A completely fitting and satisfying conclusion to the grand Avengers saga, delivering on its emotional closure

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2019)

The greatness of Endgame comes in the ways it both builds on and pays homage to the many films that have come before it. Truthfully, I find it extremely similar to Infinity War as a movie, but with the core of the film being acceptance of events and moving forwards, rather than the conflicting ideologies and resulting battles of Infinity War. Both are most impressive in their ability to allow an enormous ensemble cast to breathe and never feel rushed or overstuffed, focusing on a few character's arcs and getting the audience invested in them. Endgame also continued to have excellent visual and sound effects, with some stunning action scenes that brilliantly balanced and mixed the strong score with immersive sound effects. The humor was effective and I found the use of homages and self-awareness in referencing past Marvel events or movie tropes (primarily the unrealistic time travel portrayal in movies) to be stronger than the traditional one-liners you find in movies like Ragnarok or Guardians. The plot itself was coherent and reasonable, relying on a fun and plausible "time heist", but I found it a bit anticlimactic after the challenging planning that it was so easy as to be almost an afterthought that they secured all the infinity stones (a task that should be monumental). I had my usual qualms with the action scenes, as character's powers or effectivity of specific moves don't seem consistent throughout the fights, but they were fun to watch as characters tried new tactics and it was not just a rehashing of the action we saw in Infinity War. Iron Man and Captain America's character arcs are both satisfying and appropriate for who their characters are and what their goals were. I did find the way Hulk was scripted to be bizarre and frustrating, as he was a character who had struggled to balance the duality of his nature in helping others with uncontrollable rage, and here he felt like a goofy, meandering character lacking well-defined characteristics or audience investment. Thor also had a plausible general story in blaming himself and struggling, but I thought it was played out to an absurd and over the top degree that's not realistic given his character. Still, I have no overarching qualms and felt the movie was handled thoughtfully and emotionally, feeling like the true culmination and crowning achievement that the MCU has built up to. It's satisfying and well done, but I don't think it's a better overall movie than movies like Infinity War or even Black Panther or Winter Soldier just because it's the finale that was done in that satisfying way rather than a more specific or intermediary story. I'm excited to see it shatter some records at the box office and see if it has a chance at a Best Picture nomination - unlikely but definitely possible. A great ending to a great series of films.