It has all come down to this, and we’re in the endgame now. The culmination of 21 movies has led to this pivotal moment where the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to a close as we know it. There will no doubt be more Marvel films. Phase 3 concludes with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home in July but there is a finality presented in Avengers: Endgame that wraps up a universe that began with Iron Man in 2008. Universe building seemed restricted to Star Wars or Star Trek but Marvel, arguably, perfected the form. Every entry may not be great, but each is necessary to get us here. This is what makes Endgame a great film because it’s more than capable on its own but it gives you a deeper appreciation of where this was all headed and the payoff is everything fans could’ve dreamed of and more.

I’m going to dive into some Infinity War spoilers with the expectation that you’ve already seen last year’s superhero mash-up that has led us to Endgame. Infinity War did what most superhero films dare not do: it made the heroes lose. This wasn’t just a small loss in battle, but a decisive loss that had have of its roster of favorite characters disappear into a cloud of dust with just a snap of a finger. Your brain knows you’re getting Black Panther and Spider-Man movies, but the power of Infinity War was that it made you feel and believe the loss enough that you were emotionally gutted by it. There was no semblance of hope at the end of Infinity War, and the ending was resoundingly bleak for a film under the Marvel banner.

That sense of bleakness permeates throughout Endgame. Again, you know this is the entry where the heroes HAVE to win but the stakes are higher, and nothing feels entirely sure for most of the characters that we have come to know and love. The Russo Brothers have done a great job of creating action and spectacle that is a feast for the eyes, but they bring a similar gravitas to the more quiet and emotional moments that provide their payoffs. Hell, sometimes they balance the action and drama at the same time, and it gives the battles much more of a purpose. The battles aren’t about where do we go next. There is a sense of climax, especially during the final confrontation which hits all the emotional notes necessary to make fans feelings run high. You’ll cheer, you’ll laugh, and you’ll cry. This is a rare feat in films such as this but Endgame is an attack on all of your emotions, and each one gets a chance to be satisfied.

Endgame begins around the time that Infinity War concludes, showing how The Snap impacted Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Then, with the strains of Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” playing over the Marvel logo, we’re shown how the survivors are (and in some cases aren’t) picking up the pieces. We are shown how Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) escape their dire predicament in the depths of space. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) finds a way out of the Quantum Universe (courtesy of a rat). Everyone else – Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) – is going through the motions, trying to reconcile survivor’s guilt with the depth of their failure. Their only plan of action, unrealistic as it may seem, is to locate Thanos, take the Infinity Stones from him, and restore reality. That’s when Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) arrives to offer a pep talk and help get the plan off the ground.

Endgame is best experienced so you won’t find any spoilers in this review. What I wanted to focus on was the overall feeling the film gave me. When the first Iron Man came out in 2008 I was 22 years old couldn’t have predicted where all of this would be heading. Across various solo movies and four films that bare the Avengers moniker, we have come to know and love Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor, Bruce Banner (The Hulk), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) & Clint Barton (Hawkeye). Each character has seen some growth, even if it was later in the game for some and it’s significant that as we reach the Endgame, we are left with the core group that set up the first Avengers. This is not to negate Ant-Man, War Machine or Captain Marvel but, in the case of two them; there is much more to see and learn while one has served his part as a reliable supporting player. It all comes down to the fates of those six characters, and I’m happy to see that each one of them gets their moment to shine here. There are also various forms of closure for the characters, and it pays respect to them as it’s likely we’re on our way to usher in a new set of Avengers to take on the next big bad.

For all of the emotional satisfaction, there is also the signature Marvel humor on display that they have seemed to have gotten down to a science. Almost every character has a funny moment, but most of it is courtesy of Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth who get to show the comedic aspects of Hulk and Thor while also being present in the dire situation they’re in. It’s hard to blend comedy with dramatic elements at times, but screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely navigate this field with ease. One minute Thor is the center of the joke and the next he’s questioning his existence due to past failures he can’t quite shake. There can be happiness in drama, and while some have complained that Marvel plays the jokes too hard sometimes, I’d say that they do it just enough and even though tragedy is bursting at the seams in Endgame, it doesn’t mean the characters can’t smile as plow through it.

The film also does a smart job of poking fun at itself while also making us buy their central plan of time travel and multiple universes. Time travel has often been a much-criticized plot device because it’s easy to poke holes in its logic but Endgame covers that up by pointing out the absurdity of time travel movies such as Back to the Future (it’s referenced several times) and there is a funny sequence where a character names off several other movies that show us the rules of this device. I’m not sure if the film was trying to be “meta,” but it certainly goes a long way to make us buy into how they’ll use time travel to make their plan succeed.

Endgame has several rousing moments that are goosebump-inducing, with a particular assist from Alan Silvestri who offers up a stellar score. One moment had the crowd cheering at my screening, but the image itself was also emotional on another level as a fan. You can call it fan service all you want but Avengers: Endgame is the thank you to the fans that stuck with this so that we end up here. It’s a definitive conclusion that makes you wonder where the MCU will take us next. If this is the best of it, then I’m happy to have witnessed this magical moment in cinematic history. This is the kind of film that makes you glad to go to movies & lose yourself for three hours, a length I never personally felt during my viewing. There is a sense by the end that the MCU will never be the same, but I’m certainly all in on what they do next since they gifted us with a truly satisfying conclusion to a truly epic story.