Avengers Endgame 4K (2019/Marvel/Disney 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-rays)

4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B+ & B Extras: B Film: B

So here we are, 22 films into a world Marvel Studios built to bring their classic characters to the big screen and The Russo Brothers' Avengers Endgame (2019) is now the biggest moneymaking film of all time, albeit in unadjusted dollars and you will get lost if you have not seen most of the previous films. This does not include all the Marvel Comics films (starting with the original Blade in 1997 that made this all possible in the first place) made that did or did not do well or should have even been made in the last 22 years.

This time, with the team watching Thanos (Josh Brolin) having destroyed half the world, they decide maybe they can avenge all though time travel! Will it work. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) gets the ball rolling when he finally comes back from micro/macro oblivion five years later (the end of his second stand-alone film) and slowly gets other members (Thor, Iron Man, now-Smart Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye) to slowly join in. There are doubts, some humor and some good personal moments in this three-hour romp that manages to not make any mistakes as the film revisits some scenes form the previous hits.

It is also way to wrap up multiple story lines as some actors' contracts end and others just want to move on and not renew, but this also means some great stories for from the long history of the comic book company will not see the light of day with these actors, all of whom worked extremely hard to make these films work and include some of the best casting in any commercial film of the last 40 years.

Some parts work better than others and some moments are a little repetitive, here for commercial reasons instead of spending the time for more storytelling, so some storylines are not totally completed or quite covered like they should be (maybe they'll be taken care of in the next wave of films, maybe not) and you can tell the actors know this is the final big one with the original cast, so they don't need to try hard to communicate that.

With that said, it is impressive the film holds together as well as it does, but credit the Russo Brothers who care and know what they are doing. This is not as easy as it looks, but they pull it off with just enough grace that it all gels. As a result, the sooner you've watched or re-watched previous films, the more the impact of this one.

I won't say any more as not to ruin the film or its plot and twists, but but one thing that does go on throughout the script is a debate on time travel and though a little science is presented to make it all plausible, after naming so many hit time travel films, there are a few they missed. I did not expect them to note Resnais' brilliant J'Taime, J'Taime (aka I Love You, I Love You) or maybe Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, but the one film glaringly missing from the debate is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1987) directed by Leonard Nimoy, which this film owes the most debt. The reason for the time travel is to save whales and the world, so here they substitute whales for everything living in the universe, but it is the same difference plot wise. Not bad.

And a, oh, the sign-off of some of the actors in the end credits: Star Trek VI!

In all that, the actors here definitely created a finally worthy of the original Enterprise crew (we won't discuss how the time travel uniforms look a bit like the Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) uniforms) and its cast. We don't see this much in any cinema history, let alone one so commercially inclined, but it happened here and hit filmmaking, adventure, action, fantasy and science fiction filmmaking is all the better for it and assures the Superhero genre will go on for years to come. Avengers Endgame is a winner!

The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on the 4K disc looks good, but while it was shot with a HD cameras trying to emulate the 70mm film format at 6.5K, it was all finished at only 2K, even though they also used Ultra Panavision 70 lenses (usually known for an even wider aspect ratio) were effectively applied. The result are some fine shots, but also some that are not as sharp or clear as they ought to be. Still, it impresses overall (and this was apparently Dolby Vision in some theatrical screenings) and is better than the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the regular Blu-ray, which lacks the color range and detail.

Though more dialogue-based than you might expect, the Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) has some fine moments, if not always spectacular all the time. That works for the narrative and you get enough sonic demo moments that are not bad at all. The regular Blu-ray offers a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix that is fine, but misses some of the detail and impact of the 12-track version.

Extras include a bonus Blu-ray in our set and includes (per the press release) Remembering Stan Lee - Filmmakers and cast honor the great Stan Lee in a fond look back at his MCU movie cameos, Setting The Tone: Casting Robert Downey Jr. - Hear the tale of how Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Tony Stark in the original 'Iron Man' - and launched the MCU, A Man Out of Time: Creating Captain America - Trace the evolution of Captain America with those who helped shape the look, feel and character of this compelling hero, Black Widow: Whatever It Takes - Follow Black Widow's journey both within and outside the Avengers, including the challenges she faced and overcame along the way, The Russo Brothers: Journey to Endgame - See how Anthony and Joe Russo met the challenge of helming two of the biggest films in cinematic history ...back-to-back!, The Women of the MCU - MCU women share what it was like to join forces for the first time in an epic battle scene - and be part of such a historic ensemble, Bro Thor - His appearance has changed but his heroism remains! Go behind the scenes to see how Bro Thor was created, Six Deleted Scenes: 'Goji Berries,' 'Bombs on Board,' 'Suckiest Army in the Galaxy,' 'You Used to Frickin' Live Here,' 'Tony and Howard' and 'Avengers Take a Knee,' Gag Reel - Laugh along with the cast in this epic collection of flubs, goofs and gaffes from set, Visionary Intro - Intro by directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Feature Length Audio commentary by directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and a digital bonus in Steve and Peggy: One Last Dance - Explore Captain America and Peggy Carter's bond, forged in moments from previous films that lead to a momentous choice in Avengers: Endgame.

- Nicholas Sheffo