Avengers: Endgame finally got some awards season love from the Critics Choice Awards, winning Best Action Movie over Oscar-favorite 1917. Avengers: Endgame has already cemented its place in history thanks to numerous box office records (including its current title as the highest-grossing film of all time) but many wondered if the MCU epic could also get some awards recognition. Disney has mounted a campaign for the film, putting special focus on Robert Downey Jr.’s as of right now final performance as Tony Stark. However, aside from a potential special effects nomination, Avengers: Endgame isn’t likely to score any Oscar nominations when they are announced Monday morning.
However, its competitor has been an awards season darling since early reactions of 1917 hit social media. Praised for its heart-pounding story and one-take cinematography trick, the World War I film from Sam Mendes has earned massive amounts of praise since its release. Just last week, 1917 took home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama, and Mendes himself won for Best Director. 1917 was released in select theaters on Christmas, but went wide this weekend. It knocked Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker out of the number one spot at the box office after surpassing expectations.
In an interesting turn of events, Avengers: Endgame took the Best Action Movie prize from 1917 (via Kyle Buchanan on Twitter). Other nominees in the category included Ford v. Ferrari, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, and fellow MCU title Spider-Man: Far From Home. The Critics Choice Awards stand apart from the Oscars because they have extra categories for genres like comedy, sci-fi/horror, and action. 1917 is also up for Best Picture, which has yet to be announced at the time of this writing.
Despite what Disney and fans might have hoped, Endgame’s Oscar chances were always slim as they tend to overlook comic book films. Last year, Black Panther was the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture, and it went on to win three behind-the-scenes awards. This year, the comic book genre is likely to be represented by Warner Bros. and DC’s Joker.
For fans of the MCU, Endgame’s Critics Choice win is well-deserved. Endgame was a momentous achievement for the superhero genre, in that it concluded a saga comprised of twenty-two films while sending off some of the most beloved cinematic characters. The majority of fans enjoyed it (its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a shiny 90%) and felt the film brought the Infinity Saga to a satisfying end. While movies like 1917 certainly deserve to be praised, it’s nice that Avengers: Endgame got some awards recognition too.
More: Oscars 2020: Predicting All The Nominees In Every Category
Source: Twitter
