Endgame fits neatly in the top tier of great Marvel films. For a stand alone experience, its three hour run-time is dauntingly long and dense. But it uses that length to effortlessly put together a dizzying and complex plot web, and to throw call-backs and tie ins to most of the series. Add to this, resolutions for nearly every character in the Marvel cinematic universe, and the length becomes more defensible. To make that story work properly, it is deservedly strewn out over several acts, providing a base of believable tension for the series’ last moments.
Sticking through the foundational first half of the film rewards the audience with an impossibly epic string of heists and battle sequences, culminating into genuine finality to the entire series. It is a proper ending for the Avengers, heartfelt and thoughtfully lingering, without aggressively pandering. While not the best or most flawless Marvel film, it comes within range as it delivers a fantastic conclusion without squandering its run-time, without intense cliche, and successfully underscoring a truly entertaining series with the weight it deserves.
Endgame is the immense satisfaction of putting the last puzzle piece snug into the mosaic of the Marvel cinematic universe—the apex of 22 films feeding into each other. This risky, grand project ultimately paid off (literally for Disney) with an entire generation of movie goers branded with devoted fandom for a plethora of Marvel films and characters, or if not, total cultural awareness of who Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Panther are, among others. It is hard enough to make a decent action movie based on comic books. It is a cinematic wonder that this series produced at least a dozen films that dramatically raised the bar for what makes a great movie in the genre. Endgame is the proper capstone for this cultural phenomenon, and a worthy send off for a beloved saga.
9.3/10
As AJ Thinks 