Satisfying and heartfelt, but not the world-beater some are hailing Endgame to be

Rating: 7/10 (29 April 2019)

Endgame should be revered purely based on the fact that the writers have managed to conclude virtually every storyline running in the Marvel universe. This was some feat, considering the vast numbers of important characters and the multiple timelines that needed closing. Further to this, none of the pivotal players were short changed in their conclusions, paying close attention to each one of the original Avengers cast.
The film was also not saturated with fight scenes for its 3 hour run time, a real risk when producing superhero films - instead, character interactions were heavily utilised, employing slightly more pathos than Marvel films ordinarily use. Special mentions must go to Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who was uncharacteristically used almost exclusively as comedic relief - undoubtedly a risk, but one that succeeds thanks to Hemsworth's often-overlooked versatility as an actor. This was also Robert Downey Jr's best performance as Iron Man, with slightly fewer quips and more heartfelt emotion on display.
Endgame is not, however, the perfect film: flaws are unavoidable in a universe as widely explored as this, and the major injustice seems to be the comparative screentimes and focus points on each character. The main culprit is Peppa Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), an entirely forgettable cast member from the Iron Man franchise, suddenly promoted to a semi-important role as one of the most powerful fighters...why? Why dilute the abilities of all of the other characters at your disposal and use Iron Man 2.0 (or 3.0 if you're also considering War Machine as an Iron Man copy) for the sake of it? Further to this, Captain Marvel once again disappoints. Her lack of meaningful involvement in the majority of the film makes the plot seem trivial and nonsensical, even more confusing when you consider the fact she was given an entire film only months before.
On the reverse side of this, some important characters might as well not have even been looked at. The Guardians of the Galaxy (bar Rocket) were redundant in the film, strange considering the popularity of the spinoff franchise; furthermore, Nick Fury's borderline cameo appearance was a kick in the teeth for the longest tenured actor in the franchise.
Whilst these criticisms are fairly harsh, this does not detract from the fact that Endgame is better than your average Marvel experience, and definitely does service to those fans who have stuck with the franchise for this long. Moreover, this film doesn't close the door to further films being made to continue the superhero trend. Unfortunately, as with most of these films/franchises, not enough is achieved to really propel this film into stardom - however, box office reports may yet prove me wrong.