Avengers: Endgame (5 Stars)

This is the third time I've seen "Avengers: Endgame". The first time I saw it was in a German cinema. The second time was in an English cinema. Today I watched it in a friend's house, in beautiful 4K resolution and supposedly Dolby Surround Sound. I say supposedly, because I wasn't aware of being surrounded by the sound. It seemed to be coming to me from the front, like a normal stereo soundtrack. I'm saying that as a compliment. If I'm watching a film that's taking place in front of me, I don't want to hear the noises behind me.

I feel quite jealous of the beautiful movie system that I enjoyed today. It's not a matter of money. I could afford it if I wanted to. My trouble is the size and layout of my room. The furthest I can sit away from the screen is 135 cm (53 inches), so the largest screen that would be sensible for me is 49 inches.

Yesterday I watched "Avengers: Infinity War", which helped me to appreciate "Avengers Endgame" in its context. "Infinity War" has action all the way, whereas "Endgame" is slow and  mournful, with only occasional action scenes, all of which are splendid when the action breaks out. For the first hour very little happens at all. We meet the characters, and we share their sorrow after having lost so many friends.

I'm pleased to see that Captain Marvel's powers haven't been toned down in the film. Of the highly powered heroes, she's the only one who lives up to her strength in the comics. This makes her the most powerful hero in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), unlike the comics, where several heroes have greater power, such as Warlock and the Silver Surfer. The original male Captain Mervel in the comics was also stronger than her.

Where do the Avengers go from here? Where does the MCU go from here? Kevin Feige, the producer of the MCU, has promised that there won't be an early reboot, starting the Avengers again from the beginning with younger actors. In "Endgame" several characters were killed, and others will disappear because the actors haven't renewed their contracts, so now they've gone for good. They'll be replaced by other Marvel characters; there are so many to choose from. This is a good idea, but we can't go on like that forever. The best, most appealing characters are the ones that Stan Lee invented in the 1960's, and cinema audiences will grow bored when they've disappeared. A reboot is inevitable, but when will it happen? I don't know yet. The Marvel bosses will make a decision based on the viewing figures.

"Avengers Endgame" has become the highest grossing film ever, if the figures aren't adjusted for inflation. That's one of the advantages of my Success Rate. It's a relative number from comparing the budget and the box office takings, so inflation doesn't play a role. My way of calculating the Success Rate makes "Endgame" the most successful film in the MCU, but less successful than the non-MCU Marvel film "Venom", which scored + 6.6.

Success Rate:  + 5.8

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In the review I wrote yesterday about "Avengers: Infinity War" I said that Thanos would never retire and become a hermit or a farmer. One of my friends sent me a message, saying that I was mistaken. He pointed out, quite correctly, that after he lost the Infinity Gauntlet to Adam Warlock he became a farmer, "scraping out a living from the soil". However, this is what he became after losing the Gauntlet. He would never have become a farmer if he had remained the universe's supreme being. He was exiled to live alone on a remote planet by Adam Warlock, so what else could be do except to farm the land?

As we can see, he's become very stoic. He accepts his new position in life. However, I don't believe he would have taken this position voluntarily.

The story of Thanos continues in Marvel comics, some of them written by Jim Starlin, but for me this page isn't just the end of the Infinity Gauntlet saga, it's the final end of what I consider to be Marvel canon.