As I roll back the clock one year I remember coming out of the cinema seeing Infinity War in absolute disbelief at what I had witnessed.
Never before has a film had such an overwhelming effect on me, a mind-blowing spectacle that defined 2018 cinema.
With expectations high, I’m now sitting down writing this review after exiting the cinema in 2019 with many different emotions.
Don’t get me wrong Avengers: Endgame is a great movie but let’s pump the breaks on the hype train right now.
It’s certainly no Infinity War.
After the jaw-dropping effects of Infinity War, I almost felt numb to the occurrences of Endgame.
Yes, sad things happen, yes there are battles and mourning for the fallen but it all feels a little overly drawn out and unnecessary.
With a three-hour runtime, critics have said the time flies by.
I’m thinking they must have had some killer nachos that’s all I can say!
The first 90 minutes is actually a rather slow burn indeed, yes, we’ve lost Avengers, I saw Infinity War I don’t need reminding for a feature-length duration.
This groundhog day repeat was injected heavily into some seriously elongated sequence of scenes.
The movie itself is still entertaining, hilarious, emotional and enjoyable. However, it’s only those things because (and I feel only because) it’s an extension of Infinity War.
Having Endgame as a stand-alone three-hour feature certainly makes it the weaker of the two films.
Judging it as an Infinity War ‘Part 2’ makes Infinity War the best cinematic achievement of all time. Decipher that as you will.
The tone of this film feels unlike any other Avengers movie before it. It almost feels like a completely different genre of movie than anything we’ve seen in the Marvel universe so far.
It’s unusual and I felt somewhat alienated for long periods watching it and getting used to it. Convincing myself that this is still indeed a Marvel movie.
Picking up directly after the aftermath of that glorious Thanos click we are surrounded by the surviving heroes who are looking to find a way to resurrect their fallen foes.
Together they concoct a plan (albeit a confusing one) that they hope will not only lead to defeating Thanos but to right the wrong that has fallen upon the universe.
With this all in mind, I will not be providing major spoilers throughout this review. However, we did post Endgame spoilers on the site in a separate post and all of them came to fruition.
Certain events at the beginning of the film feel rushed and all too easy.
We then fall into a slow burn as we are fast-forwarded in time to see the long-term effects this has had on our remaining Avengers.
This slow burn continues until after the 90-minute mark where sh*t goes down and it goes down awesomely.
For a studio that is so keen to keep cards to their chest, it’s a shame they could not keep the plot twists more undetectable.
Some scenes, in particular, are so easily predicted that it makes me feel that I could win Tony Stark at a game of chess. Either that or the late midnight showing tiredness mixed with alcohol and a tasty curry has rendered me MENSA qualified.
My point here is that there really aren’t many surprises if you’ve been closely following events. Endgame has a knack for hinting at things that are going to happen, the movie is constantly foreshadowing but in a surprisingly obvious way if you pay attention to detail and overall common sense.
Avengers: Endgame will please most fans. It has it’s very own jaw-dropping moments, It’ll break records and will no doubt be the highest grossing film ever made (quite possibly).
As a whole, it achieves what the fans for the most part wanted.
Even thou they dragged us on an extended emotional coaster to get there we still get the movie we all wanted to see if albeit swimming through a few roundabouts and irrelevancies.
The Russo brothers and all those involved have made something special with Endgame despite my criticisms.
This instalment in my eyes just can’t compete on the same emotional scale and sheer impact level that Infinity War possesses.
The films predictability in some key places all but confirmed that for me.
Grab the tissues (you’re going to need them) and don’t believe the overhype from the critics.
Go in with an open mind and form your own opinions.
It’s a fitting ending, not necessarily the right one in my eyes, but a wonderful spectacle nonetheless.
Review by Sean Evans
Summary
It’s safe to say that cinematic life will never be the same again. Infinity War and the extended ‘Part 2’ Endgame have redefined cinema but let’s be honest, Infinity War was going to take some beating and whilst this is a solid, solid film, It just can’t compete on any level with such a strong and jaw-dropping opening Part 1.
