BY DANIEL SAENZ
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Last year, with the release of Avengers Infinity War, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were left with spicy memes in addition to unanswered questions about what the next movie would have in store. Spiderman’s, “Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good,” line as he is dusted away by Thanos’ snap became an instant internet classic and was promptly applied to a wide variety of contexts such as sports and politics.
Tragic moments such as these set the stage for the Avengers: Endgame, the grandiose finale to the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie picks up immediately where Infinity War leaves off. Tony Stark’s equipment is virtually in shambles after the previous fight with Thanos.
Not to mention the fact that he is also coming to terms with the fact that half of all living life has been wiped out of existence, including Doctor Strange, Spiderman, Black Panther, just to name a few of the half of the Avengers who were dusted away following Thanos’ snap.
In a later attempt to bring back the fallen hero and undo the damage done, Captain Marvel (heavily hyped up both at the end of Infinity War and prior to the release of Endgame) leads a mission with the remaining Avengers to fight Thanos again and find the answers they need. However, Thanos soon reveals that the stones were destroyed and before being killed by a furious Thor, declares “I am inevitable.”
At first, it appears that all hope is lost until Antman arrives and hatches an outrageous plan: time travel. The Avengers decide to go back in time and retrieve the infinity stones to bring everyone back. This marks the awkward shift from an action-packed drama to a comedy. There is even a debate about killing baby Thanos, (an obvious nod to the killing baby Hitler question), where Antman eventually exclaims “so Back in the Future was bull++++!”
In fact, the dark tone at the beginning is virtually nonexistent and the movie takes us through a comedic reliving of all the previous Marvel movies as the heroes attempt to retrieve the stones. In fact, the various exchanges between Rocket Raccoon and Thor make the comedy work.
Once they do retrieve the stones, however, Thanos from the past also follows them to their current reality. This does not occur before the Hulk puts on the infinity gauntlet and snaps to bring everyone back. During the final fight with Thanos, all of the Avengers are brought back to prompt Captain America’s famous line “Avengers Assemble!”
All of the Avengers come back for the showdown with Thanos prompting an even more grandiose ending that I will not give away despite the spoiler alert. It was during this fight, however, that one of my main issues with the movie becomes apparent: Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel was hyped up to the max at the end of Infinity War and even received her own movie in preparation for Endgame. However, she only appears in a total of two scenes, which really raises questions about the marketing of this film. Other than that, however, the film made for an enjoyable experience.