Epic, thrilling, funny and very emotionally powerful

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2019)

Like most, I had very little idea what to expect going into Endgame other than vague theories and hoping it would be great (mainly because of the Russo brothers and how good Infinity War was). It really blew me away and I feel like I'm still processing it the next day.
The movie takes its time but this makes sense for the story it's telling. We feel the impact of the previous movie's events. We feel the loss and confusion. There are dead-ends and good reasons for characters to lose hope and accept their situation.
All the characters get shining moments, comedically and heroically, and without sacrificing who they are. The plot twists and turns in ways I hadn't anticipated and which make your heart skip a beat. It has some of the funniest moments in any MCU movie, but none of them detracts from the overall mood. The stakes are higher than ever with lots of ups and downs and close calls.
There are some very touching character moments which work by themselves but are even more meaningful in the wider context of what happens. Every scene is there for a reason and helps increase the impact of a later or earlier part. I was reminded of LotR: The Return of the King in the grand scale of some parts of Endgame. Few movies can give you chills on that level. I found it darker and more intense than Infinity War. Other movies like Schindler's List, Forrest Gump and E.T. also affected me deeply and Endgame now joins that list.
There may well be plot holes, but it's not hard to suspend disbelief or come up with ways to understand them. The important thing is that we get what's going on at any given point in time and feel that the character's generally make logical choices. The villain(s) are intimidating and intelligent, not wasting any time to use whatever advantages they have. The heroes also have a sense of urgency and pull off some brilliant stunts - there are a lot of satisfying, earned, crowd-pleasing moments.
This certainly feels like the end of an era for multiple reasons. It's a great send-off for some characters especially and sets the bar extremely high in terms of action, creativity and raw emotion for future MCU and other superhero movies.