As the most anticipated film of the year, Avengers: Endgame has an awful lot to live up to, not just for the fans, but to honour the 11 years of 21 interlinked films forming the epic Avengers Saga. Many members of the audience will not have seen all 21 of these films religiously, while some will have binged all of them within the last few weeks to prep for this conclusion, but either way, it is not hard to thoroughly enjoy this three-hour masterpiece.

Few movie sagas have such a following to rival that of Marvel Studios – no doubt that the sold-out cinemas can vouch for that. Endgame balances everything just right: action, humour, emotion, ending with audiences in absolute awe. At the viewing I saw, there were people cheering or fist pumping throughout, and the cinema collectively joined at the end in a standing ovation.

As with last year’s Infinity War, the cast is unreal – there are so many big names in this movie! When you cast the likes of Robert Downey Jr. alongside Paul Rudd and Chris Hemsworth, comic genius is inevitable. The humour is spot on most of the time and this cathartic approach is very engaging for an audience, like myself, with perhaps a little less background knowledge. Downey Jr.’s witty charm is perfect, leaving the audience giggling out loud. This all-star cast is legendary, and they offer so much more to their characters than the comic series could ever have imagined.

Perhaps not having seen every one of the previous 21 films which led up to Endgame held back my understanding somewhat concerning the characters and particular relationships, but on the whole, the plot is well executed and easy to follow to its dramatic climax, which is surely one very close to the hearts of fans. Decades of fandom has followed the heroes of the Avengers and now fans have been emotionally satisfied with a conclusion fit for the Marvel following.

Time travel is a huge part of the movie and is a great device to weave together all the interconnected parts of the storyline, and ultimately lead to the defeat of Thanos. But as the characters venture back to tamper with their own past, they are not able to create paradoxes which will condemn their current futures. The rules of time travel seem very different to our conventional understanding and welcome the idea of alternate universes and other versions of the characters. Travelling back in time, as the Hulk points out in the film, does not lead to different futures for the Avengers. In fact, if anything, it confirms a sort of unspoken destiny for all of them and we are brought back to where it all began, leaving audiences in shock with this cinematic multiverse.

Perhaps sometimes overlooked within the MCU, the character development has been shadowed up till now by eye-popping battles sequences and elaborate plots, but now more than ever, Endgame delivers exactly what fans have been craving, a good old bit of love and affection. There is far more emotion in this movie than many could have anticipated. The deaths of a few beloved characters are devastating but seem a necessary part of the storyline. The film opens and closes with intimate and emotion filled scenes: the climax serves up a galactic battle that does justice to Marvel Comics and their fantastic films, but the emotional aspect is what has really drawn us in over the years. As with anything, character is oh-so-important; the world has fallen in love with this team of superheroes, and to see them all on screen together for one final battle is fantastic. Although the characters are focused on in intimate scenes throughout the film, as with any Marvel film the visuals and battle sequences are epic, finishing with a final battle that is sure to go down in cinematic history.

Stan Lee, the beloved Marvel Comics creator, has a cameo in the movie and this is made all the more emotional as it is his last, due to his untimely death in November last year.

Spanning across time and space, this finale concludes the journeys of all the Marvel characters and storylines from this interconnected world, leaving fans contented and ready for the next instalment of Marvel action, which was announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and D23 conventions. These may not necessarily be anything to do with the Infinity Saga, but we know for sure that this is not the end of Marvel Studios.

10/10

Avengers: Endgame is out now on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K UHD.