‘Tragic and uplifting’ Avengers: Endgame praised by critics in first reviews

Avengers: Endgame has been hailed the “perfect goodbye” as the first reviews arrive for Marvel’s superhero epic.

After 11 years and 22 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans will finally get to find out how the fight against villain Thanos – played by Josh Brolin – ends.

The fates of the Avengers – including Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chris Evans’ Captain America and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk – will also be revealed.

Endgame is certain to be a box office success, with some analysts refusing to rule out a colossus opening weekend of 1 billion US dollars – about £772 million – in global ticket sales.

And it got off to a good start ahead of its release later this week, with reviews being largely positive.

In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw awarded Endgame a perfect five-star score, writing: “As an artificial creation, the Avengers have been triumphant, and as entertainment, they have been unconquerable.”

The Atlantic magazine described the film as the “perfect goodbye”, and praised it for not overstaying its welcome over its 182-minute run-time.

“The film earns its length not by overstuffing the frame with opulent action, but by slowing things down and basking in the charisma of its ensemble”, the review states.

The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of Endgame’s A-list cast members, writing: “What comes across most strongly here, oddly enough for an effects-driven comic-book-derived film, is the character acting, especially from Downey, Ruffalo, Evans, Hemsworth, Brolin and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man.”

USA Today gave Endgame three-and-a-half-stars out of four.

Reviewer Brian Truitt wrote: “Endgame is tragic and uplifting, rousing and grounding, while leaving minds racing and making everybody cry (even the toughest guys).”

Writing in the New York Times, A O Scott described the film as a fitting end, though was far from effusive in his praise.

He said: “Endgame is a monument to adequacy, a fitting capstone to an enterprise that figured out how to be good enough for enough people enough of the time.”

While many reviews were overwhelmingly positive, Variety aired some criticism, concluding: “There’s something considerably less elegant to the storytelling this time around.”

Avengers: Endgame will be released in UK cinemas on April 25.