Avengers: Endgame Spoiler-Free Zone!

copyright Marvel Studios, used with permission

I was given 2 free tickets to a pre-screening of Avengers: Endgame for a review, and whoa! We were not disappointed! Since it was on a weekday morning and I'd brought her to the early showing of Avengers: Infinity War last year, I brought my now-1st-grader to watch it with me. We wore our matching Captain America dresses, brought our Spider-Man hat and gloves, and a plastic Thor hammer (which the theater employees kindly turned a blind eye to. They have a strict "no weapons" policy. They probably figured a 7-year-old who looks like a 5-year-old carrying a ginormous hammer that clearly wasn't too heavy for her probably wasn't a threat to anyone...) We brought a blanket and our coats (we always get chilly during movies,) and hit the restroom before hunkering down with our popcorn and drinks for a 3-hour marathon.

Infinity War left us with a big loss for the heroes - and the world. Ant Man and Wasp left us with Scott trapped in the quantum realm as the Pyms all turned to dust. How does one deal with the aftermath of losing half of everyone they know? How does the world react? And how does a hero move forward? Endgame at first starts where Infinity War left off, but then jumps five years ahead. Which is when we forgot we had snacks and drinks, we were so riveted for the next few hours! Pretty much nonstop crying, laughing, or action scenes! I can't say much about the plot, since the whole movie is pretty much back-to-back spoilers. But I can say that there are flashbacks and clips from prior movies, so when you see dusted or dead characters in the previews or promotion posters, it doesn't mean they're "back." Pretty much every past character appears in the movie at one time or another (Vision and Odin being the only exceptions I can think of...) And that contrary to what popular internet memes would like, Ant Man does not shrink and crawl up Thanos' butt...

The basic non-spoilery plot is that they want to get the gauntlet back from Thanos and undo what he did, but some people have moved on and don't want to risk changing the present, while others figure that if they failed once, they'll only fail again.

Captain Marvel made a great addition to the Avengers, and when they get angry that she wasn't there when they needed her, she adroitly points out that Earth isn't the only planet out there... [Fun Fact: they had to film Brie Larson's Endgame scenes before filming began for the Captain Marvel movie - the directors did a great job keeping her true to a character that the Captain Marvel directors hadn't even had a chance to explore yet!]

Where Infinity War left us feeling like we were stopping in the middle of the story, Endgame left me with closure, even though it was bittersweet. In order to succeed, the heroes have to lose. And the cost is very high, and very heartbreaking. My daughter gets anxious during tense or exciting scenes, and clings to me, but I spent the whole movie clinging to her as well, and her hair was damp with my tears by the end. There were heart-wrenching moments, and beautiful moments, and a few happy endings - or as happy as one could be, under the circumstances. It was an epic, exhausting, and rewarding experience, and I feel honored that Marvel created this universe for us and spent so much love and time showing it to us.

Little E's spoilers: The Avengers are in it! Darth Vader is not in it. I am Groot.

We had some time to kill before the movie, so we did some fun poses in our cosplay, and fun editing afterward!

Remember - Doctor Strange saw Endgame fourteen-million six-hundred and five times, and didn't reveal any spoilers. So please, don't spoil this epic adventure that they've spent so much effort to keep secret so everyone can enjoy it for the first time.

Like them on Facebook: facebook.com/marvelstudios

Follow us on Twitter: @marvelstudios

Instagram: @marvelstudios

Hashtag: #AvengersEndgame