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-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 16th June 2016.

The Sydney Film Festival, now in its 62nd year draws to a close this coming Sunday evening 19th June, ending 12 days of movie going goodness with the Australian Premier of the Whit Stillman Directed 'Love and Friendship' with Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Xavier Samuel and Stephen Fry based on the Jane Austen novella of letters 'Lady Susan'. Before the curtain rises on Sunday evening there would have been some 250 films shown across Sydney from all around the world, with many receiving their Australian Premier and some their World Premier screening.

Last week I mentioned those films in Official Competition, and those in Special Presentation. This week to give a closing indication of those other features to watch out for, here is a quick synopsis of a few highlights :

• 'SHEPHERDS AND BUTCHERS' - Directed by Oliver Schmitz, Australian Premier with Steve Coogan and Andrea Riseborough with Coogan taking a rare dramatic lead as a lawyer in this 1987 set South African courtroom drama.
• 'MUSTANG' - Directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven, this Turkish film has been highly acclaimed and surrounds five sisters, their unity in the face of adversity, the loss of innocence and the coming of age.
• 'SWISS ARMY MAN' - Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Australian Premier with Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead this is the story of a man stranded on a desert island and a corpse washed ashore.
• 'BORN TO BE BLUE' - Directed by Robert Budreau, Australian Premier with Ethan Hawke as jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in this reimagined bio-pic of this imprisoned, heroine addicted comeback kid who lived from 1929 until 1988.
• 'I SAW THE LIGHT' - Directed by Marc Abraham, Australian Premier with Tom Hiddleston as country music legend singer/songwriter Hank Williams in this bio-pic of the hard drinking man who succumbed to pain killing drugs and alcohol at just 29 years of age in 1953, but left an indelible mark on popular music.
• 'HIGH RISE' - Directed by Ben Wheatley, Australian Premier with Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller in this dystopian telling set inside a London apartment tower whose residents descend into savagery when the power fails.
• 'PATCHWORK' - Directed by Tyler MacIntyre, Australian Premier with Tory Stolper, Tracey Fairaway and Maria Blasucci as three girls who share nothing in common until a scalpel wielding maniac slices and dices them and stitches them back together as one.
• 'SING STREET' - Directed by John Carney, Australian Premier with Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Jack Reynor and Lucy Bonton set in a mid-80's Dublin with a thumping classic 80's soundtrack, big hair, wide lapels, fashion victims, emotion and heart wrapped up in the power of music and determination.
• 'NATIONAL BIRD' - Directed by Sonia Kenneback, Australian Premier this documentary traces Daniel, Lisa and Heather who enlisted into the US Drone Programme to identify and track targets from the other side of the world, and the impact of their unsettling work including the death, destruction and maiming that they now have to live with. If you saw 'Eye in the Sky' - see this for the other real life perspective.
• 'BEAST' - Directed by Sam & Tom McKeith, with Garret Dillahunt and Chad McKinney this is a story of a mixed-race boxer in Manila managed by his father, who accidentally kills his opponent in the ring in a rigged fight, and the far reaching consequences for all thereafter.
• 'GOAT' - Directed by Andrew Neel, Australian Premier with Ben Schnetzer and Nick Jonas this tells the story of the increasingly dangerous, violent and humiliating initiation rituals experienced by freshmen into the US College system fuelled by alcohol, sex, drugs and peer group pressure.
• . . . and finally, a Scorsese Retrospective featuring ten films by Martin Scorsese as selected by noted film critic, author and lecturer David Stratton homing in on some of his most celebrated and influential works. Those chosen are 'Mean Streets', 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull', The Aviator', 'Goodfellas', 'Casino', 'The King of Comedy', 'New York, New York', 'The Age of Innocence' and 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'. You can catch all of these at The Art Gallery of New South Wales. For more information on the Sydney Film Festival go to : www.sff.org.au

Turning to the upcoming week, we have five new movies arriving at a multiplex near you, that kick start with an epic fantasy adventure when two worlds collide in this battle for supremacy based on a hugely popular video game; then a sequel to a much loved and hugely successful animated aquatic feature from 13 years ago; with up next a bio-pic interpretation of a horn blowing legend from a first time Director who also stars as that legend in this passion project. We then wrap up with a romantic drama that is sure to turn on the water works with emotion, choices and life changing decisions, and fading out with some big name stars shooting, maiming, killing and dancing their way through an action comedy romance that seems yet to find an audience.

When you have watched in wonder at your movie of choice this week, remember that you can always share your thoughts, comments and observations with your fellow readers and cinephiles here at Odeon Online by leaving your own movie critique in the Comments section below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you! Enjoy your film in the meantime.

'WARCRAFT : THE BEGINNING' (Rated M) - this is the long awaited film based on the hugely popular and successful Blizzard Entertainment burgeoning franchise of video games, board games, card games, novels, comics and now a full length feature film that can be traced back some 22 years to 1994 when the game launched, and at its peak in 2010 had some 12 million players. Today that number is more in the region of six million subscribers who do battle in the fantasy world of Azeroth occupied by humans but attacked by Orcs as their world of Draenor is set to collapse. In the world of Azeroth also live elves, dwarves, trolls, gnomes . . . and orcs. A self confessed Warcraft Warrior, Director and Screenplay Co-Writer Duncan Jones is the man behind this US$160M epic that opened in the US on 10th June, and has so far grossed US$307M - undoubtedly with many legions of the Warcraft gameplay fans queueing up around the block to get the best seat in their local movie theatre house. With filming having wrapped in May 2014, the movie has been in post-production for almost two years only adding to the anticipation and expectation factor - with the reality proving to be very mixed so far from critics far and wide.

The story here surrounds the peaceful world of Azeroth, whose peace is interrupted by a marauding fearsome race of invaders in the form of orcs from the dying planet of Draenor. Fleeing their own planet through a portal that has opened up connecting the two worlds, the humans inhabiting Azeroth face destruction from the orcs who face extinction if they remain on Draenor. From each side and emerging hero rises who are set to collide in a epic battle that will seal the fate of their families, their people and their world. Starring Travis Fimmel as Sir Anduin Lothar, Toby Kebbel as Durotan, Dominic Cooper as King Llane Wrynn, Ben Foster as Mendivh, Daniel Wu as Gul'dan, Clancy Brown as Blackhand, Robert Kazinsky as Orgrim Doomhammer and Paula Patton as Garona Halforcen amongst an army of otherworldly characters set to battle it out for dominance . . . or will they find a better way?

'FINDING DORY' (Rated G) - the 2003 film 'Finding Nemo' to which this film is a sequel, was hugely successful for Pixar Animation Studios, making US$937M from its US$94M cost to make, standing today as the 35th highest grossing film of all time. It won the Best Animated Feature Oscar together with 46 other award wins and a further 59 nominations for Director & Screenwriter Andrew Stanton and its talented voice cast comprising Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush and Alexander Gould as Nemo, the clownfish amongst others. This sequel - 13 years it seems in the making is set six months after the events of that first film and sees Director and Screenwriter Andrew Stanton return once again with a bigger voice cast than before that sees Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) regaining her childhood memories and recounting images of Morro Bay in California. Aided by Nemo (this time voiced by Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (Albert Brooks) she has an epic adventure eventually arriving at Monterey Marine Life Institute, where their lives a diverse collection of sea life, but can Dory and her new friends save her Mum and Dad from captivity so that they can be reunited once more? Also starring the voice talents of Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Idris Elba, Eugene Levy, Dominic West, Willem Dafoe, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Alexander Gould and more.  The film is released in the US the day after its Australian release.

'MILES AHEAD' (Rated M) - Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Starring Don Cheadle as the legendary jazz-trumpeter Miles Davis, this is a real labour of love for the multi-award winning and nominated Actor, who is Directing his first feature film in which he also stars . . . nothing like jumping in off the deep end! Whilst this is essentially a bio-pic Cheadle takes liberties with the timeline and distorts the truth a little here to weave in an engaging story of a past his prime Davis who goes into self imposed exile towards the late 70's whilst dealing with the pain of illness in his hip, a voice roughed up by years of drugs and painkiller abuse, and memories of the past haunting him. One day music journalist Dave Braden (Ewen McGregor) comes knocking on his door to research and write a comeback piece on the music legend, and unwittingly the two forge a relationship over the ensuing days that sees them seek to recover a stolen tape recording of Davis' most recent compositions. Prolific in the jazz scene from the late 40's when he started playing with saxophonist Charlie Parker through its numerous iterations, the great man died in 1991 aged 65. This is Cheadles tribute to the man, the legend, the musician, the artist, and mostly it has received positive reviews.

'ME BEFORE YOU' (Rated M) - based on the 2012 book of the same name by Jojo Moyes, this romantic drama is Directed by Thea Shamrock and centres around a paralysed Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) - a former wealthy banker whose life changed forever two years earlier resulting in him now being wheelchair bound for life. Before the accident he lived life to the full, was an adventurous type, and outgoing but now has become reclusive, cynical and short tempered especially with those hired to look after him. Then Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) arrives on the scene - an English lass who drifts from one job to another without any real purpose in life other than to help support her struggling family. When she loses her job at a local cafe, the young, optimistic and quirky Louisa lands a job looking after Will who at first shuns her quirkiness and optimism, but soon the two develop a friendship that in time becomes more. With the clock counting down on a crucial moment in time for Will, Louisa makes it her mission to show Will that life is worth living and that adventures and discovery can still be had even in the face of adversity. Charles Dance and Joanna Lumley also star. The film has so far made US$55M off its US$20M budget - take your box of tissues to this weepie!

'MR. RIGHT' (Rated MA15+) - this action comedy romance is Directed by Paco Cabezas, Written by Max Landis (son of John) and has so far received average reviews at best and since its early April release Stateside has made just US$250K - that should give an indication of this films pulling power! This is however, somewhat surprising given Anna Kendrick as the female lead playing Martha - an eccentric but good natured warm hearted woman who stumbles across Francis (Sam Rockwell) in a convenience store. He feels an instant attraction and so asks Martha out on a date, during which he demonstrates some of his physical abilities and dexterity, and confides that he is in fact an assassin for hire, but now kills those you hire him rather than the intended target. Eventually, Martha comes around to his way of thinking and feels a connection particularly when she sees for herself some of the low-lifes and undesirables that he has to deal with in his line of work. When the past comes back to haunt Francis in the form of Hopper (Tim Roth) the man who trained him in the first place, the two join forces to thwart the evil enemy with over the top unbelievable results that might just account for its Box Office take so far.

Five new release offerings to encourage you out on a cool Winter evening in June, and when you have sat through your preferred movie choice in the coming week, remember to share your thoughts with your like minded movie goers here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

CAPTAIN AMERICA : CIVIL WAR - Monday 2nd May 2016.

'CAPTAIN AMERICA : CIVIL WAR' which I saw earlier this week, is the next instalment from the crew at Marvel, the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the third in the Captain America series following on from 'The First Avenger' in 2011 and 'Winter Soldier' in 2014. This is so far slated to be the final standalone Captain America film, although Chris Evans who plays Steve Rogers/Captain America reappears in the upcoming two-part 'Avengers: Infinity War' due in May 2018 and May 2019, and has stated his willingness to reprise his role further should Marvel be open to this, now that his initial contract has ended. Australia is among the first to get the theatrical release of this film, with the UK going live last week too, and North America on May 6th. So far ahead of its US release having opened already in 37 territories, the film has grossed US$225M. Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, we have an all star cast of acting talent and superhero muscle who come together and battle it out head to head and toe to toe one year after the events of 'Age of Ultron'.

Following the last Avengers outing there has been another international event that brings The Avengers under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Opening up we see Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) on a tour of duty in Lagos, Nigeria chasing down Crossbones (Frank Grillo) who is in possession of a biological weapon. After the initial opening set piece Scarlet Witch mistakenly causes a bomb to be thrown into a near high rise building killing Crossbones and many innocents including relief aid workers.

As a result of this back at Avengers HQ, the Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) convenes a meeting with The Avengers. He advises those gathered that as a result of recent events in New York, Washington, Sokovia and now Nigeria where there has been too much excessive death, destruction and collateral damage that governments around the world are now calling for a level of control and accountability for when The Avengers should be called upon, and for them to be overseen by a greater authority so regulating superhuman activity, and the potential fallout from it. The United Nations have drawn up 'The Sokovia Accords' setting up an international governing body who will have complete jurisdiction over the group of ever expanding superhumans.

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr.) agrees that regulation is needed and supports such an Act feeling the guilt from creating Ultron and the wonton damage and death of innocents this caused. Steve Rogers/Captain America is opposed to it believing that despite the fall out they have made the world a safer place, and need to be free to intervene when the time and circumstances dictate.

As the Accords are due to be ratified in Vienna with many of the world's leaders and Black Widow looking on and representing those of the Avengers in agreement, an explosion kills the King of Wakanda amongst others - and very quickly The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is identified as the bomber. The Kings son, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who is by his side at the time of the explosion swears revenge on Bucky Barnes, and so begins his one man crusade against his quarry, but first he'll need to get through the divided Avengers who have now split into two with their divided loyalties on either side falling into two differing factions headed up in the one corner by Tony Stark and in the other by Steve Rogers, each with Bucky in their sights too and for different reasons.

When the authorities close in, Bucky is captured and so too are the now rogue Avengers, but its not long before they all thwart their captors and Rogers makes off with Barnes to learn what he knows about the bombing. It is revealed that Colonel Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) was behind the bombing and is intending to release five other Winter Soldiers each deadlier than Barnes, from a HYDRA mountain hideaway in Siberia, each frozen ready to be reanimated when the time is right - and that time is now for Zemo.

While this is going on in the background Stark convinces the Secretary of State to allow him to bring Rogers and his rogue Avengers in, believing that he can convince them to see reason. He is given 36 hours to do so. Stark recruits T'Challa and a young web slinging kid who has grabbed his attention - Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to support him, Black Widow, War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany).

Rogers meanwhile has recruited Ant Man (Paul Rudd), has brought Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) out of early retirement to join him, Falcon, Barnes and Scarlet Witch, and this team also has Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) now working for the CIA on side too. Things come to a head when worlds collide and the differing factions battle it out head to head at Leipzig/Halle Airport in the greatest superhero stand-off ever seen that is a jaw dropping sequence with a few surprises in store, and just the right amount of tongue in cheek humour to add the necessary levity.

Needless to say whilst they are all Superheroes in their own right no one gets permanently damaged, but some do get locked up in maximum security as a result of their antics. This leaves Rogers and Barnes to chase down Zemo before he reactivates the other Winter Soldiers who could bring a whole new world of pain. This leaves Iron Man left to retrieve the situation and make amends with Captain America if he can. What is revealed in the secret mountain hideaway however, no one was prepared for and only causes a further rift between Stark and Rogers that results in a fight to the 'near' death for the two of them and Barnes. Subsequently the two divided Avengers factions split far and wide with Rogers aided and abetted by a new ally in the form of The Black Panther.

You can expect big things from this film, with the first two grossing US$1.09B and such a formidable collection of assembled Superheroes. This would rank right up there as one of the best if not THE best Marvel big screen adaptation to date. It is everything you want from a blockbusting Superhero movie and more - maturity; great action set pieces; a solid story line; characters you have come to know, love and respect; just the right amount of humour; a few surprises; and a line up of Superhero talent never before amassed on the big screen, and going head to head. Who knows what might have happened if Thor and Hulk were in the mix too - but they do at least get an honourable mention as being AWOL somewhere, but who knows where? It's a great package, and paves the wave as the introductory film to the MCU Phase 3. See it on the big screen - this has set the standard by which others will be judged.

Watch out for the obligatory Stan Lee cameo as he delivers a FedEx parcel for Tony Stank, and the early credits sequence and another right at the very end - both setting up future stand-alone and combined features. All in all - very entertaining, and well worth the price of your ticket and all the optional extras you buy with it too.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-