Being a nerd can be defined as becoming completely (mentally) absorbed into an entire fictional universe. Some of us live in Middle Earth, Westeros, or even a galaxy far far away. Most of those universes are fortunately conceived by one or a few authors. They follow one or a few main stories, and are able to keep their list of main characters at a somewhat reasonable number. Unfortunately, if you happen to be a comic book nerd, things tend to get more complicated. Comics have been around for over a century now. Your favorite heroes have had hundreds of writers write thousands of adventures for them, spawning new beloved characters who have their own adventures. For those who wish to see some of these in the movies, there have been some great comic book films throughout the years, but we were lucky to get a couple of decent films out of each continuity before their studio gave up on them. Any hope of building an epic story that expands over the course of several films and involves multiple heroes has always been completely out of the question.
That is until 2008 when the newly formed Marvel Studios released Iron Man with a teaser at the end featuring Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who teases us about the Avenger Initiative. Marvel fans at the time, knowing what this could mean must have had a heart attack, (I knew a just a bit about the Avengers in 2008, and even I freaked out.) The Avengers Initiative would mean that the would have to make several films featuring several individual heroes, all in the same continuity. Such a thing has really never been done in films before. And that promise is exactly what the newly birthed Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) delivered. 21 awesome films and over a decade later, Avengers: Infinity War began the end of an incredibly epic story all of these films were leading to. Unfortunately, the ending of Infinity War broke our hearts. And now with Avengers: Endgame, we finally get to see if years of dedication to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will give us a worthy epilogue.
Starting up immediately after Thanos’s (Josh Brolin) infamous “snap” that wiped out half of all living things in the universe, the remaining Avengers continue to face the challenge of defeating him, as well as the new, far more difficult struggle of living on with the absence of so many of their friends and family. Unfortunately, the latter struggle causes them to all but give up hope, until Ant-man/ Scott Lang, (Paul Rudd) suddenly re-imerges from the quantum realm that he was trapped in. With his help, the Avengers come up with one last plan to desperately try to undo all of the harm that Thanos has done.
As per usual, the expansive ensemble cast works as well together as the real Avengers. (No, strike that simile, the real Avengers are occasionally terrible working together. Picking out stand out performances is incredibly difficult. After all, I sat through 21 films falling in love with each and every one of these characters and the actors behind them. Whether it be the dashing yet surprisingly hilarious Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the adorkable Bruce Banner/Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, who should have been given his own film, damnit), to the all around sweet and heroic Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans.) For ten years, I have fallen in love with every single character and the actors behind them. Bearing that, I will have to say the best performance had to be from Robert Downey Jr. once again reprising Tony Stark/Iron man. While he has run the full gauntlet of emotions throughout the series, he truly goes above and beyond in Endgame. If I made a list of the top ten casting choices I am most grateful for, giving Iron Man to Robert Downey Jr. back in 2008 would be at the top.
One of the biggest surprises in this film was its humor. I certainly wasn’t expecting nor even desiring for this movie to be as funny as it was. After all, one of my biggest criticisms for Thor:Ragnarok was that it tried to be funny in way too many parts that needed to remain sombre. Unlike Ragnarok, however, the Russo brothers have a way better sense of timing on when to put in jokes and when to let a serious moment sink in. So while I wasn’t asking for any laughs, I certainly am glad I got them. The grim aftermath of Infinity War was really too much to handle without some of that famous MCU levity.
Another truly great thing Endgame blesses us nerds with is the loving tribute it pays to every single MCU film in the series. Yes, unfortunately for you casuals out there, I actually do recommend you go back and refresh on any films you may not have seen or have forgotten about. No, you may not need them all to understand Endgame, but each one of them you watch adds a different flavor to the rich and complex stew that makes this film. You need them not to understand, but to love this film the way it was meant to be loved. That’s the other thing I love about the Russo brother’s as directors. You can tell they are also nerds. Many directors could have made Avengers a technical masterpiece, but the Russo brothers (who had Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and some of the best early episodes of my favorite show Community under their belt), turned Endgame into a love letter to fans who have been loyally following the adventures of their favorite Marvel heroes for over a decade.
Avengers: Endgame was truly a worthy epilogue of the first 22 MCU films over the past ten years. Not to say that Disney will stop making MCU films after this one. We all know they love money too much to stop, and we continue to give it to them because they got us hooked. But Endgame, none the less, gives us a beautiful catharsis as it is the final proof that the most ambitious cinematic crossover experiment to be conceived is a resounding success.
