DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE : Tuesday 30th July 2024.

I saw the MA15+ rated 'DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE' at my local multiplex theatre this week, and this much hyped, eagerly awaited and highly anticipated American Superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics characters Deadpool and Wolverine, and is the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and a sequel to 2016's 'Deadpool' and 2018's 'Deadpool 2'. Those first two films in the franchise grossed a total US$1.57B at the worldwide Box Office off the back of a combined production budget of US$168M. Tim Miller Directed that first instalment with David Leitch on duty for the second, and Shawn Levy taking the helm on this third offering, who also gets a Co-Writer and a Co-Producer credit too. With a budget of US$200M the film has so far grossed US$659M internationally in its first week since opening and has set the highest grossing opening for an R rated film and has garnered largely mixed or average reviews.

The film opens with an action set piece while the starting credits roll of Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) going head to head with a small army of TVA (Time Variance Authority) foot soldiers whom he successfully manages to violently kill every last standing one of them by utilising Logan's adamantium skeleton which he has just dug up, as his preferred weapon of choice. We then back track to 2018 and Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) uses Cable's time-traveling device to travel from his timeline, being Earth-10005, to Earth-616, the 'Sacred Timeline', where he meets with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and basically pleads to join the Avengers because he want's to 'matter', but is rejected.

We then fast forward six years later, and find Wade has officially retired from being Deadpool and is working as a used-car salesman with his friend Peter Wisdom (Rob Delaney) after splitting up with his girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). During his birthday party, the TVA captures Wade and brings him to Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) who offers him a place on Earth-616, while also revealing that Wade's timeline is deteriorating as a result of the death of its stabilising 'anchor being' - that is, Logan. Paradox details his plans to use the 'Time Ripper', a device he developed to mercy kill timelines, to prematurely destroy Wade's timeline in three days rather than the traditional couple of thousand years it would usually take. Wade steals Paradox's TemPad to escape and dig up Logan's grave, which brings us back to the opening sequence. When he fails to resurrect Logan, Wade uses the TemPad to travel across the multiverse in an attempt to find a Variant of Logan in order to save his timeline, but locating the right Logan proves problematical for Deadpool.

After crossing paths with numerous Logan variants across numerous timelines, Wade comes across one in a bar knocking back whisky like it's going out of fashion and he feels this one fits the bill. He takes this one back to the TVA, where he learns that this particular Logan (Hugh Jackman) is considered the worst Wolverine in the multiverse. After an argument, during which Wade learns that Paradox is acting without the knowledge of his superiors, Paradox prunes Wade and Logan into the Void. 

There, Wade and Logan fight before they and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) of The Fantastic Four are captured and taken to Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), the twin sister of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. Cassandra, who was pruned as an infant but made a deal with the TVA to stay willingly in the Void, kills Johnny and leaves Wade and Logan to be consumed by Alioth (a cloud-like, matter-consuming entity which lives in the Void and guards the Citadel at the End of Time), although they successfully manage to escape. 

Logan and Wade meet a variant of Wade called 'Nicepool', who gives them a beat up old Honda Odyssey  and points them to the Void's borderlands, where the resistance against Cassandra is located. However, en route Logan chastises Wade for hiding the fact that he is unable to fix Logan's timeline, leading to a fight that leaves them both unconscious. Laura aka X-23 (Dafne Keen) drives them to the borderlands, where they meet resistance members Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), Eric Brooks aka Blade (Wesley Snipes) and Remy LeBeau aka Gambit (Channing Tatum). Wade calls them the 'Others' and proposes an alliance to fight Cassandra. Logan refuses to cooperate, but eventually relents after a conversation with Laura about his inability to save the X-Men in his universe. 

Wade, Logan, and the Others go to confront Cassandra, and manage to block her powers by placing Juggernaut's telepathic blocking helmet on her head. However, Cassandra is betrayed and shot several times in the stomach by her henchman Pyro (Aaron Stanford) acting on behalf of Paradox. Logan convinces Wade to remove the helmet which he does reluctantly so allowing Cassandra to self heal and open a portal back to Wade's timeline, which he and Logan jump through. 

Arriving back on on Earth-10005, Wade and Logan come across an army of Deadpools all transported in from the Void and all intent on dispensing with Wade and Logan. Needless to say Wade and Logan successfully thwart the army of Deadpool variants only for each and every one of them to rise up regenerated from their injuries. However, when Peter Wisdom emerges as his own Deadpool variant, the other variants all crowd around him and cheer, leaving Wade and Logan to continue with their business at hand. They soon find that Paradox has begun to use the Time Ripper. Cassandra, having learned of Paradox's plan from Pyro before executing him, arrives through another portal and kidnaps Paradox. She plans to take control of the Time Ripper to destroy all timelines, leaving only the Void, as revenge for Paradox's betrayal. Paradox tells Wade and Logan that disrupting the matter and anti-matter power flow of the Time Ripper would kill a person. Wade and Logan use both of their bodies as a conductor by sharing the burden, and destroy the Time Ripper, killing Cassandra. Paradox is then promptly arrested by Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) from the TVA. 

B-15 reveals that Wade and Logan's actions prevented Wade's timeline from deteriorating. Wade asks B-15 to free the Others from the Void, before asking if it is possible to rewrite the history of Logan's timeline. B-15 says it was his history that made Logan the hero needed to stop Cassandra and there is nothing to fix. The pair then go off to find something to eat at which time Wade asks Logan, what's next for him. Logan, says that he wishes to retire and live a peaceful life, but is taken by Wade to meet his friends, along with Laura. Upon Logan's encouragement, Wade reconnects with Vanessa.

With 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Director Shawn Levy has crafted a film that has clearly won over critics and audiences alike (for the most part anyway!) and this is particularly evidenced by its record breaking Box Office haul just ten days after release. The chemistry and mateship that exists between Reynolds and Jackman is plainly evident here, even if the plot is wafer thin and makes little sense - but that's hardly the point, as it's the sheer entertainment value derived from seeing these two characters riff off one another ad infinitum, the F-bombs that come thick and fast and the irreverence shown at almost every turn. With cameo appearances aplenty this film is sure to please MCU and X-Men fans as well as those harking back to a bygone era of superheroes whose TV and film time is spent or was never realised (think Elektra, Blade and Gambit here most notably). The action sequences, of which there are enough to fill two feature length films, come thick and fast and are very well executed, although I couldn't help thinking that with their regenerative powers what's the point behind shooting, stabbing, punching, kicking in all manner of creative ways if your opponent is going to get up and brush it all off when you're done. All of that said 'Deadpool & Wolverine' is well worth the price of your cinema entry and should be seen on the big screen.

'Deadpool & Wolverine' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE GRAY MAN : Tuesday 19th July 2022

I saw 'THE GRAY MAN', Rated MA15+, at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this American action thriller film is Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo who have previously helmed four MCU films, being 'Captain America : The Winter Soldier' in 2014, 'Captain America : Civil War' in 2016, 'Avengers : Infinity War' in 2018 and 'Avengers : Endgame' in 2019, amongst other feature films and TV series. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Mark Greaney, the film went on limited release from last week before being released on Netflix from 22nd July. Costing US$200M to produce it is the most expensive film ever made by Netflix, and it hopes to start a series of films based on the eleven 'Gray Man' novels. It has garnered generally mixed or average Reviews so far. 

The film opens up in 2003 in a prison cell where Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) is incarcerated until 2031 for the murder of his father. He is being interviewed, or rather recruited, by Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) who works for the CIA and recognises in Gentry the attributes necessary to turn him into a black ops mercenary, with the associated skills to take out all the bad guys on their hit list. Fitzroy tells Gentry that he can walk out of the prison in thirty minutes a free man, or he can serve out his sentence, and for what it's worth Fitzroy would have done the same thing as Gentry did that got him into the slammer in the first place. 

We then fast forward eighteen years to the present day. We are in Bangkok in a lavish hotel counting down the minutes to midnight on NYE. Gentry (now known as Sierra Six or simply Six) is ordered to take out a hit on a mark set to arrive shortly in time for the fireworks extravaganza. With the marks entourage in tow, and Six now poised to take the shot, he hesitates, so allowing the mark to walk outta there. But Six pursues his mark and what follows is a close quarter hand to hand fight on the ground floor amongst exploding tubes of fireworks. Six overcomes his mark, and as the mark lays bleeding out, he hands Six a medallion containing a USB drive, and says that he is Sierra Four, before he dies. Six gets the hell outta there, goes to an internet gaming joint and plugs in the USB, but it is heavily encrypted and without the necessary passcodes can't access what is contained therein. So, he is next seen posting it in a letterbox to an unknown recipient. 

Back in Langley, at CIA HQ, Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) another CIA Agent is being questioned by Denny Carmichael (Rege-Jean Page) her superior as to the role she played in the Bangkok hit, what if anything the mark gave to Six, and for her to very seriously consider her future career if he doesn't get the answers he wants. Miranda has an obvious dislike for Carmichael and gives nothing away. 

Meanwhile, Six hot wires a Tuk Tuk and calls Fitzroy asking for him to arrange for his extraction. Fitzroy has subsequently retired but still has connections and influence. His tells Six to get to Chiang Mai where an extraction team will be waiting with a cargo plane fuelled and ready for take off with a team of friendlies on board. 

In the meantime, Carmichael has recruited Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a psychotic and torture loving former colleague of Six who lasted just five months in the service of the CIA before venturing out on his own and operating a seemingly very successful mercenaries for hire business. Hansen has kidnapped the young daughter of Fitzroy, Claire (Julia Butters) and is threatening to do all manner of nasty things to her should he not get the answers from Fitzroy, whom he also now holds captive. Hansen coerces Fitzroy in telling the extraction team to dispense with Six. And so whilst cruising at 25,000 feet and while Six catches up on some much needed shut eye, the extraction team spring into action with the intention of killing Six. But, needless to say this doesn't go according to plan, and more close quarter hand to hand combat leads to a stray bullet blowing a gaping hole in the fuselage, various bad dudes getting thrown out of the plane, and the aircraft steadily disintegrating as Six jumps out of it without a parachute before it explodes in midair. He of course glides toward a bad dude with a parachute, they fight in free fall and Six lands shaken but not stirred somewhere in Turkey. 

Next up Six goes to Vienna to obtain a fake ID and passport, but alas the local who is organising the said documents in secretly in cahoots with Hansen. He successfully manages to capture Six in a deep pit through a bullet proof trap door in the floor just about where Six was standing to have his passport photo taken. Six, using his best MacGyver skills, manages to create a flood of water so elevating him up the pit and rigs an explosive charge to detonate just at the right time when Hansen and his goons arrive at the scene. In the ensuing mayhem, Six comes face to face and fist to fist with Hansen, but on the way out of the building Miranda shoots a tranquilizer dart in the arse of Hansen, and then into Six before loading him up in the boot of her car. 

When Six comes round a short time later, Miranda and Six talk over their predicament and what their next move should be. It turns out that Six posted the USB drive to Margaret Cahill (Alfre Woodard), the former head of CIA Special Op's, who has now also subsequently retired and living in Prague. So, the pair head off to Prague, as Cahill seems to be one of the only people they can trust, and who would have the encryption codes to allow them to access what is contained on that USB drive. Meanwhile, Hansen is back in Croatia in a very lavish and very old villa tracking Six's every move. Hansen also takes the opportunity to interrogate and torture Fitzroy to find out his whereabouts in Prague, and who it is there whom he would most trust.

Arriving in Prague Six and Miranda meet with Cahill who tells the pair that she has terminal cancer and has been given three months to live. But that doesn't stop her from opening up the USB drive and revealing that Carmichael and Hansen have been involved in some nefarious crimes around the world as their own very secretive and covert army of mercenaries taking out the Who's Who of people of influence. Needless to say, as Hansen watches on from Croatia he orders his assembled team of assassins to converge on Cahill's apartment and wreak havoc with all manner of firepower. As Cahill remains in the apartment holding onto a hand grenade, she allows Six and Miranda to escape via an underground tunnel leading out into the street, whilst providing the pair with her armour plated bullet proof glassed Audi car. What follows is a blood bath in down town Prague, as Miranda evades various other vehicles behind the wheel of Cahill's car, while Six is going head to head and toe to toe with numerous goons inside a tram. It doesn't end well for the numerous local Police killed in the conflagration, the assassins who also meet their swift demise courtesy of Six, and the tram which ultimately hurtles sideways and off track into the sandstone columns of a building causing much destruction, on top of the trail of mayhem left behind in the wake of Cahill's apartment being destroyed. 

Next up we find our intrepid rogue agents heading to Croatia to take out Hansen once and for all, rescue Fitzroy and his daughter, and regain the USB drive which has subsequently fallen into the hands of Avik San (Dhanush), and Indian assassin working for Team Hansen. Six and Miranda go in heavily armed to the villa under cover of darkness and while Miranda takes out all the external gun placements Six concentrates his efforts on the internal goons and getting to Fitzroy and Claire. Needless to say its all in a days work for the pair who successfully overcome their foes, leaving Miranda to battle it out with Avik San, and Six to guide the Fitzroy's to safety, although Fitzroy takes a bullet to the stomach and orders Six to take his Claire with him, leaving him with a single hand grenade which he pulls the pin on when Hansen and three of his goons are upon him. Of course the blast takes out the three goons, but Hansen scrambles to his feet and continues to give chase, culminating with Hansen holding Claire at gunpoint inside a maze within the grounds, while Six trails behind in search. The three come face to face around a fountain in the centre of the maze, and Six tells Hansen to let Claire go, which he does, leaving the pair to fight to the death. In the end it is Suzanne Brewer (Jessica Henwick), Carmichael's off sider, who plugs Hansen in the chest with a bullet and kills him dead. She also plugs Six with a non-life threatening bullet wound, just to add to his stabbings, slashings and beating he took from Hansen. 

We then fast forward two weeks to a heavily guarded private hospital in which Six has been non-responsive, and Claire is being held. Brewer and Carmichael plan on paying a visit to Six, with the latter questioning Brewer as to why she let Six live. Because he's a valuable asset and one of the most capable operatives they have she responds. As they exit the lift, the pair are confronted with the bodies of several guards and Six's now empty bed. He is next seen in silhouette passing along the windows of the room where Claire is being held taking out a number of goons. He then enters the room, rescues Claire and the two are seen speeding out of the hospital grounds in a SUV. 

'The Gray Man', which for the most part I enjoyed, is a mash up of Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt and John Wick with a little bit of James Bond thrown in there for good measure. It's an entertaining ride for sure with plenty of exotic locations, wide sweeping aerial drone shots, action set pieces, gunplay and close quarter combat, solid enough performances from the ensemble cast, and sarcastic quips aplenty to raise the occasional smile, but what it lacks is a fresh approach and sufficient intrigue to make this film stand above all the others in this increasingly overcrowded genre. Watch it from the comfort of your own sofa at home when it lands on Netflix this week, chow down on a big bowl of popcorn, leave your brain in the kitchen and strap in for a high octane super charged globe trotting journey that sees two Hollywood fav's go head to head. What's not to like?

'The Gray Man' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

KNIVES OUT : Monday 2nd December 2019

Here with a change of pace and genre compared to his last mega budget space opera epic that was 2017's 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi', Rian Johnson here writes, Directs and Co-Produces this M Rated throw back to the murder mystery whodunit's of yesteryear with 'KNIVES OUT', which I saw at my local multiplex earlier this week. Aside from the aforementioned 'Star Wars' instalment, Johnson has also Directed and Written 'Brick' (his big screen debut in 2005), then 'The Brothers Bloom', 'Looper' and helmed several episodes of 'Breaking Bad' in between. In wanting to craft an Agatha Christie inspired type film, Johnson sought the influences from such classic comedic murder mystery crime stories as 'Murder on the Orient Express', 'Murder by Death', 'Death on the Nile', 'The Mirror Crack'd', 'Evil Under the Sun', 'Deathtrap' and 'Clue'. With a budget of US$40M, the film saw its World Premier at TIFF in early September, went on general release last week, has so far grossed US$76M and has generated widespread Critical acclaim.

And so, here we have renowned and wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) who invites his extended dysfunctional family to his remote mansion on his 85th birthday in hopes of reuniting them all. However, the morning after the birthday party, Harlan is found dead by Harlan's housekeeper - the loyal Fran (Edie Patterson), with his throat slit, and the knife still in his hand - allegedly suicide.

A few days later, following the funeral, an anonymous figure has hired a successful and well regarded private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to support the local Police Dept. consisting of Detective Lieutenant Elliot (Lakeith Stanfield) and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan) in their investigations. Elliot and Wagner begin questioning the individual members of the family unit who were all present in the house the night before for the birthday celebrations, with Blanc looking on, observing and taking mental notes.

They start with Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis) Harlan's eldest daughter and a real estate guru who runs her own company, and according to her a self made woman, even though she started with a $1M loan from her father. They then move to Richard Drysdale (Don Johnson) Harlan's son-in-law and Linda's husband, who helps run his wife's company. We learn early on that Harlan had photographic evidence of Richard in a compromising position with another woman, and how Harlan had intended to expose his infidelity to Linda the next day. In discussion with the Detectives Richard puts another spin on this tale entirely.

We then move to Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon), Harlan's youngest son, and the acting CEO of his Dad's publishing company. Walt had always wanted to sell the film and television rights to Harlan's extensive back catalogue of publications, but Harlan had always intervened and strictly forbidden it. At the party, Harlan effectively fires Walt from his position at the publishing company, saying that it is time for him to go his own way in life and find the niche with which to make his own fortune - much to Walt's chagrin.

Then there is Joni Thrombey (Toni Collette), Harlans daughter-in-law and the wife of Harlan's deceased son Neil (who died fifteen years previously). She is a lifestyle guru and influencer and mother to Meg (Katherine Langford) who studies at a liberal arts college funded by Harlan to the tune of $100K a year. Harlan has discovered that Joni was double dipping the money meant for his granddaughter's tuition over the last four years, amounting to $400K, and as such cuts off her allowance. Needless to see when questioned, Joni also puts a different spin on this conversation.

And then there is Hugh Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans) - the adult son of Linda and Richard, who is a rebellious spoiled and lazy playboy - although Harlan has a soft spot for Ransom, and sees himself in the young man. Ransom is the only member of the family who did not attend the funeral, but was overheard arguing with Harlan the night of his birthday party by Jacob Thrombey (Jaeden Martell) Harlan's teenage grandson, Walt and Donna's son, who holds alternative rightwing opinions and is constantly on the Internet on his phone.

On the periphery sits Wanetta 'Great Nana' Thrombey (K. Callan), Harlan's 100+year old mother who sits silently observing, taking it all in, and Donna Thrombey (Riki Lindhome) - Harlan's daughter-in-law and Walt's wife.

Finally, there is Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas) - Harlan's private nurse and caretaker who was the closest to him, more so than any other member of his family. She is living with her mother and are migrants from a South American country. Marta is very well regarded by the other family members who all see her as part of the Thrombey family for her deep heartfelt care and compassion shown everyday day towards Harlan. Blanc has come to learn that Marta's good conscience means she cannot lie without vomiting, and so trusting that she will tell the truth, Blanc asks her to accompany him in his investigations. They search the property and its grounds for clues.

Over the next couple of days, the whole family gathers for the reading of the Will. They are all expecting to become rich beneficiaries of Harlan's estate which consisted of the grand house they are all presently sat in, a holiday home, and $60M in cash. When Alan Stevens (Frank Oz), Harlan's lawyer arrives to read the Will, the family are shocked to hear that he left everything to Marta. The whole family almost in unison turn on her immediately, all expect for Ransom, who make his exit laughing. The other Thrombeys realise that, under the slayer rule (preventing a person inheriting property from a person he or she murders) they will regain their inheritance if they can prove Marta killed Harlan, and insist Blanc continue the investigation, suspecting that she had ulterior motives.

And so Blanc does continue with his investigation, piecing together the puzzle that leads him down the path of toxicology reports, another attempted murder, a torched medical examiners office, a car chase, and foul play where everyone is a suspect. But Blancs investigative work is closing in on the prime suspect who is suspected of being Marta right up until just before the end, but the toxicology report proves otherwise, revealing another suspect amongst the family ranks who had the motive and the opportunity. To reveal anymore would be giving the game away. Needless to say, in the final analysis, the money grabbing Thrombey clan all get their comeuppance and vacate their former family home having inherited less than a brass razoo, whilst seeing one of their own carted off for murder and attempted murder.

'Knives Out' is an honest to goodness throwback to those cliched whodunit films of yesteryear but dusted off, shaped up, polished and brought beautifully up to date with a fine cast, a cracking storyline, top notch production values, social and cultural commentary, and enough malice, twists and turns to satisfy the appetite of any die hard genre fan. Daniel Craig shines with his deep southern drawl and his old school methods of deduction, Ana de Armas is compelling as the kind hearted good natured caring nurse thrust into the limelight for all the wrong reasons, Chris Evans fresh from his turn as Captain America hams it up as the devilish young buck and looks to be having a blast, and Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson and Michael Shannon all add depth in their roles for the limited screen time they enjoy. This modern murder mystery tinged with black humour is smart, stylish, witty, very entertaining and very well made and I think you'll be hard pressed to not enjoy this cinematic treat. Let's hope this isn't the last we've seen of Benoit Blanc, and Rian Johnson's love letter to the whodunit genre.

'Knives Out' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

AVENGERS : ENDGAME : Wednesday 24th April 2019.

I saw 'AVENGERS : ENDGAME' at my local Multiplex on its Australian opening night and sat in a packed out theatre showing back to back sessions throughout the day - all to sell out audiences. And so if you didn't already know it, this is the direct sequel to 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War', a sequel to 2012's 'The Avengers' and 2015's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 'Avengers : Endgame' arrived this week following much hype, eager anticipation from legions of fans across the world, and plenty of record breaking buzz despite the plot secrecy from Marvel Studios, Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and the principal cast and crew. Following on immediately from where 'Infinity War' left off the film picks up after half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos once he had amassed all six infinity stones and placed them strategically in his Infinity Gauntlet, and simply clicked his fingers. The remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand to restore balance to the universe and save all humanity . . . or half of it at least!

With an ensemble cast that consists all of our much loved Superheroes and a few nefarious intergalactic villains too, and the conclusion of eleven years of MCU story telling that has so successfully interwoven individual standalone films with cross-over episodes to drive a franchise that we're invested in, Box Office records could well & truly be smashed here. Advance ticket sales amounted to about US$130M, with the potential to top the worldwide Box Office takings of US$2.05B as seen for 'Infinity War'. At a running time of three hours and two minutes, the film has so far received generally positive Reviews with Critics praising the Direction, the Acting, the sheer entertainment factor, the emotional heft and this being a fitting end to the 22 film spanning story. And all this is off the back of a production budget somewhere in the region of nudging US$400M, which must qualify this film as the most expensive of all time. At the time of publishing this Post on 27th April, Box Office receipts were at US$305M, having been released on 26th April in the US, on 25th April in the UK, and in China, Australia, parts of Asia and Europe on 24th.

The film opens up with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) at home on his remote property on a bright sunny day. He is teaching his daughter to shoot arrows into a target while his wife and younger son prepare lunch. It's a picture of domestic bliss. His daughter shoots a bullseye, his wife calls lunch ready. As Clint retrieves the arrow from the target he momentarily looses sight of his other beloved family members. When he turns around there is an eerie silence and they are all gone, vanished into dust . . . victims too of the Thanos snap!

Up in deep space a thousand light years from the nearest 7/11 Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) are drifting, having run out of fuel, food, water and pretty damn soon oxygen. They are stranded following their defeat at the hands of Thanos. Stark sends a final farewell message to Pepper Potts using his Iron Man helmet, before falling asleep from exhaustion. Saviour however, comes perhaps when you least expect it.

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in the form of Captain Marvel arrives in a flash of bright light and escorts the stricken ship of Stark and Nebula back down to Earth and the Avengers Headquarters. There she reunites the pair with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Rocket (Bradley Cooper/Sean Gunn), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). After a somewhat frosty reception between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers and a status update from the remaining Avengers, Nebula comes forward with the strong possibility of knowing Thanos' whereabouts since the team have drawn a blank in locating him since the snap of five weeks before.

The assembled Team converge on the defenceless, unarmed unguarded garden planet where Thanos is the sole resident, and take him by surprise. Thanos confides that he used the infinity stones to destroy themselves so preventing the Team from using them to reverse his actions. In a fit of rage, Thor uses his new Stormbreaker axe to decapitate Thanos.

We then fast forward five years, and Steve Rogers is chairing counselling sessions with a self help group, Bruce Banner has merged permanently with his Hulk alter ego and Thor has become the drunken ruler (boasting an impressive beer gut) of Asgard's refugees in a remote fishing village on the Norwegian coast which he has affectionately named New Asgard. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) meanwhile escapes from the Quantum Realm not knowing what has gone down in the last five years. After learning the truth from his now adult daughter which he has been able to track down as one who survived he makes for the Avengers HQ where he is met by a surprised Rogers and Romanoff. He explains that for him only five hours had passed and suggests the Quantum Realm permits time travel. The three travel to Stark's lakeside residence where he is now happily married to Pepper Potts and the couple have a five year old daughter Morgan. They discuss with Stark the possibility that they can travel back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos collects them. Stark rejects this, concerned over what altering history will mean for his young daughter, but after reflecting upon the loss of sixteen year old Peter Parker (Tom Holland), he designs a working time machine that can be used to enter the Quantum Realm.

Stark drives to the Avengers HQ to reveal that he has built a stable time travel device just as Banner and Co. have been experimenting somewhat unsuccessfully on Scott Lang with his own time travel techniques. And so the regrouped Avengers split into separate teams for their mission to retrieve the infinity stones before Thanos has done so.

Banner, Rogers, Lang, and Stark travel to the Battle of New York to retrieve the Time, Mind, and Space Stones. Banner visits the Sanctum Sanctorum also in New York and convinces the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) to give him the Time Stone some five years before Stephen Strange even arrives on the scene, and Rogers overcomes undercover Hydra agents and his past self to retrieve the Mind Stone, but Lang and Stark's failed distraction enables Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to escape with the Space Stone. Rogers and Stark then are forced to travel back further to the U.S. Army's Fort Leigh in 1970, to steal both an earlier version of the Space Stone and vials of Hank Pym's (Michael Douglas) size-altering Pym Particles to enable them all to return home to their present day afterwards. The pair succeed, but not before Rogers has a close encounter with his one true love Peggy Carter, and Tony Stark bumps into his Dad, Howard Stark en route and strikes up a conversation about his pending fatherhood to the as yet unborn Tony Stark.

Back on Asgard before it was wiped out, Rocket and Thor retrieve the Reality Stone from Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Thor comes across his mother Frigga (Rene Russo), whose wise counsel restores his conviction, and he obtains a past version of his hammer, Mjolnir, proving that he is still 'worthy' to wield it. Barton and Romanoff travel to Vormir for the Soul Stone. They learn there from its keeper, Red Skull (Ross Marquand), that it can only be retrieved by sacrificing someone they love. After a struggle between the pair, Romanoff sacrifices herself. Barton returns to the present day, with the tragic news of Romanoff's untimely death, in which the other Avengers share in his mourning.

On Morag, Nebula and Rhodes steal the Power Stone before Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is able to do so. Rhodes returns to the present with the Stone, leaving Nebula stranded behind as her cybernetic implants interface with those of her past self. Thanos leverages this fact and is able to tap into her memory banks to see present-day events. In turn, he sends the past incarnation of Nebula to the future in present-day Nebula's place.

Back at Avengers HQ with all the Infinity Stones now retrieved, Stark has been able to model a new Infinity Gauntlet in which the Stones are placed one by one. Banner steps up to volunteer to wear the Infinity Gauntlet as in doing so it gives off enough gamma radiation that Banner retorts that he was made to wear it, given his exposure to Gamma Rays that turned him into what he is today. Upon wearing it and activating the amassed Infinity Stones, the world is restored to its pre-Thanos snap. However, having come through the time machine with the other Avengers, past Nebula uses the time machine to transport Thanos and his ship from the past to the present day, whereupon he unleashes the might of his firepower upon the Avengers HQ and reduces it to rubble.

Amongst the rubble and wreckage of the Avengers HQ, Rogers, Thor, and Stark confront Thanos, though he overpowers them, even when Rogers proves that he can wield Mjolnir.

Thanos summons the entire might of his armed forces, but the revived Avengers arrive on the battlefield, along with the Sanctum Sorcerers and the armies of Asgard and Wakanda. Present-day Nebula convinces past Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to turn on Thanos, and in the ensuing standoff Nebula kills her past self. Following an epic battle between the two factions, Stark eventually retrieves the Infinity Gauntlet from the battlefield and activates the Infinity Stones with a snap of his fingers which disintegrates Thanos and his army into dust which quickly disappears on the wind.  

Enough said, right there! You'll just have to catch the last fifteen minutes to see how it all plays out, but suffice to say, the Avengers survive to battle it out another day - well most of them do!

'Avengers : Endgame' is everything you would wish for in the conclusion of a hugely successful eleven year run of twenty-two films, and then some. It delivers on many levels - the script penned by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely tightly blends action, emotion, humour and the smarts to satisfy even the most die-hard MCU fan; the deft touch in remaining true to what has gone before by Directors Anthony and Joe Russo; and for giving believable grounded performances by the principal cast and most notably Downey Jnr., Ruffalo, Hemsworth, Evans, Brolin, Rudd, Johansson and Renner plus the entire ensemble who all contribute amiably in their own small way to the bigger picture. Epic, exciting, intimate, powerful, expertly rendered down to the smallest detail, and truly a very fitting end to this phase in the MCU that still leaves the door open for some of our much loved Superheroes to return and reunite at some future date, while introducing others that we're only just getting to know. Join the legions of fans flocking to see 'Avengers : Endgame' - and see it on the biggest screen you can - you won't be disappointed. Watch out too for what is probably the last cameo appearance of the late great Stan Lee.

'Avengers : Endgame' merits five claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-