Pays off in the end, but a lot to sit through to get to it

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2019)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
After Thanos successfully obliterated all the Avengers at the end of the last film, all seemed lost for the survival of the universe. However, it becomes apparent that by travelling through time and collecting all the 'Infinity Stones', they might be able to create a space in time where they will be able to step in from the past and reverse the present. With all the gang lost in limbo after their defeat, they must muster all their strength together once again to save the planet.
Despite rave reviews that made the previous Infinity War appear average, I took the sweetest of time getting round to see the even latest addition in the Marvel universe films. You can't manufacture yourself into a comic book nerd, which would appear to be the best course of action to take in the present climate, where superhero movies have become more of an industry than a franchise. The suffix here is Endgame, which is surely what IW was meant to be, especially given the rug pulling, unexpected ending. But, in Hollywood movies, the good guys have always got to win, even if it means bringing them back to life through some ridiculously convoluted, Back to the Future riffing tale.
I'm all for action movies with lots of character development and effective backstories, but the Russo brothers here lavish each of their flashy, colourful protagonists with the sort of intimate examination you might expect from Ang Lee, fleshing out their humanity at the expense of any exciting action, which the devotees will be expecting. It's a detrimentally overlong and drawn out affair, that builds up to a big crowd pleasing finale at the end which is worth sticking around for, but has nearly worn you out completely by the time its got there.
For these legions of comic book fans that seem to have emerged over the last few years, it's a dream come true. But, for me, it's simply the end that saves it, and it's existence is surprising given what was meant to have happened at the end of the last film. ***