By Lauren Bradshaw

This is not an easy review to write, mostly because I don’t want to give anything away; not even the main plot. Despite watching the “Avengers: Endgame” trailer, I can assure you know about as much as Jon Snow (nothing). From the first 15 minutes in, this epic “final” chapter showed Marvel still has many surprises up its sleeve and you should prepare to have no idea what is yet to come for the remaining 2 hours 45 minutes. The best part of “Endgame” is that it is a crowd-pleaser at the highest level, masterfully tying together all 22 movies that came before it and striking the perfect balance of paying homage to its predecessors and giving each character his/her moment to shine. Remember in “Infinity War” when Thor has that awesome hero landing? Think about that x100, where everyone you love gets their hero moment.

While you don’t *have* to rewatch all the Marvel movies that preceded “Endgame,” it is imperative that you at least have a good memory of “Avengers: Infinity War.” Unsurprisingly, the last dusty 5 minutes of “Infinity War,” weigh heavily on the remaining superheroes (and the world) in “Endgame” and they are attempting to come to terms with half of the population, including many of their closest friends and loved ones, disappearing in a snap. In this bleakness, heroes are going to do what heroes do… try to save the world.

“Endgame” is not a one-note, depressing sobfest. It’s not every day that a movie can go from uproarious laughs, to enthusiastic cheers, gasps of shock, crying and finally silence so deafening you can hear a pin drop. This is one of those movies that you want to see with a sold-out crowd full of fans that you can experience all of the emotions “Endgame” has in store. And even during some of the quieter moments of the film, the sense of uneasiness and vulnerability is palpable, probably because you know danger is right around the corner and because this is the last Marvel movie with all of our favorite Avengers assembled.

“Endgame” is a perfect book-end to a Marvel legacy that has changed the face of the entertainment industry. What is the superhero cinema landscape going to look like now that our last Avengers movie is in the can? Lucky for us, we still have some great characters to root for, including my personal favorite Captain Marvel *other names are REDACTED for spoiler purposes :-D*. And pro tip: make sure you limit your water intake before the screening so you don’t miss a second, especially the last 90 minutes.

Note: There are NO end credit scenes.

My Review: A

LAUREN BRADSHAW is a lover of all movies, even the bad ones. Follow her on twitter @flickchickdc. She grew up in Courtland, graduated from Southampton Academy and doubled-majored in foreign affairs and history at the University of Virginia. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area.