Avengers: Endgame has arrived. It’s the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Infinity Saga,” comprising more than a decade’s worth of film making. In that time, we’ve come to meet and fall in love with characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers whom have shaped the pop culture landscape and whose actors have ultimately redefined what it means to be a star in Hollywood. But, as they say, part of the journey is the end.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
There’s been a lot of speculation about what would happen after Infinity War, when Thanos succeeded in acquiring all six Infinity Stones and ultimately snapped half of all life in the universe out of existence. Of course, the large gist of what Endgame needed to be was obvious from a meta level: Infinity War wiped out most of the MCU’s newer, fresher heroes, so Endgame would have to be about our original Avengers (plus a few stragglers) undoing what had been done.
Of course, they way in which Infinity War was undone was the fascinating part of Endgame. Even though I guessed this film would feature time travel, I didn’t expect a “time heist.” And I didn’t expect the film to be as episodic and expansive as it ended up being, giving clear arcs to most of the original Avengers cast (give a take a couple spies). I absolutely did not expect broken, shut-in gamer Thor (nor the return of his love interest, Jane Foster, given Natalie Portman’s history with the MCU and her distinctive no-show in Thor: Ragnarok). And even though I expected this to be the end for Tony and Steve, I didn’t expect things to end quite like that.
So what did I think? What made me laugh and what made me cry for what felt like forever? Well, watch on to find out. And subscribe to the Beat’s YouTube Channel for more coverage!
