It All Comes Together in "Avengers: Endgame"

And now we finally arrive at the conclusion of what has been a more than decade-long experiment: the ultimate culmination of the sprawling narrative known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last year, I withheld a star rating for “Avengers: Infinity War” on the basis that, as one half of a single story, I didn’t trust the filmmakers to actually pay off any of the emotional threads introduced. Would Marvel keep lucrative characters dead? Could the largest cast in a mainstream movie—yes, even bigger than “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”—be properly juggled? Would the ending be worth years of buildup? I know some might look at those questions and think, "Kevin, these are superhero movies; who cares?"

Well, I’ll tell you who cares: the millions of people who buy tickets to these films every year care. The people who collect the merchandise care. Those who dodge reviews like mine because they don’t want a single frame spoiled care. Sure, none of these movies will ever be confused with “Casablanca” or “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” but there is an audience that takes this lore very, VERY seriously. As someone who always walks into the theater with more optimism than he probably should, I admit the kid in me wanted to see if Marvel could actually pull it off. Maybe that’s why I withheld a grade last time: if the second half fell apart, giving Infinity War a pass would have felt like a betrayal. Why hedge my bets?

Now that we have arrived at “Avengers: Endgame,” two things need to be made clear:



First, I can confidently reveal that my retroactive grade for “Avengers: Infinity War” is four stars.

Second, “Avengers: Endgame” achieves the rare miracle of making everything that came before—even the installments that were less than successful—100% worth it.

Look, I’m not going to act like Marvel had every single detail planned from day one. I have no idea how far in advance these screenplays are penned (though I am aware the movies are mapped out years ahead). Yet, based on the execution of this particular movie, if you told me the producers knew this exact destination all the way back in 2008 when they released “Iron Man,” I would absolutely believe you. Not only is everything wrapped up as cleanly as possible, but we finally get something that was only rarely hinted at in previous entries: genuine character drama rooted in massive loss. For those who saw the previous film, you know Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped his fingers and erased half of all life in the universe—including several fan-favorite heroes.

While Marvel protagonists have suffered setbacks before, this is the first time they lost on a cosmic, deeply personal scale. While audiences walking into this film expect an epic showdown (and will certainly get one), what is ultimately delivered is a three-hour study on grief and how characters we have come to love over eleven years process it. The film’s strongest beats aren't the thrill of Thor’s hammer or a dimensional time jump—though audiences will undoubtedly cheer for those—but the quiet, painfully human moments. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), still feeling out of place in the modern world, leads a support group for survivors that he himself benefits from just as much as anyone in the circle.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), having learned a hard lesson about interfering with fate back in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” steps away from the superhero lifestyle to focus on raising a family. For me, the most emotional scene involves Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) escaping a quantum realm, only to wander through a devastated world and realize his young daughter has grown into a teenager without him. If you can watch that scene without getting a tear in your eye, you might want to check your pulse to ensure your heart is still working. Lest you think the film is completely devoid of humor, there is a delightful moment where kids approach a newly synthesized Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) just to ask for a selfie. These beats may seem minor, but they are vital; they demonstrate that these characters aren't untouchable gods, but flawed human beings carrying immense responsibility.

They have fears, dreams, and—perhaps for the first time—real consequences to face. The opportunity to travel back in time and save billions is complicated by the fact that the peaceful lives they’ve built in the aftermath could potentially be erased. It’s the sort of high-stakes drama that forces even casual moviegoers to sit up and genuinely feel the weight of the story. Considering how dismissively Marvel movies have been treated by traditional critics over the years, “Avengers: Endgame” proves they are entirely capable of landing an emotional gut punch when given the room to breathe. It also highlights how average many of the intermediate entries were by comparison, delivering far less than what everyone has been capable of all this time, but…I digress.

“Avengers: Endgame” is going to be a huge box office hit—that much is certain. How massive, I have no idea. It delivers everything fans could possibly want from a final chapter while offering far more thematic depth than anyone expected. It proves a studio can justify a three-hour runtime as long as it gives the audience something deeper than endless armies of CGI robots and aliens to mow down. When you ground a spectacle in real human emotion, length ceases to matter. The poignant final scene shows that this franchise was always capable of reaching beyond standard blockbuster mechanics. While I won't call it a flawless film, it is the perfect conclusion to a 22-movie experiment. Hopefully, everyone involved agrees this is the ultimate moment to take a bow and exit the stage before overstaying their welcome. Hopefully…