For the second time in my life, yesterday I made the crazy decision to sit in a cinema at midnight and watch a brand-new film. The previous film I did that for was Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and I have to say that this viewing experience was very different to that one. It was immersive, it was highly emotional, and I had tears in my eyes both during the film and when it was over. That experience qualifies me to give you all a spoiler free review of Endgame, and that’s what I plan to do now.
There was a lot of hype going into this film. It wasn’t even Disney and Marvel that created that hype either. That hype was created by the fans, by the theories put out about what might happen, and by the sheer brilliance that was Avengers: Infinity War. The hype that did come out of Marvel Studios however turned out to be right on the money. This was the biggest, most ambitious film they’ve ever done. The stakes here were beautifully setup, and the payoff was something spectacular to behold. Marvel promised us a summer blockbuster and a conclusion not just to Avengers: Infinity War but to the whole of the MCU up to this point, and oh boy did they ever deliver on that.
If you’re going into this film hoping for a resolution to what happened in Infinity War, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re going into this film hoping for a summer blockbuster which will keep you truly entertained then – assuming you’re going into this film because you’re a fan of the MCU (or at least the major movies and characters therein) – I can practically guarantee you won’t be disappointed. That said, if you’re not a fan of the MCU, or you haven’t really followed the films and you don’t really care about the characters, then this film probably isn’t for you.
Simply put, this film is everything that every Marvel Cinematic Universe fan needed, whether they knew it or not. It is the perfect film to end this era of the MCU, and also the perfect film to launch off the next era, whatever that may be. ‘Whatever that may be’ is key here as well, because if you’re hoping that this film will answer the question of ‘what happens next?’ then you’re very, very wrong. There is no thought to what happens next. There is (almost) no looking to the future at all in this film in fact. There isn’t time for that. In a three-hour film there isn’t actually time to tease people about what might happen in the future, which tells you exactly how this film delivers on it’s premise. It isn’t about the future of the MCU, it’s about the end of this chapter, and it’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Can it compare to the epic adventure that was Avengers: Infinity War? Well, that’s a difficult question to answer because the truth is it doesn’t really try. While Infinity War showed off the colossal scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and brought together character threads and plots from ten years of movies beforehand, this film does NOT try to do the same thing again. Instead the sheer power of the film comes from the way that they’ve tightened the scope of it, not to ALL the different characters of the MCU (although you’ll be shocked just how many actually appear in one form or another) but to a handful. And while that handful could be said to be 11 key characters, when you include War Machine, Rocket Racoon, Nebula, Ant-Man, and the freshly introduced Captain Marvel (who actually filmed her parts for this prior to her own solo film) who all have supporting parts to play in the film, this film isn’t about those characters. At its heart, this film is about the ORIGINAL six Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk and Thor. If you’re favourite MCU character is on that list, then I guarantee this film has something for you. If not, then you might be a little disappointed that your favourite character didn’t do as much as you might have wanted.
If you’ve enjoyed the MCU to date and if it means as much to you as a franchise as it does to so many around the world and you don’t get emotional during this film at one stage or another (and I almost burst into tears three separate times) then I’m not sure I want to know you, because this film has ‘the feels’ in all the best possible ways.
Now, with all of that said, what ESSENTIAL viewing do you have before you go into the film? Well, a few bits that you might not actually have viewed.
If you’re a casual fan of the MCU then you might not have watched Ant-Man & The Wasp when it came out, however there are a few key elements to this film that you need to be aware of. While the whole film may not be essential, what you do need to find and watch is the post-credits scene of Ant-Man & The Wasp, because it plays a huge, huge, huge role in this film, and it would benefit you massively to be aware at least what happens during it.
Also, if you’re a casual fan you may not have watched Captain Marvel. That, again, would likely have been a mistake as the character features in the film and isn’t introduced to the larger audience. If you don’t know who she is then you’re probably going to feel like you missed something. However, once again you may not need to see the WHOLE of the film to see the most important part. The bit you need to watch the most is, once again, the post credits scene. In that scene we see Captain Marvel meeting the Avengers, and unlike other moments we’ve seen before – like Captain America and Falcon discussing a ‘friend’ that Falcon has during Civil War, which was the post credit scene for Ant-Man – this does NOT occur during Avengers: Endgame, so if you missed it during Captain Marvel’s post-credit scene then you missed something significant.
Finally, and this should go without saying, the most important thing you’ll need to have seen prior to this film is Avengers: Infinity War. If you haven’t seen that then honestly don’t even bother with this film. It won’t make any sense whatsoever. While Marvel may have told us when they renamed the film that this ‘isn’t Infinity War Part 2’ (and I may write a blog about why it isn’t actually Infinity War Part 2 but is actually deserving of being a stand-alone film) it’s absolutely essential that you saw Infinity War prior to this film because it begins a few moments after Infinity War ended and, simply put, none of it makes sense without that previous part.
Hope you enjoyed the blog. If you want to chat to me about Avengers: Endgame or anything else besides then why not get in touch
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