Avengers Endgame - Movie of the Century

I'd like to start off by quoting some Stan Lee "I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain people, you're doing a good thing." Stan Lee will live on forever in our hearts and words can't be enough to express our gratitude towards him because he did much more than just entertain us. So much work has gone into building the MCU into what it is today and I'm not sure if I can watch another MCU movie after this because of how it left things. 

Endgame picked up exactly where infinity war ended. The review is going to be totally non-spoiler. Joe and Anthony Russo are back for their fourth Marvel movie which might be their last. This is the 22nd movie of the MCU and honestly, I feel like re-watching every single MCU movie countless number of times was one of the best things I've ever done. If you're a fan of the MCU, if you're emotionally attached to these characters then this is the one that's going to please you the most.

I like the fact that Captain America got a lot of time because that was one of my biggest complaints about infinity war. The original trinity got to share the limelight. Iron Man was easily my favorite even though Captain comes close. Thor was cool and this movie was more about the original Avengers than the new ones. The survivors of the snap try to pick themselves up and fight back at the mad Titan. Robert Downey Jr. is at his absolute best and he just kept getting better with every movie and here, he's on another level completely. No amount of oscars are going to justify his performance, he's the main reason this all worked out and he will go down in history as one of the best actors to have brought a comic book character to life right up there with Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackman.

The last half an hour was probably the best and this movie makes it worth watching all the other 21 movies and to enjoy it to the fullest, you should have watched every single one of those, and with some level of dedication. I was fortunate enough to have been a fan of the MCU for a very long time and I got to enjoy it a lot more because of that. MCU is easily one of the best things to have happened to Hollywood. Not sure how much the general audience got out of it but I'm sure that the fans had the best time.

Definitely one of the best times to stay alive and extremely rewarding to have been a comic book movie fan. I'm not going to compare this with DC or Dark Knight or any other movie for that matter because this was its own thing and this is like a gift that the Russos gave us. I enjoy watching comic book movies multiple times but it's going to be really hard for me to see this again. People might need therapy after this because it's going to leave you emotionally scarred. There are a lot of loopholes, unnecessary jokes, and other complaints but I feel like for the experience I got I should think of the negatives a bit later because I just saw Endgame a while back and it has still not sunk inside me fully.

VERDICT:
I don't' feel like I'm worthy enough to give this a rating even though I've been with the MCU right from the beginning. This is a mark of respect I leave for the Stan Lee, Russos, for Robert, Chris (all 3 of them), Tom, Benedict, Scarlett, Mark and every other cast member and crew of Endgame. I urge you to watch all 21 movies and then watch Endgame to truly appreciate it in all its glory.

This movie made me laugh a little, cry a little and live a little. Proud to have been a fan of the MCU and lucky enough to have had the chance to see it in the opening weekend. Marvel has been building their universe for a very long time and they have done a damn good job with it. But we must all accept the fact that a part of the journey is the end.

Shazam! Another big win for DC

Looks like the horror movie directors are doing it for the worlds of DC, James Wan did a great job with Aquaman now we have 'Lights out' movie director David Sandberg with another great movie for DC. Shazam is all about a kid Billy Batson who gets superpowers transferred from a wizard.

Billy Batson is kind of an orphan who keeps running away from foster homes because he's in search of his real parents. After a while, he gets to a foster home with some really cool foster kids Freddy, Mary, Darla, Eugene, and Pedro. Among these kids, Freddy and Darla try to get close to Billy who's usually a closed book and keeps to himself. Ultimately, this is a movie about family and they totally nailed that part. The foster parents and the kids were easily the best parts of the movie. The casting for this movie was amazing, the kids do a fantastic job with it. Zachary Levi was easily the best of them all because he had to impersonate a fifteen-year-old and he absolutely nailed it.

  

This movie was basically every kid's dream, a fifteen-year-old with the powers of an overpowered god who can fly, run extremely fast with super-strength and bullet immunity. Billy, however, needs the help of Freddy who's a huge fanboy of Batman and Superman who's also an expert at all this superhero stuff so because of that Billy starts getting close to Freddy. The way their friendship evolves is really great.

Dr. Sivanna is the villain here and it would be unfair to call him a bad villain. His motivations were well defined and he was kind of the opposite of what Shazam stood for. Speaking of what Shazam actually stands for, these people have really done the comic books some justice, they've stuck to their roots and a lot of this had elements of 'Superman Shazam return of Black Adam' here. There were plenty of teases for Black Adam and I'm definitely excited to see Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. Also, the last twenty minutes of the movie totally blew me away, just going on to prove that comic accuracy is the key, totally loved that stuff.

Almost every five minutes we're teased with Batman or Superman reminding us that this is very much a part of the worlds of DC and that Warner Brothers will continue giving importance to the two greatest pillars of DC, Batman, and Superman. Clearly, DC didn't start off the way they had to but I'm pleased with the way things are going for them right now. Back to back hits with Aquaman and Shazam would definitely help them and both these movies were critically acclaimed. Solo movies are clearly their thing and they've got a hit out of every single solo movie they've made so far. Maybe they should continue making these until they're confident enough to make a justice league movie.

Wonder Woman 2 is in the works, Batman will be coming out next and I feel like it would be a bad call to make Henry Cavill step down as Superman because if this hit streak for DC continues, they definitely need Cavill. I think Warner Brothers have finally found the perfect directors for their movies and that they should give them a chance to do a man of steel sequel before saying goodbye to Cavill because things are really starting to turn around in a really good way. 

The post-credits scene teased a sequel and I think it would make perfect sense if they decide to use Superman in it. Maybe they can go with the Superman Shazam storyline before the Man of Steel sequel. I think it would be really awesome to see Zachary, Cavill and the Rock fighting it out on the big screen. Shazam was exactly what Warner Brothers wanted, a really fun humourous superhero movie with tons of Easter eggs and a message to the world that DC is far from finished. I really hope this streak continues for years to come, I know they can never be as good as Marvel but they can definitely try to be by sticking to solo movies for now until they're confident enough with the right director.

Verdict
Fan in me: 9.5/10
Critic in me: 8.0/10

Avengers Endgame is going to hit the theatres in a couple of weeks and people should definitely consider watching this fun lighthearted emotional superhero movie before getting their hearts broken because Shazam was the true Captain Marvel movie we needed not that crappy one we got to see a month back from Marvel, if that can make a billion dollars at the box office so should Shazam but we all know how unlikely that is because Endgame is coming. But still, WB was brave enough to get it out on the same month as the most expensive Marvel movie ever made. I hope this movie gets the recognition and box office collection it deserves.