I was able to watch Avengers: Endgame at the Apollo Theater this past Thursday. It was easily one of the best movie experiences in my life.
Let me tell y’all about how PACKED the theater was for the premiere. The movie started at seven o’clock that evening. I arrived to the theater an hour early, and the house was ALREADY packed. I saw friends, professors, Oberlin residents, and so many more familiar faces. I had never seen the Apollo Theater that filled before. Luckily, I was able to find a really good seat in the back middle of the theater, which is easily the best spot for a movie experience.
If there's one thing I know about Oberlin, it's the fact that there are a lot of comic book nerds here (I'm one of them lol...) and they will go all out for a Marvel film.
I wrote a piece on this platform about the premiere of Black Panther and how excited everyone was to see that film. If you want to check that out, click here. You could just feel the excitement in the Apollo. I saw so many people wearing their Marvel gear. I even saw a guy dressed up as Spider-Man. I can't make this up, y'all. The Marvel fandom is very lively and likeable here at Oberlin. I had conversations with random people about Endgame before the movie started, and all of them were very kind and jovial. That's just how Oberlin is, though. The people in this community are usually really kind, so it's unsurprising to see that the comic book nerds here are just as cool.
After I sat down for a bit, I walked out to the concession stand. Of course, the line was ridiculously long, so I had to practice a lot of patience.
Luckily, I was able to get my popcorn bucket and make it back to the theater before the movie started. Shout out to the workers at the theater, because they moved very quickly to collect hundreds of tickets and give out dozens of popcorn buckets. I know it can't be easy to deal with all those people at once. One of the workers even confirmed that Avengers: Endgame brought in one of the biggest rushes the theater has ever seen. Mind you, the Apollo isn't an AMC or Regal IMAX theater or anything remotely close to that since it's so much smaller. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad theater, though. It feels more intimate and "old school" than any of the theaters I'm used to back home. I really appreciate that vibe, which is why I don't mind the inferior visual and sound quality from the film. Another important thing for you to know is that this theater usually charges four to six dollars for a ticket. That's right; I paid only six dollars to see one of the most anticipated movies of all time. There's no way I can justifiably criticize the Apollo, because it's a cheap movie ticket every single time.
The movie is a little over three hours long, so I also took a bathroom break to ensure that I don't miss a single scene.
I wasn't the only person with that idea. The bathroom even had a long line of people. This was slightly annoying but completely understandable. Once again, the Marvel fandom is very dedicated to this movie. There were random folks in the bathroom discussing what could happen in Endgame. People everywhere were talking about the movie. We all wanted to know what happened after Thanos snapped away half of the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. Will the Avengers actually win this time? Who was going to die? How would the Avengers bring their fallen friends back from the dead? There were so many unanswered questions that would be addressed in Endgame, but coming up with predictions is always an enjoyable experience for fans in general. After I left the bathroom with a few minutes to spare, I walked into the theater with a joyful feeling in my heart. Finally! I finally get to see what happens to the Avengers.
When the movie started, everyone in the theater cheered and clapped. I immediately realized that this crowd was going to be lively since it mostly consisted of Marvel fans.
The Marvel cinematic universe means a lot to millions of fans around the world, and that especially applies to this audience in particular. I can't spoil the movie yet, but I can assure you that this crowd cheered a LOT during this movie. There are people who get irritated by loud movie crowds, but I'm not one of those people. I believe that there is something special about being in an audience like that. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience. Also, the audience for the premiere wasn't obnoxiously loud. The fans knew when to yell at the screen when the fight scenes came up, but when it was time to pay attention to the dialogue and storytelling, they were quiet. Honestly, the audience for the Endgame premiere was one of the best audiences I have ever been a part of.
As for the movie...
Endgame might be the best superhero I have ever seen. I love this movie so much, y'all. I actually came back to watch it again yesterday, and it was even better on the second viewing. I went to a showing the following Saturday after the premiere. The crowd was a little smaller, but there were still a ton of people in the Apollo. The lines were quite long once again, but I didn't mind at that point. The crowd consisted of more Oberlin residents, especially teenagers and children. The cheering wasn't nearly as lively as it was for the premiere, but the audience made some noise here and there. There were so many unexpected twists and turns in Endgame. They were so unexpected that most of the people I talked to were wrong about their predictions. I know my predictions were way off as well, and I'm really happy about that. After all, who would want to see a movie that's predictable? That takes all the fun out of the movie experience. I'm really glad that this movie turned out as well as it did. It's already making billions of dollars in the box office, which makes complete sense. I'm sure there are packed theaters all over the world, and they will continue to be packed for a while. I'm just glad that I had the opportunity to see this movie multiple times with a wonderful community. Whenever you get the chance to see a big premiere at the Apollo, please do so. It might not be the fanciest place in the world, but it's a really cool experience to watch a film there. Also, if you haven't seen Endgame yet, I would advise you to watch it. It's absolutely phenomenal.
