Ladies and gentlemen, the endgame has arrived! Congratulations everyone; we did it, we made it, well done and hooray! “Avengers: Endgame” is directed by the Russo brothers and stars the original Avengers crew along with Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan and Josh Brolin. After Thanos’ wiped out half of the universe in “Avengers: Infinity War,” the Avengers are depressed and trying to figure out how to fix their mess. “Avengers: Endgame” is without a doubt the most anticipated movie since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” back in 2015, and rightfully so. This is the finale to this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that began back in 2008 with “Iron Man.” 22 films – yes 22 films and 11 years later – and it’s coming to a close. Just to be clear, this is a non-soiler review. I would never want to be the person that spoils a movie of this magnitude for anyone. That being said, does “Avengers: Endgame” manage to live up to the insane amount of hype? Absolutely!

The Russo Brothers have once again nailed bringing so many characters together in one movie without it turning into total chaos. When “The Avengers” came out seven years ago, it was almost unheard of to have so many superheroes in one movie at the same time. Since then, they’ve kept adding more and more heroes into one movie and somehow resulting in even better movies. While there aren’t as many superheroes in “Avengers: End- game” as there were in “Avengers: Infinity War,” it still manages to tell many storylines cohesively and gives satisfying conclusions to the fate of our favorite characters.

The cinematography by Trent Opalochis is something that really goes unnoticed by many Marvel fans, because both “Endgame” and “Infinity War” are the two best looking Marvel films in the MCU. There are a lot of great films in the MCU that are very bland looking like “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Ant-Man,” but these final two Avengers movies really have something special about them in regards to their cinematography. That’s something to pay attention to when you go to see this movie.

The main cast of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner all give their best performances as their characters and are what separates this installment from others in the MCU. Most of us have grown up with these characters and the film builds off of their existing stories as the first Avengers did. It’s really refreshing and a little bittersweet, considering what happened in the last Avengers film.

The first act takes a bit of time to get off the ground. The movie starts off expressing the grief of the characters, and each character handles their pain differently. It is interesting how adversely people deal with loss and how they grow and learn from their mistakes, and it’s something I didn’t expect from a superhero film.

“Avengers: Endgame,” beyond any of the other MCU films, requires you to be familiar with the plotline of the past films. The way that Marvel incorporates prior films is incredibly clever, and I guarantee no one will guess where it goes. Obviously, you don’t have to, but it really does elevate the product for the viewer.

I’m gonna make a bold statement that I was close to making after I saw “Avengers: Infinity War” but I held myself back until “Avengers: Endgame.” After seeing it I can say that Thanos is the best iconic villain we’ve gotten in movies in the 2010s. Like Heath Ledger’s Joker was in the 2000s, and Darth Vader was in the late ’70s to early ’80s, Thanos is of the same breed. Not only does he, once again, have a plan that makes sense and people can understand, but people can also see why he’s doing it. He’s still menacing and every time he steps on screen, he provides tension because now everyone knows how capable he is.

This is also the first time Brie Larson has been on screen with these iconic characters, and it is the first time I actually started to like her in the MCU. She had more charm and charisma this time around. I think that she will continue to develop as a character, in a similar way to how Thor continued to grow. By the time “Thor Ragnarok” came around Thor was one of the best characters in the entire MCU, up there with Iron Man and Spider-Man.

The third act features one of the greatest super-hero fights ever to be put onto the big screen. The scene highlights tons of long takes featuring incredible stunt work and immaculate VFX work. It is so satisfying for those following the MCU over the years that it couldn’t possibly disappoint. At the time of writing this review, the Battle of Winterfell hasn’t happened yet on “Games of Thrones,” so hopefully it can live up to the hype that this battle created.

The VFX department at Marvel and Disney continue to prove that they are the best VFX department in the world. Nothing looks fake in a movie that’s 95 percent GCI. I don’t know how they do it so much better than everyone else, but they keep nailing it. Thano’s looks like a real being, not like a GC nine-foot tall purple alien. The hulk stars for most of the movie, and once again it looks real.

Finally, this film ends in a very emotional way. Without giving spoilers, be prepared to tear up during the end of this film. I did, and it’s incredibly rare for any movie to make me that emotional. I can’t even imagine how a comic book fan would react, other then balling their eyes out for hours afterward.

Overall, “Avengers: Endgame” is an incredible conclusion to an 11 year journey that Marvel has created. They nailed it! Though, I still believe “Avengers: Infinity War” is better because of the pacing, and there are more scenes including Thanos. I really like Thanos. Another thing that could impact one’s viewing is if they aren’t fans of the Marvel films. They will still enjoy the movie, but a film like “Avengers: Endgame” is made for the fans of the MCU. And for those fans, “Avengers: Endgame” will be one of the best films of the year. I’m going to give “Avengers: Endgame” an “A.” Everyone’s has got to see it, and ideally as soon as possible to avoid hearing spoilers prior to seeing the movie. Hop on the hype train, because this will become a topic of conversation for the rest of 2019.