Avengers: Endgame

     I thought reviewing Infinity War was going to be difficult! However, the grand finale to MARVELs Avengers franchise did not disappoint. It was 3 hours of nonstop laughter, tears and adrenaline pumping excitement. The characters we've loved for so long have come full circle. Everything they have striven for, all that they have aspired to be and what they desire to leave behind are put to the fullest measure of devotion and bravery. Sacrifices are made, love is found, family is reconciled and a new generation of heroes follow in the footsteps of the soldiers and mentors they admire.

    With a snap of his fingers, Thanos removed half of Earth's population. Leaving behind the six original Avengers (including Clint Barton who loses his whole family) and several other recruits from the Infinity War. While an attempt to destroy Thanos is made, it is proved unsuccessful and the Avengers must return to Earth to put together their lives and the lives of those who are grieving, alone and scared.

    In the meantime, Scott Lang or Antman has been caught in a time warp and shows up five years after Thanos' attack. Scott returns to a broken world where society is trying to move on and the Avengers are trying to do their job the best they can. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff continue the independent Avengers initiative with the few remaining recruits, Tony Stark has left to live a life in privacy and both Thor and Clint go off the deep end. Bruce Banner is the only person who seems to have adjusted well to the change. And that may not be a good thing. 

    With his knowledge of time travel, Scott believes that the Avengers can go back in time and find the time stones before Thanos does by creating their own separate timelines. Sounds easy, right? However, as Bruce Banner finds out from someone well acquainted with time, taking the stones could cause disaster in the primary timelines. So, Bruce discovers the idea of a secondary timeline will allow them to take the stones without messing up history. If they succeed, then one person will simply return to each original timeline and replace the stone. 

     While it's a risky plan, it's the only plan they have. Soon the story is split into multiple stories as the Avengers race against their own clocks to retrieve the stones, but finding that returning to their respective histories may not be so coincidental. Such as Tony meeting up with his dad and Steve finding his only love, Peggy Carter at S.H.I.E.L.D operations in 1970. Thor has one last conversation with his beloved mother and Hulk deals with The Ancient One. 

     And in the meantime Loki escapes from the original Avengers timeline to continue with his own mischief, Captain America literally fights with himself and Natasha and Clint must face a monumental decision. When the job is complete and the stones found, there is one less Avenger among them, which only stirs these battle weary soldiers to end Thanos before he begins. 

    All of this comes to one final battle between good and evil when the Avengers face off with Thanos. Earth's mightiest heroes find their true worth as they battle humanity's most destructive super villain. Their sacrifices prove not to be in vain. When the world faces its deepest darkness, heroes rise from Thanos destruction, stronger, braver in this final Endgame.

     I really did enjoy Endgame. While it was packed with stories and characters, everything balanced out very well. There was a great deal of much needed humor that kept the story from getting too dark and the time traveling sequences were wonderful to relive. The final battle sequence was spectacular and I loved every single second of it!

     I am somewhat sad that the Avengers franchise is over. It was the first MARVEL film that got me into the franchise and I've loved following the stories of all the Avengers. While the Avengers might be over, there is still plenty of other stories to tell. So we're most definitely not saying goodbye, but rather going into to another chapter of the MARVEL multiverse.