When the fate of the world depends on a rat, you get a grand emotional mess

Rating: 7/10 (11 May 2019)

It is a daunting task to wrap up a magnum opus called The Avengers involving numerous heroes who have become a part of ourselves and engineered permanent seats for themselves in our hearts. It is somewhat successful in its pursuit of providing the conclusion the franchise deserves although I would have been more satisfied if they would not have ventured on the time travel route.
Like other time-travel movies , this film also suffers from numerous plot inconsistencies. Time travel is an enigmatic phenomenon not only for laymen but for scientists as well. Hence, it is bound to create issues when integrated into a film.
The film's treatment of Thanos is an utter disappointment. He has been reduced from a stoic visionary to a shallow formulaic ruthless villain completely disrespecting his massive character development in Infinity war. Hulk was yet another low point of the film. I believed firmly that Hulk was going to take a major role against Thanos in EndGame but instead we get 'Professor Hulk' who did not go bonkers even over Natasha's death. Thor who is aware of personal losses suddenly decides to become a despondent loner. Let us not forget that his mother, brother, his men were all snatched from him but he never strayed from the path of retribution. This was a major disservice done to his character arc.
Natasha's death does not qualify to be a sacrifice as Clint was insistent on saving her from falling to her death and negates the Vormir events in Infinty war. Ironman was given a martyr's death just because his contract has expired. Instead he should have taken up the role of mentor for New Avengers and made occasional appearances. "God's righteous man- a man out of time" Captain America succumbed to his desire for getting a normal life which is not digestible for a Cap fan. He should have died a valiant death and that would have given an honorable and befitting end to the life of such an amazing magnanimous persona. Unforgivable disservice was done to his character given the fact that he left the New Avengers in the lurch with 2 down, 1 retired and one severely injured.
Dr. Strange's entire plan was based on the mere chance that a rat presses the keys securing Antman's escape from Quantum realm. Thus, the plot faltered right from the word 'Go'.
The war sequence was well-made but too many heroes at some points made it incoherent at times. A bit of daylight would have sufficed as in earlier Avengers movies.
Endgame gives us a scenario of a post-apocalyptic world and the principal cast have given their best marvel performances till date depicting their trauma, their agony and their desperation. The lengthy first half sets this up very well and creates a profound impact on the audience. CGI was top notch as usual. The background score blended well with the different moods. References to previous movies really moved me.
Overall, the film does have its moments in both halves but can't dethrone Winter Soldier, Infinity war, Civil war as three of my personal MCU favorites because of their atypical superhero movie plots which stands out from the rest.