Without spoiling too much, the movie is potent in its finality.

At the beginning of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 22nd film, Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers or Captain America (Chris Evans) tells Natasha Romanoff or Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) that there’s an upside to the universe having half of its population wiped out when the intergalactic despot, Thanos (Josh Brolin), snaps his infinity stones-powered fingers.

“Fewer ships, cleaner water,” he says.

Thanos, in the previous movie, Avengers: Infinity War, declared his intent behind the purge. He wanted the other surviving half to thrive. Overpopulation was key to eventual destruction.

So, Endgame finds some of the survivors wallowing in sorrow and helplessness — sometimes hope flickers, but it dims often enough.

This makes for an intriguing drama, though by the look of it, it doesn’t seem to be the stuff of an ending.

Endgame is a capstone for a bankable franchise that began over a decade ago with 2008’s Iron Man (though it’s not the last in the third phase of the franchise; the last one is next July’s Spider-Man: Far From Home). Kevin Feige envisioned the franchise to go on for this long. And this way, too.

From its labyrinthine storylines, these 22 films have been peppered with easter eggs and opportunities for callbacks; credits have the audience willingly waiting. It is careful in its construction, elegant in its execution.

Endgame brings together all of these elements: from the wisecracking Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) unfinished business to Rogers’ reckoning with the loss of his true love.

Survivors: Remaining superheroes who survive of the purge try to figure a way out to bring everyone back.

For the most part, it succeeds. Endgame is emotional, visually engaging and anchored by solid acting throughout.

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, along with scriptwriters and Infinity War alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, wisely navigate Infinity War’s aftershocks through the lens of the surviving original Avengers: archer Clint Barton or Hawkeye or Ronin (Jeremy Renner), Rogers, Stark, Romanoff, the lightning-wielding god of Asgard Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the green giant Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

This lens is a sad one.

What you expect from a superhero movie is surely a lot of fights, but in the first half of Endgame, the movie’s not interested in extravagance. It is more interested in the idea of loss and survivor’s guilt.

Infinity War really does force the world to reckon with hopelessness.

Until one idea — time travel, allowing the film to go to nostalgic places — comes up, the world is forced to stand still.

Thanos’ prophecy is a futile one; the world does not thrive with 50 percent of its population gone. It mourns.

Endgame succeeds in portraying guilt as a wake-up call, even to the most impermeable superhero. It brings allergy to hope; why give it when you can’t promise it?

Adventures: Nebula (Karen Gillan) and James Rhodes or War Machine (Don Cheadle) try to secure one of the infinity stones

Most of the characters, too, are reduced to facsimile. Thor returns to his humorous side (seen in the brilliant Thor: Ragnarok) by being a drunk, Stark will not even try to fix things. Only Rogers’ optimism is intact, though the past continues to haunt him as if Thanos had never snapped his fingers.

Individual transformations, this time, do not happen in Endgame — they already did.

You can see that in the example of the once-subservient Nebula, Thanos’ loyal henchman and daughter. Her loyalty to Thanos has faded into hatred or at least distrust. Her arc is emblematic by how Endgame understands its characters. Some are given hefty storylines, though unfortunately, others — Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie or Bradley Cooper-voiced Rocket Raccoon — are left adrift.

It is hard to expect the film to provide closure to everyone, but it does to those who have stuck out among others. Stark gets his, Rogers does, too. When it is no longer busy tending to these characters, the Russos have another task to power through the final battle.

The final battle is one of the most emotionally rich moments that the franchise has seen. Characters settle some scores, but hope is still not within arm’s reach. The devastation of Infinity War is teased throughout, leaving the audience rapt and baffled in uncertainty.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be both interested in bankability and responsible storytelling. Those two characteristics do not have to cancel out one another. Interestingly, casual moviegoers, those who have not been on this ride, may not understand Endgame other than a cornucopia of good guys fighting bad guys. And it is fine.

Now, imagine how much money has been placed on the table to buy hours of this franchise; imagine how much it has spent making it, too. But in its love of the characters and of the maturing audience, the franchise has found its satisfying conclusion in Endgame.

Memento: Thanos' (Josh Brolin) armor hangs in front of his retirement spot.

— Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

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Avengers: Endgame

Directors: Antony and Joe Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chadwick Boseman, Josh Brolin, Don Cheadle, Brie Larson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd
Running time: 181 minutes