Avengers Endgame

[Barry]

     A non-spoiler review of Avengers: Endgame
 
“We are in the end game now,” says Dr Strange, in Avengers Infinity Wars.
 
In a non-spoiler review I do not reveal anything significant in the movie, just what you have seen before and just what is in the coming attractions.  This movie is really three hours of spoilers.
For Sper-Hero movie fans: Grade A
For regular movie goers: Grade B
For all my girlfriends who hated movies like this: C+
 
This may be the biggest movie of all time and it may be the biggest cast of all time. I saw the movie in 3D Imax and it was incredible and beautiful. See this on the biggest screen you can. The surround was very good also.
 
Picking up where Infinity Wars, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel left off, this is several movies in one and is three hours long.  It felt like 90 minutes.  In the last movie, Thanos, gaining the six infinity stones, disintegrates 50 % of the population of Earth and the Galaxy. This left only a handful of Avengers, mostly the original crew, to correct the situation.
 
(An aside, I am mad at Thanos.  The Long Island Expressway was just as crowded when he vanquished half of Long Island’s population.  He did not do a good job!)
 
Lo, There shall be an ending.
This is not simply an action/adventure movie. It delves into and examines the personalities of those affected by this disaster. While the movie does find great humor in many situations, it also lets you feel the tragedy.  And there isn’t an enormous amount of fist fights that go on endlessly.
 
In their struggle to return reality to normal, it was great fun to see the Avengers travel in time to their other movies and surprise us with the original actors returning, even those you may not suspect. While I would not recommend this to be someone’s first Marvel Universe movie, you really don’t need to see many of them to easily follow along.  But you should see Avengers: Infinity War first.
 
We were CONSTANTLY surprised by the turn of events, including the fate of a few characters. The audience cheered at several points, and applauded at the end. The entire cast was damn good. Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Josh Brolin and Chris Hemsworth   were among the standouts for me. There were more, but that would be giving away a spoiler.
 
We saw this in a filled theatre. Of the 12 screens in the theatre, I think 10 were for Avengers (Imax, 3D, Rpx etc) and two for Penguins.  And there were huge lines waiting to get in.
 
This movie does, I feel, reach a satisfactory conclusion, based on reality. That is, the current crew of Avengers have aged and their stories have been told.  They are entitled to an ending and they got one.
 
I felt great joy during the first Avengers movie, when they all assembled for the first time.  There were the characters created of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck being viewed and accepted by a public who never read their comics.
 
The saddest part for me, really, I had tears in my eyes, is when the Avengers Assembled for the last time.  This year we lost Lee and Ditko, who joined Kirby and Heck in Comic Book Valhalla. I felt their absence. While others in the movie did, they could not come back from the dead.  Rest in peace Stan, Jack, Steve and Don…you will never be forgotten.
 

[David Vaughn]

Thanks for the review Barry. I'm seeing it at 1:30 tomorrow and won't drink any liquids for 2 hours prior to the movie!

For those who don't know, Barry is a comic book expert and has even authored a few (if I'm not mistaken) on the history of comics. Barry, you should really explain to everyone your background on this subject! 

By the way...what's up with your projector?

[TRainH2O]

Thanks for the review Barry. I'm seeing it at 1:30 tomorrow and won't drink any liquids for 2 hours prior to the movie!

It sounds a bit like prepping for bloodwork for your annual health exam. 

[TRainH2O]

Barry, thanks for the non-spoiler review. I have friends who have seen it and all of them, comic readers and non, have praised the film.

As there is not a truly great theater any closer than an hour from me, I will have to wait until it hits Blu-ray. However, it's good to know that it will be a solid blind-buy.

Thanks again, buddy. 

[Barry]

      I like to think of myself as a comic book researcher, fan and a “keeper.” That is I kept the comics I read and enjoyed from 1960-1977.

Marvel, Taschen and other comic companies and publishers have come to my house to scan and copy the comics I have.  I have also written for these companies, and many others. (Go to Ebay and type in “Taschen: Stan Lee,” & “Taschen 75 Years of Marvel” and even “Taschen: The Little book of Spider-Man,” or “X-Men” or “Avengers.”

My book, The Essential Marvel Age companion” is due out in a few months.

On our other site, I very much enjoyed adding the comic book history in the reviews of the comic book movies.  I tend stress the identity of the creators, because that is often deliberately “forgotten” by the publishers.

For example, Siegel and Shuster, the creators of Superman, had their names removed by DC for a quarter of a century.
Bill Finger, the co-creator of Batman just had is name added after 75 years.
From her creation to the next 18 years Wonder Woman was co-created by artist H.G. Peter and he is still NOT mentioned in the movie credits or in the comics, although he designed her costume and her world.

I am also happy to answer any questions that I can. You can check out my blog beginning at: https://forbushman.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-goals.html

[David Vaughn]

Barry,

You are the man! 

OK...so I saw Endgame today. Wow, what a movie. There aren't many truly great movies anymore, but this one ranks up there with some of the best. Like you said, the 3 hour run time seemed like 90 minutes. Not once did I think it dragged, and I'm someone who thinks most movies are too long. I tip my hat to Marvel of having a plan to bring all of these characters together over the years with one overarching story that we get small pieces of over the years and then ending with a two-part marathon of movies. I was never a comic book fan growing up but seeing these 22 films have really been a revelation and something that I've thoroughly enjoyed. My only regret is that my kids are now grown and I wasn't able to experience the entire saga with them to share the experience, but they have both seen the movie and loved it to. My daughter works for a PR firm that handles the Marvel films and got to see the movie on Thursday with the directors in the audience down in LA and she had an amazing time. I can't wait for the UHD release so I can watch it again!

[Barry]

David. Honest, we wanted to stay and see it again!  It was not just that we were hungry but there were no tickets available!

I loved how they worked in the previous movies! This was an uncommon movie experiance. And this movie will make a fortune!

[TRainH2O]

And this movie will make a fortune!

Good. I would hate for the Avengers to be hard up for cash when they have to make the move to the old Superhero's home. 

[Barry]

Hey, someone has to pay their health premiums!

[David Vaughn]

David. Honest, we wanted to stay and see it again!  It was not just that we were hungrey, but there were no ticked available!

I loved how they worked in the previous movies! This was an uncommon movie experiance. And this movie will make a fortune!

Barry, our theater was packed and every show today was virtually sold out (same with yesterday and Thursday). This should make up for some of Disney's mistakes with their crappy family fun movies they've released lately. 

[tripplej]

Thanks Barry for your review and background details.

We tried to get tickets to see it this weekend but all theaters at all times are sold out. I repeat, all theaters (AMC, Cinemark, other smaller chains), all sold out for all shows.

Wow..

Will try and catch it next weekend.

[tripplej]

The movie made lots of $$$$ and it is only  opening weekend.

from boxofficemojo

"'Avengers: Endgame' Decimates Record Books with $1.2 Billion Global Debut"

[TRainH2O]

With all the money this film has already made, I'm sure they will cut us a break on the price of the Blu-ray.

$10 on Blu-ray and $15 for the UHD? 

[AVSCraig]

With all the money this film has already made, I'm sure they will cut us a break on the price of the Blu-ray.

$10 on Blu-ray and $15 for the UHD?

You wish ! 

[David Vaughn]

With all the money this film has already made, I'm sure they will cut us a break on the price of the Blu-ray.

$10 on Blu-ray and $15 for the UHD?

Its Disney...nothing ever goes on sale!