Okay. Finally. I am now ready to talk about Avengers: Endgame. It’s been two weeks since the thrilling conclusion to the Infinity Saga premiered, and to be honest, I haven’t gone a day without thinking about it. There was a lot of question going in, would The Russo Brothers, Kevin Feige, and everyone at Marvel Studios be able to hit the insanely small bullseye that they needed to hit to match the expectations that fans had going in, and ladies and gentlemen boy did they do that and so much more. It was amazing. Truly better than I thought it could have been. I laughed, I screamed, I cried and by the end of the movie, I had closure. It truly was a 3 hour and 1 minute masterpiece from the Russo Brothers. So in this blog, I want to recap and review everything that happened in the movie and then at the end I’m gonna give my review and send my farewells to this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that essentially raised me as a kid. So here is your FINAL SPOILER WARNING!!! And let’s begin!

First off the cold open: We opened up with the death of Hawkeye’s family (they were victims of Thanos’ snap)… OH MY GOD. This gave the theater their first gasp moment of the night. Granted, I think everyone knew it was coming, but still… that shit was fucking DARK. It really set the mood for the film and gave us a great look at how normal families were actually affected by the snap as well. Also by the way HUGE shoutout to Jermey Renner, this was by far his best performance in the MCU to date. His range in this film was incredible and he brought a pretty bland character in other movies to be one of my favorite characters in the film.

After the cold open we are taken to Tony and Nebula being all buddy buddy playing a game of paper football in space after getting off of Titan after the events of Infinity War. I loved this scene. It was the right type of comedy for the movie (they did have some cringey jokes later) it wasn’t too over the top or anything and showed the situation for what it was. Quick note here they both STUNK at paper football, I could kill both of them.

Next we get Tony’s video message to Pepper. This was the first (of many) tear jerker scenes of the movie for me. Even though we saw it in the trailer, it just really hits. Maybe it’s because of how much we have grown to love and care about Tony and Pepper together, or maybe because Robert Downey Jr. absolutely killed it, either way it was a fantastic moment and definitely got some onions cutting in that theater pretty early on.

Captain Marvel then comes and saves their asses and single handedly carries a goddamn space ship through the galaxy back to earth which I thought was cool but also a little quick. I fully expected to see a little more of Carol talking to the Avengers at HQ being filled in, but I guess the post credit scene from Captain Marvel essentially is supposed to show us that she’s there and they’ve gotten her up to speed. Honestly, I wish we got to see a little more of her arrival to HQ just because I am a huge sucker for those characters meeting and breaking it down to the new character scenes.

Anyway Tony, Nebula, and Carol arrive at HQ and Tony (super skinny by the way, essentially starved from being trapped in space for a month) stumbles off of the plane barely being able to walk, and the first thing he says is “I lost the kid.” Yup that’ll do it for the tears and goosebumps. This scene destroyed me. I love Iron Man and Spidey’s realtionship and seeing Tony breaking down about losing him absolutely hit hard for me. Continuing on from that, they really doubled down on the emotional scenes with Tony and Cap fighting in Avengers HQ. It was almost uncomfortable in a good way watching them go at it and an extremely ill Tony collapsing to the floor into unconscious. It all felt just so real, absolute goosebumps.

After this we got the Avengers going into space to fight Thanos again. I honestly was confused why the plot was moving so fast and thought they HAD to go get their asses kicked in this scene. I thought we were gonna lose an Avenger or two also, but they went in there, learned Thanos destroyed the stones, and then killed him. Easy peasy except for the whole half of life still is dead from last movie.

Then we get the “Five Years Later” card and the next part of the movie begins. Life is essentially miserable. People are all dead. Cap is leading a support group. Black Widow is managing the Avengers. Tony Hulk and Thor are all MIA and Captain Marvel tells the gang she has to go deal with space stuff and they won’t see her for awhile (essentially the directors way of making this movie focus on the original Avengers). It’s in this part we find out Hawkeye has been murdering people in cold blood to avenge his family by taking out all the bad souls that survived the snap. Black Widow goes to Japan, finds him and tells him they need him to come home. Also at this time a rat accidentally wanders into Ant-Man’s van (he’s been stuck in the quantum realm since Ant-Man and The Wasp) and accidentally opens the portal for him to come back essentially kickstarting the real plot of the movie.

Ant-Man comes back, confused as shit. It’s been five years but to him it only felt like five hours. We get a great scene of Paul Rudd essentially just running around trying to figure out what the fuck happened and reuniting with his daughter who is now a lot older. Ant-Man then goes to NY and is all like “time is weird right?” and tells the Avengers what happened giving them the idea that maybe they can time travel to fix this whole thing, and BOOM HERE WE GO!

The Avengers go to try and recruit Tony back to help them fix things but guess what? HE’S A DAD! And his daughter is freaking adorable! Tony tells them it’s way too dangerous and he can’t risk losing what he has now and so they instead to turn to Bruce Banner… WHO IS NOW PROFESSOR HULK. This was weird. I like professor hulk but it just freaked me out for some reason hearing Mark Ruffalo’s voice come out of a fully clothed Hulk. However this does give us the funniest scene in the movie where Hulk takes pictures with fans and then the kids don’t want a picture with Ant-Man.

Meanwhile, at the Stark residence Tony can’t stop thinking about time travel now because as he puts it “I can’t rest yet” and gives it his best go to discover how it works. This leads to one of my favorite moments in the movie when Tony figures the whole thing out and falls back into his chair and let’s out a surprised “SHIT!” To which his adorable daughter overhears and says back to him laughing.

The Avengers try the whole time travel thing without Tony. Rhodey asks why they can’t just go kill baby Thanos and Hulk explains time travel doesn’t work like that. Instead of the butterfly effect that most movies depict, the rules here are that if you go to the past, the past becomes your present, the future becomes your past and any time that passes and anything you do to change how things go branch off into parallel timelines. So they have to go in, retrieve all the infinity stones, bring them back to their present, and then use them to bring everyone back. I personally really liked these rules for time travel because they made everything much harder than just going back to prevent Infinity War from ever happening, which I think would have been a cheap move.

Tony eventually shows back up at Avengers HQ and brings Steve his shield. This scene gave me MEGA goosebumps. Seeing Tony give back the shield to Cap that he left after Civil War when he decided to not be an Avenger or Captain America anymore was crazy. He officially became Captain America again in this moment and it was beautiful.

Next up we get Rocket and Hulk going to find Thor, who has now through his grief became an extremely overweight alcoholic. .Which I honestly thought was going to be for a one scene thing then he would get zapped by lightning and be him again, but no Marvel really chose to make Thor fat for the whole movie. This scene was super surprising but also pretty funny too. We get to see Korg and Meek again who I absolutely love as they play Fortnite in Thor’s house dressed like slobs. Rocket convinces Thor to come with them and they head back to HQ where the gang is told they only have enough Pym particles for two trips, one to the past and one back. They then split up into three groups to go get the stones. Tony, Steve, Bruce, and Scott will go to New York during Avengers 1 to go get the space, mind, and time stones. Clint, Nat, Nebula, and Rhodey will go to Space during the Guardians movie to go to Vormir and Morag for the space and soul stones, and Thor and Rocket go to Asgard during Thor The Dark World for the reality stone.

This is where the movie really got going for me, the Time Heist. We essentially have four different groups in four different places (space group is split into two mini groups) all trying to collect stones and bring them all back to the present to undo the snap. Honestly, the breakup of the movie made it feel so much shorter. It’s like we got the intro hour, the time heist hour, and the finale fight hour. I loved it.

First off, New York: Tony, Steve, Bruce, and Scott arrive. They decide Bruce will go for the time stone at the septum sanctorum and the rest of them will work on the space and mind stones at the battle of New York. The cool part about this was that we got to see the battle of New York unfold again right in front of our eyes, and being a huge Avengers 1 homer, I loved every second of it. I absolutely died laughing when Professor Hulk had to pretend to smash and act like original Hulk, and Tony giving us some great fan service making fun of Cap’s costume in the movie was fantastic. Anyway, Steve Tony and Scott sneak into Stark tower right at the moment of the classic scene of all the Avengers capturing Loki when Loki says “I’ll have that drink now.” This whole time heist was honestly just one huge fan service and honestly I loved it. Scott telling Cap his ass was “America’s Ass” had the whole theater dying laughing.

The three of them then get into a bunch of shenanigans retrieving the stones. Cap goes into the elevator with all the SHIELD (Hydra) agents from Winter Soldier recreating the iconic elevator ride, but instead of fighting he takes the mind stone by trolling them and whispering heil Hydra. Tony gets the tesseract but then loses it to Loki who uses it to escape (setting up his TV show), and that causes Cap to have to fight himself from the past who thinks he is Loki (MAJOR fan service). Across town Bruce eventually gets the Ancient One to give him the time stone but she makes him promise to return all the stones to where they got them from once they are done. The four meet up and Tony says he lost the tesseract, essentially screwing up the whole plan but then they figure they can go back to 1970 with their last particle, and get the space stone and more particles from SHIELD base.

This scene in the 70’s hit us with all the feels as not only does Cap see Peggy again but Tony gets to have a talk with his dad about being a father. This was so freaking emotional. Waterworks were flowing here too. I think it was in this moment I realized Tony was going to die based upon how this conversation went with his dad.

Meanwhile, as this is happening, Thor and Rocket are in Asgard and Thor sees both Jane Foster and his mom for the first time in years. Also I would have never guessed Thor The Dark world would have ever been brought up again by Marvel… but here we are.

Thor’s conversation with his mom was heartwarming and amazing. She really brings the life back into him, and for the first time, although he may not look it, it feels that we actually get Thor back. Oh and when Mjolnir flew into his hands I freaked out. HE’S STILL WORTHY!

During this time we get Nebula and Rhodey who get the space stone relatively easy, however 2014 Thanos figures out something is happening since old Nebula and new Nebula’s mainframes are hooked up (I don’t get it but fuck it movies man) and although Rhodey gets back with the stone, Nebula gets captured by Thanos who sends old Nebula who is still evil at this time to go to the present to bring his ship to the present to end things once and for all.

Over on Vormir Clint and Nat find out about the whole soul for a soul thing to get the soul stone and boy was this emotional. Essentially they both want to sacrifice themselves for the stone and have a fight scene where they are both trying to die. All signs look like Hawkeye will die, but then Black Widow takes the fall, saving herself for humanity and wiping out all the red in her ledger finally.

They eventually all return to the present and Clint informs the rest of the Avengers that she didn’t make it back. Tony builds an Iron Gauntlet (how fucking cool is that) and Hulk puts it on and snaps all the people back into existence who died. This is all fine and dandy until Nebula brings Thanos and his army into the present and they bomb the shit out of Avengers HQ. Like Jesus this place is DESTROYED. Putting this right in the middle of the oh my god we saved the day moment was crazy and so unsettling and I loved it so much.

Anyway, Thor, Cap, and Iron Man go to fight Thanos. Thor dual wielding his hammers, Cap with his shield, and Tony in full armor. They get overwhelmed by his forces and Thor looks like he’s about to bite the dust when……………..

MJOLNIR FLIES INTO CAPTAIN AMERICA’S HANDS OH MY FUCKING GOD. WHAT A MOMENT. THE THEATER GOES NUTS. HE IS WORTHY OF MJOLNIR!!!!! Thor lets out a “I KNEW IT” And Cap beats the brakes off of that purple faced douchebag Thanos. WHAT A MOMENT! From here until the end of the movie I was in Nirvana. I was screaming, I was cheering, I was crying. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL.

Eventually though Thanos overwhelms Cap and breaks his shield in half. The gasps. I think everyone thought this might be it for Cap and maybe he’ll make the sacrifice play as everyone is beaten up pretty badly.

Captain America then stands up, facing the entire army of Thanos all by himself, knowing he is greatly out numbered and has no chance. He tightens his shield and looks out at the army when suddenly… “Steve… On your left.” And a portal starts to arise from the left side of Captain America where Falcon, Black Panther, Bucky, Okoye, Groot, Scarlet Witch and the ENTIRE WAKANDAN ARMY all come out of it. From there dozens of other portals start opening up all on the left and right of Captain America and every good guy character we have ever scene from every movie start to pour out of them. Ending with the last portal letting out Star Lord, Drax, Mantis, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, all who vanished on Titan…. The Avengers theme song starts playing as they all line up together ready to all fight side by side to save the fate of the universe once and for all. Steve Rogers screams “AVENGERS…” We get a look at all the heroes lined up together with one goal for one last time and then Mjolnir flies into Captain America’s hands and we here the line we have waited eleven fucking years to hear… “Assemble.” At this point I lost it. I cheered and cried. I literally grabbed my friends next to me holding on for dear life. It was the most beautiful moment in cinematic history and honestly quite possibly the greatest moment of my life. I’m honestly starting to tear up just thinking about it. WHAT A MOMENT GOD DAMN!

The Avengers then charge at Thanos’ army and we get a hell of a battle scene. This is my favorite battle in MCU history no contest, honestly my favorite battle in cinematic history too. There are just so many great moments. We get Pepper in the Rescue armor, Tony and Peter reuniting and Tony giving him a huge hug (callback to Spider-Man Homecoming when he won’t hug him “we’re not there yet”), Quill and Gamora’s reunion where she doesn’t know him because she’s 2014 Gamora was super funny, Cap and Thor using the shield and the hammers for some fucking crazy moves on the bad guys. The all female fight scene. God damn there were so many great moments.

Then we get Scarlett Witch on Thanos. I loved this scene. The dialogue is too perfect. “You took everything from me.” “I don’t even know who you are.” “You will.” PERFECT. Literal goosebumps again just thinking about it. She starts rocking his shit and he calls in for backup from his ships and they start blowing the place to pieces, and all hope is lost when suddenly Captain Marvel shows up (WAY TO BE ON TIME CAROL, NOT LIKE WE COULD HAVE USED YOU ALL DAMN MOVIE) and blows the ships to smithereens.

Eventually Thanos gets the gauntlet again. I was freaked. He puts it on and the power rushes through him. Captain Marvel tries to stop him but he power stone punches her into the next state. And then, we get it. Doctor Strange looks at Tony and simply just holds up a one with his fingers, as in this is the 1 in 14,000,605 outcomes where they can win. They are, IN. THE. ENDGAME. Tony goes to fight Thanos and Thanos pushes him off, and he looks down at Stark and says “I am inevitable.” And snaps his fingers… except nothing happens. Thanos is confused, and then we see Tony Stark rise up from the ground with all six infinity stones on his own gauntlet around his hand, and he says the line that started it all, “And I. Am. Iron Man.” and snaps his fingers destroying Thanos’ entire army, and sacrificing himself in the process. HOLY GOOSEBUMPS. It still chokes me up two weeks later.

Tony’s death broke out the tears again, we get Spidey coming over to him trying to revive him shaking him saying “Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark we won.” And Pepper saying her goodbyes to her husband while Rhodey and Cap are behind her crying. What a moment.

We then get this voiceover speech from Tony Stark as a message to his friends and family that he had recorded (courtesy of @13lijah on instagram):

What a speech. This playing over the world reuniting with loved ones and Tony’s funeral really got me. Also seeing all the characters watch over as his body floated into the ocean made me break down crying, that was beautiful.

We see Thor join the Guardians officially, getting ready to look for Gamora, essentially setting up GOTG3. I am so stoked for that movie, I think he fits perfectly.

After this Steve is supposed to bring back the stones to everywhere they got them from and then they’ll bring him back, except he doesn’t come back, and instead they see an old man sitting by the lake. It’s old man Captain America. He gives his shield to Falcon appointing him the new Captain America. I know a lot of people were hoping it would be Bucky but I think with Bucky’s whole past and his new title as the White Wolf, giving it to Sam made more sense. They then ask where he went when he didn’t come back, and we cut to the final scene of the movie, Steve back in the 40’s in a house, finally getting that dance with Peggy Carter. THE END. GOOSEBUMPS!

So that’s it! That’s my Avengers Endgame recap. I’d give a review but I essentially did so as I broke it down. 10/10 loved it. It’s in my top 3 Marvel movies ever and honestly as of now is sitting at number one. So instead of doing a review to end this thing I just wanna give my two cents about what this movie and Marvel mean to me.

Growing up, I always wanted to be special. I mean who doesn’t? Everyone wanted their life to feel like it had meaning, that they weren’t just another person among the crowd. When I was eight years old, I went with my friends Colby, Jared and Patrick to see the first Iron Man in theaters. It’s safe to say it changed my life. For two hours I watched as Tony Stark went from a conceited billionaire to using his abilities to save people and make the world a better place. It’s safe to say I saw him as a role model, I learned lessons from wat he did, and that I left that theater that night feeling inspired. That film showed me what it meant to be special. Over the years, no matter what happened in my life, through all the ups and downs of childhood, one thing stayed constant for me, going to see Marvel movies with Colby, Patrick, and Jared. In July 2011, I walked into the theater to see Captain America: The First Avenger, a film starring fellow Massachusetts native Chris Evans, who grew up in the town over from me. It was watching this movie, seeing someone who came from the same background and place like me achieve such great things, that first inspired me to want to become an actor when I grew up. As the years passed and I got older and middle school began, life was a rollercoaster. There were times when I felt sad, lonely, or broken hearted and got through these hard times by losing myself in the escapism of Marvel movies, letting my emotions go and watching my heroes save the world together. Through high school I would force my friends and family members to watch countless MCU movies with me, explaining to them the back stories and intricate plot points as the films moved along. Hell I even used to use Captain America’s speech before the Battle Of Sokovia as hype up material before a big test or a football game. And still, every single opening night Colby, Patrick, Jared, and I would all meet up at the local IMAX theater to watch the newest installment in our favorite movie franchise. This fall I went off to college. I was away from my friends and family for the first time, but when Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame came out, the Movie Boys (as we dubbed ourselves) made the journey home, whether it was a 40 minute car ride, or a full day plane trip with cancelations and unexpected layovers in Minnesota, to celebrate these new films together…. I guess what I am trying to say is that Marvel has done a lot for me over the years. It’s drawn me closer to my friends, taught me countless life lessons growing up, inspired me to follow my dreams, make me realize what I want to do with my life, and even get me through some really hard times. I honestly can’t thank the cast, crew, producers, studio heads, and the great Kevin Feige enough for everything these movies have given my friends and I over the years, it’s truly greater than words. I just want to say that sometimes, although it sounds silly, movies can be more than movies. They can do so much for us and it’s just freakin incredible that that’s possible. Anyway I’m starting to ramble, but again, to everyone involved in making these twenty two amazing movies over the past eleven years: it’s been a ride, thank you for everything, I love you 3000.