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“Avengers: Endgame” is the culmination of a decade of blockbuster filmmaking, the result of years of work from thousands of people. It is designed to be the most blockbuster of all the blockbusters, a movie with a dozen subplots colliding, and familiar faces from over 20 other movies. It’s really like nothing that Hollywood has produced before, existing not just to acknowledge or exploit the fans of this series, but to reward their love, patience, and undying adoration. The blunt thing you probably want to know most: It’s hard to see serious MCU fans walking away from this disappointed. It checks all the boxes, even ticking off a few ones that fans won’t expect to be on the list. It’s a satisfying end to a chapter of blockbuster history that will be hard to top for pure spectacle. In terms of sheer entertainment value, it’s on the higher end of the MCU, a film that elevates its most iconic heroes to the legendary status they deserve and provides a few legitimate thrills along the way.

Don’t worry: I will stay very spoiler-free. The main joy of this film is in how its incredibly complex narrative unfolds, and you can go elsewhere if you want that ruined. The disappointing “ Avengers: Infinity War ” ended with Thanos finally getting all of the six Infinity Stones he so desperately sought, and then using them to wipe out half of existence, including beloved heroes like Black Panther, Star-Lord, and Spider-Man. “Avengers: Endgame” picks up a few weeks after “The Snap,” as the remaining heroes try to pick up the pieces and figure out if there’s a way to reverse Thanos’ destruction.

Immediately, “ Endgame ” is a more focused piece than “Infinity War” by virtue of having a tighter, smaller cast. (Thanks, Thanos.) It’s a more patient, focused film, even as its plot draws in elements of a dozen other movies. Whereas “ Infinity ” often felt bloated, “Endgame” allows some of the more iconic characters in the history of the MCU a chance to be, well, heroic. No longer mere pawns in a Thanos-driven plot, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and Thor break free of the crowd, ably assisted by Hawkeye and Ant-Man. In a sense, this is the new Avengers, and the tighter group of superheroes reminded me of the charm of Joss Whedon ’s first "Avengers" movie, one in which strong personalities were allowed to bounce off each other instead of just feeling like they were strapped into a rollercoaster headed in the same direction. It also allows space for some of the best acting work in the franchise, particularly from Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., who one realizes while watching this have turned Captain America and Iron Man into something larger than life for a generation. The most satisfying aspect of “Endgame” is in how much it provides the MCU’s two most popular heroes the story arc they deserve instead of just drowning them in a sea of cameos by lesser characters from other movies. In the way it canonizes them, it becomes an ode to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What works best about Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely ’s script for “Endgame” is that one feels, for arguably the first time, a sense of looking back instead of merely trying to set the table for something to come. This film incorporates elements of what fans know and love about the MCU, recalling character beats, origins, and the plots of movies like “ Iron Man ,” “ Guardians of the Galaxy ,” and “ Captain America: The First Avenger .” Call it cheap fan service, but one of my biggest issues with these films, especially “Infinity War,” has been a sense that they’re merely commercials for movies yet to be made. “Endgame” doesn’t have that. Sure, the MCU will go on, but this movie has a finality and depth given to it by MCU history that the others have lacked.      

Of course, it needs to work as just a movie too. The middle hour is as purely enjoyable as the MCU has ever been, but there are times when I wished I could sense a human touch below the incredibly-polished, carefully-planned surface of “Avengers: Endgame.” In the long build-up first hour, I longed for one of the pregnant pauses about the seriousness of the situation to lead to something that felt spontaneous or an acting decision that didn’t feel like it had been run through a committee. Every single aspect of “Endgame” has been foreshadowed for years by other films and finely tuned by the hundreds of people it takes to make a movie like this one. The result is a film that often feels more like a product than a piece of art. Roger Ebert once famously wrote that “video games can never be art,” but he may have been surprised to see art becoming more like a video game, something remarkably programmed and determined, lacking anything that really challenges the viewer.

However, people aren't lining up at dawn for “Avengers: Endgame” to challenge them. It’s really about rewarding commitment, fandom, and expectations. Whatever its flaws, “Endgame” does all of that, and with a sincere admiration for the fans who have made this universe a true cultural phenomenon. The stakes are high and the conclusions actually feel resonant. It’s an epic cultural event, the kind of thing that transcends traditional film criticism to become a shared experience with fans around the world. The biggest question I had coming out was how they could possibly top it ten years from now. 

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language.

181 minutes

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / The Hulk

Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Ronin / Hawkeye

Don Cheadle as James "Rhody" Rhodes / War Machine

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon (voice)

Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts / Rescue

Josh Brolin as Thanos

Zoe Saldana as Gamora

Stan Lee as Stan Lee

• Anthony Russo
• Christopher Markus
• Stephen McFeely
• Jim Starlin

Cinematographer

• Trent Opaloch
• Jeffrey Ford
• Matthew Schmidt
• Alan Silvestri

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ | Anatomy of a Scene

Anthony and joe russo narrate a sequence from their film featuring chris hemsworth..

“Hi, I’m Anthony Russo.” “And I’m Joe Russo.” “And we are the directors of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ This is a scene that happens relatively early in the film where we are catching back up with our characters after a five-year time elapse once they have definitively lost to Thanos— after he’s eradicated half of all life. Everyone’s taking that occurrence badly, of course, but some are taking it worse than others. Thor blames himself for the loss in many ways. And he’s basically masking it. He’s hiding in things like alcohol, and food, and video games, and TV. And he’s cloistered himself in this cabin here, and he’s very much hiding from the pain that he can’t face.” “Boys! Oh, my God! Oh, my God, so good to see you! Come here, cuddly little rascal. [GRUNTS] “Yeah, no, I’m good. I’m good.” “I think why this is one of our favorite scenes in the movie is this is an exceptional performance from Hemsworth. One of the hardest tones to play as an actor is to play both pathos and humor, and he does it with such a delicate touch in this scene. You really have to commit to stakes, you have to commit to emotional truth in order for the performance not to get ridiculous. That’s why it’s so difficult, because it can go absurd on you very quickly. And he does it. He grounds it. And this is right around the section where he starts to ground the performance.” “And he’s grounding it, of course, surrounded by a bunch of CG actors, which is doubly hard to pull off.” “And while wearing a 30-pound body suit.” “Yeah. And Joe and I, as filmmakers, we love to play with tone. We like very complicated tones. And this scene, I think, is really juicy for us because it starts from such a silly, absurd, frivolous place in terms of how Thor is hiding, what kind of behavior he’s adopted to get away from the pain.” “So what’s up? You’re just here for a hang or what?” “We need your help. There might be a chance we could fix everything.” “Well, like the cable? Because that’s been driving me bananas for weeks.” “Like Thanos.” “And this is a moment right here where, in a single moment, when Hulk says ‘Thanos,’ you see Chris Hemsworth reveals to us the pain that he’s been masking.” “He’s a tragically haunted man. And the tone shifts there very, very delicately.” [SOMBER MUSIC] “Don’t say that name.” “Even Korg shifts tone and becomes part of the conversation in this moment.” “The scene has a wonderful shape to it in the sense that we start from a place of lightness. It moves to a place of real darkness. And then at the end, there’s some kind of bizarre reconciliation of the two.” “Why would I be? Why would I be scared of that guy? I’m the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy?” “To get a peek into the window of how we would shoot a scene like this. So we didn’t have Taika on set that day, so there’s a motion capture actor playing Korg. We voiced Taika later. Ruffalo’s on set wearing, basically, the equivalent of pajamas which are a motion capture suit. And we have him on a platform so he can move around at the height he needs to move around at so he can have eye contact with Hemsworth. And when Hulk touches Hemsworth, we just replaced that with a Hulk hand instead of Ruffalo’s hand. And then we have— James Gunn’s brother plays Rocket on set. He’s crawling around on the ground on his knees so that he can also be at the same height as Rocket. So it’s very complicated to pull off a scene like this, and then to add in these difficulty-in-tone complexity of performance for Hemsworth, and this is about as a high degree of difficulty as it gets for an actor.” “You also notice the room— for as funny as this scene is, the room is very moody and dark. I think that really speaks to the fact that there’s a duality going on in this scene, and that ultimately, the story lies in Thor’s pain. And that that’s really what we’re moving here through on a story level here, and what this character is trying to push through. You’ll notice that the screen is blurred, and that’s because of some obscure rights issue. ‘Fortnite’ is actually playing on that screen, but for some reason in this clip, we can’t play it.”

By A.O. Scott

• April 23, 2019

“No amount of money ever bought a second of time,” one character says to another — I’m afraid I can’t be any more specific than that — somewhere around the middle of “Avengers: Endgame.” So true, so true, and also in context so completely not true. The intersecting axes of time and money are what this franchise is all about, and while I’m not an expert in studio math, I’d guess that a second of the movie, based on what Disney and Marvel Studios paid to make it, would buy a decent used car.

There are roughly 10,860 of those — seconds, not cars — nestled in between the quiet, spooky opening and the last bit of end credits. Which means that whatever a ticket costs in your neighborhood, “Avengers: Endgame” might count as a bargain. At three hours and one minute, it’s shorter than “Titanic,” “The Godfather Part II” or Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard.” And while the time doesn’t exactly fly, it doesn’t drag either. The two hours and forty minutes of “Infinity War” (also directed by Joe and Anthony Russo ) felt infinitely longer. Settling scores, wrapping up loose ends and taking a victory lap — the main objects of the game this ostensibly last time around — generate some comic sparks as well as a few honest tears.

And why not? We’ve lived with these characters and the actors playing them for more than a decade, and even when the party got hectic, stupid or crowded, there was no reason to complain about the guests. For the most part, it’s nice to see them again, and a little sad to say goodbye.

[Read the screenwriters’ explanations for plot points. | What to read if you want more Avengers. | How the movie did in Week 2 at the box office .]

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, always kind of neurotic for a buff deity with a mighty hammer, has let himself go, turning into a fat Lebowski with mommy issues. War Machine (Don Cheadle), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) have more to do than previously. (I wish that were also true of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie.) The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) has made peace with his essential duality. Robert Downey Jr., looking handsomely grizzled, exercises his seniority with a light touch. He’s been around the longest — the first “Iron Man” was in 2008 — and combines the duties of unofficial chief superhero with those of master of ceremonies.

It’s not all fun and games. A lot of heroes died at the end of “Infinity War,” and their loss weighs heavily on the survivors, perhaps especially on Nebula (Karen Gillan), whose father was responsible for the slaughter. Thanos’s deployment of the six Infinity Stones to wipe out half the life in the universe was unforgivable, of course — I can’t believe I just typed that — but it proves to have been helpful to the Russos, the screenwriters (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) and the audience. We and they have a manageable dozen or so major characters to keep track of, which leaves room for some of the alternately lump-in-throat, tongue-in-cheek ensemble work that has always been the series’s most potent weapon.

“The Avengers” cycle may require an escalating series of battles to save the universe from ultimate evil — each manifestation more ultimate than the last, with Thanos (Josh Brolin) as the ultimate ultimate of them all — but the engine that keeps it running is friendship. This isn’t the same as harmony. Going back to the earlier movies, Hulk and Thor have had their moments of friction, as have Iron Man and Captain America (Chris Evans).

The personal and political bad blood between those two, most acute in “Captain America: Civil War,” continues to simmer, at least at first. But the mood over all is tender and comradely, touched by acute grief and the more subtle melancholy of what everyone seems to understand is the Last Big Adventure. About that adventure, I won’t say much, though it strikes me that the shape of the plot is less vulnerable to spoilage than the little winks and local surprises along the way.

[ Everything you need to know before “Endgame,” in two minutes]

Those are the rewards for sitting through all those movies patiently waiting for the post-credit stingers, collecting Easter eggs while your friends were texting or your dad was napping and generally doing the unpaid labor of fandom for all these years. Was it worth it? In the aggregate, I have my doubts, but the chuckles and awws you’ll hear around you in the theater at certain moments attest to the happy sense of participation that lies at the heart of the modern fan experience. At its best — and “Endgame” is in some ways as good as it gets — the “Avengers” cosmos has been an expansive and inclusive place.

That has proved to be good business. Disney and Marvel’s accomplishment will be duly inscribed in the annals of commerce, to be studied for many years to come. There has been variety — silly movies and somber ones; chapters that proclaim their topicality and episodes that embrace pure escapism — as well as consistency. Any single film can serve as a point of entry, and insider status is easy enough to obtain. There has never been anything difficult or challenging, which is a limitation as well as a selling point.

None of the 22 films in this cycle are likely to be remembered as great works of cinema, because none have really tried. It’s fun to see the actors in these roles we know are capable of better, and also satisfying to appreciate the efforts of those who might not be. Some first-rate directors have taken up the banner and burnished the brand. Their past and future masterpieces will most likely be found elsewhere.

Still, “Endgame” is a monument to adequacy, a fitting capstone to an enterprise that figured out how to be good enough for enough people enough of the time. Not that it’s really over, of course: Disney and Marvel are still working out new wrinkles in the time-money continuum. But the Russos do provide the sense of an ending, a chance to appreciate what has been done before the timelines reset and we all get back to work. The story, which involves time travel, allows for some greatest-hits nostalgic flourishes, and the denouement is like the encore at the big concert when all the musicians come out and link arms and sing something like “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” You didn’t think it would get to you, but it does.

Avengers: Endgame Rated PG-13. Swearing and fighting. Running time: 3 hours 1 minute.

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• Entertainment
• <i>Avengers: Endgame</i> Is a Good — And Sometimes Great — End to Marvel’s First Decade

Avengers: Endgame Is a Good — And Sometimes Great — End to Marvel’s First Decade

Avengers: Endgame —the 22nd movie to emerge from the Marvel Cinematic Universe birth canal and the capper to the two-part saga that began with last year’s Avengers: Infinity War —makes more sense as an event than as a movie. The film has been meticulously crafted for people who care deeply about these characters, and it’s likely most of those viewers will leave the theater satisfied. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo (also the directors of Avengers: Infinity War, as well as two of the Captain America films) and their team of writers have ensured, with machinelike precision, that each Avenger gets his or her proper allotment of sensitive moments, as well as heroic ones. Once in a while, Endgame is enjoyable on its own terms, though mostly, you’ll be better off if you have at least a rough working knowledge of the MCU movies that have preceded it. It’s an entertainment designed to please many, many people and disappoint as few as possible, extravagant without necessarily having a vision beyond its desire not to put a foot wrong. It’s bold in the safest possible way.

In other words, as movies that are part of multi-billion-dollar franchises go, Avengers: Endgame is good enough. I must note here that I have little invested in the Marvel movies as the result of any attachment to Marvel comics. But I do care about the work of the actors who appear in them, performers like Chris Evans and Scarlet Johansson, Chadwick Boseman and Robert Downey Jr., Zoe Saldana and Jeremy Renner. All of these people have been terrific in MCU movies, even when they could easily get by with being less than terrific. Watching Endgame, I realized that I do care about Marvel characters because these actors have made me care.

The skill those actors—along with some I haven’t mentioned, like Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Cumberbatch—bring to the Marvel movies in general, and to Avengers: Endgame specifically, only makes me wish these movies were breezier and more inventive, and less obsessed with the high-stakes, big-money fan-pleasing game. But you can’t have everything, and Endgame at least gives these actors something to work with. (Minor-to-moderate spoilers follow, so if you want to experience Endgame with the naïve blankness of a tadpole freshly launched into the pond, please stop reading here.)

Endgame opens with an unnerving, gracefully filmed prologue involving Renner’s Clint Barton, Hawkeye when in his superhero guise. He’s enjoying an outdoor picnic with his family when it becomes clear that what we’re seeing is a moment connected to the tail end of Infinity War: The instant supervillain Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped his fingers—after having captured the last of those six all-powerful nuggets known as the Infinity Stones —and destroyed exactly half the world’s population , leaving the other half to grieve and remember. (It’s more cruel, when you think about it, to destroy half the world than all of it.) This megalomaniacal act was Thanos’s way of cleansing what he viewed as a corrupt universe. But Hawkeye, having retreated from Avengers duty to be a family man, wasn’t around to witness Thanos’s big finale—and, as Endgame begins, he doesn’t yet know that half his friends have turned to dust. And so, in this moment, we know what’s going to happen before Hawkeye does: He turns away from his family for just a millisecond, and in a blink, they’re gone.

Next we see the other remaining Avengers pulling themselves together after the tragedy—or, in the case of Scott Lang/Antman (Paul Rudd), just waking up after a Quantum Realm-induced nap . Lang quickly gets up to speed on what he missed, and comes up with the germ of a plan: Might the Avengers go back in time to foil Thanos’s plan of half-destruction? Lang introduces his idea to remaining Avengers Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson) and James Rhodes/War Machine (Cheadle). They bring this spark of an idea to the guy who might be able to make it work, Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man, who barely survived Thanos’s destructathon. First Stark says it’s impossible; then he changes his mind—but he also worries that if the scheme doesn’t work, he’ll lose all he’s gained in what has for him become a bittersweet time, an era during which he’s mourning his lost friends but also starting a new life for himself.

The plan to turn back time is less a major plot point than a mechanism to keep the story clicking, and the middle section—in which the Avengers break into groups to travel to specific places and years where they can grab one Infinity Stone or another before Thanos can get his dirty mitts on any of them—is the movie’s finest. Avengers: Endgame is a better movie than Avengers: Infinity War in one important sense: It relies less on milking tears out of us (for characters who have “died” but who we know will come back again—they’re too valuable to the franchise to be gone for good) than on focusing on what each of these characters might mean to us, given our history with them. The mid-section of Endgame shows the Avengers actors at their best. Chris Hemsworth, as a Thor who has slid into a state of pot-bellied depression post-Thanos, gets a chance to reunite with his long-dead mother, Frigga (Rene Russo), in the kingdom of his birth, Asgard. He greets her tentatively, almost shyly, nearly dumbfounded by the gift of seeing her again even for a few moments; she discreetly asks about his funky eye. The tenderness between them is lush and quiet, underscoring what’s most valuable about Endgame: There is only one gargantuan, booming fight scene, and it’s not the centerpiece of the movie. It’s as if the Russo brothers have finally acknowledged that bigger, noisier battles amount to less rather than more. At least we can hope.

Endgame does give us some arresting visuals: Thompson’s Valkyrie riding on a winged horse, anyone? But generally, the actors are Endgame ’s finest special effect. Though we’re made to wait for the entrance of Boseman’s T’Challa/Black Panther, it’s worth it: He coasts into the movie on a regal cloud. And Robert Downey, after playing Tony Stark/Iron Man for perhaps too many years, snaps back into form. In the 2008 Iron Man, Downey brought a kind of frazzled elegance to the role of Stark—his nervous energy seemed to spark from his fingertips, as if it were too much for his body to contain. In the years since, his Iron Man performances have become more brittle, more reliant on tics. But in Endgame, Stark’s moments of doubt feel lived-in—Downey’s performance is alive with prickly uncertainty. Even when Endgame hits its generally predictable beats, you can still count on the actors to shift the mood into slightly uncomfortable emotional territory.

The Russos and their writers clearly took pains to give nearly each character a gratifying arc, and a proper—if not necessarily soft—place to land. That must have been a lot of work, and a few of the Avengers get short shrift: The ever-so-powerful Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) drops out of the movie for a long stretch, eventually returning with…a short haircut. Some arc.

But the Russos more than make up for that with the discreet, wistful coda they give Steve Rogers/Captain America. It’s the movie’s single most gorgeous element, perfectly fitting for a guy who entered a 70-year sleep right after finding the love of his life. Evans’ Captain America has always been, physically speaking, the beefiest of all the Avengers, as sturdy and wholesome as the “after” picture in a Charles Atlas ad. Yet Evans has also always been one of the most understated actors in the franchise. As Steve, Evans’ smile is easy, friendly, in a stock all-American way. But there’s never been any swagger behind it. It’s the smile of a guy who’s lost something valuable, whose view of the future is perpetually tinted with the color of what he left behind. Avengers: Endgame isn’t a great movie, but there are flashes of greatness in it, and quite a few of them belong to Evans. His Captain America rewards us with a revelation and escapes with a secret. The best thing in Avengers: Endgame is everything he doesn’t say.

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Film Review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’

After the must-see showdown that was 'Infinity War,' the Russo brothers deliver a more fan-facing three-hour follow-up, rewarding loyalty to Marvel Cinematic Universe.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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SPOILER A LERT: The following review contains mild spoilers for “ Avengers: Endgame .”

The culmination of 10 years and more than twice as many movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame” promises closure where its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War,” sowed chaos. That film — which revealed that the cookie-cutter uniformity of all those MCU movies had been part of an unprecedented master plan — infamously wrapped with a snap: a gesture that, when performed by a supervillain armed with the six Infinity Stones, was capable of wiping out half of all life in the universe.

Audiences have had a year to mourn the loss of Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and Black Panther (whom they’d only just met two months earlier), and to nurture theories as to where directing siblings Anthony and Joe Russo might steer things from here. Maybe all those characters weren’t really dead. Maybe the remaining Avengers just needed to travel inside the Soul Stone to get them back. Or maybe “Avengers: Endgame” would have to resort to that most desperate of narrative cheats — time travel — to undo the damage caused by Thanos (the purple-skinned, multi-chinned baddie so compellingly performed by Josh Brolin).

The element of surprise and the thrill of discovery are everything in these movies, so every attempt has been made to minimize spoilers. Yes, “Avengers: Endgame” is the most expansive film yet, and yes, it strives to provide emotional catharsis for several of fans’ favorite characters. It’s even safe to say that “Endgame” shifts the focus from extravagant, effects-driven displays of universe-saving — manifold though they remain — to the more human cost of heroism, which comes at great personal sacrifice.

That said, readers should also be warned that “Avengers: Endgame” hinges on the most frustrating of narrative tricks, and that no meaningful analysis of the film can take place without delving into some of the choices made by the Russo brothers and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. If “Infinity War” was billed as a must-see event for all moviegoers, whether or not they’d attended a single Marvel movie prior, then “Endgame” is the ultimate fan-service follow-up, so densely packed with pay-offs to relationships established in the previous films that it all but demands that audiences put in the homework of watching (or rewatching) a dozen earlier movies to appreciate the sense of closure it offers the series’ most popular characters.

To the extent that it has all been leading up to this, no franchise in Hollywood history can rival what the Disney-Marvel alliance has wrought, although “Avengers” would not be what it is without the three-films-over-three-years scope of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the coming-of-age continuity of Warner Bros.’ eight-part Harry Potter saga, or the 21st-century shift of serialized television to expansive, ensemble-driven narrative. Each of those experiments in cumulative, multi-part storytelling served to test just how far audiences would go to follow characters they love over time. But nothing — not the horror of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, nor the shock of James Bond’s wife murdered at the end of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” — could prepare fans for the Snap, and the pain of watching half the heroes they’d gotten to know turned to dust at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War.”

The opening scene of “Endgame” revisits that unbearable moment from the point of view of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who sat out the previous battle to spend time with his wife and kids, such that the agony he feels in watching them vaporized by the Snap will come to stand for what all living things must experience as they witness their friends and family disappear.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. , looking frail) and Thanos’ daughter Nebula (Karen Gillan), now begrudgingly “good,” are drifting somewhere out in space when they encounter Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) hovering outside their cockpit. That’s not quite how a “Captain Marvel” end-credits vignette teased her joining the Avengers — which involved a pager signal sent by her human ally, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) — but “Endgame” has so much ground to cover in the span of three hours that it breezes past introductions and treats her arrival as a fait accompli, racing to its first confrontation with Thanos, who has banished himself to a remote garden planet with his gauntlet.

That showdown doesn’t go at all as audiences might expect, but establishes that whoever holds those six all-powerful Infinity Stones can achieve pretty much whatever they want simply by snapping their fingers — with one major problem: Thanos has destroyed the stones. That means the universe is stuck like this unless someone invents time travel.

Spoiler alert: Someone invents time travel — which feels like a skill so far beyond the reach of modern science that maybe it should’ve qualified as a superpower and, if memory serves, might even have been among Doctor Strange’s abilities, except that the super-wizard (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) was one of the casualties of “Infinity War.” Before surrendering his Infinity Stone, Doctor Strange projected himself forward in time to view all possible outcomes of the Avengers’ uphill battle, reporting back that of those 14,000,605 alternate futures, only one resulted in victory over Thanos.

“Infinity War” may have gone badly for the Avengers, but the odds are pretty good that “Endgame” will yield that one possible happy ending, even if it means permanently having to say goodbye to certain characters — or at least, to certain actors in those roles, as we have already seen creative reboots of Spider-Man, Hulk, and the X-Men at other studios. And now that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) has demonstrated the potential for time travel at the quantum realm — a solution teased over the end credits of his last outing — the Avengers are free to buddy up and jump through time to collect the Infinity Stones before Thanos can get to them, at which point they can make their own gauntlet and snap things in and out of existence.

The Russo brothers dedicate an inordinate amount of time to convincing the heroes that the mission is worth trying, which may have worked in “The Magnificent Seven” but asks us to accept that, after shoving two or three of these Marvel movies down our throats a year, somehow everyone has sat idle for half a decade, crushed by depression and defeat. Still, the five-year flash-forward — a trick borrowed from the “Battlestar Galactica” playbook — allows for significant, and in some cases amusing, changes to Iron Man, Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo , who’d had trouble transforming when last we saw him), and Thor ( Chris Hemsworth , still plenty sarcastic but looking the most different).

But here’s the thing about using time travel to solve their problems: As soon as screenwriters open the door to that device, then any sequel can undo whatever came before. Here, War Machine (Don Cheadle) makes the suggestion that they go back and strangle Thanos in the crib, which the film treats as a joke, and yet, it sounds like a better idea than the “time heist” they have in store. Alternately, they could wait for Thanos to hijack all six Infinity Stones and then jump in and prevent him from using them.

Frankly, there are 14 million better ideas out there, but this one is designed to yield the maximum number of surprising twists, amusing confrontations, and bromance-y bonding moments between mismatched partners (like Thor and the Bradley Cooper-voiced space raccoon Rocket). The plan also allows the surviving Avengers to revisit scenes from the earlier films, watching their younger versions — as well as fallen comrades — from another angle, and in two very different cases, facing off against his or her past self.

To the film’s credit, it’s not the casualties, but the chances these heroes have to go back and say things to those they’ve lost that resonate as the most emotional scenes in “Endgame”: Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America ( Chris Evans ) each get such opportunities, any one of which would’ve been worth the price of admission. Still, all that time travel creates a host of paradoxes that will keep the geek debates raging for years: What happens if your “former future” kills an earlier, alternate version of yourself? If every change creates a “branch reality,” what kind of outcomes are in store for the universe in all those new paths? And why, if one has all six Infinity Stones in his possession, is snapping even required to set one’s wishes in motion?

By this point in the franchise, audiences have come to expect a top-of-the-line experience: iconic costumes and sets, stunning visual effects (including convincing computer-generated characters, like Thanos and Hulk), cinematography that alternates smoothly between epic clashes and nuanced character moments, and rousing music that underscores both the peril and the sheer importance of it all. Like “Infinity War” before it, “Endgame” delivers these elements at a higher level than Marvel’s less expensive — and considerably less expansive — lone-hero installments. But there’s something considerably less elegant to the storytelling this time around.

If “Infinity War” built inexorably to an “inevitable” conclusion (as Thanos arrogantly describes his victory), that was made possible by the filmmakers’ daring choice of positioning their villain as a deeply unconventional protagonist: It was Thanos who undertook the “hero’s journey” of that film, wildly outnumbered by the Avengers in his quest to amass the Infinity Stones. Here, the equation is reversed, with a surfeit of heroes now splitting up to repeat more or less the same mission, with only one adversary to oppose them (even with the Avengers’ ranks reduced by half, there are still too many to keep straight, while the prospect of reviving any of the fallen only makes it more unmanageable).

It works because the creative team has taken note of what audiences want (Black Panther! Captain Marvel!) and what the culture at large is asking for (more diverse representation all around), crafting brief but impactful moments along the way. If these Avengers movies are like massive symphonies, then the conductors have taken care to give nearly everyone a standout solo, however short — or, in the minute that played best at the film’s premiere, a group shot that gathers all the female Avengers, and proves that had Thanos’ snap wiped out just the dudes, the remaining women would’ve been awfully formidable on their own. However satisfying — and necessary — these vignettes may be, is it still art when a movie seems so transparently reverse-engineered according to audiences’ appetites, or does that make “Endgame” the ultimate pop-culture confection?

After nearly two and a half hours of hardcore comic-book entertainment — alternating earnest storytelling with self-deprecating zingers designed to show that Marvel doesn’t take itself too seriously — “Endgame” wraps all that logic-bending nonsense with a series of powerful emotional scenes. Whereas all the casualties suffered at the end of “Infinity War” felt suspiciously like a gimmick that would be undone in this film, these meaty character moments illustrate the spirit of personal sacrifice certain individuals consciously make on behalf of the team, and the universe at large.

Time and again, “Endgame” makes the point that family matters, whether that means biological ties — as Iron Man, Hawkeye, Ant Man, and Thor have experienced — or those forged by duty. The final takeaway from this decade-long journey is that heroism isn’t defined by bravery or super-abilities, but by what one gives up for the greater good. Among the many frustrations of the Snap was that it robbed so many great characters — and gazillions of anonymous creatures throughout the galaxy — of proactively making that choice. “Endgame” isn’t exactly a do-over, but it builds to an infinitely more satisfying conclusion.

Reviewed at Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, April 22, 2019. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 181 MIN.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a Marvel Studios presentation. Producer: Kevin Feige. Executive producers: Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo, Trinh Tran, Jon Favreau, James Gunn, Stan Lee.
• Crew: Directors: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo. Camera (color, widescreen): Trent Opaloch. Editors: Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt. Music: Alan Silvestri.
• With: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo , Dave Bautista, Chadwick Boseman, Josh Brolin, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Winston Duke, Karen Gillan, Dana Gurira, Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Redford, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Rene Russo, Tilda Swinton, Tessa Thompson, Benedict Wong, Laetitia Wright.

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Avengers: Endgame Reviews

The series may never reach this fever pitch again, but we’re glad we got to watch the plan come together in such a memorable way.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2024

After an impatient wait after the “open” ending in Avengers: Infinity War, its sequel Avengers: Endgame has arrived, the outcome of the universal conflict posed by the extraterrestrial villain Thanos.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Jan 27, 2024

Who are the Avengers if they don't need to "avenge" anymore? Avengers: Endgame shows us our favourite heroes like we've never seen them before.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 2, 2023

Avengers: Endgame surpasses all expectations. One of the best comic-book films of all time, without a single doubt.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Jul 24, 2023

Your level of enjoyment depends on how invested you are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you've been with [the franchise] since 2008, "Endgame" is an unparalleled experience – unlike anything that has come before and may ever come again.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 11, 2023

Avengers: Endgame is not just a culmination of the last eleven years of the Marvel Studios cinematic saga but also a celebration of everything people have come to love about these characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 9.5/10 | Aug 22, 2022

I’m not sure if I would call the great completion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the best comic book film of all time. Still, it’s certainly the finest conclusion to a greater ideal Hollywood has ever put together.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 19, 2022

From the very beginning “Avengers: Endgame” feels like something special, something unique, something unlike anything we’ve seen before. And even in its missteps it never loses that sense of spectacle and grandeur.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2022

Who could have anticipated that Marvel Studios and Disney would release a three-hour extravaganza whose exquisite character-focused scenes outshine the FX-driven action?

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 3, 2022

Eleven years of Universe building, and this is the crescendo. It really pays off, I've never seen anything quite like it.

Full Review | Feb 22, 2022

Avengers: Endgame broke me, put me back together, and decided to cut me again in one of the most impactful cinematic experiences of all time.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 18, 2022

For me, it didn't fulfill the promise of Infinity War, but it did fulfill the promise of the previous twenty movies.

Full Review | Sep 30, 2021

I'm just grateful to have the privilege to watch this along with the rest of the world. It's not perfect, but it has been one hell of a ride.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 4, 2021

Here's the other really neat thing about Endgame: it made me think of priorities in life and what or who is worth sacrificing for, especially loved ones...

Full Review | Aug 13, 2021

The true superteam event releases marked something slightly different and spectacular...End Game over the original Guardians by a hair...

Full Review | Jul 28, 2021

This goes beyond the usual scale.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2021

A film that somehow manages to be as epic as fans hope and as dramatic as the MCU deserves.

Full Review | Jul 13, 2021

Films don't come any huger than this: the closing chapter to an 11-year saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, told across some 22 movies. And by the end of its three-hour runtime, there will definitely be tears.

Full Review | May 11, 2021

There really is very little that could be improved about Endgame. There's certainly no more that could be thrown at it.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 29, 2021

So much of the art form is about storytelling, and bringing so many side stories and characters to a satisfying conclusion is tough, and the film blended a (rather) unpredictable plot with emotional character beats deftly...

Full Review | Apr 14, 2021

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Avengers: Endgame goes out with an epic, superhero-stacked bang: EW review

The Avengers are dead. Long live the Avengers . For the millions who watched half the Marvel universe vaporize onscreen in the final moments of 2018's Infinity War — whole standalone franchises reduced to swirling ash with a sweep of ubervillain Thanos' meaty paw — there had to be one last sequel to set it right.

Nearly a year to the day, Endgame returns with the promise of many things: revenge, redemption, a runtime that defies the limits of most streetside parking meters. And the movie largely delivers, splashing its ambitious three-hour narrative across a sprawling canvas of characters, eras, and not-quite-insurmountable challenges.

As the story opens, though, Infinity 's surviving superheroes hardly seem up to the task. Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ) has cocooned himself in a remote country cabin; Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ) is staring into space and eating sad peanut butter sandwiches; Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) spends his days drinking, a beer-gutted agoraphobe in a bathrobe.

Even Captain Marvel ( Brie Larson ) has other galaxies to worry about. But there is an Ant-Man with a plan: Paul Rudd 's ageless, shrinkable Scott Lang may have the seeds of a time machine that would allow the crew to go back and gather the Infinity Stones that triggered the original, terrible snap.

That means one more chance to see Chris Evans ' Captain America and Jeremy Renner 's Hawkeye do the things they do with shields and arrows and thousand-yard stares. But also to witness a Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo ) who has learned to own his oversize power (he willingly takes group selfies and wears shawl-collared cardigans now!); to follow along as Stark and Thor make some kind of peace with their pasts; to bask in the banter of bounty-hunting space raccoons and dry-witted billionaires.

Thanos, voiced by Josh Brolin , is still a formidable antihero, with his ominous proclamations — "I. Am. Inevitable ," he intones more than once — and a chin furrowed like wide-wale corduroy. And oh, the cameos; sibling directors Joe and Anthony Russo , veterans of the MCU, max out their Rolodex in nearly every scene, though half of the A-list appearances are over before the audience's happy gasp of surprise even fades.

With nothing less than the fate of the free world (or at least approximately 50% of it) at stake, there's an expected urgency to it all, but an underlying melancholy too — not just for everything that's been lost, but for what won't be coming back. After 11 years, 22 films, and uncountable post-credit Easter eggs , the endgame of an era has finally come. B+

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Avengers: Endgame

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' action... Read all After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe. After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.

• Anthony Russo
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• 9.5K User reviews
• 533 Critic reviews
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• 70 wins & 133 nominations total

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• Bruce Banner …

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• Trivia When Avengers: Endgame (2019) passed Titanic (1997) 's box office total, James Cameron sent a congratulatory message to Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios on dethroning his film - with a photo of the Avengers 'A' being the iceberg that sinks the Titanic.
• Goofs (at around 2h 20 mins) Scott is in the van trying a jump start, we then cut away and he is seen in the background battling a flying monster.

Natasha Romanoff : If we don't get that stone, billions of people stay dead.

Clint Barton : Then I guess we both know who it's got to be.

Natasha Romanoff : I guess we do.

Clint Barton : I'm starting to think we mean different people here, Natasha.

Natasha Romanoff : For the last five years I've been trying to do one thing, get to right here. That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back.

Clint Barton : Oh, don't you get all decent on me now.

Natasha Romanoff : What, you think I want to do it? I'm trying to save *your* life, you idiot.

Clint Barton : Yeah, well, I don't want you to, how's that? Natasha, you know what I've done. You know what I've become.

Natasha Romanoff : Well, I don't judge people on their worst mistakes.

Clint Barton : Maybe you should.

Natasha Romanoff : You didn't.

Clint Barton : You're a pain in my ass, you know that?

[they lean their heads together affectionately]

Clint Barton : Okay. You win.

Clint Barton : [he suddenly throws her down] Tell my family I love them.

Natasha Romanoff : [she pushes him off and tasers him] Tell them yourself.

• Crazy credits When the Marvel logo appears at the end of the closing credits, the sound of a hammer hitting metal can be heard several times (this is the sound of Tony Stark forging his suit in Iron Man (2008) , setting in motion the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
• Alternate versions In India, all profanity has been muted from the film and the subtitles.
• Connections Edited from The Avengers (2012)
• Soundtracks Dear Mr. Fantasy Written by Steve Winwood , Jim Capaldi , and Chris Wood Performed by Traffic Courtesy of Island Records Ltd. Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 9.5K

• Apr 29, 2019
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• April 26, 2019 (United States)
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• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $356,000,000 (estimated)
• $858,373,000
• $357,115,007
• Apr 28, 2019
• $2,799,439,100

Technical specs

• Runtime 3 hours 1 minute
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Surround 7.1
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‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review: The MCU’s Long Goodbye Is an Emotional Wipeout

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Thanos demands my silence. So if you expect a lot of specific “who lives, who dies” spoilers in this review, snap out of it. However, it is fair to say that Avengers: Endgame, directed by the Russo brothers — Anthony and Joseph — with a fan’s reverence for all that came before, is truly epic and thunderously exciting. You probably won’t care that at three hours, it’s bloated, uneven and all over the place, flitting from character to character like a bird that doesn’t know where to land. And yet the movie hits you like a shot in the heart, providing a satisfying closure even when its hard to believe that Marvel will ever really kill a franchise that’s amassed $19 billion at the global box office. Of the 22 films in the MCU that began in 2008 with Iron Man, Endgame is the most personal yet — an emotional wipeout that knows intimacy is its real superpower.

Avengers: Endgame and the State of the Modern Superhero

With 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War as our source, what we grasp going in is that Thanos (a superb Josh Brolin giving tragic dimension to a CGI villain) has decimated half of all living creatures in the universe. Only six of the original Avengers remain: Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Steve Rogers/Captain America ( Chris Evans ) and Bruce Banner/Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo ). Also in play are James Rhodes/War Machine ( Don Cheadle ), Rocket the space raccoon (hilariously growled by Bradley Cooper), Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Nebula (the sublime Karen Gillan), the supervillain’s reformed blue-meanie daughter. Their mission impossible, and there’s no question that they’ll choose to accept it, is to avenge the dead by destroying Thanos, bring back the six Infinity Stones that hold the key to ultimate control and just maybe find a way to restore a semblance of order.

With Infinity War, the Russos left audiences with their mouths open in shock as beloved characters were reduced to dust and evil emerged triumphant. Who does that? With Endgame, from an original script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the filmmakers take you places you can’t possibly see coming regarding who dies and who lives to tell their story. Don’t expect a typical happy ending. Just prepare to be wowed.

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For a movie bursting with action and culminating in a one-for-the-time capsule showdown, Endgame starts on a quietly reflective note. No Avenger is left unbroken by the devastation that ensued when Thanos snapped his fingers and half the world turned to dust. (Some mild plot spoilers ahead.) The movie jumps ahead five years after that moment, with our superheroes are empty shells forced to reflect on their failures. Tragedy has set Hawkeye adrift. Iron Man has retreated into the cocoon of family life with wife Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Thor has lost his home on Asgard. Hulk has learned to subdue his baser instincts. And Black Widow wonders if any sense can be made of it all. That’s when Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, amiable as ever) shows up, fresh from the Quantum Realm, with an idea for a “time heist.” You don’t have to make jokes about the clichéd time travel plot — the film is ready, willing and able to make its own, with Back to the Future coming in for a serious ribbing.

The Russos make sure there are lots of intentional giggles, especially when Cap is told that his uniform “does nothing for your ass” or Thor lards up with bellyfat or Hulk just stands there like a big green machine. Cheers to Ruffalo and Hemsworth for getting the most laughs without sacrificing character. Downey lowers Stark’s snark quotient to create something genuinely moving. His young daughter measures her devotion to him in multiples. “I love you 3000,” she says. Fans will surely feel the same.

Audiences affection for these Avengers carries the film over its rough spots. Some characters get their due (let’s hear it for the the women of Wakanda!) , while others stay on the outside looking in. A few supporting characters who show up for the big third-act battle have big moments that feel unearned. Also, it seems like Endgame has at least six endings, when the first one handily gets the job done.

Still, this long goodbye gets to you. It’s not an ardent and artful game-changer like Black Panther ; there probably isn’t a Best Picture Oscar nomination in its future. So what? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll thrill to the action fireworks. You’ll love it 3000. And not for a minute will you believe it’s really a farewell.

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Avengers: Endgame Review

25 Apr 2019

Avengers: Endgame

Last year’s Avengers: Infinity War was as finely calibrated a piece of action cinema as you’re ever likely to see, with a vast host of characters taking their turn upon the stage. There, each one generally did something awesome during their moment in the spotlight and passed the metaphorical baton gracefully to the next comer. You might expect more of the same in the Endgame that now follows, but this time Joe and Anthony Russo have delivered a stranger, scrappier beast. This deals with the messy business of emotional fallout and character development. The trick is that it does so in a way that’s equally satisfying – and that the action, when it comes, is less precise but far more impactful.

Marvel fans won’t be surprised to learn that most of the clips you’ve glimpsed in the trailer come in the first 15 minutes of the movie and were given to you a little out of context. But virtually everything that you haven’t seen in that 15 minutes will surprise you, and that’s just the prelude. This entire first act is primarily about coping with grief and loss, and the many different forms that takes. All five stages of grief are here somewhere, though no-one has made it all the way through depression to complete acceptance. As Steve Rogers ( Chris Evans ) said even in the trailers, “Some people move on. But not us.”

Nothing is safe until everything is safe; nothing is over until it’s really, completely over.

They’re struggling – even those whose lives and families were ostensibly left untouched. Steve may run to a returning Tony’s ( Robert Downey Jr. ) side, both united in failure, but there’s still bad blood between them, and Steve’s attempts to hold up everyone else’s morale are clearly paper-thin covers for his own vast despair. Rocket ( Bradley Cooper ) and Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) may still crack wise, but they’re barely functional without the support networks that once sustained them. And Hawkeye ( Jeremy Renner ) is taking out his fury at the universe, and at an unreachable Thanos, on any criminal who had the temerity to survive when his family did not. There’s alcoholism, depression, drastic lifestyle changes and simple avoidance of things too painful to face.

So yes, expect metaphorical gut punches galore in this early section, before they come up with a plan that just might work to put things right and deliver a satisfying gut punch to the purple bastard who ruined the universe. But it’s surprisingly funny even in its darkest moments. “I get emails from a raccoon so nothing seems crazy anymore,” says Natasha ( Scarlett Johansson ) wryly. Tony and Rhodey ( Don Cheadle ) snark dependably, and Thor delivers a piece of, er, call it physical comedy that subverts expectation brilliantly and offers one of the biggest laughs of the entire franchise.

If the theme of the last film was, “We don’t trade lives, Vision,” this one is all about responsibility, and self-sacrifice, and being willing to do “whatever it takes” to win the day. It’s a battle between the past and future, and an argument about which one we should do more to protect. Here, nothing is safe until everything is safe; nothing is over until it’s really, completely over.

This is not just about getting the gang back together, but taking the time to share knowledge, form a plan and work as a team in order to do some actual avenging for once. It’s a long film, but it doesn’t feel it even with all these talky scenes. We get a steady stream of returning characters – and not only heroes – who ensure your interest never has a chance to wane: the cast of this film is an indie director’s fever dream, an embarrassment of riches that is well invested at key moments. Inevitably a few characters are underserved, with Rocket, Okoye ( Danai Gurira ) and maybe even Natasha short a scene or two while others get far more than before, but it’s hard to see what else could have been cut without losing something important. Cap, in particular, becomes the heart of this film in a big way. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely came up through his films and let the love show here, though to be fair, this is a film that trips back through characters, moments and lines from the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe back catalogue.

Then there is the action. There are a few feints early on that skew far from the expected template, but the big brawl that finishes – that had to finish this – is one for the ages. The action sometimes moves a little too fast to really grasp, but there’s so much to entertain that it seems unfair to complain. It’s punctuated by moments of pure, giddy delight that put Thor’s arrival in Wakanda into the shade, and moments of emotion that hit hard; if this is fan service (okay, it’s definitely fan service) it’s exceptionally well deployed. Except, maybe, for one nod to grrrl power that is uncharacteristically clumsy.

That moment doesn’t drag it down for long; there’s too much else happening that is awesome. Sure, there’s a touch of Return Of The King syndrome creeping in at the end. Sure, the plot has a particular breed of logic hole that you could drive a bus through. You won’t care. We’re never going to object to another five minutes in the company of this company.

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Den of Geek

Avengers: Endgame Review – A Brilliant MCU Finale

Part of the journey is the end. And what a journey it's been to the thrilling, moving Avengers: Endgame.

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After 11 years and 22 films, the ongoing saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to a turning point. Avengers: Endgame serves not just as the conclusion to the story started last April in Avengers: Infinity War , but it also works to wrap up character arcs and story threads that began seven, eight, or even 10 years ago. That it does so successfully, in a massive, incredibly entertaining epic that is as emotional as it is spectacular, is due to the craft, world-building, and devotion to character empathy and development that has marked the best efforts of this franchise.

As one might expect, there is no easy way to summarize or explain the plot without delving into spoilers, and make no mistake, there are spoilers around almost every corner. But the gist of the story is simple enough and pretty much accurate to what has been shown in the trailers: after Thanos (Josh Brolin) has cut the population of the universe in half with a snap of the Infinity Gauntlet , the surviving Avengers — the original six plus a few remaining allies — immediately deploy a plan to find the Mad Titan, wrest the Gauntlet from him, and undo his monstrous actions.

Naturally, more than a few obstacles are thrown in the path of our heroes, forcing them not just to reconsider their options but to re-examine the choices they’ve made along the way and the paths their lives are taking now. The most surprising thing about Avengers: Endgame is its structure: unlike Infinity War , which sped along on a constant stream of high-octane action sequences , Endgame ’s first hour contains few pyrotechnics by comparison, and it’s a testament to how involved we’ve become with these characters that the viewer doesn’t care and the time flies by anyway (except for the first few scenes, as the picture starts up, the movie does not feel like three hours at all).

Those who were disappointed that some of the original Avengers were either short-changed (or missing entirely) in Infinity War won’t have any complaints here. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are front and center, with each of them facing decisions and actions that in some cases have roots going back to their very first screen appearances. Also playing important roles are Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), while Brolin’s Thanos is as menacing and imposing as ever — if a tad less complex than he was in Infinity War .

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That and a few other flaws do take a little of the gloss off this otherwise sumptuous and exhilarating adventure. While the pacing is fine for most of the movie, a handful of sequences feel a bit rushed; one in particular, a real crossroads moment involving two characters, mirrors a similar scene in Infinity War but doesn’t seem to get the same space to breathe and be as emotionally impactful as it should. A few developments for certain characters happen offscreen but could have perhaps benefited from a little more exploration. And some of the mechanics of the plot, without getting into spoiler territory, may benefit from a second viewing if they hold up at all (but given the nature of the story, that material was always going to be tricky anyway, a point that the film even sort of acknowledges).

As for the common objection that one hears from critics of the MCU — that the viewer will be lost if they’re not up on a good chunk of the previous movies — the only answer to that now is “too bad.” Perhaps more than any other MCU film, it will be pretty damn hard to walk cold into Endgame and fully grasp what’s happening — not just in its relation to Infinity War , but with regards to the many callbacks to earlier moments in the other 21 movies. But frankly, if you’re walking into this movie without having seen “enough” of the others or at least being versed in what has come before, then what the hell are you doing there? After 11 years, Marvel Studios has earned the right to operate on its own terms, and is long past the point of coddling the paying customer.

Avengers: Endgame is the pinnacle of that, a three-hour celebration of everything that has come before and a deep dive into all-out fan service that doesn’t feel forced. Sure, there are little in-jokes and references (to both earlier movies and the comics themselves) that are going to fly over some viewers’ heads, but the overall warmth, humor, and emotional connection that has helped almost all these movies work so well over the past decade also go a long way here. With the sense of finality that pervades the movie, there are also moments that will have fans on the edge of their seats, expecting the worst — and in some cases getting it.

Avengers: Endgame – Complete Marvel Easter Eggs and MCU Reference Guide

The final third of Endgame is simply overpowering, a senses-filling extravaganza that pays off the build of the first two hours and fully embraces the comic book origins of the MCU in a way that surpasses the visual cues of the films that have come before. By the same token, the movie opens the floodgates once and for all in the MCU in terms of what kinds of stories can be told, and how: nothing is ever going to be too weird or cosmic or “out there” again. Marvel’s careful, gradual cultivation of the many bizarre corners and aspects of its realm has now allowed the studio to make almost whatever movie it wants to.

Kudos are due to screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for their (in this writer’s opinion, underrated) ability to juggle a multitude of characters and plot strands while keeping their eyes squarely on the characters and how their actions drive the story, and to directors Anthony and Joe Russo for putting it all on the screen in an often beautiful and panoramic vista that bounces from images of almost poetic power to searing explosions of comic book insanity. After four movies in a row, one almost wishes this quartet would keep hanging around the MCU. Overseeing them and their always magnificent cast is Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, who has shepherded this universe to the screen in a way many didn’t think possible, and seen it through to this culminating moment with few missteps.

Of course, more Marvel movies are coming . And some of the many characters in Avengers: Endgame will appear in them. But even for a franchise that seems comfortably able to go on and on as long as the audience keeps showing up , Endgame does pull off the feat of feeling remarkably like a finale, and even the most casual fan may feel the emotional tug of those moments. For long-term, fully invested Marvel fans, Endgame will be both devastating and life-affirming, a story of sacrifice, memory, guilt, and loss that is also a mind-bending superhero blockbuster and a poignant exploration of what it means to be a hero. As Iron Man himself says, part of the journey is the end…but the end is also a new beginning.

Avengers: Endgame is out in theaters.

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Don Kaye is a Los Angeles-based entertainment journalist and associate editor of Den of Geek . Other current and past outlets include Syfy, United Stations Radio Networks, Fandango, MSN, RollingStone.com and many more. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @donkaye

Don Kaye | @donkaye

Don Kaye is an entertainment journalist by trade and geek by natural design. Born in New York City, currently ensconced in Los Angeles, his earliest childhood memory is…

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Avengers: Endgame review – a giddily cathartic final battle

The climactic instalment of the blockbuster series is a galvanising victory lap and the ultimate love letter to superfans

I t’s only taken 11 years and 22 feature-length films , but the end of Marvel’s Avengers series is in sight. Sceptics might feel assailed by the 181-minute running time; a three-hour movie is the ultimate act of fan service. A pleasant surprise, then, those three hours zip by at lightspeed.

To recap: in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War , evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) seized control of all six “infinity stones”, wiping out 50% of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and erasing many beloved characters from existence. Endgame picks up in the aftermath, skipping ahead five years. Grief has softened some of the Avengers (Chris Hemsworth’s Thor has acquired a drinking problem and a beer belly) and calcified others (Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye has taken up street fighting with petty criminals).

Franchise logic dictates that, in its final instalment, at least some of the vanished superheroes will return, but screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are forced to figure out how to pull this off without simply pressing a giant reset button. The opportunity to rewrite history via a time machine (not a spoiler, but an inevitability) brings the gang back together again for one last mission. En route, we get flashbacks to earlier outings (2012’s The Avengers and 2013’s Thor: Dark World , for example); these bits are, quite transparently, for the superfans, but on balance, the film is more satisfying than an assemblage of meme-able moments designed to please the already initiated.

The variables of human emotion and fallible judgment are what drive the series; each character is haunted by their own, specific existential quandary. Who is Captain America (Chris Evans), once his optimism has been worn down? What of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) cold logic now he is a father? Will Nebula’s (Karen Gillan) inherent humanity override her tampered wiring?

The final battle is giddily cathartic, but the catharsis arises from prioritising character development over plot and spectacle. This, I imagine, will be the Avengers ’ legacy.

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Avengers: Endgame Review: Time Is on Their Side

There is nothing more impermeable than time. It's fixed, constant. It may be a human construct, but it is one humanity has built atomic clocks to perfect; there is no stopping its ever-forward march. Except in sci-fi. And comic books. In those worlds, it's fluid. There are rules about not killing Hitler or betting on the World Series, but other than that, the structures of time can be bent.

This, more than anything, is the core of Avengers: Endgame. Yes, there is—as most fans expected—some time travel. (More on that later, in the spoiler-y paragraphs below .) But its deeper narrative follows a thread about the years people have devoted to Marvel heroes, the nostalgia those fans already have for them, and what the future will look like as they evolve. Luckily, in comic-book stories, the future is just as malleable as the past.

First, here's what you need to know: Avengers: Endgame picks up where Infinity War left off. Thanos has wiped out half of the universe's population, and the remaining heroes (Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon, and the newly recruited Captain Marvel ) are trying to un-snap his fingers. The other thing to note: Avengers: Endgame is very good. No movie could have fully encompassed everything that happened in the preceding 10 years and 21 films, but it is the best possible effort at trying to achieve that goal. It's nearly three hours, and none of them feel wasted. More than that, it's exactly what fans need.

What Marvel fans, or anyone, needs in 2019 is a tricky proposition—one that plays out twofold in Endgame , with a double-helix of a plot that constantly works on two levels. First, there's the obvious: Everyone needs closure, needs to see if the Avengers can pull off saving the universe one more time. Second, they need to be rewarded for the decade-plus they've spent with these characters, the effort they've put into seeing every film.

Endgame achieves this using one of the oldest tricks in the cinematic playbook: time travel. As everyone who noticed that Doctor Strange, Wong, and Ant-Man were largely unaccounted for at the end of Infinity War predicted, there is only one way to press Undo on what Thanos did: pull a Cher and turn back time. Though, they don't just rewind what happened and stop it. Instead, they find a more permanent solution that involves going back to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos got his big purple hands on them and using their power to reverse the damage.

This review won’t reveal if this plan succeeds at defeating Thanos, but it will say that it’s a wonderful ride and a narrative tool that provides a chance for the Avengers and their posse to revisit a large chunk of the movies in the franchise. It’s a trip that, in the best ways possible, feels like a band reuniting for a greatest-hits tour, one where the songs gets played by a frontman or frontwoman who wasn’t on the original track—some Traveling Wilburys covering a George Harrison track, Jay-Z and Nas ending their beef to perform “Dead Presidents,” and Beyoncé reuniting Destiny’s Child at Coachella all rolled into one. (In this case, it’s more like “Rocket goes to Asgard” and extended beats of Bruce Banner explaining science to The Ancient One.) It’s a service to every fan who remembers those early films fondly, and a final tug on the threads that have held the franchise together since the beginning.

This kind of nostalgia is delicate, though. It’s tempting to want to go back to the first arc in these heroes’ journeys, the origin stories when they were ascending. It might even be tempting to just go back to 2008, before Mueller reports and Harvey Weinstein investigations and Michael Jackson documentaries, when it seemed easier to believe in heroes in general. That’s impossible, and foolhardy. Longing for those days is akin to longing for a time of ignorance, a time when all the superhero movies were led by white dudes. Everything has changed, and while revisiting days of future past is fun, time (in our world) only moves forward, and the future is more important than what’s come before. Or, to borrow a phrase from Tony Stark, “That’s the hero game—part of the journey is the end.”

Acknowledging this reality is Endgame ’s strongest suit. Because while it spends a fair amount of its second act playing to its base (with some excellent surprise cameos), it spends its final third establishing its new world order. In one of the film’s most telling moments, Captain Marvel—sporting a haircut sure to be the toast of Lesbian Twitter for months—charges into battle flanked by the franchise’s women heroes, the MCU’s version of a Time’s Up meeting ( remember this? ). Marvel’s Phase 4 is still fairly uncertain, but if Endgame has any takeaway it’s that the future is female. And less white. And at least a little bit queer.

Avengers: Endgame could become the biggest movie the world has ever seen: It may make nearly $1 billion in one weekend . Theaters are staying open around the clock to keep up with demand. It’s the culmination of 11 years and 21 films—an unprecedented feat that may never be repeated. The only thing that may come close is December’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , which will be the ninth film in a nostalgia-filled franchise spanning more than four decades. That film, too, will see the reins handed over to a new generation of heroes, folks whose chance to lead is long overdue. Endgame is a beautiful, massive finale—and it paves the way for all the warriors to come. It’s about time.

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Avengers: endgame, common sense media reviewers.

Intense but satisfying finale is an epic gift to MCU fans.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Violence is main means of conflict resolution, but

Avengers and friends are flawed but unforgettably

Frequent and intense comic book-style action viole

Brief kisses/embraces between a few romantic coupl

Occasional strong language, including "son of a bi

Two Audi cars. Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Film i

Thor drinks a lot as a form of self-medication. Un

Parents need to know that Avengers: Endgame is the final film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's current generation of movies, bringing together storylines and characters from 21 previous movies, starting with 2008's Iron Man . Families with younger kids should know that there's definitely as much…

Positive Messages

Violence is main means of conflict resolution, but story is primarily about courage, self-sacrifice, heroism, collective good. Themes include teamwork, perseverance, courage. Central characters are willing to die (and kill) to save universe and rescue Earth from grief/trauma they've experienced. Also shows how important family and friendship are, how concept of family is more than pure biology: People can have incredibly strong chosen families, with friends who love you unconditionally. Emphasizes idea of being who you are , not who you think you're "supposed" to be.

Positive Role Models

Avengers and friends are flawed but unforgettably brave. They aren't individually as strong as Thanos, but together they can accomplish the impossible. They make sacrifices, protect one another, work together to save their loved ones and strangers alike. Women of Marvel once again have opportunity (albeit fairly brief one) to band together, and family men like Scott/Ant-Man and Clint/Hawkeye are particularly invested in doing what's necessary to save loved ones. Captain America and Thor prove themselves worthy of their special weapons/powers. Characters make difficult life-or-death decisions that put them in danger for the greater good. Thanos believes he's bringing salvation to universe, but his method -- genocide -- is untenable.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent and intense comic book-style action violence. Characters are killed, severely injured. Viewers will see dismemberment, decapitation, stabbing, crushing, shooting, impalement, choking, extremely destructive explosions, self-sacrifice, pursuit by scary monsters, etc. A character carries out ruthless vigilante justice, leaving lots of bodies in his wake. Weapons include guns, swords, axes, hammers, missiles. Violence isn't especially gory, but a couple of injuries/deaths are a bit bloody. Frequent peril and danger. Mourning/sadness. Arguments/yelling/shouting. Spoiler alert: A couple of beloved characters die in order to save the universe, and a couple of previously dead characters don't return to life, which could upset viewers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Brief kisses/embraces between a few romantic couples. Thor spends some scenes shirtless.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional strong language, including "son of a bitch," "ass," "s--t," "bulls--t," "d--khead," "pissed," "damn," "pissant," "hell," "crap," "goddamn," "Jesus" (as an exclamation), and "oh my God." (Even Cap swears!)

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Two Audi cars. Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Film is tied into vast merchandising/licensing efforts surrounding Marvel Comics.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Thor drinks a lot as a form of self-medication. Until a life-changing conversation, he's often looking for beer, ale, liquor, and/or wine, and bottles and barrels are shown.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Avengers: Endgame is the final film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's current generation of movies, bringing together storylines and characters from 21 previous movies, starting with 2008's Iron Man . Families with younger kids should know that there's definitely as much intense violence (decapitation, explosions, stabbings, impalement, crushing, shooting, etc.), and even more pain, trauma, and grief here than there was in Avengers: Infinity War . Spoiler alert : A couple of beloved characters die, which will prove particularly upsetting. The language is similar to that in previous movies (mostly uses of "s--t," "ass," "d--k" -- even Captain America swears this time!), but there's no romance beyond a few brief embraces and kisses between established couples; a very minor male character talks about dating another man. Thor drinks a lot to numb his pain. Those who haven't seen any of the previous MCU installments should at least watch Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War to follow the plot, but those who are familiar with the movies and comics will be rewarded with plenty of inside jokes and references. With themes of courage, teamwork, and perseverance, this epic Avengers finale is the ultimate gift to Marvel fans -- they'll laugh, cry, and cheer as their favorite superheroes team up to save the universe one more time. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (129)
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Based on 129 parent reviews

Loud, Rude, and Inappropriate.

What's the story.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME is set after Thanos' catastrophic use of the Infinity Stones randomly wiped out half of Earth's population in Avengers: Infinity War . Those left behind are desperate to do something -- anything -- to bring back their lost loved ones. But after an initial attempt -- with extra help from Captain Marvel ( Brie Larson ) -- creates more problems than solutions, the grieving, purposeless Avengers think all hope is lost. They're reenergized by the eventual reappearance of Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man ( Paul Rudd ), who was stuck in the quantum realm during the fight on Wakanda. He believes there could be a way to reverse Thanos' deadly snap. It takes a while to gather the squad -- some of whom have changed dramatically -- but eventually Iron Man ( Robert Downey Jr. ), Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ), Captain America ( Chris Evans ), Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ), the Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo ), Rocket ( Bradley Cooper ), Nebula ( Karen Gillan ), Hawkeye ( Jeremy Renner ), and Ant-Man team up for one last life-or-death mission to outsmart Thanos ( Josh Brolin ) and save the universe.

Is It Any Good?

The Russo brothers' poignant, powerful finale more than lives up to the hype: It's a thrilling conclusion and a deeply emotional exploration of loss and love, duty and honor, friendship and family. Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the story focuses on the remaining Avengers and their post-trauma lives. Each seems overwhelmed by their failure, so when they start to regroup, it's clear that they're far from the same confident, optimistic superheroes who thought they could defeat Thanos in Infinity War . The dads in the group are particularly effective at showing how personal the grief is, providing a contrast to the general sense of failure and loss that the single superheroes feel. As the often underappreciated Hawkeye, Renner stands out in a crowded field of immense talent for making his character feel central. His intensity and his platonic, brotherly love for Natasha/Black Widow is perfectly conveyed. Johansson does a lot of the emotionally resonant work in the movie, keeping tabs on everyone, encouraging her friends, and acting like everyone's favorite sister (except in the Hulk's case). The big three -- Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor -- are also fabulous. Their differences have never been more obvious, but each proves that despite past conflicts and heartbreaks, they're worthy and ready to fight side by side.

There's so much packed into the three hours of Avengers: Endgame that it might seem overwhelming at times; this is clearly a film that will inspire repeat viewing. There are unexpected twists and moments of hilarity, as well as more serious scenes and themes. Those well-versed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will delight in the many Easter eggs and clear fan service (yes, there's still a Stan Lee cameo), while more casual fans will still find plenty of reasons to applaud. What's also true is that the three-hour movie brings all the feels. Just when one gut-punching beat finishes, there's barely enough of a break for a zinger from Tony or Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper ) before another "oh no" moment squeezes your heart . But don't despair: This is a bittersweet example that the best heroes won't allow hubris or insecurity to defeat them. Endgame ranks up there with The Return of the King and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 -- all are epic, emotional, and exceptional franchise finales.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the action violence in Avengers: Endgame. Does any of it seem realistic? Is it intended to? Is there a difference in the impact between hand-to-hand combat and catastrophic, buildings-collapsing-type explosions? How can a single death be just as or even more upsetting than the death of crowds?

What are the movie's messages about teamwork , courage , and perseverance ? Why are these important character strengths ?

This movie deals with grief, loss, and trauma. How do the characters handle their pain differently? Which ones deal with trauma in a healthy way, and which don't? What motivates them all to "be better," as Natasha says?

Why is it important for superheroes to be diverse? Do you think the Marvel Cinematic Universe offers strong examples of racial and gender diversity? Has that changed over the films' history? What other types of representation would you like to see in these movies?

What will you miss most about this particular combination of Avengers? Which characters did you like best in this installment? Which characters surprised you the most? What Marvel-based stories do you hope they continue making?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 26, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : August 13, 2019
• Cast : Chris Evans , Robert Downey Jr. , Scarlett Johansson
• Directors : Anthony Russo , Joe Russo
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Superheroes , Adventures , Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 181 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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• DVD & Streaming

Avengers: Endgame

• Action/Adventure , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• April 26, 2019
• Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man; Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America; Chris Hemsworth as Thor; Josh Brolin as Thanos; Karen Gillan as Nebula; Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel; Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow; Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye; Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man

Home Release Date

• August 13, 2019
• Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Distributor

• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Movie Review

Just like that.

Half of the cosmos’ lungs were stilled, half its hearts were stopped. In an instant, billions of lives became so much ash, carried aloft by a breeze or breath. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Thanos had won.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. It couldn’t … could it?

Sure, Thanos, the purple-tinged Titan, was strong. Boy was he strong—powerful enough to best Thor all by himself, brutish enough to give the Hulk an inferiority complex. For centuries—millennia, perhaps—he’d led his armies across the galaxy, conquering worlds and killing half their inhabitants. For the good of the rest , he claimed. Small consolation to those he massacred.

But the galaxy’s an awfully big place, and Thanos was tired of messing around. He began to search for its six Infinity Stones, objects created before the dawn of time, each bestowing godlike powers. If he could claim them all, Thanos’ nihilistic ambitions would be unstoppable. Inevitable.

But is Thanos’ victory truly an inevitability? For years (chronicled by several movies), a motley collection of superheroes has managed to wrest those selfsame Infinity Stones from lesser villains: Thor bottled up the red Reality Stone. Doctor Strange claimed the green Time Stone. The ragtag heroes from Guardians of the Galaxy took the purple Power Stone away from Thanos’ own lackey, Ronan. And so on.

We believe that good is stronger than evil. We believe in our happy endings. And in fight after fight, movie after movie, our faith was rewarded.

And then came Avengers: Infinity War , and everything changed. Good lost. The happy ending never materialized. Thanos walked into the sunset as the credits rolled, leaving the galaxy to grieve. End. Done. Finished .

But is it? Could the grave that Thanos dug for half the universe still give up its stores?

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, leads a support group to encourage others to move on from the Snap. “The world is in our hands,” he tells them. “It’s up to us, guys, to do something with it.”

But in a private moment with friend Natasha Romanoff, he admits he’s not ready to follow his own advice.

Some do move on, Cap admits. “But not us.”

Yes, the clock struck zero, and the surviving Avengers’ opponent has left the field. But not all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are ready to call it a day.

Maybe—just maybe—there’s a way to win yet.

Positive Elements

Heroism is, obviously, an integral part of being a superhero—it’s in the job title, after all. And we see loads of it here. I’m not going to go into great detail here (or anywhere else in the review) in an effort to preserve the movie’s twists. But briefly …

Some of the main characters here are seeking redemption—story arcs that, in some cases, began several movies ago. Take Natasha (aka Black Widow), for example. She was once a Soviet assassin before she had an offscreen run-in with Clint Barton (Hawkeye) before the Avengers even came to be. Since that time, she’s worked hard to earn her place as an Avenger. She was inspired by her fellow superheroes, she says, to be a better person. They became her family. “And even though they’re gone,” she says, “I’m still trying to be better.” Several separate story strands in the film also emphasize the importance of parents’ relationships with their children .

Others, such as Captain America, don’t necessarily need redemption or closure. Steve Rogers simply wants to do what’s right—no matter how difficult or dangerous it might be.

I needn’t say, of course, that tangling with Thanos a second time will be both difficult and dangerous: All the heroes who take part in Endgame know that this could be their last rodeo. And a few have significantly more at risk this time ’round, to boot. But while that might give one or two pause, it doesn’t stop them. After all, doing the right thing is often the risky thing, too. Not a bad lesson, that.

Spiritual Elements

Though not explicitly spiritual, Endgame does have certain undercurrents of faith and belief to note. At least one character notes how things seem providentially aligned for him to perform a critical task. “It’s like I was made for this,” he says. (It’s not the only time that one might see evidence of a higher power at work, either.)

At least one character expresses faith in an afterlife. And as noted, sacrifice and redemption are big themes here . Though they’re not viewed from an explicitly Christian perspective, of course, these themes definitely take on greater resonance when viewed through a Christian lens.

We also see lots of what looks to be magic at work, too, including “energy shields” that seem to have runes or magical symbols emblazoned on them. A couple of characters apparently have a limited ability to metaphysically see into the future.

Sexual Content

A man in Captain America’s support group talks about seeing another guy, apparently romantically. Couples kiss. Superheroes make both appreciative and crudely disparaging remarks about another superhero’s rear end. Many main players here wear formfitting outfits; one female’s top reveals some cleavage; and a couple of male characters spend significant time shirtless. We hear a passing verbal reference to nudity.

Violent Content

After the horrors viewers suffered through in Infinity War, Endgame seems to throttle back the carnage a bit. But don’t expect our heroes to turn pacifistic all of a sudden.

The Snap from Infinity War was difficult for everyone who survived, of course. One former hero in particular has become a bitter, rage-driven vigilante, someone who violently wreaks bloody revenge on any bad guys he can catch and kill. In one such encounter that we see, that character kills a crime boss with several slicing (but bloodless, as far as what the camera sees) sword thrusts and swipes.

A character has his head lopped off: In replay we see a bit of blood appear to squirt from the neck. An arm is hacked off as well. Another character’s “flesh” is melted off the forearm, revealing skeleton-like robotics underneath. A character is tortured, while several others are trapped underneath loads of rubble. A few folks nearly drown, and another comes close to death through lack of oxygen.

A ship blows up a building. A superhero blows up a ship. Lots of things blow up, in fact. We also see roughly three bazillion battles, sometimes mano-a-mano, sometimes swarms of folks attacking just one character. People and creatures get impaled, stabbed, sliced, hacked, disintegrated, shot, thrown like ragdolls, hit, kicked, stomped (and in at least one case, squished) and otherwise hurt. Some characters die.

There’s talk of lopping off someone’s arms and shoving them where the sun don’t shine. People crash through windows and fall off ledges. One person is rendered unconscious with the touch of a scepter. Someone threatens to “shred the universe down to its last atom.”

Crude or Profane Language

If Endgame ratchets down the violence a notch from we saw in Infinity War , it ratchets up the language. We hear at least eight s-words (one from former profanity critic Captain America) and perhaps one very indistinct f-word during the action. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—,” “p-ss” and “d–k.” God’s name is misused about eight times, including twice with the word “d–n,” while Jesus’ name is abused once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

A character spends a good chunk of the movie drunk or tipsy. We see him imbibing several bottles of beer (and catch a glimpse of some barrels of beer meant for him), and he talks fondly of wine and Bloody Marys as well.

Other Negative Elements

Various plot points involve deception, sometimes for heroic causes, sometimes for not-so-heroic ones.

Beginning with 2008’s Iron Man , 22 movies have now rolled out under the auspices of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe. Collectively, these movies have made more than $7.3 billion in North America alone. You could point to other films that arguably launched the superhero-centric entertainment world we know today, but there’s no question which franchise defines it.

But while the MCU is primed to move on (with loads of movies and television shows in the works), Avengers: Endgame marks a definite finale. It closes the book on one of moviedom’s most remarkable success stories.

And a fitting finale it is.

Listen, this movie’s not perfect—not by a Thor-swinging hammer throw. The story’s particulars are sometimes confusing and occasionally nonsensical. The pacing isn’t always on point. And in terms of family viewing … well, it’s got all the violence we’ve come to expect from MCU properties, along with more language problems. Endgame is not a stroll in the park for either eyes or ears, especially for littler superhero wannabes.

But if you’ve already invested in this cinematic saga—if you laughed through Thor: Ragnarok and cried through Infinity War and occasionally shouted “Wakanda forever!” be assured that Endgame is eminently satisfying. This finale reminds us of movies gone by, celebrating the heroes we’ve come to know and giving them, I think, a fitting coda. And the heroes here are heroic —sometimes displaying qualities that perhaps we could all stand to embody more: courage. Sacrifice. Humility. Redemption .

In a way, I wish Endgame was the end—that Marvel and Disney would put away their superhero storyboards for a few years before the inevitable reboots. I know that won’t happen, of course. Deals are signed and inked already, and the profits are too great to ignore.

But this film, like a great dessert, is worth savoring a little—before we head back for another appetizer.

Avengers: Endgame is finally here. But for parents, the endgame of growing godly adults is still underway. Take some time to talk about the future with your children. Who has God created them to be? What do they feel their purpose in life is? These are big questions, but we can start the journey, just as the Avengers started 22 movies ago: one adventure at a time.

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Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame review

In avengers: endgame, marvel saved its best (and biggest) for last.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Avengers: Endgame in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The culmination of 21 films and several television series weaving together a singular narrative over more than a decade, Endgame is not just the final chapter in Marvel’s “Infinity Saga,” it’s the final exhibit in a billion-dollar proof-of-concept for both Hollywood and movie audiences.

At this point, everyone knows Marvel’s powerful production team, led by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, can tell a great story, but with Endgame , the question becomes: Can they end it?

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The answer to that question is no simple affirmative. It’s an emphatic, comprehensive “yes,” resulting in a film that somehow manages to be as epic as fans hope and as dramatic as the MCU deserves.

Simply put, Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie Marvel has ever made, and it just might be the best, too.

Directed by Avengers: Infinity War   and Captain America: Civil War  filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo,  Avengers: Endgame picks up in the aftermath of the climactic events of Infinity War, which saw cosmic conqueror Thanos (Josh Brolin) turn half the living creatures in the universe to dust with the snap of his fingers. Reeling from their defeat and hopelessly adrift — some quite literally — the heroes of the MCU find themselves faced with one final opportunity to reverse Thanos’ actions and bring their allies, friends, and families back.

Precious little can be said of the plot that brings  Endgame and the MCU’s “Infinity Saga” to its conclusion without spoilers, but it should suffice to indicate that plenty of surprises await even the most all-consuming Marvel movie fan.

Endgame is a master class in building and maintaining drama.

At this point, it’s becoming a Marvel Studios (and Disney at large, for that matter) tradition to feel like there’s been too much footage released in the lead-up to a film’s release, only to have the final product offer all manner of narrative twists, turns, and unexpected meme-generating moments. That holds true for Endgame more than any prior MCU movie, as the potential for spoilers was massive, but the number of think pieces and op-eds to accurately glean even a few — if any — plot points from the film is shockingly small.

Marvel deserves plenty of credit for whatever secret-keeping strategies it employs, because Endgame is a master class in building and maintaining drama.

Much was made of the film’s three-hour running time in the lead-up to Endgame’ s premiere, but those three hours fly by without ever feeling jumbled or forced. Endgame keeps a quick pace, but it’s a pace that feels familiar in the MCU, with every moment efficiently put toward building out a character, driving the story forward, or evoking a particular emotion — even when that emotion is a bit of levity in an otherwise dire moment.

The cast of  Endgame is crowded, certainly, but the Russos take painstaking efforts to give each character a moment to shine — from new favorites like Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) to MCU veterans Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

It’s those latter three, along with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Hulk (Marc Ruffalo), and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), who truly shine in  Endgame . Along with Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), these surviving MCU characters (following the events of Infinity War ) are tasked with showing the audience the physical and emotional toll of losing so many friends and family members in a conflict they believed themselves certain to win.

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The aforementioned characters’ disappointment in themselves and the world they failed to protect — something that had become, for many of them, their entire purpose in life — resonates throughout their arcs in Endgame . Fortunately, the cast delivers some of their best performances to date in exploring how each character processes that kind of trauma, and if any uncertainty surrounding Marvel’s casting decisions still remained, the actors’ performances in this concluding chapter should finally and decisively put those doubts to rest.

While the spectrum of emotions that Endgame tackles is surprisingly robust (and features an impressive level of nuance when dealing with certain characters’ responses to the events of  Infinity War ), the bar-raising scope of action comes as less of a shock.

To the surprise of no one, Endgame boasts some of the largest battles of any MCU film so far, both in the number of top-tier, recognizable characters appearing on the screen at various points and the sheer cinematic scope of the events playing out there. Yet, amid all of the chaos, the Russos somehow manage to find just the right balance between the cheer-worthy spectacle of it all and the sort of focused, character-driven action that makes the stakes of the battle feel authentic.

Looking back at  Infinity War through the lens of  Endgame , it’s easy to see the former as a film about the way heroes can set aside their personal differences for a cause greater than all of them.  Endgame , however, is a film about the true costs of war — both for those who fight in it and those around them.

All of this will likely be the subject of countless think pieces in the weeks to come, and Endgame brings the MCU full circle by focusing on the characters who kicked off Marvel’s unbelievably ambitious experiment a decade ago.

After years of battles fought, seemingly unbeatable odds soundly beaten, and countless enemies and diabolical schemes foiled time and time again, the two-part experience offered by Infinity War and  Endgame is a cathartic one. The loss felt by the characters across the two films is one of the most powerful emotional journeys the MCU has given audiences so far, but so is their path to redemption in Endgame .

In the end, it’s somewhat fitting that Marvel chose to buck tradition with Endgame and not include the usual mid- or post-credits scene , leaving us hanging when it comes to what’s next for the MCU.

If  Endgame was indeed the final chapter in Marvel’s movie-verse, it would be a perfectly satisfying send-off to one of the greatest franchises ever brought to the big screen.

Fortunately, the MCU still has plenty of stories to tell — and if they’re half as good as the story that  Endgame brings to an epic, wonderfully satisfying conclusion, we have a lot to look forward to.

Avengers: Endgame premieres April 26 in theaters around the US.

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Recently, Variety released a bombshell article alleging that Marvel Studios is rethinking its plans for its ongoing Multiverse Saga following the lackluster success of its many films and TV shows. The studio is even supposedly pondering not having Kang the Conqueror be the saga's overarching villain after all since the character's actor, Jonathan Majors, is now on trial for accusations of domestic violence.

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Screen Rant

Avengers: endgame review - marvel delivers a superhero epic like never before, avengers: endgame wraps up the story of the mcu so far, delivering an epic superhero adventure while honoring the past in a satisfying finale..

Marvel Studios kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe nearly 11 years ago with 2008's Iron Man.  Back then, they had a relatively modest vision of building to The Avengers  by assembling a team of heroes from their respective origin movies into a single unit. In the decade since Robert Downey Jr. made his debut as Iron Man, the MCU has grown to include superheroes from all across the universe, from Earth's Mightiest Heroes to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, Avengers: Endgame marks the 22nd film in the MCU and sets out to achieve a feat Hollywood has never seen attempted before by ending the story that first began in Iron Man . And it does, in a spectacular accomplishment. Avengers: Endgame wraps up the story of the MCU so far, delivering an epic superhero adventure while honoring the past in a satisfying finale.

Avengers: Endgame picks up after the events of Avengers: Infinity War , which saw the Avengers divided and defeated. Thanos won the day and used the Infinity Stones to snap away half of all life in the universe. Only the original Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - remain, along with some key allies in the forms of War Machine (Don Cheadle), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Each of the survivors deal with the fallout from Thanos' Decimation in different ways, but when an opportunity presents itself to potentially save those who vanished, they all come together and set out to defeat Thanos, once and for all.

For Avengers: Endgame , Marvel Studios assembles its veterans behind the scenes as well, re-teaming directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who joined the MCU with Captain America: The Winter Soldier , with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who've penned a total of six MCU movies since Captain America: The First Avenger . All that's to say, Avengers: Endgame fits perfectly within the larger MCU in terms of direction and screenwriting because it was created by those who had a prominent hand in crafting the sprawling cinematic universe. And with so much experience under their belts, the Russos excel at balancing the superhero spectacle with human drama, while the more focused story of Endgame allows for the characters to truly shine. There are moments when the story gets a little unwieldy, suffering from similar problems to  Infinity War in maintaining a consistent pace throughout the entire film. But  Avengers: Endgame is meant to be a culminating epic and it's clear that the Russos, Markus and McFeely took the care to make sure they got it right.

At the heart of Avengers: Endgame  are the heroes we've been following since the very beginning. At this point in the franchise, there're too many heroes for one movie - even a three-hour movie - to focus on all of them.  Avengers: Infinity War undoubtedly struggled under the weight of balancing so many characters. With half the universe gone, Endgame is able to focus on the original six Avengers, who are the true center of the MCU (at least, so far). The film remarkably balances its character arcs so well it's as if each hero gets a solo movie in Avengers: Endgame . There are certain character beats that may not work for all viewers, and even within the original six, certain heroes get more focus than others, unfortunately. To their credit, though, the actors give some of their best performances in the MCU, especially the original six: Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Johansson and Renner. Even with future movies or TV shows already planned for some characters, this is the original Avengers team's swan song, and the actors put their hearts and souls into Avengers: Endgame .

In addition to the character drama, Avengers: Endgame  delivers superhero spectacle like nothing seen in the MCU - or any other superhero movie - ever before. With Endgame acting as the conclusion of the MCU thus far, it goes all in on action. There are times when Endgame falls back into Marvel's old problems (hordes of unimportant villains, too much CGI and muted coloring), but they're tempered with character-focused moments. While most of these are in service of the core six, each Marvel hero in Avengers: Endgame gets a moment to truly shine and join in on the superhero fun. Some of these moments are unashamedly fan service and, in fact, there's a great deal of fan service in Avengers: Endgame overall. But after 11 years and 21 movies, Marvel has earned some fan service, and it all adds to the epic, event nature of Avengers: Endgame .

Ultimately, Avengers: Endgame is a whole lotta movie, but the filmmakers put every single second of its three-hour runtime to good use. Since Endgame concludes the Infinity Saga (the official title of the story thus far), Marvel and the filmmakers have the unenviable task of delivering a movie that satisfies all MCU fans. While there are bound to be aspects of  Avengers: Endgame that don't work for all viewers, for the most part the movie actually, truly offers a satisfying ending to the Infinity Saga. As a result, Avengers: Endgame is a must-see for Marvel fans, even those who have only a casual interest in the MCU. Because of the spectacle, it's worth seeing Avengers: Endgame in IMAX, though it isn't necessary to enjoy the movie. Marvel Studios' latest faces the highest expectations of any Marvel Studios movie thus far and manages to exceed them, which is nothing short of extraordinary. Simply speaking, Avengers: Endgame is one of the best Marvel movies ever.

Avengers: Endgame  is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It is 181 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section!

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review: A Messy Love Letter to the Biggest Movie Franchise of the Century

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By assembling a decade of superhero narratives into the spectacular package that was “Avengers: Infinity War,” Marvel Studios pulled off the most dramatic blockbuster gamble of all time. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo imported the complex world-building approach from generations of Marvel Comics into a cinematic whole, creating a noisy mishmash of beloved characters and CGI-laced showdowns. It was a unique negotiation between spectacle and character, more impressive than anyone could have anticipated. But it would have been little more than a costly collage without the most dramatic cliffhanger in modern history, and “ Avengers: Endgame ” strains from contending with the fallout of that twist.

Few spoilers follow here, though sensitive viewers may consider even general observations as such. Suffice to say, “Endgame” delivers the payoff countless fans hoped for, even as it struggles to fuse that commercial mandate into a gratifying whole. There’s much to enjoy about this mishmash of tender goodbyes and last-minute strategies to save the universe, but after an intelligent first hour, “Endgame” amounts to a dense nostalgia trip. With “Infinity War,” it was thrilling to watch a mass-market movie let the bad guy win, and it’s less satisfying to see the Avengers clean up the mess one last time. The title of “Endgame” is misleading: This busy love letter to the biggest movie franchise of all time unleashes several endings at once, resulting in a fascinating — if at times messy — collection of competing agendas.

“Infinity War” rose above expectations with the bleak jolt of its finale, and the first act of “Endgame” takes its cues from that remarkable shift. For the underground dwellers among us, the gist is alien warlord Thanos (Josh Brolin) fended off various efforts by the Avengers to prevent him from getting all six Infinity Stones into a giant metallic gauntlet. With those powerful devices in his grasp, he achieved his psychotic plot to reduce all life by half, with the disturbing simplicity of a finger snap. Nothing that Iron Man (Tony Stark) or Captain America (Chris Evans) did could stop him. The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) was useless. Ditto Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), martial arts expert Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and expert marksman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who doesn’t even show up. And dopey Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), as “Ant-Man and the Wasp” later explained, was trapped in the quantum realm the whole time.

That left a lot of the more popular Marvel characters who were introduced in the aftermath of 2012’s “The Avengers,” from Spider-Man to Black Panther, whisked out of existence in a now-iconic fizz of evaporating dust. When the credits rolled on “Infinity War,” it was the most devastating act of cultural misdirection since Stephen Colbert tried to be funny on the 2016 election night. For Marvel and parent company Disney, the “Infinity War” finale was at once a radical storytelling maneuver and brilliant marketing savvy that guaranteed audiences would be primed for the concluding chapter. A zillion possibilities abounded around one intimidating question: How could the Avengers get their hands on Thanos’ gauntlet and make things right?

Despite its many moving parts, “Endgame” actually resolves that query with a series of tidy developments (a reminder that internet fan theories are often too smart for their own good). But it also proves that the question matters less than the colorful personalities tasked with getting there. “Endgame” opens 23 days after Thanos’ finger snap, as the remaining shellshocked Avengers assemble just long enough to argue and mourn before they realize they have to take action. That means tracking Thanos to his tranquil planet-sized paradise, where a violent showdown proves that fixing these circumstances won’t come so easily (or, at least, this quickly). The movie then travels even farther into the future, depicting a world coming to grips with the possibility of an unhappy ending.

The Russos were best known for NBC’s “Community” prior to directing 2013’s “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” but their entries in the franchise have excelled at oscillating between grim, consequential storytelling and the sense of fun necessary to make these movies click. That talent reveals itself in their fascinating depiction of how the Thanos snap reverberates across the world, forcing the Avengers to confront the turmoil of actual defeat. Some find new beginnings, and families, or freelance gigs; others settle into empty celebrity. It’s remarkable to consider the possibilities of an actual superhero movie in which change is immutable, but come on: Sometime before the one-hour mark, a key character comes up with just the idea that could reverse at least some of Thanos’ destructive effects, and so begins the real quest at hand.

The gimmick may be a cheap sci-fi device, but it arrives in fancy wrapping as an excuse to revisit aspects of all 21 previous movies. Familiar settings come and go, alongside tidbits of cameos from major and minor characters, as well as some engaging filmmaking trickery that allows old settings to take on fresh identities.

Even as it careens into a heavy series of complications, the Russos juggle the tones with balletic finesse. From the blue-hued opening with Tony Stark in deep space to the reemergence of Thor as a burly, booze-guzzling online troll, “Endgame” offers snippets of endearing moments with astonishing visual flair and first-rate music cues (The Kinks’ “Supersonic Rocket Ship” is especially well placed). And while it gives a little extra screen time to some newer additions to the MCU (especially former “Guardians of the Galaxy” villain Nebula, played with moody intensity by Karen Gillan), the bulk of “Endgame” revolves around the original Avengers.

That means more passive-aggressive banter between Iron Man and Captain America, a disarmingly insecure Bruce Banner, some dreary asides from Black Widow, and so on. The MCU has grown more diverse over the years, but newer characters who may guide the series into its next chapters, such as Captain Marvel and Black Panther, have been relegated to the sidelines. Despite a few applause-worthy achievements in the climactic battle, their minor subplots serve as little more than teasers for the representational strides around the corner — exciting in theory, but less so in the context of this particular story.

“Endgame” mostly unfolds as a prolonged embrace of the long-term challenges facing its beloved mainstays, like Banner’s ability to merge his meek-scientist persona with the raging testosterone monster within, and Thor’s lingering grief over his departed mother. (Here and there, Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon scores a good laugh, but the potential of this cartoony troublemaker remains unfulfilled.) Alan Silvestri’s epic score keeps the plot moving through various overlapping circumstances, but “Endgame” works best in small doses of the greatest hits — at least until the Russos throw up their hands and bring together every possible strand for a cacophonous showdown. Amid the noisy CGI of the final-act battle, there are plenty of rousing moments — but they’re all fragmentary, with payoffs according to the level of viewer investment. Newcomers to the series may as well be watching a “Transformers” movie.

Still, Thanos remains rare among blockbusters as a brooding villain with a profound sense of purpose, and Brolin continues to inject the character with bonafide menace right down to a final telling expression. “Who?” was the question when the purple-faced destroyer of world’s name was uttered in “Infinity War,” but “Endgame” opens with an assertion from another major figure who makes it clear just how much the world has changed: “Let’s go get the sonofabitch.”

Yet as they do, the Thanos factor is really beside the point. Watching Downey embody his exuberant riff on Elon Musk (with ample Jagger swagger) once more is a reminder of just how much this versatile actor elevated the material — and his career — with a cocky screen presence all his own. Chris Evans’ stiff and serious Captain America has felt antiquated for years, but the actor finally gets a chance to play up the lifelong regrets that dogged Steve Rogers since he was frozen in ice decades ago. Johansson and Renner have less screen time, but there’s a key moment between them that marks the rare case of action-based storytelling serving a complex emotional agenda. At their best, the MCU movies have shoehorned in rapid-fire action in tandem with appealing personalities, so it’s gratifying to see at least one occasion that achieves both goals at once.

The hits keep on coming: Diehard MCU viewers will be just as pleased to see supporting players like Anthony Mackie’s Falcon and Tony’s resilient lover Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) juggle a handful of warm scenes with their closest peers; the same goes for scores of other MCU staples (some of whom arrive at unexpected moments).

It’s an exhausting collage that bears no resemblance to any kind of franchise filmmaking other than its own overpopulated ensemble. (The “Star Wars” expanded universe may have more characters, but never stuffed into a single scene.) More than that, this speedy arrangement of catchy exchanges and brawls feels like it was crafted with internet memes in mind. As “Endgame” sputters to the finish line, it leaves the impression of witnessing a Marvel Movie Marathon compressed to three hours — and 58 seconds, but trust me, they’re disposable — of unbridled fan service.

Much of that service radiates with a sincere, even soulful, embodiment of the crackling wit and playful self-awareness that has helped these movies keep fans engaged for so long. And it suggests the next phase of that loyalty, with a spate of new movies and Disney+ TV series around the corner. As “Endgame” drops hints of additional subplots readymade for future entries, and sketches out concepts for new heroic pairings to come, its ultimate coup is the implication that every good story is readymade for a reboot.

“Avengers: Endgame” opens April 26, 2019.

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