‘Avengers: Endgame’ is a Three-Hour Love Letter to Marvel’s Fans

“A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.” — Vision.

Imagine a utopia, and in that utopia, movies that are entertaining, enthralling, emotional, and poignant are produced every week. Their precision resembles that of a Swiss timepiece, their technical efficiency is on par with the best of German engineering, and their emotional resonance is on a scale hitherto undreamt of. They are as close to reaching perfection as humanly possible; they’re not flawless, but they achieve their aims with unerring accuracy.

Avengers: Endgame would meet the criteria of that world. We may not live in a Utopia, but we have Endgame. We have the Russo brothers. We have Kevin Feige. We have one of the most likeable casts ever assembled. We have a crew that works tirelessly. We have actors with nine Academy Awards and 19 nominations, and the consolidated might of all those elements has granted us a movie unlike any other in cinema history. It’s a genuine labour of love that’ll endure long in the memory of everybody who experiences it.

The sheer enormity of this enterprise, its extraordinary scope, it's ambitious intention to provide a resolution to a decade’s worth of movies… that Marvel pulled it off… and with such panache, is a miracle.

Perhaps some of you are thinking ‘this is all ridiculously hyperbolic’… and maybe it is. However, here’s the thing: this is not a review. In fact, it’s next to impossible I could ‘review’ Endgame because that word implies having at least a semblance of objectivity towards what you’ve seen. For me, and untold others, it’s impossible to be objective about Endgame because this seemed like a movie handcrafted for me, or rather, for us.

For those of us who saw Iron Man (2008) and thought to ourselves ‘might as well watch the other two now’, those of us who have fallen in love with these characters, those of us who frequently watch even the lesser movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), those of us who loved ABC’s Agent Carter TV series and bemoaned its untimely cancellation, those of us who ploughed through the depths of Iron Fist on Netflix with faith and hope, and those of us who re-watched the entire 21-movie series to prepare for Endgame….

… it’s as if the Russo’s rang on my door and hand delivered the movie. “Here, we made this for you.”

And therein lays Endgame’s greatest virtue: it is fan service done right. It’s not shoehorned, it’s not forced. It’s organic. It’s earned. Endgame gives you back what you’ve given to the MCU until this point. If you’re an infrequent viewer, you will be treated to a great experience, but if you’re a fan of the genre and a fan of the MCU in particular, it rewards you immensely. However, for those of us who are almost alarmingly obsessed with this world and these characters, Endgame is nirvana. I hope my passion isn’t confused for elitism, that is not my intention. I’m not a ‘greater fan’ than any of you reading, but these movies are very close to my heart, and I have invested heavily in them, as I’m sure many of you have… and for us, Endgame was the greatest pay-off of all time.

The reason for that, and the reason Endgame is such an unparalleled cinematic experience, is the love and reverence the Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have for the fans and, more substantially, these characters. The Russo’s have frequently stressed on the fact that, until a few years ago, they were fans themselves… and since entering the MCU, have sought to produce stories and moments they, and by proxy we, would appreciate and love. Also, this is readily discernible in the manner they, and the writers treat certain major characters in Endgame; their arcs have such depth, refinement, and organically build upon what we’ve come to know about them.

Another aspect worth mentioning is Endgame’s symmetry. Not the visual kind perfected by the likes of Wes Anderson, but the symmetry of narrative. Things truly come full circle and are accomplished in a manner that’s both satisfying and resonant. Once again I must stress the complexity of this endeavour, and I’m genuinely astounded by the deftness through which they have put this narrative together.

Amidst all the grandeur, it’s easy to overlook a large part of what made this rousing culmination possible: the casting. At this point, these immensely talented actors have wholly inhabited their characters and brought out the best in them. In Endgame, those actors are operating at the peak of their powers. The myriad emotions we, the audience, feel, are courtesy of their intuitive understanding of their characters. The acting here is of the highest calibre, and Endgame features some of the best performances in the MCU.

Does Endgame have issues? Yeah, a few. Nits can be picked regarding certain narrative details. However, I found none of them detrimental to the story, and certainly not to the focus of the movie — its characters. I didn’t notice any egregious errors while watching. Maybe I saw the idealised version of the movie in my head; perhaps I’m oblivious to and incapable of seeing its faults, perhaps these words are being filtered through a metaphorical, emotional prism labelled “Love you 3000”. But isn’t that the beauty of cinema? Isn’t that the best possible outcome? To walk into a darkened cinema and have a movie so remarkably light up the next three hours of one’s life, and come out with such a profound sense of contentment. I think it’s beautiful. Besides, how can you not be romantic about a movie like Endgame?

I stepped out of Endgame with a sense of overwhelming delight and gratitude. Remember Cuba Gooding Jr’s deliriously euphoric Oscar acceptance speech? That’s how my inner child was: “Stan Lee, I love you 3000! Kevin Feige, I love you 3000! Russo Brothers, I love you 3000! Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans, I love you 3000! Everybody involved with the making of this movie, I love you 3000! Everybody!”

I reserve a substantial part of that gratitude for Jon Favreau, who, 13 years ago, fought against the odds to hire a has-been ex-convict and ex-junkie as the leading man in Iron Man. The Marvel Studios movie that birthed the MCU. There was an understandable push-back from Marvel executives who, perhaps rightly, claimed something along the lines of “look, Jon, we can’t hire Robert, he’s not a viable option, we’re putting all of our chips on this movie, you must look at other options, you’ll have to move your stance.” At that moment, Favreau planted himself like a tree, looked them square in the eye, and said: “No, you move.”

Or perhaps it wasn’t nearly as dramatic. But, as I said earlier, how can you not be romantic about Endgame? How can you, at this moment in time, not be romantic about the MCU?

I can’t. I won’t. It has been the ride of a lifetime, and both Marvel and their audience have kept our unspoken yet mutual promise to each other: we were with each other till the end of the line.