Triumphant

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2019)

This movie is for fans of the MCU.
Casual fans will more than likely prefer Infinity War over Endgame, however for fans (hardcore) of the MCU, this is everything you could want and more.
Going into the movie I kept asking myself, will Iron Man die, or Cap? Maybe both? Who will wield the gauntlet? And I couldn't have been happier with the result of those questions. But starting from the beginning having Thanos be decapitated and then having sort of a "where are they now" sequence was great. It almost made Infinity War feel like the end, and then Endgame was a new beginning. Iron Man being rewarded from the snap in the long run was also fascinating. The first hour was a slow burn, and that's why I feel like this movie is not for the casual viewer. Personally being a huge MCU fan, this character development, is beautiful. Seeing how our characters have reacted five years later was so interesting, and in many ways, it shows us as an audience who these people could be, in many ways negative (Thor, Hawkeye), and many ways positive. (Iron Man, Hulk, Cap.) Also seeing some Avengers still trying to do super hero stuff, but not having much to do, brings a thought, was the snap a good thing?
Now the time travel was executed, but of course no matter how you swing it, time travel will create problems. It was done as well as it could have been, and luckily they didn't undo any events, they just brought everyone back. That works on many levels, Infinity War keeps the stakes that it had, and the revived characters remember the events. This could be a fun idea to play with, in future MCU films. Obviously all of the call backs were fun, and the time travel rules mean that they created new realities. So no, if you watch the first Avengers movie, Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, and Ant Man aren't running around in the background. Well executed.
The final fight was unlike anything I could have predicted. Cap using Mjornir, Thor becoming bad ass again, Thanos kicking ass, Iron Man, Hawkeye, the list goes on. And then every character ever shows up and it becomes a comic book fans dream.
Let's talk about each original six members arch.
Black Widow- what a shock having her die. Not giving her a proper funeral was very annoying, but with so much happening its forgivable. At the beginning of this movie, you can feel her urgency, she is in her element, and only wants to do good. Having her lead the remaining Avengers five years later, because that is all she knows at this point, really works. She is having a very tough time accepting the world for what it is, so when she knows she can save it by giving her life, she has it no other way. This is perfect for her character, and it is satisfying that her "red" is gone.
Hulk- I really liked Proffesor Hulk, especially that he was kind of douchey, it worked. This movie wraps up Bruce's 3 movie arch starting with Ragnarok, and it was great, because he helps Thor like, like Thor helped him. He gets to have a good moment putting on the nano gauntlet, and the scene with The Ancient One was perfect Bruce Banner. I do believe that should be it for his character.
Hawkeye- The opening scene of this movie set the tone for this bad ass. So sad. However, having him be a big part of the climax was great, he would do anything just to see his family again. And his character having to watch his best friend die, goes in to his tragedy even more. Loss after loss. He deserved a happy ending just as much as anybody.
Thor- I liked drunk Thor. The comedy at this point is what the character is. But the amount of tragedy Thor went through, it makes sense he would hit fuck it mode. Being able to see him with his mother, and her saying "everyone fails when they try to be who they're supposed to be, you succeed when you be who you want to be." (Something like that.) Very well done. Thor is at the end of the day, a bad ass.
Iron Man- Everything starts with "I am Iron Man" and it ends that way. His destiny was the keep the world safe, and he does that. The amount that he put on the line, time and time again, he is now able to finally rest. One of the most powerful death scenes, ever. Robert Downey Jr's performance was incredible. And the call backs for him were great. The fact that his life was great after the snap, but he still had to try and fix it, proves that he is meant to be Iron Man. The scene with his dad was fantastic as well.
Captain America- The MVP. Honestly this was Cap's finest hour. A man out of time gets time back. Throughout his run in the MCU he had accepted his life as a soldier. But that changed here, and he was able to have his last dance. My theory on old Cap is he didn't change the timeline when he went back, he just stayed incognito. That's why he was able to be there to pass the shield, without creating a new timeline.
Overall it's close to perfect. You can find issues in the plot because of the time travel. But fuck that, this was a love letter, and for MCU fans, a perfect ending.