The end of an era..

Rating: 10/10 (7 May 2019)

With 22 films and over a decade of storytelling coming to a close, Avengers Endgame had a lot to live up to, and despite some logic gaps and a handful of plot holes, it succeeded in the most important thing it needed to do, wrapping up a story that fans who spent all this time with these characters could be satisfied with. Last years Infinity War left these superheroes at their lowest point, defeated, and struggling to cope in the wake of the Mad Titan's victory. Because of our obsession with internet news and the constant need to be informed, those fallen heroes fates were never really in question, knowing full well another Spiderman movie was on its way, with both the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther having new movies in development. That left Endgame with not the if, but the how it was going to save these characters. What followed was a three hour mega opus that dwarfs even the biggest of comic book movies. Avengers Endgame is at times hilarious, and others heartbreaking, with returning directors Joe and Anthony Russo guiding the film with equal parts fun and heart, culminating in a poetic end to this sprawling storyline. It is the ultimate experience of pure fan service, awarding those who have been along for the ride with numerous callbacks to previous moments and wrapping it all up with the most expansive comic book battle ever put on film. To watch that final act without anything but a smile on your face or a tear in your eye makes me wonder why you went to the theater in the first place. Endgame was made for the fans and to criticize it for anything other than a fun time at the movies is missing the whole point. Are there plot holes? Sure, with any time travel plot it is bound to happen, but time travel isn't real, so pretending there are rules because you learned them in Back to the Future doesn't really make a lot of sense. Endgame delivers on everything it set out to do, wrapping this chapter of the MCU up in the most meaningful of ways. Maybe it doesn't take the risks that Infinity War or The Winter Soldier took, but it will be remembered for the experience that it was, and for this comic book movie fan, that is all I wanted from it.