Avengers: Endgame [DVD]

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Just what I wanted

Good show!

Given what had transpired in the previous Avengers movie, Marvel had essentially pulled the most amazing ending in the history of endings. The villain won and the heroes lost but amidst all the losses, hope arises when those that are left behind bring forward a climax that was even greater than the previous film. Truly the event of the year.Eleven years and twenty-one movies led to a title that was referenced time and again as Marvel ends the three phases of its Infinity Saga. I got to admit I never saw this as possible, but I could not be happier to be wrong.Starting from when the previous Avengers film ended and with the credit scenes shown in the movies afterward – Captain Marvel and Antman and the Wasp make it clear that Thanos’ triumph cannot be ignored as the Avengers attempt to recoup from their loss. But it would appear that Thanos’ victory cannot be undone.But a hero that survived the Snap returns with a plan that would be able to bring everyone back. The Avengers in their years of grief are emboldened by this plan and unite to save the day once again.I did not think that this movie would be any better than the previous films, now I am convinced that it is the best of them all. Thanks to a wonderfully written and directed story by the Russo Brothers who proved here and in the previous film that they were worthy to replace Joss Whedon. This movie’s cast is phenomenal as everyone from Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man to Chris Evans Captain America and the rest of the Avengers come together as well as dozens more in between come together in an epic film franchise ending.I am so glad to own this on Blu-ray 4K, but I got to say that either the Russo brothers did not take advantage of IMAX or it was decided against it with this movie. It is truly an epic and it deserved the IMAX feature on home video. Still, the features are fun, with behind-the-scenes footage and some neat, deleted scenes.An awesome ending to a great series.

If you like marvel or The Avengers, you'll enjoy it.

****SPOILERS, LOTS OF SPOILERS****I was never a huge comic book fan when growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s—mostly in the Bronze Age of comics. When I did read them, I never liked the focus on character; I just wanted the action. Of course I was just a kid, and it was a long time ago. Things are different now. Marvel’s massive story arc is almost unbelievably ambitious and well-executed, and hinges heavily, if not entirely, on character. One of the things that Marvel has done so well in the film franchise is to give us real, three-dimensional characters, who live and love and lose, and who just happen to have super powers. This makes for compelling story-telling. It may not be Shakespeare, but it is certainly the equal of Wagner. (And I don’t think Wagnerian element is coincidental; throughout the films, I see a ton of nineteenth century in the project; Darwinism, imperialism, Hegelianism, historical determinism, occultism, the whole nine yards. Read on.)The high point of this character-driven aspect of the arc is the first half of Endgame, in which we see the sense of failure and survivors’ guilt of our remaining heroes slowly destroying most of them even as they try to adapt to life after Thanos’s act of mass murder. Some do better than others; some build lives for themselves that even have positive aspects. But all are haunted. It’s depressing, but it’s also a meditation or mortality, ours as well as our loved ones’ and our civilization. In a sense, it strikes the same chord—though more drawn out and much less intense—as the final, iconic scene of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes: a sense of futility and even nihilism.Nothing really changes this throughout the film. The initial killing of Thanos doesn’t undo what he has done (and underscores that it seemingly can’t be undone, though it is a bit gratifying that ultimately the Avengers get to kill Thanos twice: the enormity of his crime, combined with his hubris, surely means that once is not enough). The action that is so visible during the second half of the film is merely superficial (although the solidarity of all people of good will, apparent when Cap finally says “Avengers assemble!” is the most uplifting moment of the whole film, and maybe the whole franchise); the return of the missing victims doesn’t magically make everything better or even undo what has already been done, as exemplified by Black Widow’s death (which caught me completely by surprise). Ultimately the final battle is between a recurrent/Thelemic True Will/Nietzschean Will to Power (“I am inevitable,” repeats Thanos, in the present tense) and the rest of us (as represented by the Avengers), who for all the time travel, move linearly on to our/their terminal destinies (“Part of the Journey is the end,” observes Tony Stark). Having dodged spoilers like crazy, I must admit to being very saddened by Tony’s death, even though from the beginning I found him an unpleasant character with whom I usually disagreed (Team Cap member here!). It was a very well-done, moving scene, matched by the scene of the elderly Steve Rogers in his sunset years. This is the final, melancholy message of the film: Things have to change; things have to end. Even if Thanos loses—and his brooding, “thinking man” moment as he turns into dust is a great instance of cinematic meditation—his philosophy still wins; we all ultimately die and lose everyone we have ever loved to death. In that sense, he _is_ inevitable. (So much nineteenth century philosophy and esotericism here!)I hated to see Natasha and Tony die (Clint was right; it should have been him, and I feel for him), and I hated to see Cap grow old, but in a purely pragmatic sense, it is probably better for people to say to a franchise “I wish you had kept going longer” than to say “I wish you had quit earlier.” Of course the franchise will continue, but the players will change. And for all the bitter, the sweetness of Cap and Peggy finally having that dance—and to that uplifting song, in a time when America was more innocent and true to itself—was indeed sweet. That is ultimately why I’m a Cap fan; I see my father and his generation in Captain America, and I see America, the one they fought for, through their eyes. In our horribly messed up country of today, Marvel even got that right. So I guess the moral of the story is that even though Thanos truly is inevitable and the end is part of the journey, the ending can still be a happy one and “the better angels of our nature” can prevail.

Arrived in great safety package, in great shape. Delivery was on time as stated.

Plays perfect.