Avengers: Endgame Review (Spoilers) (duh)

No jokes here. The greatest feat of recent cinematic history has arrived, and it is every bit of what I wanted from it. While trilogies like the original Star Wars or Lord of the Rings films may be accomplishments in their own rights, each holding the throne as the greatest in their respective genres, no franchise has ever encapsulated 22 films, each one unique in their own right, and each one a standalone movie.

Not only that, but over a dozen directors brought their own flair and style to their movies within the universe, and somehow, somehow Anthony and Joe Russo's team brought it all together. Anyway, enough reminiscing. What exactly makes this movie so great?

It starts with misdirection. I can't be the only one who saw the trailers and thought that the premise of the movie was going to be to capture Thanos, take the Infinity Stones, and then kill Thanos. Pretty cut and dry. Or at least that's the way I thought it was gonna go.

Now if you haven't seen the movie, I'll say it now: go watch it! It's truly amazing. Okay, on with the spoilers!

This movie takes a completely different direction with it's plot. Thanos is already killed before the title even shows on screen, leaving me wondering, what's the plan? The answer? Time travel, Back to the Future style. This was a very risky move on the writers part. If they'd killed Thanos and went with this whole time travel business and messed up, you'd end up with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Basically a half-baked fan fiction with professional acting. Fortunately, they did not mess up.

I won't break down the entire plot here (the movies three hours long), but suffice to say it does take it's conveniences where it can get them. While I'm mostly alright with things like this, it unfortunately backfires in some cases. For example, since when can Tony Stark create a device capable of harnessing the stones? Thanos had to go to a mythical smith who harnessed the power of a neutron star to get his Infinity Gauntlet. But I guess all he needed was an Iron Man suit. But suffice to say conveniences such as these do not get in the way of the movie. In fact, I was more bothered by the way all these aliens, from all these different planets, used Earth years to measure time. I wonder if I can pay in American dollars next time I go to an intergalactic Starbucks.

But enough about the plot. Let's talk about the acting, which was also superb in this movie. Everyone from RDJ (who deserves some recognition from the Academy), to Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and all the rest of the massive cast, all have great performances. In particular though, I was impressed by the way Hemsworth portrayed Thor in this one. Before filming Thor: Ragnarok, Hemsworth had said he was getting weary of the old Thor, and wished for something new from the character, something fresh.

So Taika Waititi and his writing team made Thor funny, and Hemsworth took it in stride, creating what is now my second favorite movie in the MCU. In Endgame, the Russo's took another risk with Thor: they took away his chiseled body, godly appearance, and mannerisms, instead making him an anxious, unsure, obese alcoholic who's playing Fortnite in his free time instead of saving the world.

Quite a big wrinkle I know, but Hemsworth once again nails it, perfectly portraying what, in essence, is a completely new character. I especially applaud the guts of the writers to not feel the need to return Thor to godly form, and having him fight the climactic battle looking more like Odin than Thor as we knew him.

Now let's talk fights. There are quite a few of them in this movie, and while I complained in Infinity War of these getting stale, I can't honestly say the same here. While, yes, the fights do all end up basically resorting to fists, I can at least say that they are very well put together, and unlike the last movie, the Endgame fights are epic and weighted.

I could write for days about the epicness of the final battle, but that's a given. So let's instead talk about the few misfires in this sequence.

Probably the biggest one for me is that it felt like I was being pulled out of one of the greatest moments in cinema every few seconds for two characters to meet, hug, or fight (in the case of Quill and Gamora). While this isn't bad, I yearned for a few wide shots, or sweeping shots of the progress of the battle.

Another flawed moment is the "girl-power scene". It was more than a little unbelievable for me that all the remaining female characters managed to get together for a celeb-shot before taking on Thanos. Like there wasn't one female character who was simply preoccupied with one of the other ten thousand enemies? And if they could get the women together, what about the men? It was just too far-fetched.

But aside from those things (and Captain Marvels weird entrance), I can honestly say I loved this battle. From Captain America staring down Thanos' army, ready to single-handedly fight them off, to the entrance of all the characters in Dr. Strange's master plan, to Captain America wielding Mjolnir, to the eventual demise of Thanos, and death of Iron Man.

One of my main issues with Infinity War was that none of the deaths seemed permanent. None of them held any weight, besides perhaps Vision's, and so I was very underwhelmed by the end of the movie. But I know they aren't making any more Iron Man or Chris Evens Captain America movies, so when Iron Man dies, I felt it, and when Cap finally hangs up his shield, I felt it.

So that was it. The end of an era for cinema, and what an ending it was. I can sincerely say I felt a lump in my throat all the way through Tony Stark's funeral until the credits started rolling. Honestly, overcome with emotion as I am, I can only say: They did it. They pulled it off.

Final Grade: A

Rating: 4/4, 9/10, 97%

Verdict: The numbers don't lie in this case. This record breaking movie is worth seeing in theaters, even multiple times.