Whether you’re a life-long comic fan boy like myself, or someone who has never even seen a comic book inspired film, there is little chance that you’ve been able to escape the hype surrounding the newest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Entertainment Universe – Avengers: Endgame. Whether it was the touted three-hour run time, or the ambitiously anticipated $1 billion worldwide weekend box office gross, there has been no shortage of reasons for this movie to be a spectacle of mainstream interest. But for actual fans of the Avengers mythos and its characters, the buildup has all been leading into the long-awaited conclusion to the fallout from the previous Avengers movie; Infinity Wars.

This is a spoiler-free review, but I will give a quick rundown of Infinity Wars for anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Your basic, eagle-eye recap is that the Avengers found themselves pitted against a powerful intergalactic villain known as Thanos. (As a side note; I personally believe Thanos to be the best comic book villain to hit the screen since Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as the Joker, but that’s just my opinion). Anyway, Thanos is on a mission to collect all six “infinity stones.” The acquirement of these stones would give him godlike power, and thus the ability to remold the course of life throughout the universe as he sees fit. Of course, the Avengers try really hard to stop this. But sadly, Thanos ends up victorious and collects all of the stones, resulting in the now infamous “Snap,” which is where he snapped his fingers and caused half of all life to vanish into ash without a trace. Beloved characters such as Spiderman, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange were among just a few of the casualties.

So that’s where we were left off. Coming into Endgame, the remaining Avengers (such as Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor) are left trying to come to terms with their new reality, and maybe (just maybe) find a slither of a possibility to hunt down Thanos and set things right.

So, then, the question remains; was Endgame worth the hype? More importantly, is it worth fighting crowds and spending upwards of three hours of your precious time in a theatre, sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers? The short answer: yes. As I said, I have a deep-rooted affinity for these characters, so I may very well find value where others might not. I acknowledge and accept that. But set that aside, and I still think it is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a movie theatre.

It starts off strong, with a chilling scene exemplifying life after the Snap. From there on it does not disappoint. The audience was taken on a roller coaster through the entire emotional spectrum. Parts which were meant to be funny were genuinely funny and garnered ubiquitous laughter. There were moments of collective celebration (I counted SEVEN rounds of applause). And I even heard people sobbing (*cough* totally not me *cough, cough*). I will, however, do everyone the public service of stating that there is NO post-credit scene. I learned that the hard way.

So, once again, is Avengers: Endgame worth the hype? As long as you are willing to invest the time (and maybe not drink much beforehand) – absolutely. This was popcorn popping entertainment at its finest. If you’re a Marvel fan, it’s a must see. And even if you’re not, I guarantee you’ll at least have fun. I loved it three thousand.