Avengers Endgame Review

Part of the journey is the end, and what an ending this was. After 11 Years and 22 Movies, this Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has come to a conclusion. Everything that has been created has truly been building to this moment, especially with the epic cliffhanger ending of Avengers Infinity War. This movie also served to conclude character arcs and storyline threads that began between 7 to 11 years ago beginning with Iron Man 1 in 2008. Endgame does this in a spectacular fashion with this epic thrill ride that is due to the excellent world-building and dedication to character empathy and development that highlights the best that this franchise has to offer.

The movie starts off on a strong note as we see Clint Barton (Hawkeye) spending time with his family while teaching his daughter how to shoot an arrow. As soon as Clint turns around, he notices that everybody disappears which explains the sudden silence. Barton notices something strange happened to his family. As we all know, they were erased by Thanos' snap. Going into the movie, many people including myself figured that Hawkeye's family would be dusted by Thanos. Right away, things got real, but not as intense as the opening scene for Infinity War. Then, we see Tony Stark and Nebula in Space after leaving Titan. Shortly thereafter, we see Tony in a much weaker physical state after being in Space for 21 Days. Tony turns on his damaged Ironman helmet to send a message to Pepper Potts about how his experience has been in Space. We also see clips of him and Nebula building something on the Benatar ship. We also see Nebula helping Tony heal and giving him something to eat before we see him starving. As he looks out the window of the Benatar, there is a light shining. It is revealed to be Captain Marvel as she brings the ship back to Earth. Tony reunites with the Avengers as they go over why they lost. There was no love lost at all between Stark and Steve Rogers (Captain America), as Tony is still upset that Cap was not there for him when he needed him. He also shares his own experience fighting Thanos before passing out. Captain Marvel arrives as they go over the plan to find Thanos. Nebula shows the Avengers where Thanos is located as they proceed to fly to his location. Next, we see Thanos retired on a farm picking fruit and making breakfast. It is pretty clear that the snap took a huge toll on his body as the left side of his body is severely damaged. The Avengers ambush Thanos and hold him down before killing him. Thanos reveals that the Infinity Stones were destroyed when he did the snap. Thor proceeds to cut off the arm that has the damaged Gauntlet. As Thanos is getting ready to give Nebula an apology, Thor slices his head off. He simply went for the head before quietly walking away, still filled with guilt. Fast forward 5 years later, and we see what Earth's Mightiest Heroes have been up to. Things pick up in San Francisco, as we see a rat crawling into the Van that holds the machine for the Quantum Realm. The rat presses a button for Scott Lang (Ant-Man) to come out of the Quantum Realm. When Scott comes back to reality, he notices that things have changed drastically. Scott goes to a Memorial to see if his Daughter Cassie's name is on the list, but he finds his name there instead. Scott finds his daughter, but she has grown a lot since that time has passed. Meanwhile, we see Captain America holding an intervention meeting with some of the survivors of the snap as he tells them to move on. One of the people in the meeting were one of the Russo Brothers. Another person in the meeting was Jim Starlin, the creator of Thanos. Scott later arrives at Avengers Headquarters to tell them about the Quantum Realm and find a way to bring everyone back from the snap. Steve asks if this has to do with a Time Machine, and Scott says "Yes". This leads them to the one man that can help them. Cap, Ant-Man and Black Widow go to Ironman's House as it is far away from the City. Here we see Tony living a quiet life in Superhero Retirement with his Wife Pepper and their Daughter Morgan. When Antman brings up Time Travel, Ironman shoots it down as he sees it as a "Back to the Future" ripoff. Tony holds Morgan and tells Steve that this is his second chance and he cannot waste it. After being turned down by Tony, they go to the next best source, Bruce Banner "aka Professor Hulk". Here, we see that Bruce has blended his personality with the Hulk after not being able to get the Hulk to come out in 5 years. When the idea of Time Travel is brought up, Bruce tells them that it is not his specialty but he would try. After the Time Travel Experiment fails, Tony sees Steve standing outside as he arrives at Avengers Headquarters. Stark clearly knew that the plan backfired when Scott was turned into a baby during the process. Tony gives Cap his Shield back as he decides to forgive him for what happened in "Civil War". Stark decides to provide his expertise on time travel to help his fellow Avengers in their time heist to retrieve the Infinity Stones in order to bring back those that were erased by Thanos. Generally, the movie was a time heist for the Stones. Tony and Steve get the team together to find the locations for the Infinity Stones and what timeline they are in. In 2012, there were three stones in New York (Time, Mind, Space). In 2013, the Reality Stone is in Asgard. In 2014, the Power Stone is in Morag (Guardians of the Galaxy) while the Soul Stone was in Vormir just like in Infinity War. Ironman, Cap, Ant-Man and Professor Hulk go to 2012 to retrieve the Stones from New York. Thor and Rocket go to 2013 to get the Reality Stone. War Machine and Nebula go to Morag to get the Power Stone, while Black Widow and Hawkeye go to Vormir for the Soul Stone. During the journey to get the Power Stone, we see Gamora and Nebula from the 2014 GOTG Timeline. Not only do we see those versions of Nebula and Gamora, but we also see the 2014 version of Thanos. This was the Thanos from GOTG Vol. 1. However, this Thanos is more aggressive than his later 2018 counterpart because we see him with a Giant double-bladed sword along with the same armor that he had in Infinity War. Thanos uses Nebula's memory to not only see what happens in the future but to also see the Avengers. This Warrior version of Thanos is in a race against time. When Bruce Banner goes back to 2012, he encounters the Ancient One as he tries to get the Time Stone. She warns Banner about what happens when the Stones are out of place and tells him to return them to their original timeline when he is finished. Ironman, Captain America, and Ant-Man also go to 2012 to the events of the first Avengers Movie. They are able to get the Scepter, which contains the Mind Stone. However, they are unable to get the Space Stone, because of the 2012 Hulk's interference which opened the door for Loki to use it. However, they find a Plan B by going to 1970. Interestingly enough, that is the year that Tony was born. During their journey back in time, Tony encounters his Father, Howard Stark. Steve also encounters Peggy Carter at least 25 years after the War against Red Skull & Hydra. Tony was able to finally say goodbye to his Dad while successfully retrieving the Tesseract. We also see a young version of the Original Ant-Man himself, Hank Pym. Meanwhile, Thor and Rocket go back to Asgard for the Reality Stone. Not only do they successfully capture the Reality Stone, but Thor has a touching conversation with his Mother before she is set to die. On the way back to the Future, Thor summons Mjolnir before he and Rocket leave. However, things did not turn out so well on Vormir as Hawkeye sacrifices Black Widow for the Soul Stone. When everyone comes together with the Stones, they realize that Natasha has died in the past. After taking time to mourn, the Avengers come together with the Ultimate Gameplan. This Gameplan is a Nanotech Infinity Gauntlet made by Tony Stark himself. Professor Hulk takes it upon himself to snap his fingers to bring everyone back because of the Gamma Radiation in his blood that can take the Power from the Infinity Stones. After Bruce brings everyone back, things look very calm for a brief moment. That is until Thanos travels to 2023 to blow up Avengers Headquarters. Hawkeye takes the Nano Gauntlet as he runs from Thanos' aliens. He is approached by 2014 Nebula as she takes the Gauntlet from him. However, 2023 Nebula shoots her as he escapes with the Gauntlet. Meanwhile, Ironman, Captain America and Thor (The Big 3) approach Thanos as he sits waiting for them before attacking. The Final Battle made up for the lack of action in the first half of the movie. This version of Thanos is clearly more ruthless with the way that he uses his sword. He holds off a blast from Ironman and Thor combined before destroying them. Thor calls for Stormbreaker, but Thanos takes it and drives it into his chest. The biggest surprise comes when Captain America wields Mjolnir and gives Thanos a run for his money. However, the Mad Titan is able to get the best of Cap when he destroys half of his Shield. Steve hears a signal as Sam Wilson (Falcon) says "On your left". Suddenly, Dr. Strange's portals open as all of the characters that were dusted by Thanos return for the final battle. T'Challa gets the Nano Gauntlet from Hawkeye and runs through the Battlefield like Barry Sanders before giving it to Spider-Man. Peter holds off the Alien Army until Captain Marvel and the other Female Heroes assemble for an obvious pandering scene. Things really kick off when Cap calls for Mjolnir and yells "Avengers, Assemble". Thanos points his Army to battle. Captain Marvel destroys Thanos' ship. The battle between Captain Marvel and Thanos was interesting, as it showed how powerful she really is. After a failed headbutt, Thanos takes a Power Stone and knocks her out. Dr. Strange raises his finger as a signal to Ironman. As Thanos powers up after putting the Infinity Stones together, Ironman rushes to Thanos to grab the Gauntlet. Thanos pushes him back so that he can snap. However, the snap doesn't work because Stark took the stones out of the Gauntlet when Thanos pushed him out of the way. When the Infinity Stones assemble on Ironman's hand, he delivers the game-winning snap as he says "And I am...Ironman". Ironman snapped his fingers to wipe out Thanos and his Army before taking his last breath as he slowly died. Everyone comes to Tony's House to pay tribute by attending the funeral at his Home as the Avengers go their separate ways. Thor leaves Asgard for Valkyrie to lead while teaming with the Asgardians of the Galaxy. However, Starlord has started his search for Gamora after he encountered what was the 2014 Version of her during the Final Battle. Captain America returns the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their proper timeline. However, Steve returns to the present time as a Senior Citizen after making a slight tweak to the timeline. Rogers gives the Shield to Sam Wilson as he passes the torch of Captain America.

This was certainly the conclusion that we deserved. This Infinity Saga felt like one Giant Story and each of these movies were Chapters. Ironman 1 was the first Chapter and Endgame was the Finale, as this is the perfect exclamation point. Infinity War provided more intense action and cliffhanger, but Endgame untied certain loose ends so that we could receive much-needed closure. This movie did not even have a Post-Credit Scene. Overall, I was very pleased with this Movie and it was what I and many others expected, if not more. I would give this 5/5.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Review)

The time has finally come for the return of a TRUE Dragon Ball Legend (pun intended). Someone who fans have been waiting for for years (I know I have). That is none other than the Saiyan Savage himself, Broly!!!

Since the start of the Dragon Ball Super franchise, there have been several characters who have returned to be a part of this latest chapter of the Dragon Ball canon (Frieza, Android 17, Android 18, Hercule to name a few). There have also been some new additions to the Z Fighter Team (Beerus, Whis). We have also seen newly formidable enemies in the Tournament of Power (Hit, Jiren). However, one character that fans have been demanding the most is the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly. There has been a new character added named Kale who is an homage to Broly, but it is not acknowledged as such. The biggest problem with this was that Broly was not part of the Official Dragon Ball Canon. Now, things have changed with this Game-changing movie which is fittingly named after him. Recently, Dragon Ball Super has been putting out great quality content. The best we have seen since Dragon Ball Z itself. Now, they have taken things to even greater heights with the release of this movie. Now, time to dive in.

I saw this movie in a packed out Theater with other fans eagerly awaiting. The movie picks up with the Saiyan Origin Story on Planet Vegeta. The animation is amazing with the Frieza ships flying up to the Planet. The story starts off over 40 years ago. We see cameos from DBZ originals like Zarbon, Dodoria and Guldo who were, of course, part of Frieza's army along with the Ginyu Force. All of these characters played pivotal roles in the Namek/Frieza Saga, which was my favorite Saga of the original DBZ series. As Frieza and his Father King Cold land on Planet Vegeta with their army, they are greeted by King Vegeta himself along with his team of Saiyan Warriors. King Cold announces that he will be retiring as ruler of the Saiyans as he places his son Frieza in charge. As a long time DBZ fan, I did not even know this part of the story. I just thought that Frieza waged war with them and killed them while taking Vegeta captive. However, this movie gives more detail to the origin as Frieza supplies the Saiyans with Scouters. I did not realize how petty King Vegeta really was until I saw this. When King Vegeta sees Broly, he considers him a lower class Saiyan who could not possibly have a power level superior to that of his son (sounds familiar?). When the Saiyan soldiers scan Broly's power level, it goes beyond measure to the point where one of the Scouters got destroyed. King Vegeta sees Broly as a threat and sends him into exile to another planet to the disapproval of Colonel Paragus, Broly's father. Paragus goes on a journey with one of the fellow Saiyans to search for Broly. Paragus discovers Broly on a planet called Vampa living like a scavenger in order to survive. Broly develops a friendship with a creature called Bah. Paragus shoots Bah's ear off. Broly wears the ear around his waist as a tribute. They both learn to live on that planet throughout Broly's life until they are recruited by the Frieza force. We also transition to Goku and Vegeta and where they are now after the Tournament of Power with a very comedic element before encountering their next major threat.



We are also treated with flashbacks of Goku and Vegeta like never before in the DBZ series. Bardock's story gets tweaked compared to the original movie "Bardock: Father of Goku". The biggest difference is the inclusion of Goku's Mother Gine, who is also a Saiyan. In the Bardock origin movie, we see Bardock wearing a blood-soaked bandana on his head in honor of his fallen friend. However, Bardock does not wear a headband in this movie. In fact, his armor is totally different. This was the toughest scene for me in this movie, because I almost felt that pain when Bardock and Gine sent Goku to Earth. Goku even started crying. They also reference Raditz on a separate mission. However, they had to do it for Goku's safety because Frieza was ready to deliver his signature fireball to destroy them. In the original backstory, we see Bardock with his army behind him as he fires one final blast before Frieza destroys them. In this movie, Bardock just fires up the blast while they are still on the planet. The end result is still death. The retcon of Bardock was interesting as it had elements of Dragon Ball Minus. On the other hand, we also see a flashback of a young Nappa with hair along with the kid versions of Vegeta and Raditz. The flashbacks give fans the chance to see how the decisions of a few Saiyans shaped the destinies of Goku, Vegeta, and Broly. This movie gives Broly a fleshed out backstory because it gives this popular savage brute something that he never had before: personality. Broly not only has a defined character, but his tragic history gives fans a reason to feel sympathetic. He also develops a love interest in this movie. Cheelai plays a major part in helping Broly break out of his shell, as she takes the taser away from Paragus.

As we get ready for the battle, Goku and Vegeta confront Frieza and Paragus as they get off the ship. Paragus reveals that he wants revenge on King Vegeta through the death of Prince Vegeta himself. Frieza takes the seven Dragon Balls from Bulma. Whis tells Bulma that there is a larger problem than Frieza. He calls it the "blessing and curse" of the Warrior race. Paragus calls for his greatest weapon, Broly. There were talks of a "Legendary" Super Saiyan, but nobody knew who carried that power. It would be revealed during the battle. Broly had not had formal fighting or training experience except for his sparring sessions with Paragus. This was his first real test, and he was very impressive as Paragus and Frieza were there to observe. Vegeta was first up to jump into the fire, and he was incredible. Vegeta transformed from Super Saiyan to Super Saiyan god as he got the best of Broly in the beginning. Vegeta's skill and technique got the best of Broly's raw power. However, Broly was not finished as he powered up once he fell into the water. It was revealed that Broly possessed the power of the Great Ape, but it was controlled. Goku was highly impressed by how much Broly kept up with Vegeta in his base form. This version of Broly adapts to his opponents which is what fascinated me about him. Vegeta observed that at the beginning of his fight. Meanwhile, the original Broly was in his powerhouse Legendary Super Saiyan form throughout the fight in the first movie. I actually like this difference in character because even though he is still formidable, it is not just a typical one-sided beatdown. When Broly makes his comeback, he gets the best of Vegeta as Goku warms up to get his share of the action. Broly even unleashes a blast from his mouth that destroyed one of the mountains. During the battle, Broly continues to power up but I noticed a glaring difference. Broly had never turned Super Saiyan at this point.

As Broly's rage continued to grow, Goku got into his mind and used his Super Saiyan god powers to freeze him in place. However, it did not work as Broly broke free and proceeded to decimate Goku. As Goku attacked, I noticed that Broly grew because of his power-ups. Broly even grabbed Goku by the foot and threw him around like the Hulk did to Loki in Avengers 1 and Thor in Thor: Ragnarok. It only makes sense considering that Broly's colors are green and purple. Much like the Hulk, Broly gets stronger when he gets angrier as the fight continues. Goku transforms into Super Saiyan Blue to mount a comeback. However, Broly turns the tide by releasing an Energy ball that destroys the icy mountains, turning them into a volcanic wasteland. Frieza observes the fight and finds a way to trigger Broly's Super Saiyan power. The tyrant alien has a flashback to when he killed Krillin in order for Goku to turn Super Saiyan. As a result, Frieza turns to Paragus and kills him with a finger laser. Frieza tells Broly that his Father was accidentally killed in battle. Vegeta transforms into Super Saiyan Blue to team up for a double Kamehameha wave. Goku and Vegeta draw Broly towards Frieza as a decoy so that they could escape meeting Piccolo for their fusion. After they teleport, Broly runs into Frieza to beat the brakes off of him. This buys Vegeta and Goku enough time to meet Piccolo to practice the Fusion. After two comedic fails, they finally have the proper alignment to form Gogeta. When Gogeta returns to fight Broly, he turns Super Saiyan Blue for the final battle. This Battle did not disappoint at all, as Broly was completely jacked in Legendary Super Saiyan form. Broly's transformation is a spectacle all by itself, because of the visuals. The longer Broly fights, the stronger he gets. Whis even jumps into the battle. Broly gets mad and attacks Whis, but he can't touch him. As Gogeta blasts Broly with the Stardust Breaker, Cheelai and Lemo make a wish for Broly to survive. Instead of dying, Broly is sent to Vampa.

The ending shows Goku going to Vampa where he meets Cheelai and Lemo as he gives them capsules that turn into a home for them to live in along with food and water. Before he leaves, Goku finds Broly and tells him that he wants to train with him in the future. Goku also tells Broly to call him "Kakarot". Nice reference to the original movie. Overall, I was very excited and impressed by this movie as it is by far my favorite movie in the History of the Dragon Ball Franchise. It has been a long time coming, and Akira Toriyama definitely delivered. You could tell that he really took his time with this. I had more anticipation for this than anything else within the Era of Super. It is a great callback to the vintage Broly movie but finds a great way to fit into the Canon. 9.5/10.