No matter which way you want to look at it, Avengers: Endgame is one of the most monumental achievements in Hollywood history, even if you completely ignore the fact it went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all-time.
Paying off an interconnected storyline that began 21 films and eleven years previously using one of the most stacked ensemble casts ever gathered together on the same set sounds difficult enough, without even mentioning the myriad of pieces constantly shuffling around the deck in order to keep everything pulling in the same direction.
The Russo brothers may have come in for some mild criticism for their perceived lack of technical flourishes and visual panache, but you can’t deny that the siblings mastered the standard Marvel Cinematic Universe formula better than anyone else. Endgame is big on action and even bigger on fan service, and less assured hands behind the camera could have focused too heavily on one at the expense of the other.
In a recent interview, Joe Russo revealed that his favorite moment from the movie, and it’s one shared by a huge number of fans.
“Probably Cap with the hammer, because that’s the full circle for us. We worked with that character for a long time, and it was a great payoff for him as a character. The way Evans played that character has such integrity. It’s one of the great characters in movie history because of his performance that, you just want to see him win, you know? You just want to root for this guy. And that moment turned the tide in that fight, and you know, it’s like Rocky getting up off the mat in round 12. It just inspires you.”
Theaters around the world went wild when Steve Rogers proved himself worthy of wielding Mjolnir, and it still remains incredible to think of how many fan-baiting moments Endgame managed to cram into its three-hour running time without detracting from the stakes that powered the narrative.
It’s arguably one of the finest examples of sheer crowd-pleasing entertainment to be found anywhere, and while it was never going to trouble awards season or force the snootier critics to change their opinions about the comic book genre, in terms of escapism, Avengers: Endgame has to be regarded as top-tier stuff.
