**SPOILERS** Avengers: The Last Jedi

Rating: 5/10 (30 April 2019)

"It wasn't as good as Infinity War." That was all I could say as I stumbled home after two in the morning. It's taken some time, but I'm starting to understand why.
The biggest problem I had with this film was how all the superheroes seemed to act as if "The Snap" happened only to them and no one else. The entire first act shows the cast depressed because they lost, and because of who they lost among their group. While this is understandable, it seems to be the only thing they care about. They only want to avenge the loss of their own loved ones, not the horror suffered by the rest of Earth.
This isn't just my interpretation of the writing - the effect on the rest of humanity is almost completely hidden from view. As to the larger global cataclysm, we only get a few glimpses - Hawkeye's family, a memorial in San Francisco, a few people who show up to Captain America's grief counseling group. Other than that, we're merely told about the larger effects of that moment, such as when Black Widow states the Earth's governments are in ruins. It too well concealed the terror suffered by so many others on Earth, as if the writers themselves weren't sure how to convey the magnitude of the act.
At the same time, the film assumes the surviving humans all know that Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet were the reason behind half of the world disappearing. This raised several questions:
First - how would they know that? Was humanity ever told that Thanos would wipe out half of existence if The Avengers failed? Do they even know what the Infinity Gauntlet is? Who would've been there to see it when it happened outside Wakanda's secluded African community? When people saw others turn to dust, wouldn't they think it was terrorism, a plague, or something entirely different?
Second, if they were told, who did it? How did everyone react when they heard? And wouldn't they be upset at The Avengers for failing to stop Thanos? Why, five years later, would some kids walk up to The Hulk and take a selfie with him as if nothing had happened? You'd think our heroes would have been chased into hiding, not hanging out in their perfectly functioning headquarters to quip at each other.
Much like "The Dark Knight Rises" and the Anime "Sword Art Online," "Endgame" relies on a sudden jump forward in time to avoid answering these and other compelling questions. It is in the five years after "The Snap" that we could have learned more about humanity's response to the disaster, and how if at all The Avengers were blamed. After all, we know from the very beginning of the MCU, when Tony Stark reveals his secret identity, that humans know superheroes exist. It's these interactions between humans and the heroes that have driven much of the narrative in the MCU.
But instead, at this most critical time, we're simply moved ahead to a moment of tenuous calm, thus allowing the Marvel brand of humor to continue despite the unfathomable tragedy. To the film's detriment, this isn't the most interesting time for the story to take place. And to make it worse, humanity has absolutely no role in shaping the narrative of the story. We're not even certain everyone comes back after The Avengers craft a gauntlet of their own - it's all done symbolically, without any of the emotion or consequence.
As if gripped by the same depression of the film's characters, we're then thrown head-long into a ridiculous time travel plot that fills the film's second half. Thanks to the film's greatest hero - a rat - Ant-Man returns from out of nowhere, and while stuck in the Quantum Realm also seems to suddenly understand everything about time travel despite being a common thief. Tony Stark's concept of building a time machine also comes to him from out of nowhere. It would've been interesting to see this plan be an act of desperation by brutally depressed characters, all of them knowing the act is impossible, but just looking for something to do.
But, of course, it works, and the film then partakes in its true passion - celebrating the MCU itself. Like a terrible clip show from a long-running show, much of what follows is everything you've already seen from nearly two dozen films, re-enacted all over again. It's quaint for hardcore fans of the series, but for me, it left me wondering if something more interesting could've been done in its place. The film can't even escape making the same mistake so many other films do by couching their time-travel plan in terms of still other movies, like "Back To The Future" and even "Hot Tub Time Machine."
The inevitable over-indulgent fight signals the end of the film, featuring a chorus line of all the characters coming back as if preparing to take a final bow. It's the big applause moment of the film, but somehow still comes off rushed. We don't get any understanding of what it was like when each of them came back, and what effect it had on their loved ones left behind. We don't understand - other than a few lines from Spider-Man - what it felt like to be one of the murdered from Infinity War. It's at this moment you realize why they didn't show anyone else come back after the second "Snap" - once again, humanity took a back seat to allow the superheroes a dramatic entrance. But, for a three-hour film, it really lacked the weight the writers were clearly going for.
In the fight itself, we're treated to many absurdities. The maligned Captain Marvel, who after nearly ending the film all by herself in the first five minutes literally told the audience "you're not going to see me for a while," shoots in from out of nowhere and effortlessly destroys a ship, just as she had in her own film. She then joins a group of female superheroes who pointlessly pose for a moment, then unlike the male characters screaming and attacking, choose to scream and attack. On top of this "Force Is Female" crap, the whole sequence is shot like a DC fight scene, complete with an ugly brown filter over the colorful characters. But, hey, when it's all over, Thanos gets to die a second time.
To round things off, the film follows "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in gleefully letting the past die. While Iron Man gets an epic and dignified death - unwillingly, having started a family of his own - others aren't so fortunate. Captain America voluntarily becomes old, handing over his shield to his black friend Falcon. More wokeness ensues when Thor, transformed by depression into "The Big Lebowski," hands over the keys to his sad little village to the Valkyrie woman from "Ragnarok" who can't act. One after the other, your favorite superheroes survive their greatest challenge only to voluntarily give up the reigns to a group far less interesting or talented. Then the actors sign their names "Star Trek" style, you wait 11 minutes for no after credits sequence, and its finally time to go pee.
Once again, even in this biggest and most anticipated superhero film, this is yet another example of writers not taking the time to play with an idea and make their story the very best it could be. It's not a terrible film, but it's not a complete one, either. Tragically caught between racial and sexual politics, rabid fans, and Disney corporate, it lets a little too much of the outside world water-down a good story.