Avengers: Endgame

Following the better than expected Infinity War, and all the other films in the series that began with Iron Man in 2008, Avengers: Endgame had a lot to live up to. IW, as we'll call it, carefully juggled so many characters and storylines, and could have easily failed or stumbled at the very least but the Marvel seasoned Russo brothers directing pulled it off with such ease. The story was paced to perfection and now the second of their two act story has hit cinemas.

Half the world has turned to dust and what remains of our heroes are lost for ideas on how to undo what Thanos achieved, and can't face the idea of moving on in the world. Treading dangerously close to spoilers, one of the surviving members has found a potential way that could work five years on but it wouldn't be easy and to some it would be mean sacrificing what they've managed to build since the snap. There, I think that's vague enough! But there is of course much more to Endgame and the film makes full use of its three hour runtime. I'm just glad I didn't do what a guy next to me in the cinema did and down a drink beforehand.

Endgame is a long film and will divide some. Casual viewers will find it too long and the first fifth(?) devoid of much action while those fully immersed with the characters will certainly love this. I would argue that Endgame is a lot of fun and a satisfying conclusion to this chapter in the MCU but is not without its flaws. There are so many great moments here to enjoy but there were some odd choices with some of the characters, including Thor, Hulk and Black Widow, that didn't seem quite right for me.

Nonetheless, it seems wrong to try and fault a film which was still so enjoyable. Endgame's running-time will certainly make it a tricky one to get round to watching again but for a series that has lasted for as long as this, it needed to go big in order to deliver the climactic showdown, which was perfect.