A fitting retrospective.

Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of over a decade of work and twenty-two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It is the highest grossing film of all time.  So what in the world could Marvel do to elevate this film for a home release?  They took a look back at the scope of the entire MCU.  From beginning to end, each of the features has a deep sense of cinematic history as they look back over the course of all the films and how the foundations of the past led to this present moment that all came together in Avengers: Endgame.

As you’d expect, they did a deep dive on Iron Man / Robert Downey, Jr. and Captain America / Chris Evans.  These two pivotal characters form the backbone of the Avengers and while at odds with each other at times, represent the heart and soul of the team.  It was fitting to look at the way each actor and each character developed over the course of these twenty-two action-packed movies.  Not only about why these two people were the right choice to cast in these roles, but also how the characters themselves are so important to the formation of the team and the course they chart.

A feature on The Russo Brothers seemed appropriate.  Not only did they direct the last two Avengers films, but they also charted the course for all of these characters through their epic Captain America film, Civil War.  Civil War could easily have been its own Avengers movie as it featured a pivotal moment of the team or rather the dissolution of it.  Competing ideologies, both right in their own way, show how people of good character could still fundamentally disagree.  Which of course only made the reunion of them all that much more powerful.  The feature talked to the brothers about the choices they made throughout their Marvel run (which was the longest of any directors). And of course since the brothers spent the most time with Cap, it was fitting that Cap also had the bulk of the features.  Maybe one of the best was a sweet look back at “Steve and Peggy: One Last Dance.”

Of course the regular features are here, too.  Deleted scenes are added to flesh out the film and add dimension to this cinematic masterpiece.  Audio commentary, bloopers, and a feature on “The Women of the MCU” are all part of the home release.  But even these features are done in light of the scope of the entire story that culminates in this film.  “The Women of the MCU” takes a look at the entirety of the pivotal role that women play in the films.  It captures the road that leads up to that epic scene where the different female Marvel super heroes join together to protect the Infinity Stones, and shares what it meant to the different actors to be involved in that scene.  “Bro Thor” and Black Widow get interesting retrospectives also as their journey gets mapped out and is shown in its complexity.  And of course fans will relish a tribute to Stan Lee which seems so fitting given the impact Stan and the early Marvel creators had on fashioning this universe.

The film alone would have been enough to purchase the release, but all the added features are like the cherry on top of a great ice cream sundae.  All those elements coming together to make something truly worthwhile.  The digital release of this landmark film is more than worthy to be added to your collection.