A Review of 'Endgame' - The Russo Brothers Do Not Disappoint

In all my years of movie-watching, I had only seen one Marvel film and it was because I was writing a story about one of the cast members. But that changed when last year, I was a recipient of a grant from the Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum to finish my documentary film, Return to Lucania. When I realized how much Joe and Anthony Russo give back to the Italian American community, I thought the least I could do is support their films. I went out right away and saw The Avengers and was blown away by the combination of a beautiful, dramatic story and mind-blowing CGI. So when Endgame was released, I waited until the weekend had passed and caught a weekday matinee. Having just read an insightful review that my friend Curt Markham posted on Facebook, I was very eager to see the film. After seeing it, I can say that I agree with just about everything he wrote in his review and as I have been encouraging him to get his work published beyond Facebook, I thought I'd take the liberty and do it right here. I would just like to add that the last scene and song, as the Russo brothers and I are the same age, gave me the chills and felt like a nostalgic tribute to our grandparents' generation. It was the perfect sentimental ending to a strong powerful film.

So with this review of Endgame, I am officially designating Curt Markham our guest blogger.

As someone who's only been a casual (and sometimes skeptical) follower of the Marvel films, I have to say - if there is not serious Oscar buzz over this one next year then there ain't no justice.

Let's start with the acting. For a crowd-pleasing special effects action epic, this film's early scenes are a very restrained depiction of a CHILDREN OF MEN-like world of people struggling to cope with grief and loss. This is actually one of the most adult films I've seen in a good long while. All of the main actors would be guaranteed Academy Award (or at least Independent Spirit) nominations if they gave these exact performances in a more realistic drama.

But of course the gloom eventually starts to lift, as the heroes who survived the infamous climax of the previous film hatch a daring plan. That's when the film switches to the STAR TREK IV "We'll divide into teams" multiple-storyline structure that I'm an absolute sucker for.

And of course it goes without saying that there is an epic battle at the end. People who appreciate tastefully acted explorations of loss and mortality may not also be the audience for mind-bogglingly vast fight sequences featuring 22 films' worth of heroes and villains. But if you *are* in both camps, then boy has your ship come in.

Obviously this film has been in theaters for a little while, and I saw it at a neighborhood theater with a not particularly large audience. But that modest crowd went 1970s-Times-Square-grindhouse / seeing-Yoda-draw-a-lightsaber-for-the-first-time berserk once the climactic battle went into full gear. And I'm pretty sure I heard real crying at the end too.

I hope to God this film finally drives a stake through the heart of "I hate CGI" attitudes. Not only is there image after image that would have been impossible (or prohibitively expensive) without it, but Thanos and the Hulk are the two most soulful performances I've ever seen from computer-generated characters.

After a certain point I thought "Who the f*** directed this? Because this is some next-level artistry." It turns out the maestros behind this are Joe and Anthony Russo, aka the Russo Brothers, whose previous credits include some of the previous Marvel films as well as a lot of TV including ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and COMMUNITY. Whenever there is a flashback sequence to one of the previous Marvel films, the contrast makes immediately clear how far the Russos have raised the bar.

It's also impressive just how very many big-name actors have parts both large and small in this movie. It's a tribute to the affection and loyalty that this film series has inspired in its cast, that so many of them have stayed in the fold after all this time.

I'm actually somewhat shell-shocked at what a great movie this was. The other Marvel films that stood apart from the pack for me were the outrageously wacky comedic ones: THOR RAGNAROK and the two ANT-MANs. By contrast, this one blew me away with its dramatic seriousness, while still delivering epic spectacle and the occasional good joke.

The irony is that this is the superhero film to show to people who don't believe the genre can be art, and yet they wouldn't understand a word of it because they wouldn't have seen any of the setup in the previous films. But maybe they don't need to - there were some references that I didn't completely get, to previous films that I have already somewhat forgotten, and I still thought this was one hell of a movie.

Check out the 5-minute extended trailer....

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