Oh man. Where do I start? There are so many things I want to say but can’t because this is a spoiler-free review. Well, first things first. What an ending. Avengers: Endgame perfectly ends Marvel’s Infinity Saga, the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If Disney announced tomorrow that Avengers: Endgame was the last Marvel movie they were making, I wouldn’t be all that mad. This movie concludes a 22 movie epic in a way that could not be any better. As someone who has seen all of these movies numerous times since 2008, Marvel has truly put the sweetest, juiciest, and most vibrant red cherry on top of the already delicious milkshake that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie completed character arcs, rekindled relationships, balanced humor and tragedy, and most importantly, ended this saga of Marvel movies in a way that will not be topped with scale or with this insane amount of comic book greatness.

Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye, the six founding members of the Avengers, each shine in this movie more than ever, and their individual character arcs have all led up to this point. None of them are underutilized, and they all transform from the beginning to the end of this movie. More importantly, their arc as a team/family is brought to a satisfying close, which is a gut-punch to the feels and will stay with me indefinitely.  

Characters who also weren’t the focus in Avengers: Infinity War come back to the forefront this time around. Captain America and Black Widow have much more screen time, along with Ant-Man and Hawkeye actually being in this movie, both of whom have much bigger roles than they’re used to. Every character has numerous times where they shine, and no one feels left out. As the film enters its final act, it made sure to give everyone’s favorite mighty heroes of Earth plenty of screen time and the fantastic moments they deserve.

Not every movie is perfect, although many people want these movies to be. Avengers: Endgame contains a lot of twists and turns and a few of them seemed a bit too bizarre. For instance, there’s a long-running joke revolving around one of the characters, and as funny as it is, it doesn’t go away. It grew on me as the movie went on, but it definitely undermined the character and made them seem not as cool or serious as the audience and other characters should take them. Like I said, no spoilers here, but you’ll know once you see the film.

Some viewers may be annoyed by how certain plot elements are extremely convenient and aren’t fleshed out that well. There’s a conflict that is supposedly super hard to resolve, but they fix the problem overnight. It’s more of nitpick than the movie having a legitimate problem, but luckily there aren’t a whole lot of rather convenient plot devices throughout the film. Even if there were, Marvel has spent all this time building to this movie so it can be forgiven regardless. We’re not here for picking apart the technicalities of the film, we’re here for our favorite superheroes to do their thing.

Luckily, our favorite Marvel superheroes are here to do just that. Avengers: Endgame exceeds all expectations of being the epic conclusion to the stories of the Avengers. This movie is everything to fans of the series. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I cheered for my favorite heroes, and most importantly, I left the theater in total satisfaction of where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going from here, no matter how bittersweet it may be. Marvel has knocked it out of the park with this movie, and they further establish their claim to be the premier franchise today that will continue to dominate the box office, but also keep fans and casual fans enthralled into its world of comic book greatness and pure masterful understanding for long term storytelling.