I CANNOT BELIEVE WE FINALLY DID IT. I’M SO AMPED UP THAT I THINK I’LL DO THIS POST IN ALL UPPERCASE, IT’S THAT EXCITING! IT’S SO UNBELIEVABLE I ALMOST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.
just kidding. i know exactly what to do with myself, give you all the final mcu review you’ve been waiting to read for MONTHS. and i mean months. you guys have held on through the good, the bad, and the ugly, and we now get to wrap things up with my review of avengers: endgame. but first, for one time more, let’s talk food.
i saw this final night as a celebration, and we deserved to do it up big. sure, we could have easily gone to a fancy steakhouse for dinner, but since we had a few special guests joining us for the evening, we decided to stay in and go all out on ultimate charcuterie. i mean, it was just perfect. we had hard cheeses, soft cheeses, salamis, prosciuttos, olives, nuts, fruits, gherkins, crackers, baguette slices, thor hammers, infinity stones, hummus, spreads, and champagne, of course! it was a roaring success, and i’m not sure anything can top cheese and champagne. except perhaps cheetos and champagne. 🙂
we all loaded up our plates and settled into our spots. i mentioned we had some special guests joining us, and it was so great having kyle, kyle, liz, and dom with us for the big finale. even grace and gwen didn’t mind their company. so, with the lights dimmed and everyone set with food and drink, dave clicked play.
i will start by saying that at the time of me writing this post, i have now watched endgame from start to finish once every day for the past three days. it only felt right if i was going to do marvel and myself justice, and i am glad i put in the hours because there is plenty to unpack. this movie exceeded my expectations in many ways, and although i am going to later give you my stream of consciousness for the entire film, i first will start by saying that the second half of this movie lifted the first half. i understand so much of what goes in that first hour and a half is required for the rest of the story, but man it moved so slowly. then, though, once all the action finally kicked in, i couldn’t get enough. the fight scenes, the suspense, the culmination of so much for so many characters was unbeatable. you’ll see below that i ultimately ranked endgame as number one alongside iron man for many reasons, the primary being that my long-held belief that iron man was one of the best avengers was realized in this film. throughout the infinity saga he proved to be incredibly perceptive and, in the end, sacrificed it all for the greater good. i do understand without many of the other avengers the story could not play out like it did, but it all really did fall on his shoulders in the end, and the way things finalized made me adore him even more.
in thinking about where we started and where we now are, i can truly say i finally understand and appreciate the greatness across these films. we all know i wasn’t so sure about the “unrealness” at first, but as i reflect on everything i’ve watched, i admire how all the stories and characters were cleverly weaved throughout 20 films and perfectly pulled together here at the end. there was plenty of humor, wit, and seriousness to go around, and i would gladly plop my butt down to do it all again. and you’ll be happy to hear i plan to pick up with all the series and films that have come after endgame to see where else we are led in this universe.
so, without further adieu, here is everything i felt throughout avengers: endgame.
- the more i learned about nebula, the more i came to like her. i mean, as much as you can like her.
- i was very glad that captain america shaved his beard.
- speaking of hair, i’ve decided i definitely like romanoff’s hair short and blonde.
- and speaking more of hair, hawkeye’s new ‘do was pretty trendy. but sam’s facial hair…? not so much.
- i guess i liked captain marvel’s confidence. and, i suppose she did play a couple big parts in this film (rescuing tony and then taking down that big ship at the end). but didn’t all of that just feel a little too convenient? i’m just saying.
- the music throughout this entire film was near perfection.
- just before he’s beheaded, thanos states, “i am inevitable.” not gonna lie, that was pretty terrifying. i mean, who says that? someone who’s gonna fuck shit up, that’s who.
- i know hawkeye lost everyone, but damn. his life sure took an abrupt turn south. i mean, pretty much everyone’s did.
- i admire captain america’s eternal optimism but am not so sure i’d have the same attitude. i guess that’s what makes him who he is.
- that memorial in san francisco for the vanished was, woof, real heavy.
- poor scotty lang got so confused, but at least his daughter survived! and grew up a ton.
- do you think that cabin where tony and his family live is available to rent? it looked so serene.
- speaking of tony’s place, what was that brown drink supposed to be that he served everyone? looked kinda gross.
- calm, friendly hulk was precious in his glasses and cardigan. glad he found a way to exist with both parts of him.
- i wanted to get in on all that big breakfast food at the diner, especially that obscenely large bowl of scrambled eggs. love me some scrambled eggs.
- that model tony built, the one where he figures out the time travel gps, came together awfully quickly. but, i will forgive it because the “i love you 3000” line shortly thereafter melted my cold heart.
- pepper was definitely speaking my language with that book about composting. gotta go green!
- the time travel tests with teenager scott, old scott, and baby scott were nice moments of comedic relief.
- i wish i looked as unbelievably gorgeous as captain america when i’m pondering life’s biggest challenges.
- fat thor about had me in stitches. surely those costume designers won some kind of award.
- thor using his axe to open beers was fantastic, and can i get a YAAAAAASSSSS for some tropicalia!?!
- i won’t lie, after seeing this movie three times now i’m still not sure i understand the whole changing the past won’t change the future premise, but i’ll just go with it.
- i could not stop smiling when thor was telling the ether story. i am so glad marvel leaned into his comedic side.
- can i get a soft clap for when romanoff cleverly figured out that three stones were in new york in the same year?
- my senses were on edge when captain america included that “whatever it takes” statement in his pep talk. perhaps a little foreshadowing, yes?
- hulk watching himself smash stuff in the streets of nyc was funny.
- i felt so bad for nebula with all those flashbacks/future memories. poor girl cannot catch a break.
- any time someone talked about america’s ass was great.
- every time loki imitates captain america is another reason to love him. and i seriously cannot tell you how excited i am to finally watch his series.
- the whole “i can do this all day”/”yeah, i know” exchange between captain america and himself was just perfect.
- that moment when the sorceror supreme (and the audience) realized strange gave up the time stone because he knew how things were going to end was clutch.
- when thanos figured out the avengers are trying to undo what he did, all i could say was, “oh, damn.”
- i loved the scene where thor got to see his mom again. so sweet. oh, and when his mother tells him “the measure of a person is how well they succeed at who they are,” i knew i’d have to write that one down for us for later.
- i was SO GLAD when jane foster did not have much of a role. can barely stand her!
- one thing that made me happiest was the fact that tony and cap came around to trusting one another again. i feel like so much of this movie was for them, and this part was key.
- i could not stop smiling in all the scenes where tony gets to talk with his dad. another good quote to jot down was, “no amount of money ever bought a second of time.”
- i was holding my breath throughout the entire vormir scene. that got really real and raw and serious, and i have some new-found respect for romanoff.
- on a lighter note, i let out a ROARING laugh when thanos said he would just sit around and wait while nebula went to find the stones. i also fully felt like he should have whipped out a smartphone and just started scrolling social media while he waited. can someone please make a gif of this for me?
- i lol’ed at thor’s bear braid when he summoned his axe and hammer. the hair and makeup team for this movie sure had their fun.
- i CANNOT love enough the fact that captain america summoned thor’s hammer. straight-up badass.
- i had a little chuckle when captain america tightened his half of a shield as if he would single-handedly take down everyone. but it was all backed up and totally legit when everyone who had vanished showed back up, especially spider-man. can’t get enough of him.
- along with captain america with thor’s hammer, i equally loved when he shouted, “avengers, assemble!”
- i seem to have forgotten but then was easily reminded just how boss black panther is.
- i just about lost my mind (in the best of ways) when, just before he snapped thanos into oblivion, tony said, “i am iron man.” uggghhhhh, SO GOOD.
- oh, and then i just about bawled my eyes out when pepper told tony, “you can rest now.”
- and then i barely held it together when tony’s message was playing back and he said, “part of the journey is the end.”
and that’s it, friends. that is the end.
EATS
- charcuterie
- tortugas
- trader joe’s
- sweet octopus
- alessio’s
- gordo’s pizza
- alebrije mexican restaurant
- jim’n’nick’s
- burger 21
- masterpiece
- jerusalem bakery
- armando’s caribe
- honeypig
- sonny’s bbq
- cue barbecue
- lon u
- rose and olive
- wayback burger
- 2 nyers pizza
- tokyo shokudo
MOVIES
- iron man & avengers: endgame
- avengers: infinity war
- ant-man
- spider-man: homecoming
- guardians of the galaxy
- captain america: the first avenger
- black panther
- thor: ragnarok
- thor: the dark world
- captain marvel
- captain america: civil war
- guardians of the galaxy vol. 2
- thor
- avengers: age of ultron
- captain america: the winter soldier
- doctor strange
- iron man 3
- the avengers
- iron man 2
kelsey v 