It’s testament to the success of the Avengers movies, and their actors, that the high points of Endgame are down to the characters, not to the bangs and crashes. The quirks and quips have built up steadily over the years into a real audience rapport. Fusing the single movies into a veritable assembly was always a risky proposition, but it paid off. Whip-smart scripts and interweaving stories, kept fresh by distinctively new additions, all led nicely to the ashes-to-ashes cliff-hanger of Avengers: Infinity War.

Thanks to Thanos’ drastic approach to sustainability, half the population – including a swathe of Avengers – was wiped out at the snap of his superpowered fingers. Years later… Iron Man is in denial, a family man now, out in the sticks. Thor is a pot-bellied slacker, beer and bad living making him look like the Big Lebowski. David Banner has come to terms with his alter ego, the Hulk. And Captain America is channelling his old-world positivity into self-help groups. But with Ant Man newly escaped from the downsized quantum realm, and Captain Marvel arriving with new hair and superpowers to spare, the question is – is it game over, or game on? Time will tell.

At three hours, Endgame is aiming for epic. It’s earned that right over 11 years and 22 films. And it does so more deftly than the clunky series-closer Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and the soggy Titanic, each of which felt self-indulgent, tried the patience, and took longer to do it. But directors Anthony and Joe Russo - and the team of writers steeped in the Marvel universe – bring this run of movies to a fitting end.

At times, the films seemed to lack jeopardy: when you’re a superhero all you need is the right power and surely you can raise the dead and turn back time? That changed with Infinity War and thankfully Endgame stays true to that downbeat ending and picks up in similarly sombre fashion. And it sticks with the rules of its game as the scattered Avengers seek to reassemble themselves and restore Thanos’ purged world. A convoluted story of time travel, underpinned with sci-fi logic, is laced with wit, sight gags and the trippy fun of characters inserted back into pivotal timelines from their previous movies.

It’s also surprisingly touching – with Iron Man and Cap both getting moments of well-judged connection - or not - with parts of their past. And it’s no spoiler to say that it doesn’t end well for all of the Avengers. Some characters won’t be returning.

The Hulk’s new persona is great fun and oddly believable. Thor’s is just overplayed. From Norse God to slob is a good visual joke; but to run it through the film does the character a disservice. Sure, Chris Hemsworth has great comic ability; but sad to say his Thor is wasted in Endgame and doesn’t get to let rip, in the way that every other character does. But watch out for Captain America’s moment of glory – you’ll know when. It makes cheerleaders of us all.

And while jokes about Cap’s physique – ‘that’s America’s ass’ – poke fun at the genre’s superhero costuming, it’s Ant Man’s Paul Rudd who proves the heart and soul of the film, as well as its plot driver. His time-travel test-run mishap is the comic highlight and a sweet family moment one of the most powerful, both brilliantly acted. And the directors wisely take their time over both scenes.

Odd, then, that, at three hours, some of it should feel so rushed. After a stately opening third, the unfolding of the fightback time-trip gets more zest than juice from the set-up, moving on too quickly and none too clearly. And as for the inevitable final battle, it’s a blurry mash-up of absolutely no consequence or cohesion, one of the worst in the cannon – not as epic as Infinity War’s, nor yet as woeful as Black Panther’s.

This is an intelligent film that scores big time on the simple relationships of the characters and – surprisingly for a superhero set-up - their sheer believability. You’re sad to leave their company.

Here it is. After 21 films over eleven years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe reaches a climax of sorts. There will be more films - sequels, prequels, new offshoots and team unions. But for some, this is the end of the road.

The film opens after the devastating events of Infinity War. The arrival of two heroes absent in the previous installment (Ant-Man was trapped in the Quantum Realm, Captain Marvel was off adventuring in the cosmos) brings the Avengers together to hatch an audacious plan to reclaim what has been lost.

Avengers: Endgame does have some good performances amongst the CGI noise. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans each give turns that are touching, baked into a decade of playing their parts. Mark Ruffalo has fun with the Hulk in a way he probably hasn't been able to until now. But nearly stealing the whole endeavour is Karen Gillan, whose haunted and restrained turn gives levity beyond some clunky writing. Other elements are less effective. For his comedic prowess, Chris Hemsworth is lumped with a particularly ineffective narrative arc, reduced to essentially playing The-Dude-performing-Shakespeare for much of the film's running time. And anyone who fell in love with Brie Larson's Captain Marvel will be disappointed in her limited screen time. With an ensemble of this size, some characters were always going to feel more incidental then others, but it can't help but frustrate.

Where the film most impresses is when the humanity manages to break through the sound and fury of a thousand hard drives producing a thousand generated images. A choppy first act (requiring a second set-up twenty minutes in) gives way to a refreshingly bouncy second act before climaxing in a grand (and rather expected) finale. Marvel and Disney have effectively stymied any spoilers, and there are times when Avengers: Endgame genuinely surprises. The film is pure fan service, with cameos, developments and call-backs that the committed will eat up.

I have always felt a bit agnostic on the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some films have effectively broken through for me (the first Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther to name three); others have felt lost in a feeling of insignificance, like they are just an additional cog in a much larger machine. Yet Endgame feels like it builds off previous installments, changing the mega-franchise enough to resonate long after its (extensive) run-down has finished. It inspires debate in a way few Marvel films have achieved before, allowing itself some unexpectedly goofy ideas. There hasn't been a film quite of this scope, and you almost feel the merging of TV and film with Endgame. It has the scope of cinema, but the ever continuing and expanding story of the small screen.