Avengers: Endgame Encore Review: The Movie Still Holds Up, But the New Footage Is Barely Worth Mentioning

PLOT: After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos’ actions and restore balance to the universe.

REVIEW: To many, Marvel has been a bit of a mixed bag since the original release of Endgame back in 2019, so it’s very appropriate to be revisiting it now that they’re leading into their next big event film, Avengers: Doomsday. Even better, with Robert Downey Jr’s role in both films, it’s a nice reminder of what’ we’ve lost, before seeing their eventual return. Avengers: Endgame picks up where Infinity War left off, with half the population of the universe being wiped out by Thanos. The remaining Avengers have to pick up the pieces, and now, five years later, they find a solution: a time heist in which they steal the Infinity Stones from the past and bring everyone back to the present. It’s a classic comic book story that turns everything we know about cinematic time travel, and flips it on its head.

I’ve watched Endgame on 4K Blu-ray many times since its release but sadly, like many Disney films that were originally presented in IMAX format, you can only watch it that way on Disney Plus. Otherwise, it’s 2:39.1, essentially meaning we’re missing out on ton of screen real estate. So it’s great to be able to see the film in its intended Aspect Ratio, in as high a resolution as possible. Though there are a few shots that are noticeably lower resolution than the others. The color timing has also changed a bit, to make the final act a bit more vibrant, and less dull. The changes aren’t revolutionary, but they are significant enough that I’m curious if they’ll be releasing this version of the film physically.

Since it is spoilery we’ll talk about the new footage at the end, though, since this film is 7 years old, the rest is fair game. I still consider Avengers: Endgame to be one of the greatest comic book movies of all time. The film serves as the culmination of a decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so, of course, it will have a greater effect if you’ve seen every film and know them. I’ve been a comic book fan since I was a child, so I’ve been on board for the entire journey. It’s so satisfying to see various arcs paid off, even if they felt like a mere joke in their initial film. Like Spider-man using instant kill; it’s a moment in Homecoming where you go “Spider-man would never use that, why is that even a function?” only to give the exact scenario where he’d need it. Endgame is littered with moments like this.

One element that I was quite relieved to see intact is that of Emma Fuhrmann’s performance as Cassie Lang. It’s a brief spot in the film, but given that the actress was replaced by Kathryn Newton in Quantumania, there was a part of me worried that they’d reshoot these scenes to include Newton. Thankfully, they do not take that route and leave the original performance untouched. Given the fact that Marvel didn’t even formally let her know she was being replaced, it was nice to see this unchanged.

The impact of Natasha’s death almost feels even greater, because at the time, a Black Widow film was already announced, so we knew that Scarlett Johansson would be back, even if it was an origin story. But at this point, we haven’t seen her and it absolutely feels permanent. It makes that moment hit even harder, and I saw many people in my theaters wiping tears away. Sure, Loki has come back, but this film establishes that it’s technically a Loki from an earlier timeline. So the Loki we saw between Avengers and Infinity War is assuredly dead. Though obviously, the multiverse is something that we can’t count out in terms of bringing anyone back.

In terms of new footage, it’s really just the mid-credits/end-credits sequences. And obviously, since it’s one of the only changes for this release, we’re going to have to talk about some spoilers. The film usually ends on Steve and Peggy dancing in the older timeline but in this new version, there’s a knock at the door and Loki shows up, saying he’s here to help. Then there’s a moment in the present where Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is two miles underground in a bunker after what he did in New York in Brand New Day. Doom shows up (though we never see him) and says he’s there to collect.

We also get to see Owen Wilson and Ku Huy Quan at the TVA as incursions start to happen on thousands of universes. So, like Endgame, we should see some appearances from some less flashy characters in Doomsday. The final scene, if you can even call it that, is made up of Doom creating his mask, which has very obvious parallels to Tony Stark creating his suit back in the first Iron Man. It’s all done in flashes and ties into the original theatrical release, where Stark’s hammering is heard through audio only.

Overall, if you’re going to the film just for Doomsday content, then you may leave disappointed. These were the epitome of teases (and the Hulk one probably should have just been in Brand New Day) and don’t really give us a whole lot to go off of. But we’re still 4 months away and I’m the type to want to avoid trailers and spoilers anyhow. Avengers: Endgame Encore is simply for those who want to re-experience the film on the big screen. As one of the greatest crowd pleasers this century, I’m glad that we’re able to experience it again, with others possibly experiencing it for the first time. If you’re a superhero fan, then this is still one that you can’t miss.

Avengers: Endgame Encore is now playing in theaters everywhere.