The End of An Era in Epic Style

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2019)

The end of an era, Endgame wraps up the Infinity Saga in epic fashion, with massive fan service, emotional gravitas, a darker Thanos, psychological war-aftermath reflection, & one of the greatest final acts in blockbuster history. 9.4/10.
...

10 years, 21 movies, 32 heroes. The MCU as we know it just came to an end, and did so as epically as one could have possibly expected. Avengers: Endgame is one of, if not THE best and definitive Marvel film - and absolutely warrants the hype.
The film opens into a desolate landscape post-Infinity War where our heroes are still coming to terms with the magnitude of their failure. Despite glimpses of levity-full psychological war aftermath reflection on topics like survivor's guilt and PTSD, I'll admit: I was mildly disappointed with the first act. Overly comedic and light-defused in tone, it's a bit discordant with the tragic events that just happened to trillions of life forms. It was also a bit anticlimactic having them find and confront Thanos so easily and early. However, these flaws are mostly sequestered in the first third (despite a weird intellectual Hulk and fat Thor just horrifying to watch), and are ~easily forgiven in light of what follows.
Everything after the first act is masterful, dazzling fan service on a massive scale that will leave any Marvel or superhero fan speechless with their jaw-dropped. The middle act's time travel plotting makes for some incredible scenarios visiting past MCU films and having heroes interacting with their past selves. This was the magic of DC's Flashpoint comic arc, and although the film borrows its idea, it executes it perfectly. Thrillingly paced are the signature smooth-fluid action sequences The Russo Brothers are known for and exhibited ever since The Winter Soldier, as well as strong direction and intricate handling of such a monstrous scale of a story arc trying to beat Thanos before he even knows what's happened.
The Avengers once again find solace in the splitting up of them into mini-teams leading to some hilarious and intriguing character combinations different from Infinity War. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye now Ronin, and the rest of the original 6 (plus a few others) are sent off into different teams and time periods to retrieve the stones, and it makes for some incredible entertainment value alone worth the price of admissions to watch. The Easter Eggs and cameos are downright legendary, showcasing what we already learned in IW: Anthony and Joe Russo are huge Marvel junkies who know and love the films/comics as much as the person reading this review.
Thanos and his far darker tone. Thanos is also off scouring for the Stones while all this is happening. His pulling of the strings in things like sending rogues and strategically planting things to upset the Avengers' plans make him far more imposing than his rogue commando style in IW. Much akin to what Darkseid - DC's original titan/god that came out first and, yes, Thanos was cloned from - would be like, there's far more power in resources at your disposal and being able to fling them at your will. He also has a bite and far darker tone here, being pissed off The Avengers are wrecking his plans after knowing he won and promising to not only kill half of life now, but ALL life and start over again under his rule.
Finally, the final act. I cannot even find the words to describe how legendary the final act of Endgame is - it might be one of the greatest final acts in blockbuster HISTORY. Like the Wakanda war on acid, this massive scale battle starting with the three most iconic Avengers against Thanos and evolving into a sheer epic warzone with every Marvel character you could possibly imagine, it will leave any fan speechless. And that's nothing compared to the heart-breaking ending with sacrifices that do the characters proud and have potentially-massive implications for the future of the MCU.
Overall, while there are nits to pick from its ~anticlimactic humorous opening to its handling of Thor/Hulk to its lack of a post-credits scene (REALLY wanted an X-Men or Eternals tease..), Avengers: Endgame is an absolutely masterful film that delivers just about everything you could expect from it as a follow-up to Infinity War. The end of an era, Avengers: Endgame wraps up the Infinity Saga in epic fashion, with massive fan service, emotional gravitas, a darker Thanos, psychological war aftermath reflection, and one of the greatest final acts in blockbuster HISTORY. It will be dang near impossible to wait to see what comes next.
Overall Score: 9.4/10