I will admit, I went through all the emotions before going to see the “new” Avengers: Endgame Encore movie. At first, I was so dang happy to see new footage. When the film first released back in 2019, I was wondering if there would be any sort of post credits sequence. Then, I predicted that there would not be one. Which turned out to be correct. However, this time around it was different. While I will leave it to you to see it for yourself, I will admit that it is worth staying through the credits this time around. Though, I am not entirely happy with the Russo brothers (the directors of Endgame/Endgame Encore). But I am also not mad at them, either. I went from feeling like this was homework to having a blast. Though, it is not a blast because of the added footage.
Okay, so I went from being excited for the new footage to realizing I would have to sit through 3 hours of a film I had already seen just to get a few precious minutes of bonus content. If it sounds like a deal where one side benefits more than the other, you are definitely not wrong. But, if you want to go a step further, not only was it less than three minutes of extra content, as was the word on the street, it may have only been maybe a minute and a half. Supposedly the creatives at Disney only gave the MCU fans who purchased IMAX tickets the full 3 minutes. I have not confirmed that yet. So do not take my word as gospel. They may very well have given everyone the same amount of footage. They just misled us in saying that it was a necessary rewatch.
I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed myself rewatching Endgame. I have seen the movie two or three times previously. This experience hit me like a Mack truck. And I was surprised by who I really enjoyed seeing. To me, two of the best performances in this movie were two people who were not even in their first part. (First part being Infinity War). That’s right: Hawkeye and Ant Man absolutely steal the show and dominate every scene they are in. Their performances aged so well. While one of the obvious glares we must ignore is that Thanos conveniently snaps most besides the OG Avengers out of existence. So, it makes the whole thing come full circle. Having the OGs there was just totally unbelievable. But once you get past that, it is a beautiful story.
I believe that each of the original Avengers in Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow turn in their best performances to date. It is such an emotional movie. In fact, it was so emotional that I cried again at this movie. I cried when Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther came out of the portal. I also cried when Tony made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, I am not saying I am like Batman and I never cry, but I am just giving some background as to how this movie has aged well.
Many prefer Infinity War to Endgame, but I think you could certainly debate if there is more story in Endgame. Hawkeye’s arc was tremendous and needed a three-hour run time to fully explore. He goes from a family time loving dad to a killer, back to a family man. For Ant Man, he goes from being trapped in the quantum realm to reuniting with his now five years older daughter, to saving the day with his time travel/time heist idea.
It was touching how the group convinced Iron Man to perfect time travel. It was not enough for him to hear the pain of others. He had his family. But it was an incomplete family. He was a father figure to Peter. So, after seeing a picture he took with Peter Parker, he realizes what other families had lost. Sometimes it takes experiencing pain ourselves to empathize with others. After all, it was a huge risk. “Whatever it takes”, as they said. The plot was so full we almost did not have time for a villain. But Thanos was an inevitable foe. His younger self was more battle tested. And seeing him fight the Big Three was like being at a concert. It gives you all those moments where each character, good or bad, showcases the full potential of their abilities.
Then there is the final big battle. To be honest, the first time I saw the fight, I was wondering when the characters who were brought back would show up. I guess Dr. Strange had to give them a pre-game speech in the locker room to catch them up. He honestly could have just said, “the fight’s not over yet” and they’d have saved so much time. It’s not a perfect movie (looking at you, “don’t worry, she has help” scene). Even with its flaws, I wonder if Endgame is not at least a top five to top ten comic book movie of all time. It is truly an iconic experience, and nothing will ever take that away.
This film has aged perfectly. I know when I get around to fatherhood one day, I will show these films to my kids. And I will compare them to what Star Wars was for my parents, and how the MCU was my Star Wars. That’s coming from a guy who loves DC more than Marvel. It is okay to be a fan of both. Regardless of what keyboard warriors will tell you, you can like both.
Avengers: Endgame Encore is still 4.5 stars out of 5.
I’d give it a full five stars, but the added footage does not move the needle enough for it to be called perfect. Besides that, the Big Three vs. Thanos would have been better if Thor would’ve transformed back into the buff, lady killer we knew him to be. I really love this movie. In fact, I love it so much, I’d say I would rank it even higher than Infinity War. I would recommend seeing this either if you want to experience this film with a crowd again or if you’re a diehard Marvel fan wanting some breadcrumbs to chew on before Doomsday comes out in December.
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