many characters is high, but it pays off brilliantly.
Markus and McFeely’s script allows for some unexpected subversions of certain heroes - including a few choices that will surely be divisive - but fans of the MCU’s holy trinity of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor should find plenty of iconic moments to satisfy them. That’s not to say that other characters aren’t equally pivotal, but for fear of spoilers we won’t dig into that here. At the same time, several heroes get less to do than you might expect, but when considering the MCU as a whole - as well as its potential future - you can see why the writers decided to pursue this particular path, out of the 14 million possible ways it could’ve gone.
Much has been made of the film’s epic three-hour and one-minute length, but considering how dense it is (and truly, Endgame packs a lot into that supersized runtime) on first watch, the pacing feels tighter than Infinity War’s, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome the way Lord of the Rings: Return of the King did.
The main criticism that can be leveled against Avengers: Endgame (or at least the only one we can discuss in broad terms without spoiling anything) is one that has plagued most Marvel movies up to this point: an overreliance on overproduced CGI battles which, despite elaborate staging, can’t help but devolve into numbing, pixel-on-pixel slugfests. The film features several impressive setpieces that effectively ground the action with emotional stakes, and they prove to be some of the high points of the narrative, but when the focus widens to a larger canvas, some of the urgency and clarity is lost. Thankfully, much of the story retains a laser focus and specific goals for our heroes to pursue, which gives Endgame a momentum and gravity that propels it even in the quieter, more character-driven moments.
It’s in those moments where Endgame excels - as epic as some of the fight sequences are, we’re also given insight into our heroes’ mental states in a way we’ve rarely had time for in past team-ups; there are pauses for grief, guilt, love, and longing, which ultimately makes the escalating action all the more rewarding.
But perhaps Endgame’s greatest accomplishment is how it deepens our understanding and appreciation of the movies that preceded it. This is truly a climax to an entire franchise, not just a resolution to the cliffhanger of Infinity War. Even though we know the MCU will continue in one form or another thanks to the prequels, sequels, and spinoffs that are already in development, there’s no denying that this is the end of an era - not just for our heroes, but for a generation of fans who have grown and changed and forged their own families alongside them. Endgame may be the final film Stan Lee appears in, but thanks to these indelible characters and the actors who breathed life into them, it feels like his momentous artistic legacy is in good hands.
Avengers: Endgame is easily the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most ambitious, emotional, and affecting film to date, somehow managing to tie up more than a decade of storytelling in a confident (and mostly coherent) climax - a hurdle that many other blockbuster franchises have stumbled over in their final runs. It will inevitably provoke years of spi...
IGN praises Avengers: Endgame as a fitting and poetic payoff to the Infinity Saga, with epic scale, emotional depth, and fanservice. The review is spoiler-free, but warns that less is more when it comes to CGI battles.
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Apr 23, 2019 · At its best — and “Endgame” is in some ways as good as it gets — the “Avengers” cosmos has been an expansive and inclusive place. That has proved to be good business.
- Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- A.O. Scott
- 181 min
Apr 24, 2019 · Avengers: Endgame isn’t a great movie, but there are flashes of greatness in it, and quite a few of them belong to Evans. His Captain America rewards us with a revelation and escapes with a...
- 2 min
- Stephanie Zacharek
Read critics' and audience's opinions on the epic conclusion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. See the ratings, scores, and full reviews for Avengers: Endgame, one of the best comic-book films of all time.
Apr 23, 2019 · The Russo brothers deliver a three-hour follow-up to 'Infinity War' that rewards loyalty to the MCU, but hinges on a frustrating narrative trick. The film explores the emotional cost of heroism and the possibility of time travel, but also faces the challenge of undoing Thanos' Snap.
