I am not a big fan of the MCU but there are aspects of it I like, films in it I enjoy. Mostly I find the films focus on being light and accessible, often leaning so far in that direction they become rather meaningless and forgettable. But they also have built a universe of characters and worlds more successfully than almost any franchise I can imagine. By focusing on the relationships it has drawn up, this MCU climax manages to capitalize on all that they've built. I liked how Endgame captured what I have enjoyed about the franchise but was still frustrated by how much it is like the parts I don't.
Perhaps this is best summed up in the opening. There are a couple scenes which set the stakes in a very MCU manner. There is a sense of loss and tragedy but only pushing the line so far. And Tony Stark is there to crack the jokes so it never hurts too bad. It's an easy pill to swallow. There is nothing difficult or challenging about the MCU. It's always accessibly enjoyable. And that's why it rakes in the dollars.
Endgame, like most of the MCU, is a very surface oriented story. What I mean by this is while the film may have its dramatic and entertaining moments, it isn't about anything more than just its rather story, a story which is fairly pedantic and basic and laced with more than enough humour to keep us from ever having to feel too much (Thor remains a joke within a joke within a joke). There aren't underlying themes, symbolism of grander ideas. Like with how Civil War skimmed over it's moral questions, Endgame flirts with moral conflict over time travel and its consequences but dismisses it all rather quickly without truly resolving any questions. It's a story in and of itself and that is all it tries to be. While this is fine and certainly popular, I like my movies to offer something more. Perhaps to say it better, a film will hold so much more for me when the story and characterization serve readings which can be explored on multiple levels. Only occasionally have MCU films attempted this (such as Black Panther's dabbling in afro-futurism and deconstructing colonialism). There is none of that here. This is all focused on finishing the story arc the last 10 years of MCU films have been building towards.
I am also frustrated with the contrived nature of the characters' arcs. Characters are used for convenience without investing much in making their arc organic. Captain Marvel's showing up (both times) felt blatantly deus ex machina. Hawkeye's journey feels force fed without making us really feel it (probably because what it would take to really make his story believable would be too difficult for the MCU audience to handle). The excuses for why the infinity stones snap can do certain things but not other things makes no sense and is a bit insulting. But I went into this expecting that. Knowing as we did that the ending of Infinity War was temporary it sucked pretty much all of the emotional impact for me. All of Endgame feels constructed, convenient. While I get that people are buying into the "tragic" nature of this story, for me the inevitability of it, without inevitability being the moral of the story (wow that could have been interesting), takes away from that power. For me, the whole thing, and buy whole thing I mean the 10 years of MCU films, feels like a predictable and rather classically basic grand story arc. As other franchises are beginning to deconstruct the very ideas explored here, such as the hero's journey tropes, the MCU stays firmly in that past idea of story telling. I guess I am just rather bored with it.
However, that being said, neither Endgame nor the MCU story arc is a bad story. It's a story told without much art of originality but it is still an entertaining story. Even if I feel over this sort of story telling, it doesn't mean it is a bad story. I love the commitment Disney has given this. There is something extremely satisfying about seeing it all come together. The story, in all its contrivances, is a perfect vehicle for revisiting each and every corner of the MCU allowing fans to touch on all the characters and back stories. There is a Back to the Future Part II vibe to it which ends up being pretty fun. It's brilliant it how it pulls together all the threads from all the stories making it poetically lovely. Marvel movies are fun and Endgame, despite its sad parts, remains fun. Despite the running time you'll be entertained. The MCU has aspired to little more than that so it achieves it. It is a success for what it is. I had a lot of fun watching Endgame. But I likely won't return to it many times.
My criticism is that this sort of story just doesn't hold the interest for me as other stories, the kinds which make us question the very things this story purports. So while I understand why the masses eat up this sort of thing, it all just leaves me a little cold. I couldn't muster up the excitement to get worked up. I'm glad it is so much fun for so many. I'm just waiting for something that resonates more for me.
Avengers Endgame
Starring: Pretty much everyone...
Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Steven McFeely
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