TL;DR – Now all together “Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, barrrrr bup bup barrr baaar bomp barrrrrrr, Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, Baaaaaaaar”

Score – 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and a hint at the end

Review –

Wow and here we are. Honestly, when I sat down to watch Iron Man in cinemas all the way back in 2008 I don’t think I really comprehended just what it was that I was watching. I didn’t know it would spawn a 20+ movie franchise that would take us into the past, into the deep reaches of space, and create one of the biggest events in movie history. In many respects, it feels like this is my generation’s Star Wars moment, and I have not seen queues like this to go see a film in a long time. Well, today we take the plunge and see if they can work out one of the biggest cliff-hangers in movie history and can this be a film that gives closure to the films that came before it.

So to set the scene, at the end of Infinity War the one thing they were trying to stop happening actually happened, as Thanos (Josh Brolin) obtained all the infinity stones after ripping the mind stone out of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head and snapped his fingers. All at once across the galaxy, 50% of everything turned to dust and we had that gut-wrenching moment as everything literally fell apart in people’s hands. Indeed Peter (Tom Holland) looking desperately at Tony (Robert Downey Jr) pleading that ‘I don’t want to go” is one of those moments that just stays with you and it stays with the cast. Because as we start everything is in a bad place. Tony is trapped with Nebula (Karen Gillan) on a ship running out of fuel, air, and food, and those Avengers that survived are counting the losses on Earth where no one has been left unaffected. However, one should never give up all hope, because you never know when deliverance will come from an unlikely place, and then hope is lost again. Now with today’s review, we will be doing something a little different. In this review there will be no spoilers, you will get my general impressions of how it all worked, however, I won’t mention any plot details that happen after the first act. Also, if you really want to be spoiler free, don’t examine the credits below. If you have seen the film and would like to see a full spoiler discussion of the ending you can go HERE.        

Before we dive into the story and character aspects of the film, I want to first take a moment to talk about the production side of things. In this film, they have left nothing on the table when it comes to the lighting, production design, and effects. That opening scene as Tony is sitting in the ship waiting to die while bathed in a light blue light from the nearby stars was one of the most beautiful lighting techniques I have seen in quite a while. This extends throughout the entire film, with harsh contrasts at times, natural light in places, relentless oppression in other places. Every part of the film is well designed, even when they are using sets from the previous film, it has been amended to make it feel right in the new context.

When it comes to effects, look this is a film that took the combined work of Industrial Light & Magic, Weta Digital, DNEG, Framestore, Cinesite, Digital Domain, and more to get it on the screen, and it was worth it. There are the big set piece action moments where you see the effects in full relief but there are also little subtle moments that I don’t think a lot of people will notice, and that is visual effects at its best. Add to this is Alan Silvestri’s score that is also impeccable. However, one area that Marvel films have had issues with in the past is really having ownership of the musical themes and their use. We saw in the last film an attempt to correct that trend, and we see it even more here.  

When it comes to the acting and the characters, look you can tell that everyone is giving their all here, no one is phoning it in for a paycheck. You feel that commitment to every role, the highs and lows, the hope and failure, the pain of loss. You see this epically right at the start when you see the full effect of everyone’s loss. There are moments of emotion that hit you right in the heart and it brought more than a few tears to my eyes. There are also those moments where the film gets its banter on and you see just how delightful it can be. Everyone get a moment to shine, and you understand the motivations of all the characters. You completely understand what drove Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to be what he is. Why Cap (Chris Evans) is trying to help people adjust even though he is feeling the same pain. Also why Thor (Chris Hemsworth) closed himself off from the world.    

From the story side of things, and of course talking in vague terms. They had to do a lot of leg work in this film, you had to respond to what happened, you had to incorporate elements from the films that came out since, you had to have a definitive ending, but also not have it be the definitive ending, because Marvel has to Marvel. Overall, I think they really succeeded here, more so that I could have ever expected. The one issue I did have was with the relegation of one character to comic relief, which was a real shame considering.

In the end, do we recommend Avengers: Endgame? Yes, yes we do. Look, you have probably already pre-booked your tickets so I don’t think you need my recommendation. However, for what it is worth, there were moments that made me laugh, moments that made me cry, moments that made me cheer with the rest of the audience, and moments that made me go ‘oh no’. Well if you have a movie that can do all that, then you have a great film on your hands.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Avengers: Endgame?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Avengers: Endgame
Directed by – Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Screenplay by – Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Based on – The Avengers by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Music by – Alan Silvestri
Cinematography by – Trent Opaloch
Edited by – Jeffrey Ford & Matthew Schmidt
Production/Distribution Companies – Marvel Studios & Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Starring –
From Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Ty Simpkins, John Slattery & Don Cheadle
From Hulk: Mark Ruffalo & William Hurt
From Thor: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Rene Russo, Natalie Portman & Taika Waititi
From Captain America: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Ross Marquand, Maximiliano Hernández, Callan Mulvey
From The Avengers: Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Linda Cardellini, Elizabeth Olsen, Kerry Condon, Cobie Smulders & Samuel L. Jackson
From Guardians of the Galaxy: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn
From Ant-Man: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Katherine Langford, Michael Douglas & Michelle Pfeiffer         
From Doctor Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong & Tilda Swinton
From Spider-Man: Tom Holland & Jacob Batalon 
From Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke & Florence Kasumba  
From Captain Marvel: Brie Larson
With: Josh Brolin, Terry Notary, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Carrie Coon, Michael James Shaw, Hiroyuki Sanada, Yvette Nicole Brown
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: na; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13