[Movie Review] Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame, while remaining worth a watch, is not Marvel’s best work. It’s not the series’ funniest installment, despite devoting a remarkable fraction of its unnecessary running time to jokes and gags; it’s not the most thought-provoking, with story decisions and contrivances that undermine its “move-on” message on multiple occasions; it’s not even the most intense, with its epic battle scenes, few as they are, coming at the expense of a story that seems to otherwise have little to do or to say. For viewers expecting a somber meditation on grief and loss, or a complex Civil War-esque combination of politics and character drama, this dabbles in but doesn’t commit to any of those things. It’s a collection of admittedly epic cameos, well-made fight scenes, and numerous callbacks to earlier movies, without a lot of its own substance.

Movie Review: Captain America – Civil War

Before I’d ever heard of the Marvel comic event that would eventually beget this film, I had a vision of a superhero story where collateral damage is used as an excuse to discredit superheroes and to call for their arrest or cessation. Captain America: Civil War more or less is that story, and its often serious tone makes for a compelling if sometimes emotionally unforgiving story that strikes a healthy balance between being fun, without being irresponsible (usually), and being introspective, without being depressing.

As did the Avengers films, Captain America in many ways feels like a sequel to the Iron Man films and several other stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as a foretaste of what the franchise will hold in the years to come–but rather than simply being a series of movie-length advertisements and product placements, Civil War feels more like the unfolding of a diverse array of character beliefs and motivations that have become increasingly morally difficult to reconcile. Even though some aspects of the premise feel thinly constructed and halfhearted, the movie finds enough value in its action and its interpersonal stories to excuse the gaps in its foundation. If you’re a longtime Marvel follower seeking a realistic treatment of superheroes that isn’t as dark as DC’s Watchmen, this is that story.

Movie Review: The Avengers (or Marvel Avengers Assemble)

How to even begin?  The Avengers is destined to be one of the standout pictures of 2012, and it easily ranks among the best films in the genre.  With a story that is simple enough to be easily understandable but complex enough to be thought-provoking, Joss Whedon does an astounding job of essentially telling half a dozen superhero stories at once.