Endgame Impressions
Realised I didn't put a full breakdown of the film so I'll post it now since the PlOt HoLe conversation seems to have ended. I have never had a film-going experience like this, since crowds are usually quiet outside of laughing at jokes. But the screen I was in was full of core fans, considering it was a midnight showing on release day and we were watching Infinity War just before that. So the crowd popped off at various moments throughout the film, and I couldn't help but join in.
Sometimes I find MCU humour to be a bit too much, so I liked that they leaned into the drama at the beginning of the film. Hawkeye looking away from his family and turning back to find them all missing was a strong opening. Tony's first words to Steve when he gets back to Earth was telling him he lost the kid. Tony gets angry at Cap in the briefing room for not standing by him, recalling the words he said in Age of Ultron. Tony looks really frail like he lost muscle mass. There's the part where Scott tries to find out what happened and realises people thought he was one of the vanished, and then he runs off to reunite with his daughter. Natasha is distraught when Steve comes back from the group therapy after hearing that Clint has gone on a killing spree. I liked the direction the film went in with showing how the Avengers were dealing with the loss. Killing Thanos did nothing for the heroes, and they just had to live with the aftermath for years.
Thor had immense guilt over not killing Thanos when he had the chance, and he falls down a well of depression. When Banner mentions Thanos in New Asgard, you can see the tears in his eyes and Korg tells them that they don't talk about what happened five years ago. Banner says Thor was the person who helped him when he was suffering, and now it is time for him to repay the favour. I also liked the talk he had with Frigga, and the realisation that he is still worthy when he calls for Mjolnir before coming back to 2023.
Banner is someone people are split on. I predicted he would have the merged personality (wasn't sure if he would be green or grey), and I liked that he found his inner peace. He just looks so happy, from when he is giving tacos to Scott, or taking pictures at the diner, or trying to get time travel to work before Tony arrives. I like his heroic moment of being the one to reverse the snap, even though he never sees combat.
Hawkeye and Black Widow have intertwined arcs. They are close friends, where Clint and his wife were planning on naming their second daughter Natasha (although since it was a boy, they named him Nathaniel) and young Lila called Nat auntie. Their roles are reversed considering their history: Natasha says that Clint saved her from the life of an assassin, whereas here she stops him from his rampage against criminals who he thinks should not have survived the snap. "Don't give me hope". It is a shame that Nat died, and I was hoping there was going to be some Soul Stone shenanigans to bring her back.
Steve and Tony finally reunite! But they completely push each other away and Tony ends up leaving the Avengers, although he is nice enough to let the others use the facility. It takes a little while until they get back to where they used to be. Tony lets go and moves on but then changes his mind when he sees the old photo of Peter Parker. I particularly liked him seeing his father again, considering the scene from Civil War where he regrets the last thing he said to Howard before he died. At the same time, Steve sees Peggy never fully moved on from his "death" and he wonders what life would've been like with her. Tony's end is done well, from his use of the stones, to Rhodes, Parker and Potts saying goodbye ("We're gonna be fine, you can rest now") and the whole funeral sequence. Steve getting old came totally out of the blue for me, and I wasn't ready for him to retire. But I am looking forward to what Sam will do, with Bucky in the Disney+ series and in the next Avengers film.
I really liked Scott in this film, and I've been a fan of his other films. It really sticks out to me how he is comic relief done well (the only person listening to Thor recap the events of the Dark World, Rocket being condescending to him when he gets excited about space travel, Rhodes calling him average sized man, the whole diner scene, the part where he turns into a baby, America's ass etc), compared to the Flash in Justice League. He has a major role in introducing time travel, he has the race to save War Machine, Rocket and Hulk, and he does his part of heist flawlessly. There's also the thing where he is a big fanboy of Captain America.
Nebula's story was something I was invested in at the end of Infinity War. She had made up with her sister at the end of Gaurdians 2 but went on her own way to kill Thanos. However she lost the chance to really build a relationship with her and the other Guardians. All alone in space with a stranger, and Tony plays a game with her to pass the time. The scene where she picks him up and puts him on the chair, and rests her hand on his shoulder, is the first time she has ever shown affection and care for someone else. She mourns with Rocket back on the Earth, and at the Garden she has the same kind of mixed emotions that Gamora had when she killed the Thanos illusion on Knowhere. In the five year gap she becomes an Avenger, and is finally part of a team. She has a later scene with Rhodes where they connect over having prosthetic parts (Rhodes was underused BTW, outside of making jokes and punching Quill in the face).
It feels like the directors and screenwriters went through all the films and asked each other how they could incorporate the best parts into Endgame, and it is pure fanservice in the best way possible.
Favourite Moments
-The way everyone's face drops when they find out Thanos has already destroyed the stones
-How re-energised Natasha and Steve look when they start testing with Scott's quantum tunnel
-Tony pulling out the shield from his car, which was under a pile of stuffed toys
-The 2012 heist crew just having fun
-Quill getting knocked the fuck out
-Thor, Cap and Iron Man confronting Thanos
-Cap picking up Mjolnir and Thor's reaction
-Cap standing alone against Thanos and the army
-"On your left" all the way to "Avengers Assemble"
-T'Challa remembering Clint's name
-Scarlet Witch tearing apart Thanos
-Captain Marvel acting as the cavalry
-The A-Force team up
-"I am Iron Man"
Other Thoughts
-I love that Okoye has been an Avenger for 5 years.
-The way Ant-Man and the Wasp look at each other when they are going for the van. It feels like a callback to their film where Scott asks Hope if she would've fought beside him if he told her about the events of Civil War, and this is their "let's do this together" moment.
-Loved the moment of calm after Hulk's snap where Scott looks at the birds and Clint looks over at his phone.
-Nice to see Clint and Wanda have a brief moment by the lake, considering their history from AoU and Clint's third child having the middle name Pietro after Wanda's brother.
-It was nice to see the sequence where the heroes are coming up with a plan on how to get the Infinity Stones, but it is a shame that we won't get to see that kind of thing again. I just like the idea of everyone being at the base together, hanging out and having dinner etc.
-All I wanted was for someone to fly through a ship like a bullet, and I got that in Captain Marvel's solo film, but she does it again to the Sanctuary in this film, and it looks great.
-So what happened with the Soul World idea? They just dropped that? I thought it would play a bigger part but we'll see what happens in Guardians 3.
-A complaint that carries over from Infinity War; I wish that the Soul Stone and Mind Stone had their respective abilities shown off.
-Was thinking that Vision would be rebuilt with the help of Shuri, but I guess they'll address that in Black Panther 2 or WandaVision.
-It is a huge accomplishment that Marvel fully realised their Big Three and made them more popular than ever. In terms of DC, their big 3 (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) were always their most popular heroes. But for Marvel, it was Spider-Man, Hulk and Wolverine.
-Hoping that at the beginning of the next Avengers film, there is a statue of the Original Six on the premises of wherever their next base is.