An Honest Review

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2019)

Walking in, given Marvel's latest publicity, I was expecting, well, I was expecting an absolute cringe fest, and thankfully I didn't get it. In fact, there were only a couple of absolute cringe moments and each dealt with Brie Larson, particularly her appearance in the final fight.
Thankfully though, Marvel showed a lot of restraint with that and as a result the movie really belonged to the characters that we all have invested over a decade of love and loyalty in....and honestly that was a relief. There were times where the film looked like it wanted to go the other way, and put the OG Avengers in the backseat. So, credit for not doing that.
It feels a lot more like Kill Bill 2 in atmosphere than a real Super-Hero movie, all the really fun big fights were reserved for the first film and what's left is a long closing act that is more concerned with tying up loose ends than delivering on over-the-top action. And it works for a send off film after a decade of investment.
So what you have feels very much like an intimate and sentimental film made by old friends at send off...or a funeral...but in either case it is absolutely appropriate.
Unfortunately, you have the enormously epic CGI battle at the end and I, for one, am kind of done with that trope. It's starting to bore me now, and, honestly, I would prefer something a little more authentic. But, that being said, the film at least called for it.
We've seen battles like that before, Black Panther, Aquaman, Infinity War, Lord of the Rings, and, honestly those CGI armies lack any real intimacy. So the end is kind of a bore compared to the rest of the film.
The highlight in the film would be Thor with Hulk coming in as a close second. They steal the show from the moment they are introduced and the trademark MCU humor that Black Panther and Captain Marvel utterly lacked. And the humor was a source of comfort after two films that made vague threats of taking themselves far too seriously for a superhero flick.
The wrap-up was more than satisfying if not heart-wrenching at moments making it a great send off for a decade of time and money invested in the characters, however the legacy that the MCU is passing on seems in trouble nonetheless and we can only hope that it doesn't go the route that the MCU has been teasing and toying with and continues to deliver fun superhero movies and not the heavy-handed or deadly serious films they have threatened the audience with.