IT'S THE END(GAME) OF AN ERA!

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2019)

This is it! This is "THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES!"
Of course, this was a film on my anticipation list. I didn't put it on the actual list because it was a given. I've been with this extensive universe for 10, going on 11, years. Going into the cinema, I was excited and worried, because I knew that this would be the end of an era and characters. Coming out I was exhausted in the best possible way. I, and the entire audience, were full of emotions both happy and sad. Now let's get into why.
POSITIVES!
After Infinity War, we were all coming back no matter what! The plot is obviously about reversing what had happened, but all of us are invested in this world, so obviously we were onboard with that. Without spoilers, the course the film takes is fantastic. Although it has a slow start, it was fantastic to slow down and deal with the impact of the Infinity War events and to see these incredible characters cope and to see how the actors performed. Everyone is great, as always. Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic. Audiences get to see an impeccable performance from the man that started it all and he is in good company. The core Avenger characters/actors are all great. Where Renner and the writers take Hawkeye is epic. Chris Evans is awesome as Cap and Johansson shines bigtime in the film. Although Josh Brolin's Thanos' appearance is limited, audiences have Infinity War to understand the character! Anthony and Joe Russo return with a punch. Taking risks in the story and action. AND THE ACTION! The final action sequence is easily my favourite action sequence among the MCU movies! The Russo Bros have an incredible ability, that they utilized in The Winter Soldier, where they showcase a character in a small role but make them large. This is what they used in Infinity War and Endgame and that made them perfect to helm to two-parter finale. The Russo Bros also had two shots that made me super emotional. The first is the final shot and it's a tear jerker from an emotional standpoint. And the other occurs as the film wraps up and it showcases how far the MCU has come. They also cameoed more of the Community cast which was hilarious! The entire film flows incredibly well and doesn't at all feel like a 3 Hour epic. This is a praise to the editors of the film, never once making the audience bored in the way they formed the narrative. The visual effects are stunning. In Infinity War I had a problem with the digital image mixed with the live action, but not here. Everything is seamless. From the digital characters to the action. It has got a lot of beautiful and familiar artwork and sets that all blend well together. The costumes are fantastic. Iron Man's and Cap's costumes were fantastic adaptations of the source material. But then again, there were other updated costumes and makeup that were welcomed upgrades. Alan Silvestri's score is used to perfection in the most epic moments! There is so much that I enjoyed and loved, but I love the fact that there are two things that occur in the third act that I have been awaiting for such a long time and the fact that they used both in the epic action sequence was the best thing to occur onscreen for such a long time!
NEGATIVES!
The problems I have with the film are minor and don't impact my opinion significantly. Most of these are to do with the writing. Like I said before, the film has a slow first act. Once we get past that the film picks up, but it's still there. Again, without spoiling the movie, the film deals with a certain plot device and being a huge fan of that certain device, after the movie finished, I started to deconstruct it and not a lot of it works. But that's nit-picking. The humour between characters works very well, but the humour for the audience not so much. The film takes itself seriously, and that is awesome! It's just that the humour and comedic elements are weak. Thor is awesome in the final act but before then he is used as comedic relief with how the character is displayed and portrayed, and it feels forced and unwarranted. It's unfortunate because Hemsworth was so hilarious in Thor: Ragnarok and those comedic elements flowed well into Infinity War, but not here. And lastly, this is an issue not to do with the movie but the audience. There is a lot of references and cameos to past MCU films, like a lot. And whilst this is fantastic and helps wrap up storylines and character arcs, there will be audience members that don't appreciate the references because they hadn't seen the MCU movies/franchises being referenced. Example; someone that watches The Avengers franchise but doesn't watch the Guardians of the Galaxy movies may not understand certain scenes. Not the Guardians in particular, just an example.
CONCLUSION!
So, Avengers: Endgame satisfies the biggest MCU fans and Marvel Comics fans with its interpretation of story and character. There are so many epic moments, along with the powerful and sad scenes that will cause a few tears due to a great script and fantastic acting. This isn't my absolute favourite MCU movie, but it's high on the list. It's the Endgame and the stories that the film wraps up are done in an appropriate and epic fashion.