An "Endgame" without much of an ending.

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2019)

This latest of the Avengers series is pretty predictable because it is so formulaic: a convoluted set of story strings that must come together at the end, gratuitous little interpersonal dramas, and lots and lots of explosions, fistfights, and a pseudo battle of Armageddon. Also, predictably, the final battle must invoke Deus ex machina to save the day.
It's too bad that a lot of engaging actors and Marvel characters are wasted on such an insipid, uninspiring script.
The God wannbe, Thanos, is a boring and not a terribly scary sci-fi villain. He looks like a World Wrestling Federation refugee who overdosed on steroids. And, the quest for the five magic stones that give power over the entire universe sounds like a gimmick straight out of an adolescent-level video game.
The first 60 minute takes forever to ramp-up. And the viewer is lost without remembering the previous installment,"Infinity War." After a padded full three hours of superhero antics - so many superheroes I can't keep them straight - the ending is dismally anticlimactic. Killing off Iron Man seems terribly misplaced. And, just to drag out the boredom, it follows up with a painfully long shot of all the super heroes - clad in black - at a funeral that is, well, deadly.
A forgettable fractured sci-fi yarn.