Part of the Journey is the End

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2019)

What's funny about Endgame is that it's actually the first Avengers movie where they do in fact 'Avenge'. After the Thanos snap, half the population of the universe disappeared and thus creating the biggest problem the team has ever had to fix. Luckily, Scott and Tony figured out a way to time travel, to undo the snap and attempt to bring back all the people they lost.
It's tough to comprehend just how good this film is. On one hand, I do have some minor issues with the middle act as well as questions about all this time travel and the lack of ramifications. However, on the other hand, (and I hate making this as an excuse) but it is a superhero movie after all. How much do you forgive a plot hole here or there? The answer lies with how well you like the 3rd act. Because I do believe the last 45 minutes is some of the best film ever put to screen. The amount of pay-off and satisfaction you get as all 22 films have led to that moment is something I will never forget. I've seen the film twice now, and I nearly teared up merely seeing the portals open, among about 10 other small moments that moved me as well.
Of course the MCU will go on and make more billions upon billions as the universe continues to expand, but it won't be the same. We'll never get another core Avengers movie with this cast, and no matter how much or little your invested in the MCU, that has to mean something to you. It made the middle act worth it when the heroes go back and have to relive certain events that we've seen play out in other MCU films. But naturally, that act of the film does play out slower and more plotting than anything else. You certainly feel the lack of Thanos during those sequences. And I think that was my biggest gripe, the antagonist (Thanos) is only really there in the beginning and end, so you never feel true danger that our heroes aren't going to recover the stones for use one more time.
With that said, I think the original crew truly give us their best performances yet, and that starts with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., the heart and soul of this series. I'll admit I did not expect them to kill off only Tony and keep Steve alive, but their arcs are almost perfectly capped off here. Pepper says it perfectly to Tony "We're going to be alright, you can rest now".
There's not a whole lot to this review, it' mostly just initial thoughts, but if I can stress one thing over anything else, it's thank you. Thank you to Kevin Feige, the Russo Bros, and everyone involved in making this and the other MCU films. It's been one of the greatest pleasures of my life seeing this universe unfold the way it has and it's hard to imagine not having the next phase of films already in the pipeline but Endgame puts a stamp on the end of this series like not other. This was something special, and I don't think we'll ever see it again.
10/10