It's safe to read this review if you haven't seen the film as I will not be revealing any major spoilers. I do have a few critiques about characters that may allude to certain plot developments, and if you haven't seen Infinity War, then I would skip this review.
While this film brings an end to the Avengers team that we have all fallen in love with, the style of this movie highly contradicts the traditional style of all the other Marvel movies. The running time for this movie is about three hours, making it the longest in the string of films released over the last eleven years. My expectation was that it would follow in the footsteps of Captain America: Winter Soldier and would be an action-packed blockbuster from the beginning to the end. Instead, the majority of the movie is a character-driven story about a team torn apart by an enemy, considering the possibility that they might be able to save the universe. The movie begins with an assembled team, then quickly jumps five years into the future.
The Avengers are dealing with loss after Thanos wiped out half of all living organisms in the universe. The movie doesn't spend much time assembling the Avengers back together, which I found as a relief. We've seen so many movies about trying to reconcile a split team, and the team is not much split as they are grieving. Black Widow has taken over the leadership position, and new characters enter the picture, such as Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange and Ant Man. The meatiest part of the film consists of the team figuring out how to time travel in order to reverse the events that destroyed their lives. There are constant twists and turns from the beginning to the end.
The most surprising character in the film, in my opinion, is Captain America. With his strength and kindness, he balances the entire team while growing into his position of command. From the beginning of the movie until the very end, Captain America wards his suit and shield as a true representation of what hero is supposed to be. Actor Chris Evans typically does better in comedy, but he really nailed this role and I applaud him for it. Iron Man eventually takes an equal position, and the two put their power-struggle aside and work side by side.
Unfortunately, not every character impressed me in Endgame. My least favorite character was none other than Thor. I guess this might be a little bit of a spoiler, but in this film, he has gained a lot of weight, which is highlighted by putting him in a fat suit. Personally, I find this offensive as I believe fat-shaming only feeds bullying, and I don't like that the majority of the audiences seeing this are made of impressionable, young adults. Thor lost his hammer in Infinity War, but gained a new weapon. Now, he has lost his strength and his physique. There are several jokes made by other characters in the film about his weight gain. If you are expecting Thor to magically shed all of the weight in the film, you might want to lower your expectations.
I was not disappointed with the story, and the three hours actually went by fast. If you've followed all of the movies, the last twenty minutes are an epic battle which will quench your thirst for one of the best battles in movie history. Is this a film that I want to rush back to the theaters and see? Not necessarily. The running time does make it hard to see this movie multiple times.
So what could have made this movie better? I only gave it four out of fives stars and here is my simple reason why: It needed more suspense. Due to the story scattered in so many directions, I didn't feel the struggle or the suspense that it's predecessors carried. Can you see it if you haven't seen the other films? Possibly, but I would not recommend it.
I did enjoy this movie and I liked that the Avengers came to an end. It was a refreshing and fun.
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