Cosmic Night Owl

“Avengers: Infinity War”- Movie Review

Ten years in the making. Can you believe it? It’s crazy to think how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come in the past decade, and it’s even crazier when you realize how much the landscape of superhero films has changed because of it. Superheroes have been brought back to the mainstream. The franchise has had its hits and misses over the years, though even its harshest critics will have a hard time arguing the massive success it’s achieved. So Avengers: Infinity War comes with a lot of expectations. Not only does it have to be a good movie, but it also has to be a fitting conclusion to a story that’s been teased for ten years. It would be a shame if it failed to live up to its promise.

With returning directors Joe and Anthony Russo at the reins, the film picks up right where the MCU left off. The mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on the hunt for the Infinity Stones, five gems of extraordinary power that will grant him authority over the entire universe. The next stop on his quest is Earth. After learning of his impending arrival, earth’s mightiest heroes, who are still broken up at this point, scramble to come together to fight off Thanos and prevent him from obtaining the last remaining infinity stone.

Avengers: Infinity War is a film that nobody really wants to talk about, but for good reason. It’s difficult to explain the plot without inching too close into spoiler territory. It picks up right where we left off in the MCU, and throws the audience into a wild spectacle of fantastic action, good humor, and strong dramatic devastating moments. People have speculated that one or more characters will bite the dust, and all I can say is that yes, death has a substantial role in this movie. And yes, it’s heartbreaking. The key to its effectiveness lies in Russo brothers’ sharp direction as well as the fact that we’ve grown to know and love these characters for ten years.

The film is jam packed with awesome characters, and everyone has their time to shine. Granted, certain characters are given more to work with than others, though each of them serves their purpose to the overall story. And apart from a plot thread involving Thor that goes on a bit too long, every storyline is equally engaging.

What’s great is that the writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) pair together characters we haven’t seen interact before- like Thor with the Guardians of the Galaxy, or Iron Man with Dr. Strange- which gives way to fresh and interesting dynamics. Performance-wise, everyone brings their A-game. Josh Brolin’s portrayal of Thanos is especially powerful. He carries himself as a legitimate threat, and the level of humanity and depth he brings to the character is as unexpected as it is powerful. The complicated relationship he has with Gamora is one of the film’s greatest strengths. He’s by far one of the best adversaries the MCU has ever introduced, and everything that’s been built up about him was worth the wait.

Infinity War does a lot of things right. It’s by far one of the strongest Marvel movies to date- with the story, the action, the seriousness, the humor and the villain all coming together harmoniously- though as a whole it does feel incomplete. It makes sense. It’s only the first two acts of a grander cinematic finale. We’ll have to wait a whole year to see a fitting conclusion (with a tone that’s hopefully not as much of a Debby Downer as this). We have something fantastic to sink our teeth into in the meantime. We’ve been waiting for several years for this film to happen. What’s one more gonna hurt?

Cosmic Grade: 4.7/5