Avengers: Endgame

Plot: In the previous installment, bad guy Thanos killed half the people alive including lots of superheroes. Here Ironman (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America, (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Antman (Paul Rudd), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) hook up to kill Thanos and resurrect the dead. The movie spends half its three hour length reminding us of the relationships between the heroes, and setting up their desperate plan to right all the wrongs. With help from Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) they make rapid progress, but the bad guy arises to make a fight of it. [imdb]  [photos]

Review: Endgame is satisfying because of all the relationships between the characters. We get to visit with our old friends and recall their stories.

The first part re-introduces the major characters and I enjoyed this part. In the middle they execute their plan, which has recaps of scenes from Avengers: Infinity Wars. OK, but not as imaginative as it could have been. In the end, we are back on Earth fighting the bad guys in a grand battle. The battle is well-staged with individuals fighting and talking -- still it is just a battle, and which superhero is stronger than the others is arbitrary. After the battle there are emotional goodbyes and foreshadowing of future films.

I had been dying to see how they brought everyone back to life, and now I know. It would have been more thrilling with a tighter, streamlined narrative. Yet it was more nostalgic and emotional this way. The characters were frequently sad and mourning, or attached to their loved ones. And many of these scenes were effective.

It is a goodbye for the oldest characters, and primarily for Robert Downey Jr, who is a great actor, and who the best scenes. 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, and most of the rest of Hollywood. 

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFelly based on the comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 

The Music: Orchestral music by Alan Silvestri

The Visuals: Top quality special effects including the new Hulk/Banner character who is great. I liked the special effects on Nebula/Karen Gillan's head. 

Rating: 3.5  stars: Good but not super. As mentioned not such a thriller, but more emotional. And I do want to see it again. 

and 1/2

More: It was three hours long, but it has more than enough plot for that length of time.

Even More: This wraps up a 22 movie cycle.

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