HONEST SHORT REVIEW FROM A MCU FAN

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2019)

Endgame is too long.
Why is that a problem?
Because the length prevents the film from truly soaring to the heights achieved by Infinity War.
I love the MCU and was as geeked out as anyone for Endgame, but I have to be honest.
So here we go.....
The movie is largely built around the original 6 Avengers and that's fine to set up the film, however, Endgame takes a VERY long time to get any real momentum.
A VERY long time.
It isn't until Ant Man arrives that any life is injected into the film.
So here are a few let downs in my opinion...
1. Captain Marvel is little more than a cardboard cutout and the personality she expressed in her movie is nowhere to be found.
2. You will be very disappointed if you enjoy seeing "Hulk Smash!"
3. You will be very disappointed if you hope to see much of Black Panther, Loki, Bucky, Nick Fury, Groot, or Gomorrah.
4. The film rarely lets loose the personalities we've all come to enjoy in Rocket, Star Lord, Happy, or even Captain Marvel for that matter.
Now for some positives:
1. There are some very good laughs that thankfully lift up the long run time.
2. Its a blast revisiting some moments from past MCU films.
3. It's nice to see the female empowerment themes and the potential set up for the Young Avengers
4. You can go to the restroom without missing something truly crucial. Seriously.
Overall: Endgame is 30 minutes too long and this prevents the film from achieving a solid and consistent pace.
It allows moments where we have to think about the "science" behind the action.
The emotional highs and lows are simply not as impactful as Infinity War and some serious stuff happens in Endgame.
The climax is enjoyable, however we have waited over 2 hours to see if our favorite characters from the extended MCU are going to appear and by this time the climax has to be compressed into a 45 minute "epic" battle that is barely on par with the battle of Infinity War.
In short, Endgame is inferior to Infinity War.
I should have felt deep sadness at times throughout the film and the movie was unable to create that feeling in me.
I wanted to feel the same highs I felt with Infinity War, but those highs were few and fleeting.
It wraps the Avengers MCU in a beautiful box, but when opened, I was underwhelmed.
I got my money's worth in sheer length, but that running time was detrimental to my ability to deeply invest.
Sean