The endgame is here.  Specifically, Avengers: Endgame is here and it already brought over a billion dollars worldwide with it.

The follow up to Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame is the final chapter in “Phase 1”  of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began with the original Iron Man film. Ten years and twenty-plus films later, this is how we wrap up the stories for the ‘original six’ and heroes that have joined the fray along the way.

It’s hard to talk about Endgame without spoilers and, frankly, I’m a little terrified to give them.

Infinity War ended on a shocking and sad note, especially for our heroes. Thanos the Mad Titan managed to erase half of the universe, including characters like T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the entire Guardians of the Galaxy, and numerous others. It was a sombering end to an action-packed film. The losses heavily color the feel and mood as we enter Endgame.

In this film, our heroes are looking to undo Thanos’s ‘work’. The tagline on the posters ‘Avenge the Fallen’, which suits the film perfectly. And with the movie clocking in at three hours in length, it’s  definitely a ride, whether you enjoy it or not.

The movie leans more into the emotional aspect of things rather than action scene after action scene (though, what’s a superhero movie without action? There’s plenty of that as well!) as the characters attempt to navigate their loss and figure out how to move forward with their lives. Or, as the case may be, they decide to move back in time in order to collect the Infinity Stones – -the focal point of nearly all the Marvel films so far – and stop Thanos from being able to enact his plans in the first place.

This ‘new’ team primarily consists of the original Avengers – Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannson), The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and, of course, Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Accompanying our new team are heroes from other movies, including the lead of the recently released Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as they make the plans to search for their lost friends and allies.

With all of the hype and secrecy surrounding the film, it’s hard not to give away plot points, which in turn, give away the whole film.

The movie can, unfortunately, be a little convoluted and confusing and suffer from ‘Idiot Plot’, where characters don’t necessarily do the smartest things in order to make the plot work. The time travel aspect can be a little ridiculous and characters can be utterly frustrating. This is probably one of the weakest points of the film: sacrificing characterization for the sake of a plot that seems cool. A lot of problems in this film could have been solved with being less concerned over the ‘cool factor’ and actually letting characters work things out and show their intelligence. It sometimes feels silly to ask for things to make sense in a world where aliens exist and you can get super powers through a serum, but it’s nice to have some grounding in reality.

But, this doesn’t make it a bad movie, necessarily.

The heart is more than there and wrapping up 22 films worth of history while setting up for the next “phase” of films isn’t an easy task for anyone. What the directors were looking to do, they succeeded at doing: they made an emotionally impactful film that was a ride of laughter, tears, fury, relief.

It’s a ‘goodbye’ to some characters as the MCU moves forward and leaving the door open for others to continue their stories.

All-in-all, if you’ve been following the MCU, and doing this is necessary to even begin to understand Endgame, the film is worth seeing. For those who have managed to not be caught up in the hype of the past ten years… consider this your chance to finally go back and watch the films without feeling rushed!

Endgame may be polarizing to some, but overall, it’s a ride that fans shouldn’t miss.

Next up is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which picks up where Endgame leaves off.