Blu-ray Review: “Avengers: Endgame”

Hi everyone!

Avengers: Endgame is out on Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on August 13th, and we received a copy to review. The film became the biggest of all time last month. Avengers: Endgame has a variety of bonus features, many focused around individual characters. I would have expected more features, like a feature length “making of”, but that isn’t here. What is here is interesting, though and I think “Remembering Stan Lee” is worth owning the movie for in itself. Here is our review of the Blu-ray as well as our original film review.

Blu-ray & Digital:

• Remembering Stan Lee – This is a lovely feature honoring Stan Lee, who is shown taping cameos through the years as he talks to the cameraman. Lee says in the feature that he is lucky to get cameos in the films, he really loved shooting them and working with the cast. There are some great candid moments in the feature. You might want a tissue if you haven’t seen it.

• Setting The Tone: Casting Robert Downey Jr. – Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man was the first superhero chosen for the MCU films, and this feature notes how risky it was at the time – but Kevin Feige says it would have been even more risky not to hire him.
• A Man Out of Time: Creating Captain America – Kevin Feige calls Captain America “the backbone of the universe”. Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely started out with Captain America, not realizing they would be working with Marvel for 10 years. Chris Evans says he loves the character, it is everything he wishes he could be. This is a 12 minute feature talking about the character.
•  Black Widow: Whatever It Takes – Scarlett Johansson talks about her character Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow through the years, and filmmakers and Johansson highlight the complexities of her character.
• The Russo Brothers: Journey to Endgame – Anthony and Joe Russo went straight from Captain America: Civil War to Avengers: Infinity War and then Avengers: Endgame. Feige says that these are the only two directors who would pull off this big story. This short, 5-minute feature runs through a lot of quick interviews with actors and filmmakers. This is well done but should have been a longer length.
• The Women of the MCU – The women of the MCU talk about being powerful and strong characters in the films. Avengers: Endgame really showcased how many female superheros are now part of the MCU, starting with Black Widow.
• Gag Reel – This is a cute 2 minute collection of outtakes, but I feel like gag reels as a whole aren’t as funny as they once were. This is an average one.

There is also a commentary, deleted scenes and a few other bonus features, and a digital exclusive called “Steve and Peggy: One Last Dance”. The bonus features here are very well done, and I will give the Blu-ray an A- since it could use one longer feature.

Here is our original review.

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We just got back from a preview of Avengers: Endgame, which officially opens Friday. At the end of the movie, I turned to Jeff and asked “How do I do this without spoilers?”. When we got home, I dove a bit into online theories about what would happen and who would die. It is interesting to see what has been said versus what the film delivers. There are some minor spoilers/plot points here, but I tried to keep them light.

The movie starts out quietly, with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) enjoying time his family, when the snap from the fingers of Thanos (Josh Brolin) changes everything. We eventually see Hawkeye and the other remaining Avengers gather together to try to undo the outcome that took away half of the population – including their population. The original Avengers all deliver in a big way, including Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a green Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and a beer-drinking Thor (Chris Hemsworth). There is also a signature sendoff (literally) during the credits, which almost feels like a curtain call. Nebula (Karen Gillan) brings a lot of heart and emotion to the movie.

Disney says about Avengers: Endgame, “The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios’ grand conclusion to twenty-two films”.

The Russo Brothers made sure that Avengers: Endgame feels like a conclusion. There are not too many loose strings at the end of the movie. Not all of the Avengers survive and those deaths for me are a couple of the most emotional parts of the movie – I wasn’t on the edge of my seat most of the time, I didn’t cry, but there are moments I did not expect. One of those involve Tony Stark that is one of my favorite parts of the movie. And to add to that, the de-aging work they did on Avengers: Endgame is the best I have seen it in a Marvel film. The last 30-45 minutes of Avengers: Endgame feels like several endings. First, an obligatory epic battle scene that allows the surviving Avengers to assemble once more. There are also a couple of other scenes that tie the movie together at the end.

I mentioned that I expect more female power in future films. I am embedding our press conference video, where Brie Larson mentioned that Avengers: Endgame was her first time playing Captain Marvel. It helps that we’ve seen her in the role already for familiarity. There is a moment in Avengers: Endgame where you realize how many strong female characters have been added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it would be interesting to see them bond together in a stand-alone film someday.

Avengers: Endgame is a long film, clocking in at about 3 hours. We weren’t shown previews so it was 3 hours total. There were moments that seemed to plod along for me just a little, and it wasn’t too hard picking out a break midway. That is unlike Captain Marvel, where I felt leaving the theater could make me miss something key in the story. That said, we both enjoyed the film. I’m not sure it is my favorite of the Marvel films from the past 10 years, but it is a very strong showing to tie up the Avengers story – sometimes exciting, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes surprising – and there is a lof humor even with sadness and serious issues.

The soundtrack was scored by Alan Silvestri, and works so well for the film. The end credits music is stunning.

Mousesteps grade for Avengers: Endgame: