People have asked me how “Avengers: Endgame” was and my response so far has always been to say: “it was so much,” which you may notice is an indicator of quantity rather than quality. This is because after two viewings I still don’t think I can look past the sheer scale of this movie, both in its universe and in ours.

I don’t think it’s at all an exaggeration to say that this is the biggest movie in history. Of course, that title will be topped as it always has been, but the fact that this is the climax of a 22-movie saga spanning 11 years means it is almost incomparable to other movies with either no sequels or a number of sequels in the single-digits. Love the Marvel movies or hate them, nothing like this has ever been done before. It couldn’t be done before. There hasn’t been the technology, the infrastructure and critically, the audience size to support an endeavor like this.

We think of things in terms of the domestic box office, but that can be a very limiting perspective. The “Star Wars” movies are big, but importantly they are really only big for the western world, especially when they came out. Think about the fact that when the original “Star Wars” came out, China didn’t have much of a middle class, let alone a middle class that could afford to go to a movie several times like fans were doing in the US and UK. Now they can, but “Star Wars” missed its chance to claim a Chinese audience. They just didn’t really like it, but they like the “Avengers” movies. “Avengers: Endgame” is as massive in scale and importance as it is because it’s what happens if you take the insanity that revolves around “Star Wars,” multiply it by an order of magnitude, and get the entire world in on it. That’s why it matters.

Comparing “Avengers: Endgame” to “Star Wars” is also a fairly appropriate comparison story-wise because the only thing that looks like the nightmarish cliffhanger fans were treated to after “Avengers: Infinity War” is the similar one after “Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back.” Marvel fans of my generation should have respect for our parents in this regard, because they were left with their cliffhanger for three agonizing years.

I haven’t actually talked about whether I liked the movie or not so far, and so far that’s because it felt more like an experience than a film. The experience is spectacular, especially in a packed theater of fans. But as a film, “Avengers: Endgame” will require a lot more analysis when it eventually gets its home release.

Here’s my recommendation: if you are a marvel fan who has been along this eleven-year journey, if you appreciate film history and want to experience this part of it, or a fantastic theater experience: go see this movie. It’s an experience that won’t be matched or exceeded for a while.