SO, where do we stand with Marvel’s Avengers? Last year, Infinity War saw 50 per cent of your favourite heroes turned to dust - Spider-Man and Black Panther among them - by knucklehead baddie Thanos. Those who remain are scattered across the galaxy, with Iron Man in space and Captain America on Earth. Thanos can rest easy. He’s won. Except...

This weekend sees the release of Avengers: Endgame, an all star, three hour , grandiloquent spectacular. Infinity War’s jaw dropping climax will be resolved and a chapter will be closed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Little is known of the plot - directors Joe and Anthony Russo going so far as to issue a personal plea to fans for spoiler secrecy - but we can expect the likes of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch and Chadwick Boseman to survive, as each has sequels due in the coming years. On the other hand, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlet Johansson and Chris Evans are widely expected to be hanging up their respective iron suits and shields.

There really is nothing like the Marvel empire. Comic book rivals DC crumbled in their attempt to create a cinematic universe, whilst Universal’s Dark Universe franchise met an even worse fate. Marvel, however, have consistently delivered and met critical and commercial success at every turn. Endgame is projected to make a billion dollars in its opening week alone. It is, however, not for everyone. If you’ve not kept up over the years, Endgame will leave you dazed and confused. A plot mired by time travel and sci-fi jargon will leave many with a headache, whilst the exhausting roster of characters proves hard to follow. Even for diehard fans of the series, three hours feels severely overlong. Skipton Plaza, one assumes, will be among those cinemas offering an intermission.

That said, there’s a draw here. If any three hour epic is likely to grab you in 2019, it’ll be this one.

Also out this week, Pond Life is the near perfect feature debut from director Bill Buckhurst. A delightful time capsule of epochal folk transience, the film benefits from an assured young cast, smart aesthetics and a remarkable script by Richard Cameron, adapting his own play. It’s all wonderfully naturalistic - poetically so - and boasts a tremendous feeling for locality. Esme Creed-Miles, meanwhile, will blow you away as gentle, tragic Pogo.