A little over a year ago, viewers watched in horror as half of their favourite superheroes disintegrated in what would become known as the “Snapture.”
Thanos, supervillain for the ages, (played with an unusual level of understanding by Josh Brolin), had succeeded in collecting all six infinity stones, giving him the power to snap his fingers and disappear half the population of the universe.
Even if you knew in your heart (or knew half the dead had sequels coming out in 2020) that they weren’t really gone, you still weren’t quite sure how things would ever be the same.
It turns out the answer was simple — things would never be the same but they’d be a new kind of okay.
Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of a cinematic feat that has never been attempted. The Marvel Universe, over the course of 11 years, released 21 interconnected films that take place in different universes and worlds, with upwards of 24 characters and 50 supporting characters — and they expected the audience to keep track of it all. Indeed, there was very little hand holding in the Marvel Universe.
In order to become a super fan, you had to watch closely and repeatedly become versed in what was essentially another language. Avengers: Endgame is the reward for all the hard study. Part epic conclusion, part love letter to the original six characters that birthed this world, the three hour and one minute film is simultaneously the end of an era and the birth of a new one.
The film picks up shortly after the death of half the world, finding the remaining Avengers deep in grief and attempting to put leftover pieces of the world back together.
What I can tell you is that I thought I had the plot figured out going in – find Thanos, get the time stone, turn back time, bring everyone back, then kill Thanos.
That theory is quickly crushed in the first five minutes. The actual plot is unexpected and allows for worlds we’ve come to know and love to be revisited in a way most fans won’t have anticipated. It is both the most emotionally devastating and funniest of the Avengers movies, which makes for a wild ride.
I was taken aback by how emotionally connected I had become to these characters. Watching some of them in their final battle left me overwhelmed and teary.
It cannot be overstated how important the performances of the original six Avengers (specifically Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo) have been to this series.
Their performances (and those of newer heroes that followed) are what allowed the films to be more than fun comic book action flicks. They imbued their characters with a depth and poignancy that elevated the entire Marvel Universe.
Without giving anything away, at one point a very young girl attempts to quantify her love for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) by saying she “loves him 3,000,” because it’s the biggest number she knows.
I loved this movie 3,000 and hope you do too.
Vicky Sparks is a Bright’s Grove native and movie critic for Global TV’s The Morning Show, which airs nationally on Fridays. Her Journal Reviews cover movies playing at Galaxy Cinemas Sarnia