Avengers: Endgame was the ending of Phase 4 of the MCU and the movie that wrapped up the franchise as we knew it. This movie ended the story of the original six Avengers that began with the first Iron Man film. While the movie was a booming success at the box office and enjoyed by many fans, there were others who criticized the film as being poorly executed and a bad ending.
As with any movie, there were positives and negatives to the movie, here are some of the best and worst things about it.
Best: The large battle at the end was the pay-off everyone was looking for
One of the best moments of the entire movie was when everyone joined together on the large battlefield on the former Avengers Compound. This was the moment that many people had been waiting for since the end of Avengers: Infinity War.
This was the most triumphant scene where everyone worked together to defeat Thanos, and it was made even sweeter by seeing the snapped heroes come back.
Worst: The rules of time travel made no sense
One of the biggest criticisms that fans and critics alike pointed out was that the time travel elements of the plot didn’t make a lot of sense. There were multiple plot holes and issues pointed out.
For example, it made no sense that Steve Rogers would go back in the past and remain there given the rules of time travel laid out. Focusing so much on the Time Heist was a mistake that took away from the severity of the stakes by relying too much on laughs and a shaky plot.
Best: Seeing Scott Lang’s emotional reunion with his daughter
One thing that many people wanted to see in this movie was the fall out of the Thanos snap and how it impacted the heroes and the world they lived in.
When Ant-Man returned from the Quantum Realm and finally reunited with Cassie, it was one of the most emotional moments. These two were the best father/child duo in the entire MCU, so seeing that Scott had missed so much of her life was extremely heart-wrenching.
Worst: Having Natasha die instead of Clint
Many people were upset by how Black Widow’s storyline was handled in this film. Given that she was the only original member of the Avengers that was a woman, and one of the only female superheroes in the franchise for quite a while, having her be the one to die seemed like a bad move. Given that Hawkeye turned into a rather amoral vigilante after his family got snapped, it would have made more narrative sense to let him redeem himself by sacrificing himself.
Plus, Black Widow wasn’t even given a proper funeral of send-off which made many fans mad.
Best: Seeing Valkyrie be given the title of Queen of Asgard
This point is a bit complex because it was a great thing but also didn’t make a lot of sense for Thor. While seeing Valkyrie take up a leadership role and being given that title was great, it would have been even better if we had seen more scenes with her and how she had gone from a hard-drinking apolitical character to a leader in her own right.
Also, Thor’s arc was focused so long on him becoming a good king, so this shift for his character away from that was strange.
Worst: There is a lot of lazy humor
There is no denying that the MCU is known for having a certain type of humor. This humor relies heavily on quippy remarks and pop culture references, and many people have pointed out how the humor often comes at the expense of serious, emotional moments.
Given that Endgame should have been the most serious MCU movie of all, the humorous moments often felt too jarring. It felt like it was used for lazy laughs and emotional responses and took away from a deeper exploration of what had happened.
Best: Seeing Steve and Tony makeup and all the original Avengers work together
In Captain America: Civil War, Tony and Steve had their break up of sorts. This also leads to the Avengers as a team being split up. Seeing Tony and Steve work together again and become friends was a rewarding moment that needed to happen.
This also meant that the Avengers all became a team again, at least with the remaining non-snapped heroes, even if it was for a short time.
Worst: Steve Roger’s Endgame narrative and MCU send-off didn’t fit his character
Of all the criticisms people made against Endgame, one of the most consistent was about how the movie handled Steve Rogers. This movie basically ignored so much of his character development from previous films in order to send him back to the past. This didn’t make sense with the rules of time travel or with his character.
The fact that the film tried to make Steve’s grief and loss all about Peggy, even though she died years before the snap occurred, didn’t make sense. Many also argued that he isn’t the type of person that could live in the past and not stop bad things from happening.
Best: Tony Stark’s death was rather moving
For many people, one of the most emotional moments from the movie was when Tony sacrificed himself to save the universe. While having Iron Man die was quite sad, it did make for an extremely emotional moment.
Tony has always been trying to prevent the world from Thanos’ attack, so seeing him make the ultimate sacrifice was rather moving.
Worst: It relied way too much on franchise nostalgia and not enough on good storytelling
One issue that many have pointed out about Endgame, and also about another franchise ending movie Rise of Skywalker, was that it was all about nostalgia. Endgame seems to rely more on affection people had for the franchise and the characters than on giving most of them a satisfying ending arc.
The overall storytelling fell flat and people largely liked it because the franchise meant a lot to them.
