Face-Off: Avengers: Infinity War vs. Avengers: Endgame

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Bradley Cooper as Rocket
Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine
Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Karen Gillan as Nebula
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
Danai Gurira as Okoye
Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
Gwyenth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
Taika Waititi as Korg
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
John Slattery as Howard Stark
and Josh Brolin as Thanos

And, eventually:
Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord
Dave Bautista as Drax
Vin Diesel as Groot
Pom Klementieff as Mantis
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther
Letita Wright as Shuri
Benedict Wong as Wong
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Evangeline Lily as Hope van Dyne/Wasp
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
Terry Notary as Cull Obsidian
Carrie Coon as Proxima Midnight
Michael James Shaw as Corvus Glaive

Okay, NOW take the sheer epicness of INFINITY WAR and rise to the even more daunting task of driving it all home in a way that not only wraps up the story from the previous movie but of over ten years-worth of moviemaking. What the Russos understood about ENDGAME is that it couldn’t feel just like INFINITY WAR. The first of this two-parter was the colorful, sugar-rush entry that moved so quickly you could hardly catch your breath from gasping or laughing. But while ENDGAME has its humor and action, it flows with much more emphasis on the emotion of the characters and the effects of the last movie. Moments between characters can either be entertaining or incredibly moving, and while kudos should also be given to the writers and performers, the Russos wring as much feeling and heart out of every interaction to make it have an impact. They made INFINITY WAR a wild ride by ensuring everything moved at a break-neck pace, highlighting the sense of urgency within the story, but with ENDGAME they ensure everything feels meditative and reflective, giving the characters and the movie itself space to breathe and take in what the events are putting the characters through. By doing this the best of who these characters are get to shine through, and the Russos get out of the actors some of the best performances the series has ever seen. Of course, when the time travel angle gets going they keep things moving as briskly as the last movie, delivering countless moments to have fun with and that pay homage to what came before while still feeling wholly unique. As they did with IW, the Russos did the impossible by making a movie that took us through a whirlwind of surprises while giving audiences just what they wanted: a movie that lived up to everything the MCU had been building toward for years, making us remember why we fell in love with it in the first place.

Now, if the work from Markus and McFeely had them trying to throw all these characters together in a mad-dash event film where the villain is the main character, then ENDGAME is the movie that brings it back to the heroes we’ve come to love after all these years. Even better, that mostly means everyone who didn’t have a major role by 2015 was turned to ash, and we mostly found ourselves with the original Avengers, a few Guardians and Ant-Man – characters we’d seen in several movies by this point. On a narrative, structural level, this makes for a much stronger, more emotionally impactful movie. There’s not as much running around (at least in the first half), and we just get to exist with these characters and see them more vulnerable than they’ve ever been. That’s a Candyland for any writer to play in, pushing the characters forward in meaningful ways, but that doesn’t feel rushed or simple as a result of what happened in the last movie. You can look at where the characters are written to here and trace their logical evolution back to the previous movies. Tony becomes a true hero after years of selfishness; Thor realizes he isn’t meant to be a king; Cap is more hopeful than ever, finally getting to go back and live his life with Peggy at the end. If the story of IW was exactly how it needed to be, some character development understandably put on the backburner, then the work from Markus and McFeely here more than makes up for it by crafting a story that respects all the major players, gives some worthy send-offs, and takes them all down a bonkers path of time travel that is both an energetic and imaginative way to end the story, but also recalls the building blocks of this series. Sure, you might be able to poke some holes in all the time travel hoopla, but the key factors of the story – the characters and them reaching their end/major turning points – work as perfectly as we could’ve hoped for.

Bits:

Clint's Loss
Lost in Space
Marvel for the Rescue
Ambushing Thanos
Thor Goes For the Head
Ant-Man Returns
Scott and Kasey
Tony's New Family
Meet Professor Hulk
Shit
Love You 3000
Bro Thor
Ronin Unleashed
Ant-Man Messes with Time Travel
Cap Gets His Shield Back
Hatching the Plan
Back in New York
Asgard 2013
Elevator Scene Redux
Cap v. Cap
America's Ass
Hulk Hates Stairs!
Steve Sees Peggy
Father and Son
Quill Knocked Out
2014 Thanos Arrives
Nat's Sacrifice
Hulk Snap!
Thanos Attacks
Thor, Cap, Tony vs. Thanos
Worthy Captain America
Avengers Assemble
Final Battle Begins
Danvers Swoops In
One in 14 Million
I am Iron Man
Thanos to Dust
Goodbye, Tony
Memorial
Asgardians of the Galaxy
Old Man Steve
Steve and Peg Get Their Dance

Lines:

Tony/Morgan: “I love you 3000.”

—–

Steve/Natasha/More: “Whatever it takes.”

—–

Steve: “Avengers! Assemble.”

—–

Tony: “…So I thought I better record a little greeting, in the case of an untimely death, on my part. I mean, not that death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. Then again that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for? Everything's gonna workout exactly the way it's supposed to.  I love you 3000.”

—–

Steve: “Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, that doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win. Whatever it takes. Good luck.”

—–

Tony: “I should probably lie down for a minute, rest my eyes. Please know, when I drift off and be like everything lately, I'm fine. I'm totally fine. I dream about you. Because it's always you.”

—–

Rocket: “What did you do?”
Thor: “I went for the head.”

—–

Sam: “Hey, Cap, do you read me? Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me? On your left.”

—–

Thanos: “I'm thankful. Because now I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom and then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. It is not what is lost but only what it is been given… a grateful universe.”
Steve: “Born out of blood.”
Thanos: “They'll never know. Because you won't be alive to tell them.”

—–

Thanos: “In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet… I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.”

—–

Steve: How does it feel?
Sam: “Like it's someone else's.”
Steve: “It isn't.”
Sam: “Thank you. I'll do my best.”
Steve: “That's why it's yours.”

—–

Steve: “Hail Hydra.”

—–

Natasha: “Well, I don't judge people on their worst mistakes.”
Clint: “Maybe you should.”
Natasha: “You didn't.”

—–

Tony: “Mr. Steve, I almost forgot, that suit did nothing for your ass.”
Steve: “No one asked you to look, Tony.”
Tony: “It's ridiculous.”
Lang: “I think you look great, Cap. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass.”

—–

Thor: “You know it's a trap, right?”
Tony: “Yeah, I don't much care.”
Thor: “Good. Just as long as we're all in agreement. Let's kill him properly this time.”

—–

Steve: “Don't do anything stupid until I come back.”
Bucky: “How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you.”

—–

2012 Cap: “I can do this all day.”
Future Cap: “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

—–

Thor: “Do you know what is coursing through my veins right now?”
Rhodes: “Cheez-Whiz”

—–

Tony: “Did she have any family?”
Steve: “Yeah. Us.”

—–

Tony: “Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now… and stop.”
Potts: “Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my entire life.”

—–

Tony: “What's wrong with him?”
Rocket: “He's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which, of course he did, but you know, there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?”
Tony: “Honestly, at this exact second, I thought you were a Build-a-Bear.”
Rocket: “Maybe I am.”

—–

Rocket: “You think you're the only one that lost people? What do you think we're doin' here? I lost the only family I ever had. Quill, Groot, Drax, the chick with the antenna – all gone! Now, I get that you miss your mom, but she's gone. *Really* gone. And there are plenty of people who are only *kinda* gone. And you can help them. So is it too much to ask that you brush the crumbs out of your beard, make schmoopy talk to pretty pants and when she's not lookin', suck out the Infinity Stone and help me get my family back?”

—–

Lang: Someone peed my pants! Not sure if it was the baby-me or the old me. Or was it just me-me?

—-

Hulk: “I don't know why everyone believes that, but that isn't true. Think about it. If you go into the past, that past becomes your future, and your former present becomes the past, which can't now be changed by your new future!”
Nebula: “Exactly!”
Lang: “So, BACK TO THE FUTURE's a bunch of bullshit?”

—–

Lang: “Hi! Uh, is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago? At the airport? In Germany? I got really big.”

—–

Natasha: “You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side – I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich.”
Steve: “Sorry, force of habit.”

—–

Steve: “Some people move on. But not us… Not us.”

—–

Lang: “A planet? Like in outer space?”
Rocket: “Oh, look, it's like a little puppy, all happy and everything. Do you want to go to space, puppy? I'll take you to outer space!”

—–

Clint: “Don't.”
Natasha: “Don't what?”
Clint: “Don't give me hope.”
Natasha: “I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner.”

—–

Banner: “If we do this, how do we know it's going to end any differently than it did before?”
Danvers: “Because before, you didn't have me.”

—–

Tony: “He did drop the occasional pearl.”
Howard: “Such as?”
Tony: “No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”

—–

Thor: “I didn't say I was from the future.”
Frigga: “I was raised by witches, boy. I see with more than eyes and you know that.”
Thor: [starts crying] “I'm totally from the future.”

—–

Tony: “Go to bed, or I'll sell all your toys.”

—–

Parker: “I don't know how are you going to get it through all that.”
Wanda: “Don't worry.”
Okoye: “She's got help.”

—–

Tony: “Move aside, there, Lebowski.”

—–

Lang: “Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events…”
Tony: “I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on BACK TO THE FUTURE?”

—–

Thor: Not necessary. There shall be no knifing one another. Everybody knows who's in charge.
Quill: [after a few seconds] Me, right?
Thor: Yes, you. Of course! Of course….Of course.

—–

Tony: “Why don't you come and sit down?”
Thor: “I'm not done. The only thing that is permanent in life is impermanence.”
Tony: “Eggs? Breakfast?”
Thor: “No. I'd like a Bloody Mary.”

—–

Silvestri's grand work on INFINITY WAR meant coming back for the sequel, and right out of the gate he sets the tone of the movie with an ethereal, heartwarming piece that comes with Tony leaving a message for Pepper. Even the more emotional pieces for IW don't sound anything like the low, lullaby sound of “Totally Fine,” which seems tailor-made to get the waterworks going. Much of the movie's score is like this at the start, replacing the instant action and energy of IW's music with more methodical pieces, emphasizing the character work of the movie's first act. One of the best pieces in these early stages is “Becoming Whole Again,” tracking Scott's confusion in the new world, before ending on the heart-tugging violin sound as he embraces his daughter. As the movie and the music progresses, what I find I love most is that, while IW takes you on an adventure, ENDGAME's music takes you on a journey. We start quietly with the introspective character pieces, then move into the heist-themed angles, Silvestri taking pieces fit for an OCEANS movie and giving it a superhero, AVENGERS spin (“The How Works”, “So Many Stairs”). Then, when it comes time to get into the major action, that final act gets some of Silvestri's best, crafting unique pieces like “Worth It” to match Cap's use of Mjolnir, and “Portals” which is by far the best use yet of the AVENGERS theme he crafted years ago. Then he starts where he began, with sweeping, gut-punch themes, like “The Real Hero” to match the memorial of Tony Stark, and “Go Ahead,” which makes use of Captain America's theme. I really can't gush enough about Silvestri's work here. While his work on IW is big and daring while balancing the tonal shifts, he gets to craft a whole new array of music here, taking us through the journey of these characters from heartache to salvation. The moments that leave you loving these characters are given infinite more heft thanks to Silvestri's music here, giving so many moments a unique, sensory-hitting sound, all of which kicks off a wave of emotion that's hard to get out of.

Also, as I said before, ENDGAME is not so much about the spectacle as it is about centering the story solely on the main characters. Because of that, there’s not as much room for superhero action as there is in IW. That is in no way a bad thing, both because a character-centric approach is what’s best, and because ENDGAME also has it’s share of awesome spectacle. The Russos throw it back to WINTER SOLDIER with a sweet, continuous sword fight between Barton’s Hawkeye (Ronin?) and the Yakuza boss, and the whole time-travel scenes are fun from start to finish. But then things get crazy in the final hour, as Thor, Cap, and Iron Man take on Thanos, which has several cheer-worthy moments in of itself (Cap! Hammer!). That assembly scene is beyond epic, and is, literally, a scene we will never see on that level again given the fate of some characters and emotional build-up that led to it.

By shifting the focus from Thanos to the heroes he decimated, the Mad Titan takes a back seat here. He’s weakened by the use of the Infinity Stones and is thus decapitated by Thor very early on. But he gets to come back by taking advantage of the time-travel angle, which more so means to act as a way for the Avengers to once and for all avenge the fallen and kick his ass. Even as a less notable baddie this time around, he’s still made an imposing force, his Gauntlet replaced with a massive, double-bladed weapon, and takes to school Cap, Thor and Iron Man. He even gets to drop some more god-delusion bombs, talking about how he now knows his plan should be to wipe out all of humanity and not just half, so even he gets to go through some changes this time around. Brolin is still great and earns his place as one of the top Marvel baddies (if not the best), but he just doesn’t have the same presence this time around, although it’s entirely understandable why.

ENDGAME is all about the characters, and what it doesn’t always have in sweeping action is more than made up for in effecting developments and moments between the characters. That first scene alone between Tony and Steve, wherein the former grills the latter over the events that broke the team apart, is brimming with the history between the two and has a low-key power to it – made all the better by Downey’s incredible work. Beyond that, there’s fantastic character development for all the main Avengers, including Thor, Banner, Clint, and Natasha, each of whom gets pushed in exciting and heartbreaking directions. For a few, this movie marks their end in the hero game, for one reason or another, and those final moments are profound, challenging and heartwarming and put into perspective how far these characters have come over the last decade or so.

With many of the characters from the first movie gone this time around, ENDGAME doesn’t get the benefit of all the quirks and charms of characters, like a big chunk of the GUARDIANS, but that doesn’t mean the humor takes a big hit. With the inclusion of Ant-Man/Scott Lang, featuring a ton of Rocket, Professor Hulk, and the introduction of Bro Thor, ENDGAME is funnier than many of its predecessors in so many odd ways. Hulk/Bruce giving Lang some tacos is funny and sweet, and just watching Thor simply exist as he does is equal parts hilarious and tragic, given what it means for his character. When you get all these characters together it’s hard not for them to be funny, given the history between them all, and so though it may not be as funny as the previous movie, it’s still a riot, nonetheless. Where this movie gets enough points to launch it over its competition is that it's bursting with the heart of the MCU. We see a whole new side to all remaining characters as they each learn to deal with the aftermath in their own, profound ways. Not to mention several scenes can get the waterworks going, like Steve seeing Peggy again, Tony talking with his dad, Nat throwing herself from the cliff, and, of course, that whopper of a final act which sees Tony laying down his life, and Steve going back to live his. There is so much heart and emotion pouring out of this movie that it’s enough to make it all feel like it was really the end of the MCU, with this one saga closing for good (though we all know that ain't happenin'). It’s all so much to handle!

Praise:

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (91% Audience)
IMDb: 8.6 (Top Rated Movie #30)
Metacritic: 78 (7.8 Audience)

Money:

$858 million domestic ($2.795 billion global)