The ENDGAME Decoded : Review

Before I start telling what’s good and what’s great in the movie here are a few spoilers.

Ohk, I am kidding, the article contains discussions on some scenes and moments in the film so please proceed with caution as there will be a lot of spoilers ahead... Hell Ya!! the movie is too good to spoil for anyone(any fan).

So let’s begin!

To begin with, the film is a complete delight to watch from dialogues to visuals, till the final battle and that epic end, it’s spellbinding. It’s the most apt and just endings written in a long time.

MCU movies after Iron Man 2008, have grown to be one of the best movie watching experiences in the contemporary times, with almost 21 films before the Endgame, Marvel has created an enormous storyline with some great characters for everyone.

Since, being aware of the fact that the film is great and has got all of us excited, I decided to review this in two points of view:

1. A film: where it is just a 3 hour experience and nothing more
2. An MCU movie: basically reviewing it in the context of all the other films has given us this great saga.

Number 1: THE FILM

Endgame, in this enormous 3 hour long timeline is showing all the original Avengers like Capt. America, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawk Eye and some new additions to this like Ant Man, Captain Marvel, Rocket, Warmachine etc. trying to go back in time to get the infinity stones before Thanos (the self proclaimed ‘corrector of the universe’) has them or at least before The Snap.

The story starts with 22 days after the Wakandan battle and jumps straight 5 years ahead where no one, not even governments or corporations could have done anything and the world (including our heros) have lost all hope to get back the people they lost.

This interesting premise pulls you directly into the film and you are emotionally invested in almost no time.

Now this narrative structure is a classic ‘series ender’. Why? Because this takes you through the past in times and since they are time travelling you know you will be seeing things that have already happened and it’s basically a nostalgia trip for a better part of the story and you know the things are untangling for the good, so the mistakes made earlier are now being corrected. It’s something like to see the story go back in time to correct itself.

The power of great writing (Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely) is such that, you are never disappointed. The character flaws of each character are covered and all  major characters are given a closure that they deserve.

Some of the best examples of this is when Tony Stark meets his father in the past and learns that they are expecting a baby, it’s one of those moments that just lets you surrender to the writers and enjoy the emotion of the scene. Another such scene is  when we see Captain America sitting on a chair, old and wise and gives his shield to Sam(the Falcon). It’s just graceful in many ways. Also, the lord of thunder, Thor meets his mother on Asgard and has a small peep talk about his life and his place in the universe, it’s a beautiful moment where he finds purpose again and the story moves forward with more motivation and determination.

The final act is less on emotion as the film has already given you the roller coaster ride that now you just have to sit back and gasp as they resurrect every character lost due to the snap and see them fighting the final battle.

A very simple yet amazing thing in storytelling is the power play and Marvel has its own way around it. It has first of all given powers to people and then have given more powers to objects, the drama that builds is now people having those objects and using it in their own sweet way. 

Marvel really materializes power, although there is a big subtext in it but it’s made pretty evident, for eg: Thor’s Hammer, Capt. America’s Shield, The Iron-man’s Armour, The Infinity Gauntlet, the Pym Particle, The Stormbreaker and of course, The Infinity Stones and others that take the drama ahead in the film.

Number 2: Endgame: An MCU movie

Endgame is the last movie of the MCU hence needless to say that the theory of Plant and Payoff is the strongest in this one, it’s a great screenwriting tool, but marvel has taken it way ahead.

What is ‘Plant & Payoff’?

The concept behind using ‘plant and payoff’ is to introduce a story point, visual, line of dialogue, character trait, or object early on within the screenplay and have that element return with the reveal that it is actually partial to the events to come later in the story.

The roots of ‘plant and payoff’, also known as Setup/Reveal, Plant/Reveal, Setup/Payoff, Seed/Reap - stem from foreshadowing, a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

In a movie like this there are a lot of things that were payed off from 21 movies which was a mammoth task upon the writers and they have not at all disappointed. Be it Tony Starks story or Captain America’s last kiss, subplots that completed the whole thing as a full circle.

So, here’s a thought, it won’t be wrong to say that

‘All of the MCU is basically a love story where Captain America finally meets his lost love at the end’. Give it a thought.

Ohk, moving onto a major ‘spoiler’ [Alert] - Tony Stark dies while saving the world, it’s the saddest part of the entire story, you have really lived it with this character and while seeing that happen you know, the inevitable and yet the story gives you that shock.

Almost the entire cinema hall was into tears when that happend, people were in tears even after the movie ended. And it’s that love and euphoria that makes it a great cinematic experience.

For a major part of my life, I have been analyzing films, stories and trying to figure out how those jaw dropping moments are created.

You know when the first ever jaw-dropping moment in film was created, where in 1869 in a film called ‘Arrival of a Train’ where a film was screened on the curtains showing a train approaching the camera and it caused people to run! Because no one was so familiar with cinema, people actually did got scared. It was a milestone in cinema.

So a thought just crossed, we always see art films, Indie films and rate them as artistic and gasp over their brilliance, but why is it that this kind of commercial cinema is not considered art? Well, because the way I see it, since the ‘Arrival of a Train’ till ‘Endgame’ every advancement, be it in technology or craftsmanship was made to sustain the same effect similar to that of a train arrived on screen and people believing the reality of it. Just a thought.

But be it anyway, every bit of the film was exciting and the euphoria in the audiences as well as myself was not willing to stop. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Iron Man (2008) was playing parallely and that was the sadest part, when you know it’s done, there will be no more “Ebambay’s” or no more “Suit up’s”.

I however really tried hard to keep my excitement in control but the movie doesn’t let you stay at peace, it’s that marvel magic that makes you scream, shout, clap and cry; it’s that goosebump you feel while reading the last page of a great book, it’s that last thing where you have to make peace with the fact that there won’t be a post credit scene ahead, anymore.

It’s sad yet amazing. Thank you Marvel.

Thank you for making the world rejoice in a collective cheer!

And yes, Captain lifts the Hammer of Thor!

Hahaha

Until next time
Akash Ajay.

And, Special thank to a very special friend Animesh Rastogi.