Dueling Critics: Avengers: Endgame

09:36 May 06, 2019
By: David Vicari, Fritz Esker

Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the remaining Avengers - Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) among them - must figure out how to reverse the destruction of 50% of life in the universe caused by Thanos (Josh Brolin) in this concluding Avengers story.

Fritz: Since Iron Man opened in 2008, comic book movies have dominated multiplexes and show no signs of slowing down. After 20something Marvel Cinematic Universe films, the formidable studio is closing the books on its first chapter with Avengers: Endgame. So what did you think of this sprawling 3-hour epic?

David: I felt that it delivered and lived up to all the hype. Endgame is an incredible entertaining movie and its 3-hours just flew by. The plot works, the action is exhilarating, the performances are absolutely fantastic and it's all done with a hearty sense of humor. What did you think?

Fritz: I don't think I liked it as much as you did, but I enjoyed it overall. It felt like a much more focused film to me than Avengers: Infinity War. This might be because half of the characters are dead at the start of the film, so it doesn't have the temptation to try and cram in fan-service scenes for every character. But I thought that they managed to include arcs for Iron Man and Captain America in Endgame, so it worked much better as a standalone film than Infinity War.

After 20-something Marvel films and multiple DC films, how do you feel about the comic book genre these days? Are you ready to move on or ready for more?


David: While I don't think Infinity War was as unfocused as you feel it was, I do think that Endgame is a very cohesive movie that - for the most part - can stand on its own and non-fans can probably follow it.

As for the future of the comic book genre, Endgame really raises the bar, so both Marvel and DC will have to come up with something special to rival it. Then again, the recent Shazam! was fresh and unpretentious, and I am looking forward to Wonder Woman '84 and Guardians 0f the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Fritz: Endgame does stand on its own as an individual film and I think that's something any movie needs to do, even if it's part of a multiverse. As for the comic book genre, I have mixed feelings. I also enjoyed Shazam!, so I don't think the genre's creatively bankrupt yet. But it does frustrate me somewhat that comic book movies dominate the marketplace as much as they do (I'd love to see more mid-budget movies targeted at adults), but if they're what's getting people to actually go to theaters instead of staying home and streaming movies, then I suppose it's a good thing (it'll be a very sad day for me if movie theaters ever go the way of video stores). And even though I'm not as much of a Marvel fan as you or some other people, it is nice to see people genuinely excited and waiting in line to go to theaters and see a movie.

Sign Up!

FOR THE INSIDE SCOOP ON DINING, MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, THE ARTS & MORE!