'Avengers: Endgame' review: A heartfelt conclusion

Photo courtesy of Marvel

Eleven years and twenty-two films worth of cinematic buildup has come to a head in the plus-sized spectacle “Avengers: Endgame,” a movie that takes its time getting to its logical conclusion and will surely leave die-hard fans satisfied. Let’s also make this clear upfront, the movie is a bit over three hours long so plan your bathroom breaks accordingly and don’t let that dissuade you from seeing one of the biggest cinematic achievements of the year. A good movie is never long enough and a bad movie is never short enough.

For those keeping score, “Avengers: Endgame” picks up right where its inferior predecessor “Infinity War” left off. Half of the population has been turned to ash by the evil villain Thanos and the remaining members of the world’s largest super group must somehow make things right. That’s the basic setup and the most that any self-respecting critic should divulge about this particular movie. To go beyond that proves two things, lazy writing and a need to show off. Instead let’s take a different approach and marvel (no pun intended) at the fact that something of this scope was pulled off in the first place. 

In 2008 most people outside of comic book circles had no idea who Iron Man or Captain America were, much less Thor, Ant-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy. When general audiences thought of Marvel comics, they thought of A-listers like Spiderman or the Hulk but anything outside of that was seen as niche by Hollywood standards. Now thanks to a perfect storm of care, craftsmanship and some very strategic marketing muscle, whenever you say the name Marvel to a random stranger they know exactly what you’re talking about. But it also goes beyond name recognition, it also points to the quality of the films. Twenty-two movies, with only a few duds in the bunch, is quite an achievement and a heavy burden for anyone to tie together into a nice neat bow.

Yet Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige had the right instinct to hire directors Joe and Anthony Russo to bring it all home. The unlikely duo cut their teeth for Marvel by making two of the best movies in their roster, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War” so it’s no accident that those films also heavily propel the story of “Endgame.” It all makes sense yet it all could’ve gone horribly wrong. Too many script notes, too many egos flying around on set, take your pick of disaster and there’s a strong chance it could’ve tipped things into the wrong side of history. 

But the good news is “Avengers: Endgame” is not only grand entertainment that rewards audience loyalty, but is destined to cap one of the biggest Hollywood success stories ever. It’s a huge win-win for the industry and for film lovers alike, proving that Marvel’s most ardent fans have nothing but love and support for these characters. That’s why writing an abridged version of what happens in “Avengers: Endgame” is such a lazy way to write a review. If you’ve come this far into the Marvel journey you know if you’re seeing “Endgame” or not, regardless of a possible negative review. Rest assured the movie is not only good but a worthy conclusion to what you have already seen leading up to this final showdown. Have fun and don’t spoil the endgame.

Rating: B+

“Avengers: Endgame” is now playing in theaters nationwide.