SPOILERS! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!
I (finally) had the chance to see Marvel’s Endgame in the cinema. Overall, the movie was beautifully paced, with the first act being the surviving Avengers dealing with their failure to stop Thanos from turning half the life in the universe to dust. I will admit I still wonder how “the dusting” was worked out – did this include microbes and insects? Stomach bacteria? And for all those planets where Thanos already wiped out half of the population with his army of monsters, did they get a reprieve?
Anyway, the Avengers, with a little help from Ant Man and a journey into the Quantum realm, hatch a plan to bring back the infinity stones to undo Thanos’ snap. The plot gets a little “wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey” (I’m sure Karen Gillan as Nebula was completely at ease with it all) but each character gets a great storyline and they build up a fantastic tension for the final battle against Thanos.
I’ve been chatting with a lot of different people about what went wrong with Monday’s GoT episode, and wondering why it was so unsatisfying in comparison to Endgame. Both made some smart choices; they dropped a cast of thousands to focus on resolving the plot of a small group of core characters. Both had major events that turned on character decisions. Both had character resolutions that involved victory or death.
So why was one so much fun and the other so frustrating? Because good writing matters.
Marvel’s Endgame, while action packed, was never hurried in its pacing. Relationships were teased out, they had some great call-backs to previous movies, and even in the thick of the action the characters were still revealing themselves to us. The audience first got to see some of their favorite characters in the way we’ve come to know and love; Captain America was prim and dutiful, Ironman was sardonic and arrogant, Paul Rudd’s Antman was hilarious, and even Thor, while fat and depressed after the loss of his brother and most of Asgard, was still full of energy and bravado. On a more serious note, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye were serious and controlled, hiding the guilt and pain of their pasts.
Then we got to see these characters resolve themselves through the narrative; Ironman lays down his life for the people he loves, becoming a truly selfless hero. Captain America finally finds a way to stop fighting and hang up his shield, and Thor regains his confidence to strike out on his own for new adventures. Black Widow’s final scene was heart-breaking, but she died happily, redeeming herself herself through self-sacrifice. The entire 11 year saga was beautifully completed, and the final battle opened doors for a plethora of new movies.
I won’t rehash the shortcomings of the battle for the Iron Throne, save to say that the characters weren’t given the chance to really reveal themselves or given the time to come to a full resolution – which is what I loved about the Night King episodes.
It’s all about pacing, character development and emotional payoff. With the return of Spiderman, I’m pumped to see the next Marvel movie, and fingers crossed that Scarlet Witch, Wasp and Valkyrie get to grace our screen for more adventures!
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