Warning! This review contains minor spoilers for the beginning of Avengers: Endgame.

May 2, 2008, Iron Man was released in theaters and kicked off Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, 11 years later, the MCU comes to a close with the release of Avengers: Endgame.

The Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe Russo, directed the film and, based on the success of their previews Marvel endeavors, Civil War and Infinity War, they were clearly the right choice for the job. Both Civil War and Infinity War were fantastic, and Endgame was no different.

In the first weekend of Endgame, the movie made 358 million dollars in the U.S and $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film on the opening weekend. It is the fastest movie to reach $1 billion. Avengers: Endgame now has the biggest opening of any movie ever made.

The film takes place 5 years after Infinity War, and Endgame shows the damage that the snap has done on not only our superheroes, but also the world as a whole. It’s only by accident that Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd, was released from the Quantum Realm after the events in Ant-Man and the Wasp. He assists what’s left of the Avengers and comes up with a plan to go back in time using the Quantum Realm and gather the Infinity Stones to reverse the Snap in their reality.

The movie is three hours long, but it never felt that long. The first two hours is build up towards the epic 1 hour climax of the film, full of heartfelt moments and funny quips, such as Ant-Mans continuous surprise at all the weird people hes has never met, like Rocket Raccoon or Nebula.

Endgame starts slow, but quickly builds up the tension and suspense as we awaited the final battle of the MCU. Each actor and actress was on point with their performance, and you could really feel the weight of the plot.

As this was their final time playing these characters, the main trio of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor nailed it. Chris Evans delivered a powerful and fun Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor was witty and fun to watch, and Iron Man was played perfectly once again by Robert Downey Jr.  

The final act was breathtaking to watch, and was by far the biggest battle in the MCU. The special effects in the movie felt real. There was never a point that looked unrealistic. Even though this seems like the end, we believe that this was only chapter 1.

The future of the MCU is uncertain, but we believe that the future will involve dealing with the aftermath of Infinity War and Endgame, along with letting minor heroes take the stage, such as Falcon and Pepper Potts.

Avengers: Endgame is a perfect movie to see in theaters. Its grand scope fits perfectly on the big screen. If you can, buy tickets now to go see it.