Mad Titan Vs. The Universe - Avengers Infinity War (REVIEW)

written by Jacob Chimilar

After 10 years (referenced by the Marvel Stud10s logo) and an end game set up in the first Avengers, we have finally arrived on Avengers Infinity War, easily the most anticipated movie to date in the MCU. The promise of an epic crossover that took years of building has finally made it to the big screen and as it should be, the entire universe is at stake.

I am utterly floored that a movie like this can exist, It seems like the kind of thing that would be impossible and overkill pre-Avengers but now we have this all star line of heroes and they all in some way have a part to play in taking down Thanos and the ensuing story is one where in less capable hands would be an utter mess. As it stands, The Russos and Markus and McFeely have managed (just barely) to put the entire MCU on a quest to stop Thanos in his misson for the Infinity Stones and have it feel like a race against the clock as this tank of a being tries to plow his way to victory, while still focusing on characters and sacrifice and what power does to people and the risks people take to stop that power.

Thanks to years of set up across 18 other films the investment we have for characters is built in. This lets the mission at hand be the focus for the heroes but also allows the story to revolve around Thanos and his origins to find out what makes this guy tick and sets him up to be a villain with a worthy cause and morals but in direct opposition not just with the Avengers but the universe at large just like Civil War did but taken to a cosmic level. From the start it's clear that Thanos, after years of people complaining that the movies have no stakes, comes in and changes that giving way to a kind of tension that holds throughout the movie.

One thing that didn't live up to Civil War or Winter Solider was the fight choreography. There were some really great moments here and there but I felt it lacked some of the creativity that the other films have had. It was a bit more standard beat 'em up fighting and that was a disappointment given just how clever they have been showing off why these characters are superheros and how they can do things normal people can't. My other issues are the cinematography being bland and at times ugly, but that has been par for the course with a lot of these films, additionally at times Thanos can look pretty ugly with what looks to be some iffy CG work in a few scenes. I get with a character like that he isn't going to be perfect but at times it looked more like an average video game cut scene and it took me out of it. These are all minor quibbles in a film that cares more about the story being engaging rather than if Thanos looks perfect in every scene.

I'm not sure how well this film will hold up to repeat viewings simply because of how much movie they attempt to cram in. It is relentlessly paced with basically no filler and so much story to burn through it may just be too much to want to sit through again but thanks to a strong and some how coherent edit this film is epic in scope and deep enough to not feel like a dumb slug fest. It's a promise that had been built up to for years and has been executed expertly with action, humor, heart and heroisim, the core ideals of the MCU on full display, and the results were nothing less than spectacular.

FINAL SCORE

A

A promise expertly delivered