SPOILER WARNING - Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is one of the greatest spectacles ever to grace the big screen. The culmination of eighteen films created a piece of art like no one had ever seen before and Marvel (and Disney) had set themselves up to have one of the most successful film franchises in history. At the same time, they placed themselves in a situation that could have been detrimental to the health of the franchise--could they, in exactly one year, deliver a film that, at the very least, matched the intensity, the enthusiasm and the charisma of this masterpiece? Through what must have been a painstaking process, they did, in fact, deliver. Anthony and Joe Russo, with what was at that point twenty-two films, used bits and pieces of each of those stories to create a narrative unlike anything seen before. Every moment of the film was meticulously crafted to ensure that there were as few plot holes as possible and that the hundreds of millions of viewers across the world were pleased with the final product. From the opening moments of the film, the Russo brothers and the incredible crew, that dedicated years to this film, had audiences on the edge of their seats, wondering what was going to happen next. The opening scene features Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), a hero that was absent from the previous installment and from all Marvel Cinematic Universe films since 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, spending time with his family, seemingly unaware of what is taking place throughout the galaxy at that very moment. The audience, privy to the events of the most recent Avengers installment and the theories that had been regularly thrown around over the course of the previous year, understood what was about to happen. This particular scene (one that portrays the desolation of Clint’s entire family as a result of “the snap”) played a pivotal role in the film and the events that were to take place over the course of nearly three hours. This scene sets the tone for the entire film. As if the viewers were not already aware, it was clear now that the tone of the film would be incredibly ominous and would weigh heavy on the hearts of the people who had, for the past eleven years, grown to love the characters that make up this universe. Throughout the remainder of the film, the writers, directors and actors ensure that the audience would regularly feel the pain and the pressure that these beloved characters would have felt. The opening credits typically depict each of the major players that have regularly appeared throughout the MCU. There is a subtle absence of each of the characters that were dusted in the previous films, reminding the audience why this film and this story are so important. Massive character arcs, such as what has officially become known as Bro Thor (Chris Hemsworth), was an indispensable part in portraying the depth of despair that the remaining characters experienced. This particular aspect of the film was regarded, by many, as unnecessary and, in many ways, cruel towards those who are believed to have a less than adequate body type; this, however, is not the case. Depression takes many forms, hitting each and every person in a different way. The writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and the Russo brothers decided to present Thor’s depression in this form, showing how difficult it was for him to cope with the situation at hand. Hawkeye’s depression takes an entirely different form, manifesting itself as hate and violence. Steve Rogers/Captain America’s (Chris Evans) language drastically changes five years in the future, relying much more heavily on foul language in his everyday vernacular than anyone was used to at this point. None one of these characters, who regularly during their tenure in the MCU are very headstrong and able to deal with the most difficult situations, are able to deal with what happened as a result of Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) snap. While depression played a surprisingly large role in this storyline, there were other aspects of this film that were tear jerkers and added great depth and emotion to the despondency that resonated in the characters and the viewers (even with the usual humor sprinkled throughout the film, this installment of the MCU clearly had a different feel). The obvious moments were the deaths of two of the original Avengers--Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Both Black Widow and Iron Man made the ultimate sacrifice in order to put an end to Thanos’ reign of terror and restore (actual) balance to the universe. These moments were, without a doubt, two of the saddest in the history of the MCU, rivaled only by the many deaths in Avengers: Infinity War. Smaller, less significant moments (in comparison to these major deaths), such as Rocket (Bradley Cooper) pleading for someone to help him after the collapse of the Avengers’ facility--as a result of 2014 Thanos raging war on the future--and Thor reuniting with his mother, Frigga (Rene Russo) just minutes before her death in Thor: The Dark World (2013) played a similar role in helping to keep the tone of the film steadily somber throughout. The film certainly was not perfect; in a three hour film it is expected that some minor details are overlooked or unable to effectively be fixed before the film’s release and there were some instances of that in this film. Minor contention errors regarding Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) being located both in his time traveling van and in the background fighting a Chitauri Leviathan at the same time and Captain America’s shield miraculously mending itself and then falling apart again during the final battle are examples of these oversights. While, to some, these are issues that cannot be overlooked, the rest of the film was so well done that it far overshadows these minor mistakes. These errors were such a small part of the film and there were so many aspects of the film (other than the ones previously mentioned) that led to this film’s success. One aspect of the film that was intriguing was the acting. Every actor in this film would have wanted to stand out; they would have, in what ended up being the biggest film in history, wanted to ensure that their performance left a mark on the minds of some of the most dedicated fans in the world. With there being more than fifty major Marvel characters spread throughout this film the task of standing out would have proven to be terribly difficult. With that being said, and taking the fact that some of the major players in the universe had minimal screen time into consideration, each actor that made their way into this film provided a nearly flawless performance. The only issue regarding the acting was about thirty seconds of Jeremy Renner’s performance. During Barton’s final moments with his best friend, Romanoff, his performance lacked the emotion necessary to show the audience exactly how much pain he was in. Renner’s inability to come to actual tears while holding on to his friend for dear life made the scene come dangerously close to failing (if it were not for the fan’s love for Black Widow--and Johansson’s stellar performance at this moment--the scene would have failed). The audience regularly finds the characters that they have fallen so deeply in love with enter new territories in their character arcs in this film. Downey Jr., Hemsworth and Evans find their characters in predicaments unlike anything they have faced in the past and faced the challenge of portraying broken heroes with open minds and they succeeded in giving the fans everything they deserved. Unsung heroes like Don Cheadle (James Rhodes/War Machine) and Karen Gillan (Nebula) stepped up as well. While these actors played second fiddle to the Iron Mans and Star-Lords (Chris Pratt) of the MCU, they were finally given the opportunity to shine as definitive heroes and help to save the day. Converting from tertiary character to main protagonist is a tall order in a film in which the world has some of the highest expectations ever for a motion picture; Gillan and Cheadle were comparable to the likes of the films biggest stars (Downey Jr., Evans, etc.). Another incredibly important aspect of the film was all that it did for the fans that had been following these stories for so long. The number of call backs to the previous twenty-one films is ultimately what made this film great. Marvel, for the past eleven years, has relied heavily on action (even though the stories have been incredibly deep and well thought out) to propel their characters and stories and to reach the audiences. This film took an entirely new approach and relied almost entirely on what had been built since Marvel’s Iron Man (2008). A brief reintroduction of Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins), reference to Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents being a part of Hydra, learning that Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) was performing surgery just five blocks from the Battle of New York and Happy Hogan’s (Jon Favreau) reference to Stark’s love of cheeseburgers were all small call backs to the other films and they were each received very well. The film was broken up into clear thirds, (and while the entire film referenced older installments) it was the middle third of the film that contained the greatest references to the other films. I sometimes consider it lazy to use scenes from previous films (or episodes from a television series) in new storylines, however, this was the best choice that the Russo brothers could have made. The middle portion of the film contained scenes from Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and direct references to Doctor Strange (2016), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), firmly cementing this film as the greatest crossover event in history. These references, as essential as they were to the story, made the film even more popular than it would have already been among fans. The fact that the Russo brothers, McFeely and Markus were able to use so much from the previous films, while completely changing the delivery (more story than action) in comparison to the rest of the MCU speaks greatly to that crew’s ability to create a film. Each one of the previously mentioned aspects is what made the film great; the cast and crew pulled so much together and made sure every major aspect of the film fit together with the rest. One of the biggest questions this crew would have had to answer would have been “where do we go from here?” After completing one of the biggest (if not the biggest) feats in film history, fans would have wondered what was going to happen next in the MCU. The film could have easily ended with the sacrifice of Tony Stark and his funeral, leaving fans in the dark and only allowing them to theorize about what was to follow. As the film comes to a close, fans slowly realized that they were unsure about which direction each of the remaining characters were going to go from here. Characters like Captain America/Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner/Smart Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf (Sebastian Stan), Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin, The Guardians of the Galaxy (Gamora [Zoe Saldana], Rocket, Groot [Vin Diesel], Drax [Dave Bautista], Nebula, Star-Lord and Matis [Pom Klementieff]) Thor and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) are now left to deal with the results of all three snaps (Thanos’, Smart Hulk’s and Tony Stark’s). It was important for fans to know (or have at least a slight idea) about what was coming next for each of these characters. The film is all but ready to wrap when fans are introduced to the new King of Asgard (Valkyrie) and the new Captain America (Sam Wilson). As all of these characters speak with one another the audience gets a glimpse of the fact that Bucky and Sam Wilson will work together at some point, that Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) is here to stay, at least for her new series with Vision (Paul Bettany), that Thor has decided to step down from his role as king and pursue a life with the Guardians and, finally, that the journey he will go on with them will, at least to some degree, relate to Gamora and reuniting the cosmic family. Loose ends from the previous films were tied up, plot holes that fans believed to have existed in this film were debunked by the writers and directors and what is one of the best film series in the history of cinema is brought to an appropriate close. Fans could not have asked for a better film and as a result Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time. The final ten minutes of the film, as previously mentioned, begins to prepare audiences for what will happen next and with producer Kevin Feige at the helm, along with the talented actors and directors that Marvel and Disney regularly choose, the final moments of this film are not only an ending but an exciting beginning for the next stages of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154796/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
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