Avengers: Endgame Review Round-Up: ‘Unbridled Fan Service’

With the review embargo lifted on Tuesday afternoon US time, the first reviews for Avengers: Endgame — the highly-awaited follow-up to last year's Infinity War and the 22nd film overall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — are now here. If you prefer to go in completely blind, you should stop reading at this moment. In fact, you shouldn't have clicked on an article that said ‘review' in its headline, in the first place. Early reviews have termed Endgame an emotional ride, one that packs a lot of joy and even some poignancy along the way. Avengers: Endgame currently holds a 96 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 78 score on Metacritic. Here are some (spoiler-free) excerpts from a few choice reviews:

“The biggest question the film leaves open is whether the Avengers — as a name brand in the Marvel Universe — should continue after this barnstorming ending. The Marvel experiment continues apace, with many (mostly untitled) new editions on the docket, and Endgame will make more than enough money to justify them. But it's hard to know if the series will ever be able to replicate the peculiar magic of this movie's finale, which had me realizing with a jolt, over and over again, how much I cared about the lives of these loud, wisecracking, CGI-bedazzled champions.” —David Sims, The Atlantic

“[T]his speedy arrangement of catchy exchanges and brawls feels like it was crafted with internet memes in mind. As Endgame sputters to the finish line, it leaves the impression of witnessing a Marvel Movie Marathon compressed to three hours — and 58 seconds, but trust me, they're disposable — of unbridled fan service.” —Eric Kohn, IndieWire

“[D]irectors Anthony and Joe Russo have crafted a coherent and exhilarating narrative that incorporates all your favorite superheroes (and many of their loved ones) over the past decade. The running time goes by in a blur. Really. Besides, who has time to look at a watch when so many zingers and thrills and iconic moments are packed into an emotionally resonant extravaganza? Satisfaction is guaranteed — so is a second viewing.” —Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly

“If the Marvel superhero movies on the whole are your favorite band's individual albums, Avengers: Endgame is the triple-disc greatest-hits package with the really awesome cover and a slew of familiar, comforting gems inside.” —Brian Truitt, USA Today

“[W]hat comes across most strongly here, oddly enough for an effects-driven comic-book-derived film, is the character acting, especially from [Robert] Downey [Jr.], [Mark] Ruffalo, [Chris] Evans, [Chris] Hemsworth, [Josh] Brolin and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. Avengers: Endgame is, from all appearances, the end of the road for some characters and storylines, but the seeds of many offshoots look to have been planted along the way.” —Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

“[I]t allows the main players to revisit some of the scenes of their most spectacular franchise triumphs. I have to admit, in all its surreal grandiosity, in all its delirious absurdity, there is a huge sugar rush of excitement to this mighty finale, finally interchanging with euphoric emotion and allowing us to say poignant farewells.” —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“The mass slaughter at the end of Infinity War felt both colossal and weightless, insofar as you knew it was little more than an epic tease. But the deaths that transpire here are all the more poignant for feeling both carefully considered and genuinely irreversible. To these faintly moistened eyes, Avengers: Endgame achieves and earns its climactic surge of feeling, even as it falls just short of real catharsis.” —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

“If the Endgame is putting a sense of closure and finality on this three-Phase chapter of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, it does that and then some. Speeches are given, battles are fought, jokes are thrown—many of them. In fact, they pack a LOT of funny into this three hours, for good or ill. In the end, the satisfaction of having stayed the course with Marvel is rewarded tenfold.” —Khal Davenport, Complex

“The most shocking thing about Avengers: Endgame is that there are several moments within this colossal movie that feel like a Marvel miracle. These are the pockets of time when what you watch on screen sends a shock of joy jumping through your skin, making your eyes go wide and watery at the spectacle.” —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox