‘Avengers: Endgame’ An epic cinematic experience

There are many films that try to be epic. Some do it through mind-blowing special effects, and others do it through chilling drama, designed to leave you in awe and possibly without words for what you’ve seen. There are a few films that have succeeded at this and in doing so, became new standards by which succeeding cinema is measured. The bar is set time and time again, but never has it been set so high as Avengers: Endgame.

So here it is, the result of the impossible task of putting together words for a film that left me without any. I suppose I should start at the beginning, which, for most viewers, is likely to be surprising in its bleakness. My biggest misgiving going into Endgame was that the film’s existence would cheapen the ending of Marvel’s last epic, Infinity War. Instead, I was happy to see that every one of my heroes was now miserable. Rather than sweeping the dust that was half the universe’s population under the rug, the film sits with it. It forces you to see the ramifications of the world that was left behind. It does the thing that Marvel does best, humanising superhumans.

Eventually, though, the Avengers do what they do best. To give details on that front would be to ruin the experience that is ‘Endgame’. Safe to say, though, the second act of the film is a rewarding experience to the most fanatical of Marvel acolytes. So much so that the film runs the risk of alienating the less familiar crowd. Still, there’s enough basic action of good vs evil for even a first-time viewer to enjoy.

For many, the first act of the film will be too slow. The second act will rely too heavily on nostalgia. However, I defy any audience participant to find the third act to be anything less than the culmination of not just the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but of all ­blockbuster film-making.

Imagine the sensation of­ ­watching Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings for the first time in all its majestic scope with battles that seemed impossible to commit to film. Now imagine those same battles, except the soldiers all have superpowers. Looking better than ever with characters you’ve spent over a decade with, Avengers: Endgame manages to find an incredible balance between gut-wrenching ­character moments and truly fantastic action sequences.

Rating: GOAT