Going into this movie, I had only two expectations. I wanted the surviving Avengers to bring back those who had been taken away by the snap, and for them to kill Thanos. What I was not expecting, was a movie that not only closed up the storyline of Infinity War, but also the character storylines of some of the most beloved characters of the franchise.
The beginning of the movie sets a really somber tone. After confronting Thanos about the stones only to learn he had destroyed them, the heroes try and move on with their lives, and try to accept that they cannot fix it. But when Scott Lang somehow manages to escape from the quantum realm, he rushes to the Avengers and presents them with the plan to use the quantum realm in order to go back in time, recover the stones, and reverse the snap. Although some are hesitant at first, the heroes agree to pursue this mission. And although they did recover the stones, the Avengers also recovered what they had lost.
Thor
After losing his parents, brother, many Asgardians, and half of the population, Thor is in a dark place for much of the movie. He goes into a dark place since he feels like it's his fault for surviving but failing to stop Thanos. And although it is kind of funny, it's also sad to see such a downfall of the God of Thunder.
But when he goes back in time to retrieve the reality stone, he runs into his mother. He breaks down to her, sharing that he feels that he has failed at everything that he is supposed to be. She then provides some motherly wisdom, sharing "Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are."
This not only gives Thor the strength to keep fighting but also sets up his story for the next phase. Realizing that he needs to follow who he truly is, he steps down as King of Asgard and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy in their quest to help save the Universe.
Captain America
Steve Rogers' story comes full circle to where he started out. After Loki messes up their original plan to retrieve the Tesseract, Captain America and Iron Man go back in time to the 1970s to get it. While sneaking into SHIELD's headquarters, he happens to see Peggy, the love of his life, once again. Ever since waking up from being trapped in a block of ice, he has never gotten over her, so his prolonged glance at her leads the audience to believe his storyline with her is still not quite over.
Fast forward to the end of the movie once everything has been set back to normal, Rogers volunteers to go back into the realm to put back the stones where they had found them. Once he comes back though, he doesn't quite look the same. He is much older, and he reveals to his friends Sam and Bucky that he decided to go back and stay with her. The movie then cuts to him going back to her and having a dance… something that he was promised at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger.
Iron Man
Before deciding to go back in time, Tony Stark seemed to be the only person somewhat happy with his life. He married his true love Pepper Potts and even had a daughter. His happiness makes him hesitant to assist the Avengers in their mission to reverse the snap. But, being Tony Stark, he figures out how to make time travel possible. And, being Iron Man, he decides to help the Avengers save all of their friends and loved ones (specifically, Peter Parker).
When he goes back in time with Steve Rogers, he finds the Tesseract. But before going back to the present, he accidentally runs into his father. His father shares that his wife is expecting and that there is nothing he wouldn't do for his unborn child (which happens to be Tony), providing him with much-needed closure.
Although Iron Man's death was upsetting to most people, including me, him dying was the perfect way to end his character arc. Stark started out as a billionaire playboy, who didn't really care about anyone but himself. Through the course of the Marvel series, we have seen a boy transform into a man. His final sacrifice demonstrated how he had turned into a man who is willing to do ANYTHING to save those around him. And why is that? Because He. Is. Iron Man.
Being such a huge fan of the Marvel movies, specifically these characters, I refused to believe that Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. were officially done with the series. I couldn't imagine a world without Captain America or Ironman. But after this movie, I'm okay with it now. Their closure was perfect and somehow managed to wrap up 22 movies. And who knows? Now that time travel has been introduced, there is a possibility of them making a reappearance.
Regardless of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has in store for us, I can confidently say, I loved this movie 3000.
