Touching last chapter to the Marvel Saga

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2019)

So, Endgame. This is the last chapter to the Marvel series of movies that began in 2008 with Iron Man.
11 years later, it's right that the series showcasing the journeys of characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman and Thor should have a grand send-off. This film didn't disappoint. There is a general fear that sequels can't live up to the first film, and that final movies can't meet audience expectations. The writers and actors had a large task ahead of them as this is a movie featuring multiple characters and various threads need to be tied together.
Not being a Marvel fan myself, I had to read up on the previous installments, as I was told that this film would make no sense unless one had watched the previous film as it was a direct continuation. That's true. Even so, I enjoyed the character studies and the crossovers of different worlds. What was particularly thrilling was to see lead characters from different films come together and interact. For example, short scenes with Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth as Star Lord and Thor respectively, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange engaging with Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man were very exciting and satisfying to watch, mainly just out of curiosity regarding how the actors would respond to one another and what the dynamic between the characters would be. As a viewer I have a vision of how the characters would engage with one another and it was curious to see various relationships brought to life in a slightly different manner than initially imagined. The interactions were naturalistic though and believable, because the actors were top of the game.
There was drama, and there was also plenty of humour to go around. Paul Rudd was very endearing and likeable as the awkward and slightly lost Ant-Man, Chris Hemsworth was hilarious as a drunk and depressed Thor, and Robert Downey Jr whose Tony Stark I usually find too irritating for his attention seeking and smart-ass manner was touching and sensitive, especially in regard to his relationship with Tom Holland's Peter Parker. I do wish they could have fit in Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston more, but that's the danger with 'team-movies'- the focus invariably has to lie with a few select characters. It is a shame that Thor and Jane never received the closure they deserved on screen, however.
Knowing that this was the last time that some of the characters would ever interact added poignancy and sadness to some of the scenes. What needed closure was generally given closure, and the last scene is very beautiful- a perfect ending to the Marvel film universe.