By Eddie Paul
“We’re in the endgame, now”, says Doctor Stephen Strange in the thrilling “final act” of last year's blockbuster hit, Avengers: Infinity War. A whole year later, the “endgame” has arrived! Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame comes out this weekend, and will act as a thrilling “last hurrah” for the lightning-in-a-bottle success story that has been the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Endgame is set to feature the return of the superhero all-star team known as ‘The Avengers’, led by fan favorites such as Captain America and Iron Man, who have to set out to “finish” a harrowing plan to defeat Thanos and save the entire universe from devastation. Such high stakes are typical for a “final,” “closing” installment in a franchise that has spanned over 10 years and 22 movies. It may be a cliché to say “the stakes have never been higher”, but not even Michael Jordan could touch these stakes. They are that high. Even if Michael Jordan jumped, he could not reach those stakes.
Some might say bringing a multi-billion dollar movie franchise that has delighted comic book fans and general audiences alike to a “definitive conclusion” is unwise. Why shouldn’t we continue to get more surefire hits starring Spider-Man, the Blank Panther, or Ant-Man and his buzz partner, the Wasp? Though I have no desire to see these stories completely closed off forever, never to be revisited again (with no sequels, reboots, or continuations planned, or even possible), I admire the conviction of the Marvel producers who would see this franchise “end” so satisfactorily.
As it stands, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a true testament to the power of Auteur Cinema. It showed the full extent to what this artistic medium is capable of, and forever changed my “life” for the better. I’ll be sad to see it go, but I have no doubt its legacy will live on, and one day be some cult, underground “discovery” made by cinema buffs of the distant future. I cannot wait for that day.
Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters worldwide April 26th.
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