What kind of Marvel Cinematic Universe fan would I be if I didn't see this, of all entries, in the theater? My dad finally came back, too. The main complaint I've seen about it is that it's hard to talk about without spoiling. Well, I'll give my typical level of skirting the edge. Chances are, if you have enough interest to see Endgame, you either already saw key previous entries or won't mind learning some of what happened in them, most notably the ending of Infinity War.
I had expected most of the movie to consist of the remaining heroes seeking out and fighting Thanos for the Infinity Gauntlet so that they could undo his sudden annihilation of half the life in the universe. Actually, they don't take long to overpower him, but the gauntlet has been emptied of the Infinity Stones, and Thanos probably isn't lying when he says he destroyed them. (What, no periodic repetitions in his war on overpopulation?) For the next five years, they have no hope of reversal -- until Ant-Man returns from the Quantum Realm and reports that it offers a possibility for time travel. (Told you he had weird physics.)
No, they're not going to go back and stop Thanos before he could even begin his quest. For reasons that didn't quite make sense to me despite the citation of familiar non-Marvel movies, the heroes conclude that changing the past only creates alternate timelines, so their "home" present would remain the same. But they can still borrow the Infinity Stones long enough to use them in the present to restore everyone who vanished in what many fans call "the Snapture." Apparently, everyone who got killed another way will have to stay dead, and I'm not sure whether the restored will have aged at all from five years ago. Oh yeah: The heroes don't get to time-travel as many times as they like; the requisite particles are in short supply.
Since the Avengers always have to disagree on something, they're not all immediately on board with this plan. Thor, now living rather comically as a man with no dreams, dreads to follow a potentially false hope. Iron Man, finally talking to Captain America again, fears losing his post-Snapture daughter. And lest you think they could hardly make things worse, when Thanos learns their plan, he decides to wipe out everyone but himself, thinking that only a fresh start could make the universe worth keeping.
It's interesting to see how they've all been coming along in those five years. Bruce Banner may actually be better off, now that he's discovered a way to integrate his brains with the Hulk's brawn (imagine if he got it backwards). Hawkeye -- who, as it turns out, had been living peacefully with his family since Civil War -- has lost his entire immediate family and, much in contrast to Thor's going to pot, has made himself a ninja nightmare to the global criminal underworld; the Black Widow and War Machine have been trying to track him down. Rocket and Nebula, despite being so-called Guardians of the Galaxy, continue to live on Earth, perhaps afraid to see what the rest of the galaxy is like now, while Captain Marvel, tho appearing in a few scenes, is too busy helping other planets to participate in the "time heist." Whatever the heroes have been doing, they're all still badasses when things go down. Even Thor.
Those of you who remember how Thanos got the Soul Stone are right to worry how the heroes will. Let's just say that there will not be a 100% victory this time. And there won't be just one touching new loss.
Unsurprisingly, time travel allows intriguing social dynamics -- and even more callbacks than before. I was going to list all the MCU entries that get referenced in Endgame, but they are numerous and hard to prioritize; besides, remembering them merely provides a bonus. You could come in with no knowledge of the past and still understand enough of what happens. You simply might not laugh, sigh, or applaud as much as others.
Although nearly a half hour longer than the second longest MCU flick, it did not exhaust my dad's patience. We both even sat through the end credits -- knowing in advance that there would be no mid- or post-credit sequence. I think it helps that the story handles what it needs to handle and takes whatever pace suits the scenario. There's little action in the first hour, a modest amount in the second act, and then the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny (you didn't think it would end without one, did you?), which manages to mix things up quite a bit.
To a casual viewer like my dad, Endgame is ridiculous but sufficient fun. To me, it's a powerful fulfillment such as I might never see again. Certainly one of my favorites in the series, if not #1.
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