The ENDGAME

I don’t know where to start. Maybe with a warning.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So, read beyond this point only if you belong to one of these cases:

• You’ve watched the movie on the big screen.
• You’ve watched the movie by pirating it.
• You don’t care about the spoilers.
• You’ve got enough spoilers that it just doesn’t matter anymore.
• You have exams going on so aren’t allowed to go until next month, and have severe FOMO.
• You aren’t a Marvel fan so couldn’t care less.

I’ve waited long enough for the Spoiler Ban to lift, so, let me start by freaking out. WHAT WAS THAT? I MEAN, NO REALLY, WHAT WAS THAT? WHY COULDN’T ANY FAN THEORY COME NEAR TO WHAT THIS WAS? HOW WAS IT SURPASSING ALL KINDS OF SKY-HIGH EXPECTATIONS? It was everything that I wished for, and a lot more than I could think of!

Yes, the expectations of all of us were way too high, and we also know that Marvel Studios never disappoints, but DO YOU REALISE HOW EASILY THEY COULD’VE GONE WRONG WITH THIS ONE? AND THEY DIDN’T. THEY NAILED IT. EVERY SECOND OF IT.

Honestly speaking, there could not be a better end to this 22-film saga. The plot, the climax and the very ending served all the fan expectations along with giving the characters a perfect closure for their arcs. Steve Rogers got his dance, what more could we wish for?

Steve going back in past and living his life in this reality is totally like a wish coming true, but it did create some plot holes I can’t find answers to. 

• The 2 seasons of Agent Carter seem to be written out of continuity, as she totally did not hint meeting Steve and spending time with him.
• Where did he get the shield from to pass on to Falcon?

The directors said in an interview that he lived his life in an alternate timeline, and not this one, so, that is one possible explanation, but it raises its own set of issues. But, honestly, I’ll let these pass.

Okay, and can we talk about how Marvel Studios, for the very first time, made an effort to make the TV canon? It was quite obvious they carefully made sure that they don’t contradict the Kree myths set in Agents of SHIELD while writing Captain Marvel, THEY HAD THE SAME ACTOR FOR JARVIS FROM AGENT CARTER AND IT MAKES IT THE FIRST TIME SOMEONE FROM TV SHOWS CAME TO THE MOVIES. There’s a lot about this that I want to talk about, so I’m probably going to work on another post, or do a featured story on my Instagram, so don’t forget to follow (@aarnavg17)

And, I .. am …. IRON MAN.

Thanos, you might be inevitable. But, he? He is Iron Man.

None of us wanted to see this. But, Tony deserved to rest. Maybe there were other ways to bring an end to Tony Stark’s character, but Pepper’s last line made this the perfect one. Yes, it’s heartbreaking. Yes, we don’t want to be in a world without Tony Stark. And, Thanos, you don’t need to hope whether we’ll remember him or not, because we will.

Our other original avengers, be it Thor, Hulk or Hawkeye are probably going to stick around with us with MCU going forward, but there’s someone else whose death we’ve to mourn.

Natasha Romanoff, the symbol of strength for thousands of women around the world. Those few minutes on Volmir were all about which of these 2 is going to jump, and I can see why Marvel chose it to be Natasha at the end, but it does not feel a satisfying end to her character that we’ve seen. I’m hoping that the upcoming Black Widow film will give us some closure to make it worth it.

Clint: I wish there was a way I could let her know.

Wanda: She knows.

Moving on, THOR IS GOING TO BE IN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3? IF THAT IS INDEED GOING TO HAPPEN, I’M CERTAINLY GOING TO LOSE MY SHIT. Thor: Ragnarok had a very similar tone to the Guardians films, and I seriously can’t wait to see them together for a FULL MOVIE. Thor & Rabbit are perfect together, Thor-Star Lord ego issues are funny already, and JAMES GUNN IS SET TO DIRECT IT. How could it be any better?

Okay, now, let’s talk about Time Travel, and how brilliantly the movie carried it out while maintaining the theory of Time Travel set in Agents of SHIELD Season 5. I mean, wow. Yes, it’s confusing. And, Time Travel never comes without all kinds of plot holes, but this… doesn’t really have any? Yeah, just forget about hows regarding Steve Roger’s ending for a minute, and it is flawless. Sure, Cap going back to keep the stones at exactly that point seems a tough task, and I’ll love it if Marvel Studios shows us how he did that in some mini-series on Disney+, but for a moment let’s say he did it, and IT ALL ADDS UP. Branched Realities can be tough to understand, but Marvel Studios did it so beautifully!

Kevin Feige had said that the promotional material will be from first 15 minutes of the film, and it was really hard to believe that, but IT WAS TRUE? And, when they killed Thanos in the beginning JUST LIKE THAT, the me-me almost made my pants wet thinking about what’s coming next. It felt like too long a wait when YEARS appeared next to FIVE in the Five Years Later card, though it wasn’t really long as I noted during my second watch.

All the scenes in 2012’s New York felt like a Video Game, and very very nostalgic. The screen grab above legit feels like a screenshot of a game in Marvel’s Contest of Champions. What a beauty. Thor’s conversation with his mother are certainly one of the best conversations ever written in MCU, and his expressions on finding that he’s still worthy are pure gold. Which reminds me,

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Spoiler ban is lifted as of today – Celebrating Avengers Endgame's worldwide success, we felt we needed a powerful piece for the powerful movie ​ #AvengersEndgame @marvelaunz

A post shared by Bosslogic (@bosslogic) on May 6, 2019 at 12:03am PDT

CAPTAIN AMERICA FINALLY LIFTED MJÖLNIR. That had to happen, but with the hammer breaking in Thor: Ragnarok, it was written off from expectations. Also, whatever you say, I’ll always believe that he was worthy from the beginning, and didn’t lift it as to not hurt Thor’s ego in Age of Ultron.

Honestly, all the cameos in the movie had me excited, especially Jane’s & Ancient One’s. While it’s also true I wish there were more.

Strange: Is that all?

Wong: What? You wanted more?

The shots that had just preceded it were the biggest reason I went to re-watch the movie on IMAX, and so is the reason that I wanted to watch everything that was happening in that battle instead of just cheering at the top of my voice throughout it on the first day. This battle topped the one on Titan or Wakanda, and those were already way too upscale. The all women scene was fabulous, and had everyone in the audience cheering, but I really really wish we had the first women superhero of MCU there too. Natasha was missed. Also, I wish Hulk had got his revenge from Thanos, but his action scenes were given negligible screen time. Nor does there seems to be a direction where his character will be going next, unlike all other original Avengers’.

Say Greeeeen!

Honestly, I found that this gig was stretched a little, and wasn’t as funny. But, the scriptwriters must get the credibility for making the audience laugh during the scenes which are dealing with aftermath of half of life lost. It could have backfired, but was balanced very very well.

Also, one thing I really appreciate is that the focus was on the Original Avengers + Rocket. More gladly, Captain Marvel had a very small role, just as I wanted. I was worried she’ll be overpowered, but she did her share, and that was quite good enough.

I also loved that they didn’t spend a long time in Tony-Cap fall out thing, but made the impact very well through Tony’s rant in the beginning. The moment Tony handed out his Arc Reactor to Cap and fell down, I gasped way too loudly.

Okay, just a random thought, as a result of over-overthinking. When Okoye said that they don’t need to take care of an earthquake under water, did Marvel just confirm Namor’s existence in MCU? Just kidding. Coming to some other points I wanted to make, basically some issues I have with the film:

• How could the glove made by Tony Stark to contain the 6 stones be this strong? Infinity Gauntlet was supposed to be the only vessel capable of doing so.
• It was established that regular mortals can’t hold Infinity Stones. Then how did Hawkeye hold it in Volmir?
• How did they extract the Aether in solid form, if even Odin didn’t know how to?
• Tony Stark created Space-Time GPS JuSt LIkE thAT? He’s a Mechanical Engineer in the first place, not a phD in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. He’s a genius, yes, but that just.. doesn’t feel right.
• Time Travel is something hundreds of scientists have researched about, and not only Tony figured it out just like that, but Bruce Banner also figured out something unachieved before, again despite it being out of his area of expertise.

But, you know, plot asked for it, and it happened. I’m not gonna think about it much because there is already SO MUCH to think about in this movie. I’m sure I missed out on a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about, because its just a LOT to process. It indeed was THE ENDGAME.

I had the first day show, while several of my friends didn’t. I had asked all my friends who had shows after mine to call my just after their show ends, because I really want to see their reactions. Similarly, I want to know what your reaction was just after the film, and what did you think of different scenes, and what moment made you say “That fulfilled the purpose of my life.” I’m greatly disappointed that not the whole theatre stood up for a standing ovation.

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“We’re in The Endgame now.” •••••••••• We are on our way to Avengers: Endgame! Cannot believe it is finally here! After 11 years of waiting and the last 21 days of back to back (x21) MCU films, we are about to embark on a journey some may not come back from. It’s been one hell of a journey! Thank you to the Russo Brothers, Kevin Feige, the original 6, all of the actors in the MCU, the thousands and thousands of crew members all over the world who have worked tirelessly for our entertainment. And most of all, THANK YOU STAN for without you, none of this would be possible. •••••••••• Phil created this dopeass Ultimate Marvel Poster! 🙌🏼 To see the full uncropped version of this poster, click the LINK IN OUR BIO!

A post shared by Flick Picks with Phil and Tom (@flickpicks) on Apr 25, 2019 at 2:41pm PDT

Marvel, I love you 3000!