It's the big one we've all been waiting for...
Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
Running time: 181 mins
The final instalment of the original Avengers team, Avengers: Endgame, is now in cinemas and, ccording to predictions, it's opening weekend is set to break the record of any previous Marvel studios release. That includes the more recent release, Captain Marvel which, if you haven’t taken yourself out to see yet... what rock have you been under? Get to it!
The last instalment for the original Avengers team promises to be everything fans want and more. The 3-hour long extravaganza takes us on a rip-roaring ride as we return to where we left off at the end of Avengers Infinity War with the remaining Avengers picking up the pieces after Thanos’ victory in finding the six infinity stones and destroying half of life across the universe.
The premise of the film is that life on earth without the ones they knew and loved is impossible to continue on with. A heavy sense of gloom looms over the first act of the film as we see the remaining Avengers grapple with limited success to feel whole again in a world that is only half of what they knew. The settings are greyed, and the pace is slowed down as we too are sucked into the depressing new reality as the true scale of the aftermath of Thanos’ victory unfolds.
While overall Endgame is a fantastic and entertaining watch, it fails to fill its potential at a few small points
Over the course of the movie the tempo changes as our main characters gain steam so does the pace of events. As they prepare themselves to face whatever may come to greet them we are taken along for a heck of an emotional ride, as we say our goodbyes to some characters and are given a glimpse into what the future may hold for others.
While overall Endgame is a fantastic and entertaining watch, it fails to fill its potential at a few small points.
Towards the end of the movie there is more than one scene that feels like the closing of the film. As an audience member ready to reach the end, only to find that there are several more scenes as the film scrambles to tie up loose ends before the credits, I find this can really take you out of a significant moment in a film, and undercut any enjoyment up to this point.
My other quarrel with the film, which also happens towards the end, is the strange momentary exposé of all the female characters in the film. I sincerely hope this moment was foreshadowing and not the film editors realizing that until that point in the runtime the female characters were underused.
In summary, Endgame, though it has a momentary lapse or two, is worth your time, money and temporary dehydration.
But I do have some top tips to consider when going to see Avengers Endgame:
#1 Avoid social media, some jerks are posting full blown spoilers all over the place.
#2 Book in advance, unless your ideal seat is pressed right up against the screen.
#3 It’s three hours and, if you are cursed with a weak bladder like mine, your last opportunity to run to the loo in order to enjoy the finale in comfort without missing anything major is about 1 hr 40 minutes in.
Did you know? Robert Downey Jr. was the only cast member that was permitted to read the entire script
Avengers: Endgame is in cinemas now
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