Tonight's Movie: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

And so, at last, we come to the conclusion of this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), which I saw yesterday, was a remarkable capstone to the 20 Marvel films previously reviewed here since July 2015. (The total is upped to 21 previous reviews if TV's AGENT CARTER is included.) I can't imagine a better way to have ended the series.

This review will necessarily be relatively brief and detail free so that, as the Twitter hashtag says, I #DontSpoiltheEndgame.

When last we saw our heroes in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), arch villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) had just erased half of humankind with what is now called "The Snap." I wrote of INFINITY WAR: "How I ultimately feel about this film will have quite a bit to do with my reaction to Part 2 when it's released in May 2019. It's really all one big story, and it's far from over at this juncture."

The story is now completed, and I am more than satisfied. In rather a remarkable feat, the movie simultaneously wraps up not just INFINITY WAR but ideas lingering from past films. I was particularly grateful for the exquisite last scene; Marvel really did right by its fans.

The movie is simultaneously elegiac and funny, successfully straddling a variety of tones; it has a wealth of quotable lines which I suspect are already entering the popular culture lexicon. It allows for moments both big and small, with quiet, intimate scenes between closely connected characters, as well as epic sequences certain to gladden the heart of any Marvel fan. It's probably the fastest 181 minutes I'll ever spend in a movie theater, and it's very possible I'll go back and do it all over again, there is so much to take in and appreciate about this film.

Pretty much everyone who's anyone in the MCU is in this film, and the lengthy closing credits feel like a curtain call for the actors who've participated in the series over the past decade, with special credits tributes to the original six Avengers, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Each of these six actors shines in this film -- and who could have foreseen when watching the original THOR (2011) the extent to which the god of Thunder would become such hilarious comic relief?

I agree with Leonard Maltin, who wrote, "It is escapist entertainment of a very high order, and an achievement that has no true precedent in the history of motion pictures. No series...from Tarzan to James Bond, has ever attempted to incorporate so many moving parts in one conclusive film."

AVENGERS: ENDGAME was directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and filmed by Trent Opaloch. The score was by Alan Silvestri.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13. As with most Marvel films, the violence is of the non-gory variety, though there are moments which could potentially upset young children. There is also some limited yet notable swearing. The many positive themes include love of family and friends, the value of kindness to others, teamwork, and placing others above one's own priorities.

I'm so glad I was persuaded to begin watching the Marvel films nearly four years ago, as they have given me so many hours of movie pleasure, and I particularly appreciate that the filmmakers honored their viewers by working hard to maintain the quality to the very end, and then some. Watching AVENGERS: ENDGAME felt a bit like unwrapping the biggest present on Christmas morning, and it turned out to be exactly what I wanted.

Previous Marvel reviews: IRON MAN (2008), IRON MAN 2 (2010), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), THOR (2011), THE AVENGERS (2012), IRON MAN 3 (2013), THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014), AGENT CARTER (2015), ANT-MAN (2015), AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015), CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), DOCTOR STRANGE (2016), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017), SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), THOR: RAGNAROK (2017), BLACK PANTHER (2018), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018), and CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019).

Update: My review of the coda to AVENGERS: ENDGAME, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019).