Say Goodbye: Best Final Movie For A Character Or Franchise

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Endings are so hard to get right. Viewers give so much time and emotions to the characters in franchises that span multiple years and movies that when the ending falls flat, it’s a disappointment all around. The poor reception Game of Thrones received for its final season is why I believe George R.R. Martin hasn’t finished A Song of Ice and Fire.

When certain characters or franchises receive proper endings to their stories, it leaves viewers satisfied. It’s reassurance for all the hours they spent committing to a story, that their time wasn’t wasted. With No Time to Die serving as Daniel Craig’s swan song in the Bond franchise, let’s explore some of the best final movies for a character or franchise.

Note: I tried to stick with characters or franchises with finite endings. I love Return of the Jedi, but Luke, Han, and Leia all returned in the Skywalker trilogy so Episode VI wasn’t a true ending to their story. If Iron Man returns to the MCU, I might have to adjust this list. Toy Story 3 was perfect, but then Toy Story 4 happened so I can’t count the third film as an ending as well.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

When describing the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a “masterpiece” is typically the noun of choice. There are little flaws in Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy adventure told in three movies. From the epic action sequences to breathtaking cinematography, LOTR became the gold standard for cinematic storytelling. Return of the King is 201 minutes long, and yet it moves so effortlessly and never drags. Every loose end is tied up and every character gets a proper ending to their story. Not only did fans love Return of the King, but critics and Academy voters praised the film, resulting in a perfect 11 for 11 at the 2004 Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Avengers: Endgame

Telling a complete story in one film is hard enough. Imagine crafting a story that spans over 11 years and 23 films?* From Iron Man to Captain Marvel, Kevin Feige perfectly pieced together every story in the Infinity Saga, which culminated with Avengers: Endgame. For 7 years, the Mad Titan known as Thanos was built up to be this unbeatable villain, and up until Endgame, he never lost. Not only did Endgame have to conclude the Infinity Saga, but it also had to set up the future of the MCU. Well, the future of the MCU was passed to Spider-Man, Black Panther (RIP Chadwick), and the Guardians of the Galaxy while Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans received admirable endings to their versions of Iron Man and Captain America respectively. Onto Phase 4, we go!

*Spider-Man: Far From Home is included in the Infinity Saga as the 23rd film, but it feels like a bridge between Phase 3 and Phase 4 instead of the last film in Phase 3.

Christian Bale’s Batman in The Dark Knight Rises

There are two camps. You either like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises or you hate The Dark Knight Rises. I’m in the former. Dark Knight Rises had the impossible task of following The Dark Knight, which is the best comic movie of all time with the best acting performance of the 21st century, Heath Ledger’s Joker. Nothing could top that masterpiece, and when Rises came out, many compared it to The Dark Knight and picked it up apart. Eight years have passed, and The Dark Knight Rises has aged well in terms of its swan song to Christian Bale’s Batman. Bane’s voice is still confusing all these years later, but Bale’s heartfelt goodbye to the caped crusader is successful. It’s a proper and finite ending to a superb trilogy. With rumors of Downey Jr. and Evans returning to the MCU after Endgame, it’s refreshing to see that Bale’s Batman will never come back. He sacrificed himself for Gotham City and retired to Italy with a beautiful woman. If that’s not the dream, I don’t know what is.

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in Logan

When comic book movies bring in directors with both dramatic and comedic success as well as a strong affinity for character development, good things can happen. Case in point, James Mangold masterfully wrote and directed Logan, Hugh Jackman’s final film as Wolverine. For such a violent film, Jackman played Wolverine with such nuance and compassion that for the first time, viewers could sympathize with Logan the person as opposed to Wolverine the mutant. Logan is a great movie that doesn’t need to add “comic book” as a qualifier.

What are your picks? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @unafraidshow.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review: Satisfying Finish To Marvel’s 11-Year Saga

Avengers Endgame review thanos

As Dr. Strange said in Infinity War, “We’re in the endgame, now.” After an 11-year, 22 film saga, Avengers: Endgame has the daunting task of wrapping up this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only did it succeed in tying together a decade’s worth of characters and storylines, but Endgame delivers a satisfying conclusion that rewards fans for their dedication.

*Note: This review will be as spoiler-free as possible. No major plot points will be revealed. I believe in #DontSpoilTheEndgame.*

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame picks up where Infinity War left off. Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, War Machine, Rocket, and Nebula were the only major heroes who survived Thanos’s snap, which wiped away half the universe’s population. Down and seemingly out, the Avengers receive a much-needed ally in the form of Captain Marvel. The Avengers seek to reverse the damage done by Thanos and bring back half the universe’s population. Sounds simple, right?

The film succeeds in the fact that it answered so many questions that have been lingering throughout the MCU up until this point. However, it’s far from perfect. My biggest gripe is the beginning of the film. The first act of the film sets the scene for life after Thanos and explains how the survivors live in a desolate world. The film has a run-time of 3 hours and 1 minute so the film did not rush at all in terms of giving the appropriate backstory. However, it wasn’t almost too much backstory and not enough planning to defeat Thanos. If this movie trimmed it’s runtime by about 20 minutes and sped up some of the beginning, it would have been perfect.

That being said, once the Avengers picked up Ant-Man and Hawkeye (now Ronin) towards the end of the first act, Endgame begins to hit its stride. The scene in the trailer where the Avengers assemble while wearing the Quantum Realm suits is where this movie took off. The final two acts were immensely entertaining and turned my theater into Yankee Stadium after a walk-off home run with all the cheering and clapping.

What impressed me the most about Endgame was the balanced mix of dramatic and comedic bits. This is a Marvel movie so you’re guaranteed to get a bunch of superheroes using their powers in elaborate fighting scenes, which is awesome. However, I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did. In particular, Thor’s evolution from a serious, semi-charming god to a witty, fun-loving superhero has been spectacular. Huge credit should go to Taika Waititi, the director of Thor: Ragnarok, for showing that Thor can be much more than a god with a hammer. Chris Hemsworth is a movie star in every sense of the word and this version of Thor is his best work.

I keep coming back to the word, “satisfying,” to perfectly describe Avengers: Endgame. Part of the reason why fans relate to these movies so much is the films’ ability to deal with common themes despite incorporating supernatural elements. The feeling of loss and regret in Infinity War is channeled into revenge and resilience in Endgame, which is felt by not only the heroes in the movie, but the audience in the theater. Endgame ties up many storylines and gives fans exactly what they have wanted for a decade. However, it also poses new questions for the future of the MCU, which is fairly unknown at this point.

Avengers: Endgame will make you laugh and cry, but most importantly, you’ll be rewarded for your patience. I’m not sure where the MCU goes from here, but if there’s one thing Marvel needs from us, it’s trust. After witnessing Avengers: Endgame, trust is exactly what they deserve.

If You Could Only Watch One, Would You Rather See Avengers: Endgame or Game Of Thrones Season 8?

Game of Thrones Season 8 and Avengers: Endgame if you can only choose one

April is going to be an unbelievable month for entertainment. Two of the most anticipated events in film and television history will premiere within 12 days of each other. If you haven’t guessed by now, the two events on everyone’s calendar are Game of Thrones Season 8 and Avengers: Endgame.

The culmination of over a decade of movies and television seasons will come to an end over the next month and a half. That’s a lot of time to invest in two entertainment properties, but Marvel and HBO take up an important percentage of my life. These will be the two biggest viewing events of the year. “Must-see” is an understatement. The longer you wait to see them, the higher the chances it will be ruined for you with spoilers on the Internet. You can’t take that risk.

My question is as followed: If you could only watch one, would you pickAvengers: Endgame or Game of Thrones?

It’s a real catch 22. You can only watch one, and you can never watch the other. You won’t face a harder question all year. As I type out my reasons for each entity, I continue to question myself. It’s that difficult. Let’s break down the reasons to see each one.

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Reasons To See Avengers: Endgame

–11 Year Culmination of The First Three Phases in MCU: The first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was Iron Man back in 2008. 11 years and 21 movies is A LOT of time to invest in a cinematic universe. You make it this far and you’re just going to give up?

–May Be The Last Movie For A Few Popular Actors: It’s no secret that some of the actors in the MCU may want to move on. Chris Evans has hinted many times that his time as Captain America is coming to a close. Avengers: Endgame might be Robert Downey Jr.’s last time as Iron Man as well. I don’t want to miss their final appearances as superheroes that I have come to love.

–I Can’t Let Thanos Win: How is your last memory of the first three phases of the MCU going to be Thanos snapping away your favorite superheroes? The purple chin middle linebacker can’t get away with wiping out half of the universe’s population and get away with it. Not on my watch. I need to see Thanos fall.

Reasons To See Game of Thrones Season 8

–Final Season: After taking close to a two year hiatus, one of the most influential shows of the 21st century is returning for 6 final episodes. Need I say more?

–The Greatest Battle In Television History: Ever since the Night King and Army of White Walkers debuted on the show, you knew what was coming. A battle between the living and the dead was going to take place. Now, we have finally reached the end. Living vs. Dead. White Walkers vs. Humans. The Night King vs. Jon Snow. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Peter Dinklage said that the battle between the living and dead “makes the Battle of the Bastards look like a theme park.” I’m not prepared for this moment.

–Dragons Doing Dragon Things: I mean… come on. They’re firing breathing dragons. It’s going to bring me so much satisfaction when the dragons torch the White Walkers.

I can’t miss both of these. It’s an impossible decision, but I’ve managed to come up with a reason that makes sense in my head as to why I’m picking one over the other.

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Books.

I’m not a big reader, but both of these entertainment properties are based on books. Avengers: Endgame is based on The Infinity Gauntlet comic series while Game of Thrones is based on A Song of Ice and Fire series from George R.R. Martin. Here’s the catch. The Infinity Gauntlet was published in 1991. A Song of Ice and Fire has not been completed and at this rate, no one knows when the final two books will be finished. Although both the movie and TV series step away from their original source material at times, the major story arcs in the books are similar in the movies. So if I had to pick one of these to watch, I’m going with Game of Thrones Season 8 because I could read The Infinity Gauntlet comics and even though it would be a disappointing ending, at least it would be an ending. I can’t get that right now with Game of Thrones unless I watch the show.

I’m choosing Game of Thrones. What’s your decision? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @unafraidshow.