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It's impossible to watch a film of this much scale, history, cultural importance, and franchise-carrying characters in a vacuum. No other franchise has the balls, nor the emotional buildup that it carries to justify a 3-hour runtime in a world where those kinds of runtimes are limited to fantasy epics (Lord of the Rings) or old glorious 70 millimeter films (Lawrence of Arabia). I guess that's what best describes Endgame, it is a glorious and grossly satisfying epic, and one that will soon become a classic etched and immortalized in the cultural consciousness of a generation.

If there's one thing that Marvel has done properly, its understanding how to do good on their characters. The MCU has thrived because it has consistently followed a philosophy of putting characters first. There is a reason why this movie broke pre-sale records, why there were cheers, tears and rounds of applause from the audience in each shining moment of the film. Endgame takes Marvel's character-driven storytelling to its extreme and most appealing. Infinity War largely proved how Marvel knows how to divide it characters, unite them all with one common threat and theme, and deliver a punch in the gut ending that had fans dusting their tears.

At the start of Endgame, fans are at the same emotional headspace as their favorite characters who are at a loss for hope. Right off the bat, the Russo brothers as directors have put themselves in a corner that allowed them to find a creative way out of it. Together with screenplay writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the story feels more rich, poignant, and satisfying. It goes without saying that you shouldn't go into this film expecting a high-art, indie slow burner, it still flows and feels very much like a Marvel movie, but the difference is that it is more restrained. The film opts for quieter, relaxed, and introspective scenes between characters. Steve, Tony, Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Banner all get their moments to shine, and it's clear that this is the original six's movie if Infinity War was Thanos'.

Each fan service moment feels earned, despite it being obviously shameless and pandering, it feels like the Avengers can justify showing off a little especially after 11 years of buildup. Nothing beats the collective gasps and thunderous applause you get from the audience whenever each iconic moment occurs. Endgame is clearly, unapologetically, and triumphantly made for the fans. Each scene, each line of dialogue and each callback is constructed passionately and with care. No arcs in the last 11 years were left forgotten and left in the dust.

As an epilogue to the now titled "Infinity Saga", this film works best as the season finale of a long running cinematic television epic. If you see it that way, you'll understand the motivations behind the creative decisions that the filmmakers made. Each plot point may feel overused or something you've seen before, but the people behind the scenes know it and even acknowledge it within the film. It doesn't mean they are unmotivated, but rather the opposite, they use it to stunning effect for incredibly emotional payoffs that honestly feels like a miracle that they managed to pull it off.

In the end, what more is there to say about this movie? Aside from its consistently stunning visuals, creative cinematography, coherent action set pieces, and kick-ass musical score, this film is all about emotion and getting the catharsis you've always wanted as a fan, a normal moviegoer, or as a little kid. Some people grew up with the MCU, 11 years is a damn long time and I'm definitely part of those who did. I guess this is what those kids in the 70s-80s felt when they saw Star Wars.

Verdict: 4.8/5

Gone is the time when an aloof and mysterious character like Han Solo can stand on his own. When the pure imagination of fans opened up countless debates on how the Kessel run really went down, or how Hans eventually won the Millennium Falcon and eventually became a staple of his character. The hard truth is, fans and casual viewers already knew these milestones in Han's story happened and will happen, so the only thing that mattered about this movie was, how was it going to happen?

For awhile, the magic of Star Wars was that of not knowing what to expect and getting to analyze an entire lived-in universe by yourself or with your friends throughout the years. With Solo, that magic is lost. You know you will be dealing with limited stakes since Solo and Chewie are pretty much okay and surely alive after this movie. You know that it will hit the basic story beats of how he becomes an outlaw, a rebel and eventually the iconic smuggler with a secret heart of gold we all know and love. You know he'll get the Falcon, you know he'll end up with Leia anyway. There's no mystery here, everyone knows the answer and we're all left with awkward suspicions about how things will play out.

Alden Ehrenreich does a, for the most part, fantastic job as Han Solo and he makes the role his own, probably one of the better parts of this movie. Lando (Donald Glover) and Chewie both get their moments, and also stand out in their roles. Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) weirdly fall flat as the new additions for Solo, aside from an obvious wisecracking droid to entertain us and give us some emotional moments, the two side characters that are meant to be the people that influence the title character are bland and uninteresting. Beckett seems to be just a ticket for Han to go follow him wherever he goes only to just ride backseat in the mission in the end. While Qi'ra plays the love interest of Han who we never get to know much about aside from pointless and explicit exposition. She also has a vague and messy arc that makes not just Han, but the audience confused as well. At one point, you're not sure where her allegiance lies, what her motivations are and what drives her to stick or stay away from Han.

Moreover, the story really doesn't aim to tell a properly structured narrative, instead it felt like a "Han's Biggest Hits Montage" all through out. Now this is not to say that it's hard and impossible to tell a proper movie about iconic persons/events we probably know about and/or have learned about and theorized ourselves. Rogue One (2016) was able to do it to an admittedly better extent, and quite masterfully in the James Bond reboot with Casino Royale back in 2006. To use Casino Royale as an example, it's a perfect story that shows how James Bond became THE James Bond we know and love, the commanding, suave and rough 007 agent. When the movie starts, he's not yet quite the Bond we're used to know yet, but what happens in that film contributes to why he changes. Then in the end, that's the only time we get the iconic line of James Bond introducing himself because that character has earned it through the context of the film. While Solo tried to achieve this same level of success, it falls hard on its knees really hard in the process. The definition of "context" the filmmakers had in mind with Solo was just throwing in fan service after fan service of what made Han Solo iconic, but we never really see why THIS character in THIS film in particular earned that iconic status. Han is basically the same person from the beginning till the end, compare this to James Bond in Casino Royale wherein his relationship with Vesper and how it ended changed his character forever, inevitably giving strong emotional and narrative context as to why he became how he is. This is never explored in the film and it instead becomes a by-the-numbers, monotone, and dull looking film.

Verdict: 6/10

Marvel's Infinity War soars as it gives us what the franchise has promised ever since 2012's The Avengers. Out of all of this film's ambitions, the most impressive feat remains to be on delivering a Thanos that is menacing, intriguing, and astoundingly tragic. This leads to a film that is epic at its core, yet emotional and patient in its execution.

The standout of this film is arguably its main character, Thanos. It is through him that we see a villain that does not boast about how evil he is for the sake of being evil. He does not twirl his moustache and no longer sits idly on his chair basking at how destiny is at the palm of his hands. His pursuit and end goal in the film is portrayed as something noble. It is one that requires consequential sacrifices to be made and he believes that what he is doing is faultless and the right thing. He understands pain and loss and we see that throughout the film. He laments the countless lives he has lost and especially the things that he genuinely cares about. He believes that it is his burden to carry out his task of collecting the Infinity Stones and that he is the only one willing enough to save the Universe through his own means. He is the ultimate antithesis to the Avengers. It also surely helps that Josh Brolin's portrayal of him, even though mostly CGI, is one that shows an abundance of depth and a commanding presence to the character.

Meanwhile, it is made clear here that the Avengers exhibit themselves as those who happen to believe that even one life sacrificed is not a cost that they are willing to take. It is through them that Thanos reveals their goals as futile and short-sighted. This theme is hammered home even more by showing how "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" are still hopelessly divided through numerous planets and locations. Fresh from the events of Civil War, Tony and Steve are still not on speaking terms and the threat of galactic destruction could not have come in a more terrible time.

That doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of character dynamics that are absolutely brilliant. To name a few, Cumberbatch and Downey give phenomenal and unwavering performances that mostly pay-off the peril and torture that they've been expecting to arrive for years now through the destruction of life itself. Holland also gives a vulnerable and obviously young side to him even at the midst of the end of the world. Hemsworth shows off his acquired personality from Ragnarok, yet still shaken and jagged because of what's at stake. He shines as his role as the God of Thunder has never seen this much significance compared to prior outings. His interaction with the Guardians is the perfect bridging of both worlds that we knew was already coming sooner or later. Rocket and Groot are also given an unexpected role along with Thor that was fun and unique to watch. Speaking of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora and Quill standout as their worried and broken past comes back to haunt them. Gamora particularly shines as the daughter of Thanos, which gives a sense of history and affliction for both characters. Each character drives home the grim and merciless danger that they are in. The stakes are still high and it is made clear for each sequence. Nonetheless, this is all not to say that this movie lost the usual Marvel trademarks of quips and lighthearted fun. It's still definitely an Avengers movie and how the characters organically and hilariously complement each other just makes their eventual collapse and downfall even more tragic and heartbreaking.

On a technical standpoint, the film is visually breathtaking and ups the scale to planets and worlds previously unimaginable. The blending of both the Guardians, the Avengers and Thanos himself breathes an entire universe into life and it feels lived in and familiar. The action scenes are definitely on point and take center stage in this film. The Russo brothers have learned a lot ever since they took the directing helm in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The film presents the action as it is and does not opt in for shaky cams or obviously recognizable body doubles. They do not disappoint, aside from set pieces being a little too short lived as the film has to constantly go back to other side stories happening planets away. It's understandable as it has to juggle this huge ensemble of a cast that already had their own character developments and movies prior to this one. However, when a Lord of the Rings-esque battle is ensuing, it doesn't help when the film steps back from it to show a side story which we inevitably all know where it will lead it up to. Aside from that, other minor complaints are how the film's score shy away from using the individual themes to symbolize the heroic moments of their respective heroes. The Guardians of the Galaxy theme or the Spider-Man Homecoming theme are a few examples that are not present in the movie.

In the end, this film will leave you speechless, disturbed, and perturbed. It's something that Marvel has successfully made us feel after 10 years with most of these characters. It's a unique cinematic experience that any other franchise or movie comes close to nowadays. Infinity War essentially created a cultural phenomenon that will be discussed further in years to come.

Verdict: 4.5/5