3.5 stars out of 5
OMG it’s the final final final — don’t be a sucker, it’s not the final anything. Sure, maybe some actors’ contracts are up and besides, nobody wants superheroes who are too long in the tooth, so… “Endgame.”
This is a mostly very enjoyable movie but by no means whatsoever is it a great movie. (The tag-team directing Russo brothers are certainly not the Coen brothers.) I imagine it’s best for an audience — and admittedly it’s a sizable one — who has watched every single movie in the “Marvel Universe” (a registered trademark of Walt Disney Inc.), and perhaps multiple viewings. A really nice aspect of the previous Avengers flicks was that they caught up us casual viewers on key details from any movies we’d missed. But in Endgame, it feels like many moments would only resonate for those who’ve been paying overly close attention lo these many years. When a female character threatens bad-guy Thanos, he replies, “I don’t even know who you are,” and I was thinking, “Right there with you, brother.”
What works? The comic-book action stuff. Zap! Blammo! Fighting and flying and exploding and teamwork, vengeance, good vs. evil, and saving the universe. Another thumbs-up goes to much of the humor, especially when Paul Rudd and/or Chris Hemsworth are onscreen. Less successful are the “dramatic” scenes, which I’ll blame on the mediocre-to-shoddy writing. It’s the sort of screenplay with hack lines such as “Uh, am I the only one seeing this?”
Individual things that annoyed me: Is Audi the official car manufacturer of the Avengers? And did we need a lingering shot on a Ben & Jerry’s container, as well? Also, hey, it’s pouring rain, so this might be a real good time for Hawkeye to take off his hood. Later, in a big battle, there’s a “girl power” moment that struck me as tacked-on and pandering, and I even felt a twinge of racism when Black Panther is basically used as Walter Payton.
As the movie reaches its climax, I was feeling better about it… but then the plot keeps going… and then going some more (with some late lapses of logic tossed in for good measure). That’s the problem with having 18 storylines; you don’t know where to conclude. As a result, we non-mega-fanboys have to sit there for three freaking hours. End this game, fer crissakes! Ah well, see you all in a year, year and a half for Avengers: A New Beginning.
Jack Silbert, curator