Avengers: Infinity War: It's All Been Leading to This

It seems like it was only yesterday I was sitting in the theater watching The Avengers for the first time. I remember going in and not knowing what to expect. Sure I knew who the characters were and I had seen some of the movies leading up to it, but I didn't know what kind of impact the movie would have on me. After I saw it, my eyes had been opened to the awesome world of superheroes. Some of my fondest memories are seeing movies like Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel (yes I know that's DC) with my dad and the both of us just gushing about them afterwards. I actually made a lot of friends talking about these iconic characters (Mr. Swanson I'm looking at you). Now here we are, a decade later, continuing what Iron Man started in 2008. It has been one helluva ride.

Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberpatch, and Tom Holland. That's actually only a handful of who it stars, that's how massive this movie is. The Mad Titan Thanos (Brolin) is on a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones and use them to inflict his will on everything in the universe. The Avengers must team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and stop him from not only destroying Earth, but reality itself. With that out of the way, let's dive into the review.

Very rarely does a movie live up to the hype it has built over the past few months leading up to its release. Infinity War is one of the exceptions. This movie was one of the best theater experiences I have ever had. What the Russo brothers have done is taken ten years of build up and delivered a movie that has heart, humor, and many twists. They need to be commended for that. Not once did the movie feel like it was dragging on. The way the film is organized is very clever. It is divided up into many vignettes. For example, one part will have Iron Man (Downey Jr.) with the Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and Pom Klementieff) and Doctor Strange (Cumberpatch) and Spider-Man (Holland). Another will have Thor (Hemsworth) with Rocket Raccoon (Cooper) and Groot (Diesel). The film switches back and forth between these vignettes multiple times. I was worried that I would get really invested in one segment and then the movie would switch to another boring one. This doesn't happen. They are all very exciting. I remember being upset when one part ended and it switched to another. When the newly introduced portion started to build up, it would end and go to a new portion. It was very well crafted. One complaint the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had over the years is that the villains have been lackluster. Recently they have changed this with characters like Killmonger. He's gotta move over now because Thanos (Brolin) is the king of the villains. The movie establishes that within seconds. Josh Brolin does such a great job with this character. I remember reading an article where the Russo brothers said that Thanos was the main character. I just thought it was the directors making stuff up to get people to see the movie. That isn't the case. He is a main character and an awesome one at that. Thanos is an awful dude, no question, but he honestly believes that what he is doing is right. For me, that is always an interesting villain. The performances are great from all of the actors, as usual. I loved seeing characters, like Tony Stark and Doctor Strange, being introduced to each other for the first time. The chemistry between characters like this was great as well. Many people criticize Marvel movies for their use of humor. I always thought of this as a very stupid argument because people go to these movies to escape from reality. Not to mention, these characters are in tights too. That being said, the humor was very well balanced. It never compromises the film, especially in the last act. There's only so much I can talk about this movie without spoiling it, but the last act of this film had me both cheering and having an anxiety attack at the same time. Stuff goes down. The action, particularly when our heroes try to fight Thanos together, is perhaps the greatest action Marvel has put to screen. It's only natural with a movie like this that there are going to be many visual effects. My main complaint with Black Panther was that the effects looked dated and could've been a lot better. That's not the case here. I felt like I was with Iron Man dodging Thanos's fists. I felt like I was with Spider-Man holding on to the side of a space ship. The visuals had to be great because the main character, Thanos, is a visual effect himself. If that doesn't work, the whole movie crumbles in on itself. There were several times that I forgot that Thanos wasn't real. If a movie can do that, it has to be applauded. The ending of this movie had my jaw on the floor. Everyone I was with sat in silence for a couple of seconds to register what had just happened. That's all I'm going to say about that. As much as it pains me to say it, there are some negatives about this movie.

Like with most movies, there are some scenes that are in the commercials that don't make it into the final cut. That happens quite a bit here. I'm not even sure if it was filmed because the movie sets up something that contradicts what's in the commercials (no spoilers). Some characters aren't really utilized the best that they can be, in my opinion. However, this is completely understandable because there are so many characters in the movie and there's so much that needs to be done. There's one reunion that I was looking forward to that didn't happen. I'm sure it will happen in Avengers 4. These are very, very minor complaints though.

Avengers: Infinity War is a triumph in movie making. It has great direction, spectacular characters, an amazing villain, superb visuals, awesome action, and an ending that is going to have me in anxiety waiting for Avengers 4 next year. Some parts that were in the commercials aren't present, some characters are under utilized and some reunions that I was excited to see didn't happen. The Russo brothers have given the audience The Empire Strikes Back of superhero movies and they need to be applauded for it. I am so happy that this movie turned out as well as it did. It truly was one of the best experiences I've had at the movies. If I were to rate it, I'd give Avengers: Infinity War a 9.5-10/10. I can't wait to see it again! P.S. Make sure you stay through the credits. As usual, there's something after them.