Underwhelming but still very good- Infinity War was better

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2019)

Is the film underwhelming? Yes. It is still good? Yes. With all of the hype i saw on social media and my friend's conversations I had extremely great high hopes for this film however I was left slightly dissatisfied.
At 3 hours, the film is way too long and it can drag sometimes, especially in the tedious build up of the first half of the film.
Whilst the second half of the film is quicker paced and more enjoyable, including a very well choreographed, action packed end fight scene, I had felt i has seen it all before when thinking about the fight scene in Wakanda in Infinity War and so this wasn't anything special to me. The only thing I did really enjoy about this scene was the return of the fallen soldiers through Dr. Strange's portals. For me, this was one of the best sequences of the entire film.
Similarly, the payoff for the culmination of the fight scene- the Avengers defeating Thanos- was anticlimactic. The writers of the film were not going
to have the Avengers lose their final outing and so I fully expected this to happen. Contrast this with last year's infinity war, where I was left utterly shocked at the fact the Avengers, who had been built up as an unstoppable force over the previous 2 films, had lost. My jaw was at the floor in the cinema at the time. It was this complete unexpectedness of the climax of Infinity War that makes me believe, however unpopular this may be, that Infinity War was better than Endgame.
This film is still however very good. The cast are, as always, great in their roles and the production value is fantastic, which makes for some beautiful looking scenes. All of the jokes (bar Korg playing Fortnite and Hulk dabbing) land, as does equally the action sequences. The addition of new characters in the Avengers series, such as Captain Marvel, are a welcomed addition and inject some fresh blood into the already solid cast, even with their minute amount of screen time (seriously, Captain Marvel had more haircuts than minutes on screen).
The plot is solid, although the time travel aspect is confusing at times. Similarly, the plot does open some gaping plot holes. Why are the Guardians of the Galaxy searching for Gamora when they ran into her in the fight scene? (I will admit I'm not a hardcore Marvel fan and so maybe missing something) and how can Captain America suddenly pick up Thor's hammer? (I definitely AM missing something there). Thirdly, there are continuity errors. Thanos tears Iron Man, Captain America and Thor and their respective weaponry apart all at the same time WITHOUT the gauntlet. Thanos is strong, but not that strong.
The ending however was the perfect culmination of 22 films over the last 11 years. It tied everything together nicely and gave almost every character a satisfying ending, especially Captain America. Even the end credits with each actors signature were damn beautiful. It didn't bring me to tears but it did make me feel emotional.
The Avengers films have been some of my favourite films over the last few years and so to see it end is saddening. This film could have been much better but I am not disappointed with the way the ended it. It really is the end of an era.