“Avengers: Endgame”

2019 Film Reviews 251 comments

LOUISA: 2 STARS

LOUISA SAYS:

We need to talk about Thor.

Let me back up for a second and explain. I love superhero movies. Marvel is by far my favorite cinematic universe. “Avengers: Infinity War” was on my Top 10 Best Films of the Year list. It pains me to say it, but “Avengers: Endgame” left me so disappointed in its (what I had hoped would be an exciting) conclusion. This sequel is a complete letdown.

From the beginning, everything about this movie feels “off” in terms of tone and attitude. There’s an inordinate amount of moping and glassy-eyed staring into the camera. It’s great that the filmmakers choose to focus more on the human connections between the group, but the emotional character development turns this into a thinking person’s “Avengers” that stresses brains over brawns.

Smart superhero movies are great, but I doubt this is the film’s target audience. Adult themes like remorse, heartbreak, crushing guilt, and making the tough decisions that can ruin your own family while saving others is something that may punch a 40 year old man in the gut but will leave his 8 year old slumped in his seat with his hands on his chin. I feel most of this movie will go over the heads of most kids. Hell, I’ll wager a bet that half the adults in the audience will be confused by the inconsistencies of the varied time travel explanations.

You heard me.

They’re the two most dreaded words in a blockbuster movie that’s written itself into a corner: time travel. Can’t figure out a solid ending? Go the cheap “let’s go back and rewrite history by transporting ourselves through the space / time continuum” route. The film plays with time in a way that is less fanboy fun and more lazy storytelling. It’s so similar to the “Star Trek” reboot and “Back to the Future” that it feels like a cop-out rather than a well thought out solution to the Thanos puzzle. Once again, fan theories that have peppered the internet in the last year prove to be more exciting and interesting than the actual movie.

“Endgame” is entertaining enough, but not what I would call enjoyable. The story is at its best when it jumps around in time and we see how each of the remaining heroes deal with life after the snap, grappling with their colossal failure to save half of the universe. It’s humanity like this that makes us all aware that even superheroes are fallible, and it’s darker territory for what normally would be a lively springtime blockbuster.

The snapped Avengers play very little role in the narrative and the remaining heroes aren’t robust nor charismatic enough to carry the movie (Hawkeye and Black Widow, I’m looking at you). There’s also zero sense of real danger, something that the film’s predecessor had going for it (but at least the menacing Thanos firmly clinches his throne as one of the very best screen villains in comic book movie history here). But what’s truly unforgivable is the decision to make an iconic character an absolute laughing stock and the butt of many jokes. His initial introduction in the film is mildly amusing, but increasingly feels more and more distasteful as it drags on.

Most of the new Marvel clichés make an unwelcome appearance, including the continuous, borderline offensive pandering to women that kicked off in a spectacularly over-the-top fashion in “Captain Marvel.” We get it, House of Mouse: women can be superheroes too! There’s no need to include disingenuous all-female shots of your complete roster of lady characters when they are fighting among men. It’s time to buck up, really show them as equals, and refrain from treating them as a separate movie still that’ll look good on a poster touting the studio’s diversity initiatives come awards season.

There are even more emotionally manipulative “hold for applause” (and “hold for tears”) moments accompanied by soaring music that are dripping with an obnoxious insincerity that quickly sours the whole experience.

It’s not all bad, however. Alan Silvestri’s score is beautiful, and there are some clever plot points that are sure to bring delight (I especially enjoyed the way Ant-Man is brought back into the story). While the majority of the comic relief goes for passive, obvious jokes, there are some unexpected cameos guaranteed to bring smiles to faces. Also enjoyable is how several previous “Avengers” movies are incorporated into the story, providing Easter eggs that will deliver diehard fans the appropriate closure as the arc comes full circle.

The brightest spot here is the cast, all giving performances from the heart. There’s not a dog in the bunch, and this is one of the very best acted MCU films to date. You can tell how important these roles are to the actors, so much so that they literally lend their personal signatures of approval to the closing credits.

Much has been said about the 3 hour plus run time and yes, this movie feels long. There’s too much story exposition at the start, which kicks everything off with a sentimental whimper rather than the bang many will be expecting. The film follows a conventional storytelling timeline, and the couple of obvious, direct rip-offs of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” did nothing but remind me of the far better movie. It’s as if J.J. Abrams set the new standard of what’s supposed to happen in a big budget studio movie, ensuring that any “surprises” no longer feel that way.

What doesn’t work outweighs the good, making “Endgame” and its anticlimactic ending a real bummer. While this film is disappointing, I need to be fair: it’s something I feel is a direct result of “Infinity War” and its outstanding setup being so great. But even when taken as a standalone film, this sequel proves to be a letdown.

251 comments

  1. “There are even more “hold for applause” (and “hold for tears”) moments accompanied by soaring music that are dripping with an obnoxious insincerity that quickly sours the whole experience.”

    Woman . . . you best not be talking about the scene where Cap wields Mjolnir.

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  3. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I felt the need to read the negative reviews because those are more honest these days. After seeing what happened to Alita and then in contrast saw Captain Marvel I’ve realized that the people who are paid to promote a movie can be quite biased. I also understand that it takes a lot of courage to go against the grain. Thank you very much for this review and I applaud your dedication to your fans. Thank you for being true to yourself and what you love.

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    1. It is realistic that he got old. He didn’t come back through the time travel spot but decided to arrive in front of them over the view with the same spot and time that he originally went back in the 1970s. He lives out his life like a normal human being. BTW He’s not immortal…Not a fanboy, I just didn’t agree with half of that.

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      2. That doesn’t make sense since they don’t actually time travel. He didn’t go back into their own timeline so he couldn’t just wait for this very moment. Anyway this could be a long discussion since dimension and time travel are bullshit and have no actual rules.

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  6. Great review! I enjoyed reading your breakdown of the movie. I will be seeing it anyway, but I was interested to hear negative reviews on it as well. I also feel it’s been super hyped and I’m a little nervous hearing that a lot of fan theories were better than the reality. Ah well. I kind of expected it. Thanks for your honest and helpful review! 🙂

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  8. SPOILERS AHEAD

    I fully agree with this review. I would give INFINITY WAR a solid B while I would give this one a D. The writing felt really, really lazy with the time travel and the first 15 minutes is two steps back from everything Infinity War set up. This felt like a bad episode of Dr Who. The survivors were incredibly dull (I enjoy Don Cheadle but this performance felt like a stop up to pick up a check, hell, probably a dozen actors here felt like they phoned their performances in)

    The stones being destroyed, Thanos picking fruit (Not sure why I was the only one laughing), Thanos, the big baddie who killed half, being treated like a punk, time travel, time travel silliness, forced and cheap emotional moments (Stark’s near miss in the first 15 minutes only to get *another* one at the end thats hard to even care about), the Iron Man stone moving gauntlet (I was seriously the only one wondering wth was this, it was never mentioned or hinted at before)

    The Cap hammer bit was cheap, and while I get it; he is worthy, it was pointless and pure fan service.

    Adam Warlock doesn’t even show up, which is a waste of an Thanos / Infinity Stone / Cosmic storyline.

    The five years later bit was silly, and had crowds confused.

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  9. The movie feed you dozens of ‘wait, what just happened’ moments that are meant to give fans fun nostalgia feelings, when in fact it’s smoke and mirrors to cover up the hundreds of mile-deep plot holes that make no sense. Basically, any rules that this universe held true to in previous movies, and even this one, are completely thrown out the door . . . everyone can do everything, and also nothing . . . and just for funzies they add a girl-power me-too moment.

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  10. I agree with you.

    Spoilers:

    Thanos needed a whole movie to collect the stones however, they were able to collect them very easily. I felt that they went back only to revisit the old movies before saying goodbye. They could have made collecting the stones more challenging.

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  11. You nailed it. Infinity War was so perfectly paced and made so much sense and now such a cheap and cheesy conclusion? I really hope this will be the exception and not the new Marvel standard. Up until now I loved all MCU movies. With Captain Marvel I started to have first little doubts, because she is soo powerful, and now this desaster. I tried to look up comic references. Cap at least hold the hammer for a short moment in Thor #390, but Thor was never fat like that. It is really unnecessary. The “being fat” joke in Infinity War makes sense, because Chris Pratt actually put on some weight, so they used that fact and tried a comedy angle. But with Thor? Chris Hemsworth is still in good shape and it serves absolutely no story purpose. It is just used for bad jokes. And time travel as you said is the worst option you can take to solve a problem. It is a shame, because they have proven that they can be so much better!

    I am a bit anxious about the next phase. At least they got James Gunn back and hopefully we get another Taika Waititi…

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  12. You were absolutely right. There was basically one action sequence and that was at the end. The remaining two and a half hours could be called ‘an actors’ film’ in that they get to do what they love best which is emote while looking anguished. And all the critics are saying that the climax is the biggest and most exciting superhero battle ever filmed but, while technically proficient, the sequence felt perfunctory and generic like a video game cut-scene. And the audience i saw it with was grumbling and getting restless like they couldn’t understand why there was all this talking and talking and talking and no action. And after the big fight, it felt like the movie just kept going on and was taking forever to end. Apparently it’s too much to ask for a superhero film to just be fun these days.

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    1. That was a big issue with me too: I love dramas as much as anyone, but this doesn’t feel like a fun superhero movie. And at the end of the day, that’s what most of us want. I had a feeling audience / fan reactions would differ from critical reactions. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

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  15. This site really cheered me up after the letdown of the movie yesterday.
    On the bright side, as I crawled the internet for reviews that match my emotions, I found this site. That would definitely not have happened if Endgame had been a more worthy follow up to Infinity War 😉
    I flipped through your TOP 10 lists and I got some new inspirations for future movies. THANKS! *non native english speaker*

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  16. I think some of the fan service was absolutely needed. Hammer Cap and Avengers Assemble. The most disappointing for me was the lack of battles. Infinity war had the feels in it but didn’t have to stop progression to do so. The most disappointing for me was the lack of a Hulk redemption.

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      1. Fanboy is often a (somewhat hurtful) term used by non-fans who “just don’t get it”. I appreciate the fact that you alluded to confusion about many of the plot points and references, but many of the moments that you write off as unwanted exposition, nostalgia, and fan service, are the payoff to a decade-long investment that many fans were actually awaiting.

        I agree that the movie is inferior to it’s predecessor, and probably doesn’t work as well as a stand-alone film, but that is obviously not the point for a culmination of 20+ interconnected endeavors. There was some over-the-top silliness, the action in the final act seemed a bit garbled and over-crowded, and some of the emotional moments felt quite obligatory and predictable (but never the less brought the feelings).

        I know you said you are trying to foster fanboy (fangirl) hate. I’m not sure why picking fights has become a staple for reviewers, but disparaging actual fans is becoming an all too common practice in reviews recently. It is my hope that there is a way to highlight this trend “to bash other’s opinions” as extremely negative, and counter-productive, without escalating into the hate for which you claimed to have steeled yourself?

        Endgame, IMHO, IS still a good movie! Is it perfect? Definitely not… it did a more-than-adequate job tying up a series of stories, that have been enjoyed by many people, tapping far into “mainstream” movie-goers, not just “fanboys”.

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      2. Thank you for this. As a fan myself, I never considered the term to be hurtful, so I apologize. In no way was my review meant to disparage fans because, again, I am one myself.

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  18. I like to read the ‘bad’ reviews first and in hindsight this critic is spot on, thank you!

    I scanned through the comments yesterday, some interesting points, many from people who’ve not yet seen the film. I’d be curious to know what they think post viewing?

    Huge fan of some of the MCU offerings, lot’s that did nothing for me. Loved ‘Assemble’, dismissed ‘Age of Ultron’, blown away by ‘Infinity War’. ‘End Game’ was poor in comparison. I raised an eyebrow 2-3 times, laughed a few more but never sat forward in anticipation of any single moment, didn’t shed tear and yawned a few times.

    Lucky to have Game of Thrones to keep me distracted!

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  19. Ok. No doubt You didnt like enjoy the movie, becouse You didn’t watch it. The time travel in this flick doesn’t rewrite history. And the Avengers explained that TWO times in the movie. That’s why they only brought back snapped victimes. the explained everything abaout the rules of time travel that happens in the movie. TWICE. How can you not catch it. Recommend you wa Another thing is how can You not enjoy all famale shots when You’re a woman by yourself? Maybe you’re aware of power and importance of the girls in hollywood, bou the 90 % of population not. That’s why there must be scenes like this! The same goes with Russo cemeo when he tells about his date.

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    1. I’m working on an article about all of the inconsistencies of the time travel aspect in the movie. There are many. The female “hold for applause” moment felt disingenuous and pandering, and I expect more — and fans should demand more — from studios.

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  20. @Rupert Russell says: “Lucky to have Game of Thrones to keep me distracted!”

    That was exactly my thought when I left the cinema: “Hopefully the climax at Winterfell on Sunday in episode 3 will redeem my faith and joy in fantasy films”. *Fingers crossed*

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  21. Regarding time travel:
    As I understand, the underlying idea is: Every time I go back in time, I create a new timeline (=branch) which is different from the timeline I am coming from.
    Now what the avengers did is: They created multiple new timelines and the interacted with these timelines. They stole the stones from these timelines. Is this responsible? Should they do this? What about the damage they do to these timelines. E.g. Loki freed himself in one of these timelines. How much damage may he do in that timeline. And the Avengers of our timeline are responsible for that damage! But they just don’t care. This is selfish behavior! Not “worthy” for an Avenger you may think… 😉

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    2. That’s why Cap went back in time to return the stones to the exact point they were taken. This way there would be no branching timelines. This was explained very clearly by the ancient one before she gave up the time stone to Banner Hulk. It was a selfless task carried out by cap, and at the end of it he made one more time jump as a reward to himself. The bit that does not make sense is how cap – having branched off a new timeline from the 1940’s/50’s managed to appear back in the previous timeline in 2023 having waiting in real time until then. But then again who knows how time travel would really work?

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      1. More very good points, and yeah, I caught the Cap explanation. But the time travel inconsistencies were enough to make my head spin! Thanks so much for commenting .

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  22. Also killing the whole army from Thanos is a questionable thing. These are also living beings. The avengers did something comparable to genocide or holocaust you may argue. It would have been enough to kill Thanos and move those other beeing back to their home planet. Even in WW2 they took prisoners and did not kill everybody from the opposition after winning a fight.
    Even Thanos only killed 50% of his “enemies” not 100% .. 😉
    I know this is a bit of nitpicking for a fun blockbuster movie. Forgive me.

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  23. And what about the 5 years later scenario. 50% of the people vanished. Now we have about 7.5 billion people. 50% means about 3.75 billion people. That is the world population of 1971.
    Do you really think there would be no baseball games any more? A deserted stadium? Why? Life would go on, that is what humans are about. Sure they all will grief the loss of relatives and friends, but life will go on 5 years later. So the I do not believe in this deserted baseball stadium world. That is a 5-10% people scenario, not a 50% scenario.

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  24. Sorry, my mind can’t stop 😉
    The scene when Black Widow and Hawkeye both want to give their life.
    I can believe that Hawkeye is the most important being for Black Widow.
    But is Black Widow really the most important being in the world for Hawkeye? What about his kids? Or his wife, the mother of their children? Are these not the most important people in Hawkeyes life? Maybe not. Or they do not count, because at that moment they are dead/suspended? Or Black Widow is really more important to Hawkeye than his daughter. But I doubt that.
    In that scene I thought: It must be Hawkeye, because of the above reasoning.

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    1. I couldn’t stay out of the convo lol
      Well at that moment HE didn’t had his family. All it was left was BW, part of the family in his book. Actually I kinda felt that will be BW cause there was no family legacy for her, not in a past nor in future. Plus once I heard there are rumors of BW standalone movie with past stories of hers – well kinda made sense. Not to mention HE would be Ronin for 1h 30m only if he was about to be sacrificed.
      Not to defend movie, that scene actually did made sense for me, but here are some that where not. And let me assure you those aren’t “Fan service” ones that I will address, but the ones that rubbed me the wrong way in a sense that I felt mocked, or like I am blind follower that will swallow anything ( in a way insulting me as a fan and my intelligence).
      Ok here we go. No order for this instance nor referencing time travel issues or so. Not even the obvious ones but the ones that I find important to me. The issue with returning stones to there timelines. Ok time stone will be given to Ancient one, others will be placed to suitcase and storage room etc. But how Cap managed to “return” Reality stone to Jane and, by far, something I was looking for to see: Soul stone! And to Red Scull! You know, Captains, in a way, reason for becoming what he is!? And how he actually managed to return it? Hypothetically, let’s say he managed to get to that reality moment before BW was counting meters of that cliff… how did he “give” back that stone? And how did he react seeing his archenemy? Hmmm…
      Next is actually holding stones with out orb, urn, cube, well any kind of protective object. I clearly remember when Ego told SL in GotG vol2 that “once he heard about Teran that was able to hold IS in hand, he knew that was his son”, or something along that line. The stone killed the room service girl at Collectors place, almost Peter as well, until all Guardians shared power, strenght, whatever with him. And he is partially Celestial! He said so, well not in that exact words, but he said to Tony “that 50% that is bad, that’s 100% you ( lol )” in End Game ( if you don’t recall GotG 1 & 2 ). Yet, our heroes where able to hold stones, multiple times, in there bare hands during time travel part.
      I am not even going to go to bringing Mjolnir to our reality, mostly cause I like that part ( lol! ) and as Chim said, because I can’t even imagine how that impacted that, past reality, however I have strong issue with battle scene with Mjolnir. That wasn’t the Cap scene, it was scene where Thanos was actually able to push Mjolnir towards Thor. Now, no one, except Vision was able to lift Mjolnir before, let alone stop it ( that Quicksilver scene from AoU ). Pushing also counts as Loki can confirm. So we can establish, that up to Past Mjolnir no one could control or cary Mjolnir nor push it well not by brutal FORCE! Now, all of the sudden Thanos is able to do so.. or is he valuable enough to do so? Which lead us to next… Thanos stamina… I mean this is something that entire theater had issue swallowing during movie. The fact that heroes had hard time with immobilizing him, even more then once he had gauntlet… it’s just wrong…
      And then was Gamora… that just … vanish! Was she wipe out by IM? If so – why? She fought on avengers side. We where even given scene with her and Peter and … nothing after. Like really nothing. We don’t know what happened. Did she return to past? Stayed in present? Killed? Survived? What happened to her! She wasnt on ship with the rest of the team. And I mean, she was first real casualty of Thanos, the one that shifted tone of Infinity War and put another layer on Thanos to his character… she deserves more than simple randevu with Peter and to be extra in battle so the others Heroes exit be more plausible…
      Thanos character was also no consistent comparing to Infinity but I had problem with Scarlet Witch the most! I know, I know, it sounds like I am nitpicking but honestly that really rubbed me the wrong way. The “you took everything away from me” was really powerful but kinda sounded like a lie knowing SW history. Everything was taken away from her in AoU ( she volunteered 4 experiments to avenge her killed family ), then she was taken freedom, credibility and half of the surrogate family during Civil war. Now with Vision, Thanos is guilty. I mean, he is, no doubt,but she switches priorities in every movie. Like, family that have her doesn’t matter. And that’s where my biggest concerns stand as well. The family… the part that was crucial to this movie, something that was emphasized so many times here… I mean really Cap? Not shield to Bucky? That’s the guy you cared so much! 2 movies actually! Beside Carter that was your next big person! And you just didn’t give anything to him, no explanation, nothing… Vacandanians did more for him then you at the end… and the 3-4 persons around Iron once he fall? Thor leaving his people? Dang… doing so much entire movie cause they own to others, for there family and in the end they are more disjointed then connected…
      I don’t even wanna start about Pegasus…
      Don’t get me wrong, I like epic moments, they are welcomed, but they are there just so they can be “given” and not because they are epic in true matter or because they are important for story or needed for narrative let alone logical or rational…
      Someone might say I look too much in to this and completely exaggerated 2 or 3 points in this list or that list isn’t important to the story or that this is superhero movie ( what did I expect duh ). Well excuse me, but I expected to be treated as a fan and customer and with respect that doesn’t indulge me on some silly way or stamps on my intellect. For something that’s closing 11 years and 22 movies, my time, emotions and money invested in it – well I should be treated with more. More for connection that was present during previous movies at least. All my questions are not out of resentment but because I care. Because I swallowed, eat and breath all those movies that actually tried to explain something, that showed investment with story complicity, Easter eggs, surprises, details in every aspect! I referenced every movie before that addressed some issue that’s totally out of the window in End Game, things that where ether emphasize or magnificently portrayed or repeated in previous installments.
      It just feel sloppy. It feels that it was made solely to be made because that was expected.
      I like movie cause it’s legacy and closure however it’s more homage then fulfillment. Which true fan doesn’t need, cause they will worship everything but with respect so walk throw the memory lane wasn’t for fans, they know almost every scene in every movie. What they needed was epic, coherent, brilliant closure. And we got only closure.
      Yes, thank gosh for GoT, cause that will keep me occupied from mourning a year of anticipation, my phone battery that screamed for every notification from trailer crackers on YT and movie news outlets, etc etc lol
      I am glad I watch it, I would kick my behind if I haven’t, I am glad I spend this 11 years with this story I am just not pleased with overall impression of End Game that felt short, weak, unchanging and butchered…
      Its and ok movie… but by my opinion not for ppl who look into the entire franchise with respect and seriousness…

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      2. Regarding your “Where’s Gamora?” Question: as Thor is walking into Peter’s ship (just before the “who’s in charge” argument) we see Quill doing a search for Gamora on the computer, which he quickly shuts down once he hears everyone coming. So, to me that means she’s alive and still in the new timeline; yet the fact that the computer can not find her means she is somewhere beyond distant, possibly with Nebula learning to be sisters again.

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  25. Thanks for the review man. I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed many annoying flaws. Still sad I didn’t enjoy the film though.

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  26. @Trunuyawkr
    Yeah saw that too but the thing is I believe she deserve to have clear stand. She was a tool for Gamora storyline as well Infinity war. It just seem odd that one moment you see her next you don’t. Especially with that Peter encounter. I know it’s not pivotal for End game but wasn’t necessary to cut her like that after bringing her to reality and setting her up as important tool for narrative. I know there is “imagination” factor, but even dusted char had ending scene. She was left out with no appears to reason and yet she was very important as cause and tool especially to leave her to our imagination… that’s the empty thing I find disturbing. I remember the dust that was stirred when Lady Sif was no where to be seen, but one can say “she wasn’t very important to story telling, maybe just for main char feelings and traits exploration, a proxy” but Gamora certainly is more then that just to be “invisible” and “untraceable” after all…
    For a very “clear” movie that’s a bit murky, probably not that important cause it will be explained in next installment but still a let down…

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  27. @ screen-zealots & Louisa
    Likewise. It’s my opinion thou, felt need to share because, just like you, was ready to love it right from first second, yet it was a long story full of circumlocutions. Still ok but as someone said before almost entire time was like deus ex machina. Part of loving something or someone is also pointing what it didn’t work and was wrong to make it even better. I know this might be bias grounded by personal preferences and gravity towards importance but balance, consistency and coherency should be priority not privilege to fans.

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  28. I dont think these movies can be judged as movies but parts of a very long very expensive tv season with 22 episodes. None of these films have any gravity without that personal investment . Christopher Nolan made s super hero trilogy of movies that stood out independently and required very little if any knowlege of what went before. I can only hope that now the mediocre season finale is finished that we get some stronger individual films next tume around

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  29. Hi, while your review doesn’t seem that negative, you only rated the movie 2/5. I would like to show my view on this.
    Warning: My comment contains movie spoilers (and also bad english).
    1) “Go the cheap “let’s go back and rewrite history by transporting ourselves through the space / time continuum” route.” Well thank god time travel doesn’t work like that here. They had to do it different way, because you can’t change the original future by affecting the past – you are visiting an alternate timeline by going to the past. The elements beyond this are the infinity stones and they have to be brought back to the same moment when they were taken. They don’t have to, but it’s selfish to doom the other timelines, isn’t it? All the past MCU movies led to quantum realm travelling (starting with Ant-man, that’s why he was introduced). Each movie plays a part in this big story and everything was explained before. Only Hulk added one line to this and even compared it to other movies, where it works differently than in their universe.
    2) Thor
    While I’m not a fan of this big superhero change, they HAD to do it. Why? Because at the end of Infinity War we all know what happened. Fully powered Thanos with all 6 infinity stones got very nearly killed by Thor who just threw his Stormbreaker at him. He only aimed at the wrong spot with his weapon. Thor obviously feels guilty for his mistake… the Avengers would have won. Instead half of the universe turned to dust. Not half of humanity or the Earth, but half of the whole UNIVERSE. Just because he wanted to let Thanos know that he’s about to get killed, but not delivering the final killing blow. There was no real danger on new Asgard or the Earth now, so Thor just goes with his new lifestyle (he always loved beer anyway). 5 years later he kind of moved on, but still froze and felt guilty when Hulk said the name Thanos. He doesn’t believe in himself anymore (he later has to check if he’s still worthy of Mjolnir), he gets fat, lazy. But he still feels anger towards Thanos and joins the fight anyway, but he is not in shape and form anymore to do much. If he was, he would have just killed Thanos easily, like he almost did in Infinity War. They couldn’t just make Thor disappear from the movie, they had to “nerf” him. 😀
    3) The women power scene
    Oh yes, very unnecessary, but I heard some cheering in my movie theatre. I guess someone liked it, but it felt very forced (characters landing out of nowhere, all suddenly at the same side of the battlefield, without any communication?). There is no “all men” scene, you know what I’m saying.
    4) Movie length
    I don’t think the movie was long at all. Actually I think so many important scenes were missing.
    We didn’t see anything about the New Asgard, it just appeared, fully built. They skipped Captain Marvel’s arrival in the beginning (Cap Marvel post credits scene was enough I guess?). No Hulk-Banner transformation. Nothing about Cap returning the stones! (This opens up a ton of questions: How did he return soul stone or aether? Did he jump back to the time where the other Cap was frozen, that’s why he could stay with Peggy? And when the other one “unfroze” did he jump back to present? Did he visit Wakanda to get the new shield?).
    In my opinion there weren’t any unnecessary scenes except the “funny” ones (but it’s Marvel after all).
    5) Time jump
    I know this isn’t really your point, but some people in this comment section seem to dislike it.
    The 5 year time jump was necessary, because it took 5 years until the rat stepped on the button in the quantum van. 😀 Funny to think the entire universe relied on a rat.

    As a standalone movie it really wasn’t that great. But imo this was the perfect end for the Avengers.
    Thanks if you went through my super long comment and I’m sorry for my not-perfect english. 😀

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    1. This is an amazing analysis, and thank you for taking the time to share it. I understand your comments about Thor, but I still think going that route in the film was unnecessary.

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  30. In the end, they made a LOT of fans happy and themselves more money than you’ll ever see. Thankfully you don’t speak for the fans who happily gave them money more than once this weekend to see such a “lackluster” movie. That’s why you write about movies instead of create them. Get lost.

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  31. Maybe another thing to think about:
    Normally there seem to be three things necessary to do a timetravel: 1. a special Quantum Realm Nano Suit, 2. a special Quantum GPS device 3. the time machine itself.
    Thanos and all his minions in the armee and the space ship itself were missing at least 1. (the suit) and 2. (the GPS device). So how was Nebula able to pull that stunt?
    Yeah, I know we are a bit too analytical here, but why not 😉

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    2. You have a point about the suit, and I hadn’t thought about that. In order for the Pym particles to work, the suit would’ve been a necessity. However, I didn’t have an issue with them traveling in time to the right point – bad Nebula had the time GPS unit she took from good Nebula. Traveling back to their time would’ve been unnecessary anyway, since Thanos’ plan was to get the gauntlet with the stones, and he could have done pretty much anything he wanted to, so I wasn’t concerned about his return trip.

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      1. Thanos and and his army don’t have Pym particles to begin with. Only bad Nebula has and she also didn’t have the suit. How were they able to shrink that ship?

        Remember how Rocket gave the Benatar to Natasha (or was it Clint)? It was like a small bird origami.

        One possible answer is that Thanos ordered his minions to replicate Pym particle. Or Nebula just rig the time travel machine which Tony Stark created. In fairness, it was implied that Tony has been working on a time travel machine for quite some time before he figured it out.

        Yeah, Nebula actually becomes a genius that she actually rigged a.k.a. removed all the plot contrivances Tony programmed into his Quantum machine to be able to bring Thanos back to the future.

        But I have a much better answer: All of the above—that’s just lazy writing!

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  32. https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/26/avengers-endgame-critics-film

    Lady said it all… for all those “argumentative flock that thinks of them self as a part of something grande”! I guess they still think earth is round cause “minority” thought ( and had proof ) that’s not the case… and since you, me, guy over there is minority – we must be wrong, right?
    If anyone said anything but great and brilliant and specifically explained why he/she meant that: I would agree… but all I hear is “great movie cause it ends great”… well then Infinity war should have been a bit longer so we don’t be disturbed by brain gymnastic that was utterly pointless for 3h… All those cameos, empty story telling and inconsistencies comparing to fact previously given in past MCU movies and yet it’s for fans? Ummm no… well at least not for one that hadn’t have complete lobotomy or amnesia… And everything I see from those type of fans is “idiot”, “go do this or that to yourself” or “you don’t get it”… very argumentative… just say you like it cause it’s Marvel not cause quality. Oh yes, and the guy who “happily gave money again to see it” … dude, viagra works much better and it’s kinda cheaper, but I get it you desperately need sex and life cause you kinda spend it on filling Disney’s ppls pools and private jets. But hey if it works for you… awesome 😎
    P.S. Luisa if you ever get desire ( never stated anywhere ) to make superhero flick, give me a buzz! Cause we can send Tony’s daughter in past, she won’t influence time flux cause never been born back then, and she can retrieve stones, ha! Or we can make decent movie lol

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  33. Good review! I thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the film and generally thought it was great, but you make a lot of fair points, and I can definitely agree that the time travel plot device is done pretty badly- I had no clue how any of it was really working. Definitely felt a little lazy, though it did provide some cool moments in those flashbacks to previous movies.

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  34. Before I start, there are a few minor spoilers here, but nothing that would ruin the movie for anybody. But be warned in case you haven’t see it yet. I do mention some things that happen – or don’t happen – in the movie.

    I’ve now seen this movie three times, with this coming Thursday making it four viewings. You could not BE more wrong about this movie – it’s fantastic! I’m not sure what your distaste about time travel is, but the way they use it here is very satisfying, and actually makes sense. Every time travel movie will make their own twists as to how actions in the past change, or don’t change, the future. They explain how it works here, and it makes sense.

    The earlier parts of the movie are solemn, no doubt, but what about that should be any kind of surprise, considering half of all live – in the freaking UNIVERSE – has been wiped out. Of course it’s going to be forlorn and devastating for the survivors. I like that they gave time to process all of this for the viewers, rather than blazing ahead with a myriad of action scenes that cheapen the emotional havoc the world has gone through.

    Is the movie perfect? Nope. I have yet to see a perfect movie. But it’s a more than satisfying conclusion to the 21 movies that came before it. Technically, I guess the next Spider-Man movie is actually the conclusion of this latest phase of the MCU, but this is clearly the one that wraps up the most plot points. One thing I didn’t care for was something you mentioned – the heavy-handed nod to the female heroes. It was an unneeded, gratuitous moment that actually did make me grimace. Let the female heroes shine seamlessly in the movie – we don’t need a spotlight shone on them saying “this is the moment we want to announce “Me too!” I didn’t care for it, but it didn’t take anything away form the movie as a whole. Not for me.

    Also, I wan’t satisfied that the Hulk didn’t get his revenge on Thanos – sure, he had a MAJOR part in figuring out how to get things done, but he never got to lay a beat down on Thanos, and that’s a shame. I know he wasn’t 100% when the big fight came along, but they still could have given him a chance to get a huge haymaker in.

    In the end, any minor issues I may have had had VERY little impact on my enjoyment of this movie. I’m fully satisfied with it. Based on things I’ve heard, a large majority of people were. It’s a shame some people can’t get past some small issues, or feel they need to be a stubborn voice of non-conformity.

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    1. I hope you don’t think I’m a “stubborn voice” because that was not my intention, but I was just so let down by this movie. And with many of these movies so intent on “talking down” to women, I’m quite sensitive to those types of scenes. I’m so glad it worked for you, though, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

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      1. I think a main reason why this thread is so long is that almost all other reviews are 5 stars with no critique at all. So this is one of the very few places in the internet that points out some flaws and some disappointment, and still almost everyone states that they still love the MCU as a whole.

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  35. LOL, after seeing the GoT “The Long Night” yesterday, I solemnly declare that the script for Avengers is top notch and all my criticism was unfounded. Wow, what a week and soo much money unwisely spent by the supposedly best in the industry. At least 2019 had already had the Umbrelle Academy and maybe, maybe Stranger Things manages to produce another good season.

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  36. I don’t think this review is very fair. As with many movies, after the initial viewing is over and you sit back and think, yes you can find problems. The Last Jedi, for example, is a disaster that has destroyed Star Wars. The Force Awakens, although better, is an unoriginal fiasco – I really can’t believe you think it was better than Endgame. So yes, Endgame has problems, but overall it was still a great and entertaining movie.

    That being said, there are problems. The biggest I have is that even though the movie *should* be 3 hours long, the scenes that needed more time were rushed, and the scenes that needed less time dragged out. For example, gathering the stones just seemed too easy. The Time Travel needed more explanation. Why not say that a new timeline is only created when a truly significant event occurs? Why not have Thanos send some minions back in time to stop the collecting. The idea was workable, but it seemed forced without more ‘science’ behind it. It’s not that there were time travel plot holes, it was that there was no attempt to fill them when there could have been.

    I agree with some of your fanboy issues but not most. Worthy Cap was the best part of the movie, and old Cap was a great character arc conclusion. We didn’t get Game Of Thrones deaths, but we got enough to make it real. Yeah, Women Assemble was bad, and Fat Thor was a little overdone, but overall, still a great movie. And unlike The Last Jedi – another critically loved movie – it didn’t not destroy the Marvel Universe like they destroyed Star Wars. I give it a solid A minus.

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  37. Good review! I can definitely understand why you didn’t like this film. However, I thought it was a great movie! Yes, this wasn’t a perfect or near perfect film. But, I liked it for what it was. I also wrote a spoiler-free review of Avengers: Endgame, with a spoiler review coming on my blog this weekend. Here’s the link if you want to check it out:

    https://18cinemalane.wordpress.com/2019/04/27/take-3-avengers-endgame-spoiler-free-review/

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      1. Anytime I write a review for current, theatrically released films (which is not often), I always set aside time to write a spoiler and spoiler-free review. The spoiler review is used to clarify things that I was unable to explain in the spoiler-free review. That way, both reviews are treated as companion pieces.

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  38. Fine review. A couple things hit home with me. I too am troubled by how they interpret Thor but also Hulk. Like you I laughed when we first saw him. But then they bounce back and forth between wanting him to be sympathetic and using him as a walking punchline. And Hulk is so underserved.

    And I get what you’re saying about time travel. I can be a quick and easy cop-out. I thought they used it pretty well here. I don’t put much into the explanations since it is such an absurd concept to begin with.

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  39. Pingback: Epic Endgame Review – K at the Movies

  40. Hmmm… Now that I think about it, I feel I should mention I really didn’t care about the time travel confusion either way.

    Y’see, in kingdom hearts, the plot tends to get ridiculously gimmicky and painful. But I don’t mind that because the goal was never to make scientifically accurate no plot hole… plot. It was to allow the writer to explore concepts that couldn’t have been explored otherwise.

    I get the same feeling from endgame. The purpose of the time travel was to allow us to take a stroll through memory lane. And it did work… Sometimes.

    I agree with the rest of your review, for the most part. Just mentioning it.

    Still can’t get over why they never did any cool high concept stuff with the infinity stones. I hope there’ll be some kind of prequel or sequel that really explores the ramifications of stones that can control reality, time, and so on. Catapults getting launched at spaceships. Eldritch horrors bleeding into reality from the terrified dreams of children. It would be split in so many directions it wouldn’t be funny, but the idea fascinates me.

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  41. Pingback: Avengers: Endgame is Completely Overrated – Movie Review – TerribleTy
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  44. Well, i wholeheartedly disagree with your review and would even argue that Avengers Infifnity War was not as good as your review puts it. But well on the flip side, Avengers Endgame has an 8.4IMDb rating, 94%RT score, 78% Metacritic score and an A+ Cinemascore so from all these we can conclude that the movie was critically successful (and you are in the minority that saw this movie as rotten/bad). I think you should give the entire MCU an attentive rewatch including this movie but hey that’s your entitled opinion even though i think that your opinion is flawed. Also, I recommend that you get a hold of this (if you are interested):

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  48. Pingback: The Large Association of Movie Blogs | Acting School 101 – February 2021 – Josh Brolin

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