(Review): The Avengers 4: Endgame
So, a bunch of friends and I went to the 10:00 A.M. showing of Avengers: Endgame on Opening Day. There was a good crowd and everyone was anticipating with much excitement, despite knowing that favorite characters might not survive. Cap is my favorite, so I was worried about him, but I had other characters I loved, too. Still, I decided I was going to immerse myself in this movie and enjoy the epic grandeur of it all.
Be warned there are major spoilers ahead!
Stand-out moments, in no particular order:
First off, Cap summoning Mjolnir successfully and Thor’s “I knew it!” brought out a burst of applause from everyone. I loved it! What a great moment, which was cleverly foreshadowed in Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron.
Sam’s “On your left” to Steve as reinforcements arrived against Thanos. Before that, Steve was going to go it alone!
Ha, America's ass. ;)
Wanda toe-to-toe with Thanos.
Stephen Strange and Tony sharing that 'one-in-a-million' moment.
The female superheroes all gathering at one point in the Final Battle. Go, girls! :)
The fitting end to Thanos: dusted due to the Infinity Stones.
Oh, and Thor talking with his mother again. He was like a little boy who needed his mom, and she gave him good advice, as usual.
Scott Lang showing up at the Avengers Compound’s front gate.
The scene in the diner with the integrated Bruce/Hulk. He kind of looks like the X’Men’s Beast, especially when he wear his glasses. :)
Lots of food moments!
Tony and Nebula playing an old school staple while stuck on the ship. "Goal!"
Steve's "Hail HYDRA" moment.
Tony talking with his father in 1970 (who was unaware of who he was), and coming to some better understanding of his father.
This movie mixed small moments with the grandly epic, and passed the wristwatch (now cellphone) test: in three hours I never checked the time. The friendships of many characters were underscored, such as Steve and Tony reuniting after Tony’s return to Earth, Natasha confronting Clint in Japan, and Sam and Steve’s final scene together.
I thought the producers did a good job of keeping a lot of balls in the air without dropping too many. Tony’s ending was ironic and fitting: the man accused of not making the sacrifice play ended up doing just that after all.
The peaceful lakeside house harkened back to the Barton farmhouse. I like both locations. I already have some fic ideas for that lake house.
Steve…at first glance, him enjoying a life with Peggy (and finally getting that dance!) seemed fitting, but I was still disturbed by how he left Bucky behind, almost as if he didn’t matter. And how could he enjoy life with Peggy, knowing that Bucky was suffering for decades? And that HYDRA was infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.? It all seemed incredibly selfish to me, and Steve is not selfish. He deserves a happy life, and we know in canon it can’t be a gay one, unfortunately, but this didn’t feel right. Steve just leaves the man behind who he mourned for years and searched for even longer? Uh uh.
However, his handing the shield over to Sam was a great moment. Called it! Good harkening back to comics history, as both Sam and Bucky have taken up the shield when Steve was dead/aged.
Many fans don’t like what was done with Thor. I’ll admit it was a little too fratboyish for my taste, but they’d already established that tone in the third Thor movie. Funny, the first movie had just the right mix of humor and drama, the second too grim, and the third too fratboyish.
People do react differently to depression. Steve grew up poor and sickly and had to fight to survive every minute. He dealt with his post-Snap depression by trying to forge ahead.
Thor is a son of privilege. His childhood was not a constant trial like Steve’s, though knowing you’re going to be King someday could weigh a heavy burden on you. Thor couldn’t dig himself out of his depression until he talked to his mother, and then he came through beautifully.
I find it amusing that Scott mentioned Back To The Future and we got some of that treatment as we saw future Avengers watching their past selves in many different scenarios. I enjoyed the ‘inside look’.
I was disappointed that we didn’t see more Steve/Bucky moments. How about after the battle when Steve had a chance to welcome Bucky back like we saw with Tony?
Natasha’s death: it seemed that it would be Clint being the soul stone’s sacrifice, as he had sunk low post-Snap, and I’m a little disturbed by him returning to his family with so much blood on his hands, but he was an assassin when he married Laura, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
I figured they’d twist it so that Natasha was the one sacrificed, and I figured there goes any Black Widow movies, but the movie in production is going to be a prequel.
I wished we could have seen Natasha’s funeral, too, but I guess they figured Tony’s funeral was enough. Still, couldn’t we have seen at least one scene for Natasha?
They could have recast the major roles, but that may be in the future. Right now Marvel Studios chose to go this route, so we get finales. I’ll be interested in reading other people’s reactions.
I’m afraid Steve/Tony and Steve/Bucky fans may find some of this disappointing, but we know those relationships will never be canon. Tony had a good five years with Pepper and his daughter, and Steve had his life with Peggy (but with the problems listed above). I found the Steve/Tony friendship given good moments, but Steve/Bucky needed more.
But then, that’s what fanfic is for, right? Use canon as a jumping-off point and write your fix-its and your interpretations. Fix-its are already flooding AO3! I've got a few in mind, too! ;)
I give the movie a solid A (not A+), because there are those drawbacks, but overall it was a good story well-told. I didn’t even mind the CGI in the final battle this time around, because the battle was epic enough to require the computer stuff.
I would recommend going to see this movie on the big screen. The scope and grandeur make it an enjoyable experience.
Avengers, Assemble! :)
This entry has been cross-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment on either entry as you wish. :)
Be warned there are major spoilers ahead!
Stand-out moments, in no particular order:
First off, Cap summoning Mjolnir successfully and Thor’s “I knew it!” brought out a burst of applause from everyone. I loved it! What a great moment, which was cleverly foreshadowed in Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron.
Sam’s “On your left” to Steve as reinforcements arrived against Thanos. Before that, Steve was going to go it alone!
Ha, America's ass. ;)
Wanda toe-to-toe with Thanos.
Stephen Strange and Tony sharing that 'one-in-a-million' moment.
The female superheroes all gathering at one point in the Final Battle. Go, girls! :)
The fitting end to Thanos: dusted due to the Infinity Stones.
Oh, and Thor talking with his mother again. He was like a little boy who needed his mom, and she gave him good advice, as usual.
Scott Lang showing up at the Avengers Compound’s front gate.
The scene in the diner with the integrated Bruce/Hulk. He kind of looks like the X’Men’s Beast, especially when he wear his glasses. :)
Lots of food moments!
Tony and Nebula playing an old school staple while stuck on the ship. "Goal!"
Steve's "Hail HYDRA" moment.
Tony talking with his father in 1970 (who was unaware of who he was), and coming to some better understanding of his father.
This movie mixed small moments with the grandly epic, and passed the wristwatch (now cellphone) test: in three hours I never checked the time. The friendships of many characters were underscored, such as Steve and Tony reuniting after Tony’s return to Earth, Natasha confronting Clint in Japan, and Sam and Steve’s final scene together.
I thought the producers did a good job of keeping a lot of balls in the air without dropping too many. Tony’s ending was ironic and fitting: the man accused of not making the sacrifice play ended up doing just that after all.
The peaceful lakeside house harkened back to the Barton farmhouse. I like both locations. I already have some fic ideas for that lake house.
Steve…at first glance, him enjoying a life with Peggy (and finally getting that dance!) seemed fitting, but I was still disturbed by how he left Bucky behind, almost as if he didn’t matter. And how could he enjoy life with Peggy, knowing that Bucky was suffering for decades? And that HYDRA was infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.? It all seemed incredibly selfish to me, and Steve is not selfish. He deserves a happy life, and we know in canon it can’t be a gay one, unfortunately, but this didn’t feel right. Steve just leaves the man behind who he mourned for years and searched for even longer? Uh uh.
However, his handing the shield over to Sam was a great moment. Called it! Good harkening back to comics history, as both Sam and Bucky have taken up the shield when Steve was dead/aged.
Many fans don’t like what was done with Thor. I’ll admit it was a little too fratboyish for my taste, but they’d already established that tone in the third Thor movie. Funny, the first movie had just the right mix of humor and drama, the second too grim, and the third too fratboyish.
People do react differently to depression. Steve grew up poor and sickly and had to fight to survive every minute. He dealt with his post-Snap depression by trying to forge ahead.
Thor is a son of privilege. His childhood was not a constant trial like Steve’s, though knowing you’re going to be King someday could weigh a heavy burden on you. Thor couldn’t dig himself out of his depression until he talked to his mother, and then he came through beautifully.
I find it amusing that Scott mentioned Back To The Future and we got some of that treatment as we saw future Avengers watching their past selves in many different scenarios. I enjoyed the ‘inside look’.
I was disappointed that we didn’t see more Steve/Bucky moments. How about after the battle when Steve had a chance to welcome Bucky back like we saw with Tony?
Natasha’s death: it seemed that it would be Clint being the soul stone’s sacrifice, as he had sunk low post-Snap, and I’m a little disturbed by him returning to his family with so much blood on his hands, but he was an assassin when he married Laura, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
I figured they’d twist it so that Natasha was the one sacrificed, and I figured there goes any Black Widow movies, but the movie in production is going to be a prequel.
I wished we could have seen Natasha’s funeral, too, but I guess they figured Tony’s funeral was enough. Still, couldn’t we have seen at least one scene for Natasha?
They could have recast the major roles, but that may be in the future. Right now Marvel Studios chose to go this route, so we get finales. I’ll be interested in reading other people’s reactions.
I’m afraid Steve/Tony and Steve/Bucky fans may find some of this disappointing, but we know those relationships will never be canon. Tony had a good five years with Pepper and his daughter, and Steve had his life with Peggy (but with the problems listed above). I found the Steve/Tony friendship given good moments, but Steve/Bucky needed more.
But then, that’s what fanfic is for, right? Use canon as a jumping-off point and write your fix-its and your interpretations. Fix-its are already flooding AO3! I've got a few in mind, too! ;)
I give the movie a solid A (not A+), because there are those drawbacks, but overall it was a good story well-told. I didn’t even mind the CGI in the final battle this time around, because the battle was epic enough to require the computer stuff.
I would recommend going to see this movie on the big screen. The scope and grandeur make it an enjoyable experience.
Avengers, Assemble! :)
This entry has been cross-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment on either entry as you wish. :)