Avengers Endgame: Jai Marvel Di!

(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

A good story needs a great ending, just like every gift needs a bow. Avengers Endgame is that pretty, swirly, shiny bow on top of the present that Marvel has been wrapping up for us with 21 films spread across eleven years.

Every fairy tale needs a good, old-fashioned villain, as another villain, Moriarty says in BBC’s Sherlock (2008). In the purple egghead Thanos, Marvel has found its Joker and its Moriarty. Never before have I seen negative character garner as much applause from the audience as the hero does.

(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

I am really at a loss to review this film, for I really don’t know what to write about. We all know the story. Heck, we even know the ending. We know that in the technical department, Marvel is nearly flawless, and that obliterates any need for extra praise for the graphics department, costumes, etc. We also know that the actors are as flawless as the technical details, so harping on their ‘fine performances’ seems ridiculous too.

(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

So what is Avengers: Endgame then? It is, in simple words, an experience as memorable as a trip to Disneyland and as thrilling as a rollercoaster ride. You will go through every emotion conceivable in a cinema theatre, and by the end of it, find yourself exhausted, yet elated. 

My sentiments after watching the film
(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

Since I really cannot review this film about the six infinity stones, I’ve decided to end this semi-rant with six pebbles that you might want to keep in your back pockets before watching the film. Here goes:

• Watch this film in a decent, single screen theatre WITH subtitles
  I assume that a PVR or an INOX would have the fun of a single screen too, but nothing really beats the vibe of a single-screen especially during event films with a giant fan following. There were loud cheers, howls, whistles, applause - everything! Feel free to yell your lungs out as well. Also, thank God for the subtitles, because the punchy dialogues would often drown amidst the din!
  
  
• Take your handkerchiefs with you
  I am not a hardcore Marvel fangirl, and yet I cried in this film. These films have a way of drawing you into them even if you go to the theater as an uninvolved viewer. 

• Don’t underestimate the value of the interval
  The abrupt interval during Endgame was the only time I truly appreciated the rule set by Indian theatres to cut a film after 90 minutes, and you will appreciate it too. At 181 minutes, Endgame runs longer than regular Hindi films, so stock up on water and munchies. A run to the loo might be wise. 

• Sit till the end credits roll
  There is NO mid or end credit scene in this film, but please do wait till the end credits finish rolling. While the casting credits are a beautiful sign-off (pun intended) to the Avengers series, we all know that the series would have been incomplete without a nod to the special effect, sound and production teams. Just sit through the ten-odd minutes out of respect and gratitude. 

• Don’t be in a rush
  This film is the last of 22 films - it does take its time to ‘get to the point’, as one would say. It is an ode to the heroes, the villains, the story and most importantly, the fans. Let the movie go at its own pace, and just enjoy.
  
  
• Don’t give out any spoilers!
  This movie has multiple spoilers and easter eggs that make it impossible to review. Be a good fan, and don’t come out of the theatres and shriek “ XX is alive/dead/missing/whatever”. 

Avengers, Assemble! Wakanda Forever! Woohoo, woman power!! (just some of the things I shouted out in the theater!)