Avengers: Endgame. Probably the most anticipation I've ever felt for a movie in my life. If you've seen my first thoughts video (here), you know I not only was pretty excited leaving this film, I highly enjoyed it as well. In fact, I didn't think they could top Infinity War, but this one does 10 fold. If you've been keeping up I like to let these set in a little before coming here & writing out a more full, still spoiler free, review. Spoiler free is going to be hard with this one as every scene could potentially be a spoiler. The Russo brothers were not lying when they said the trailers were pretty much in the first 30 minutes, if real footage at all. I'm gonna handle this one a little different than usual & talk about my only negative first. It's mostly restricted to the first act, but there is a lot of convenience. Situations being solved with winning the lottery like odds. In the long run, these were easily overlooked for me, but I'm sure some people will hang on to these. All in all, we are dealing with comics, & sometimes it is just lucky circumstances that tip the scales. It was easy to forgive due to the epic awesomeness that is every single other moment of this film besides those couple of incidents. Leading me to all the reasons I loved this film. The emotional rollercoaster that this film is delivers on so many levels. I've never in my life sat in a theater & heard so much crying tied in with many, multiple moments of ecstatic cheering & applause. In fact I've never enjoyed the experience of seeing a film in a crowded theater as much as I enjoyed this. The room was filled with electricity throughout, & not one person seemed to leave unsatisfied. Everything we've seen for 10 years, & now 22 movies, is wrapped up more so than series of films I've ever seen. Not only did they somehow manage this giant feat, they also did it in pure comic book event fashion. By delivering a totally satisfying ending to everything we've been wrapped up in this whole time, & at the same time, giving us a hint of new beginnings. A new start off point for the next giant event to unfold. In fact speaking of ending everything we've seen, I couldn't believe how much they literally dove into every single film leading up to now in one form or fashion. I would highly recommend revisiting all of these, especially the ones you don't remember going into this one. It will definitely help your appreciation that much more. This movie has so many payoffs. Not only for the fans of the films, but for fans of comic books in general. About everything you've ever asked for, the Russos prove here that they were listening. Things you wanted that thought wouldn't even ever happen unfold throughout this very short 3 hours & change. And the final hour is not only the greatest of this genre so far, it might be one of the greatest hours on film. Easily holding it's own with the likes of Braveheart & Lord of the Rings in scale of epicness. Even in the many all out action pieces of this film, you get a story being told the likes usually reserved for professional wrestling rings. I usually do a full breakdown of the actors & performances at this point, but considering we've been with most of these characters multiple times now, I'll just focus on some standouts. After 10 years these actors basically are their hero counterparts by now. Thay dosen't stop a huge level of character progression that totally shows, especially in our main three. Robert Downey, Chris Evans, & Chris Hemsworth build their roles in whole new directions, & give an amazing since of the layers of growth their heroes have been through throughout the course of these 22 films. The same could also be said for Scarlett Johansson & Jeremy Renner. Also giving amazing performances as they deal with the results of the Avengers big loss in Infinity War. I also can't mention the level of performance without throwing in Josh Brolin once again as Thanos. Everyone involved with his character coming to life has taken motion capture technology to a whole other level. Everyone really goes over & beyond here, but as always I'm keeping this non-spoiler, so I don't really want to get into anyone else. Just know they all hold their own & then some. Overall, this easily jumped past Infinity War as my new favorite of the MCU, & probably a top 10 film of all time contender, if I was to make that list. The level of emotion dealt with through their loss, broken up & blended with Marvel's token, real world humor, all the way to the action packed finale, was satisfying in so many ways. This is everything I wanted, along with some things I didn't know I wanted. Not only as a fan of these films, but as a long time comic fan as well. As I said in my first thoughts video, I highly recommend seeing this in a theater. As big as you can, as loud as you can, & even in 3D if that's your thing. Personally, I saw it in 3D & highly enjoyed the experience. Can't wait to see it again. Can't wait to own it for that matter, & fully enjoy this entire "Volume 1" of the MCU, beautifully brought together with this film.
