“Avengers: Infinity War” is directed by the Russo brothers, Joe and Anthony, and stars far too many Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) A-listers to name. If you don’t already have a general idea of what this film is about, you may have a hard time enjoying it as much as someone who has been watching all the MCU films over the past decade. “Infinity War” is the culmination of 10 years of films that started with “Iron Man” in 2008 and the promise of the Avengers in Nick Fury’s first post-credits appearance in that movie.
After the credits of Marvel’s first big team-up blockbuster, “The Avengers,” we were promised a confrontation with the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. Thanos has made brief appearances in films like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and after the credits of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but the big question going into the latest MCU entry was whether or not he could live up to the six years of anticipation that has been building since “The Avengers.”
It’s safe to say that the Russo brothers heard the skepticism and as a result have delivered one of the MCU’s most intimidating, smart and well-written villains yet. You don’t go so far as to empathize with Thanos or his mission, but there is clear logic to all of his actions. Similar to Erik Killmonger from “Black Panther,” Vulture from “Spiderman: Homecoming” or Loki from several MCU entries, it’s easy to understand where they are coming from and why they are doing what they are doing. This is without a doubt Thanos’ movie, and Josh Brolin brings a dramatic weight to the character while still being imposing.
All of the familiar heroes that we have gotten to know over the years are great to see and the actors portraying them are so recognizable as these characters that it’s nearly impossible to find flaws in any of their performances. The only negative that comes with having so many characters in this film is that it’s impossible to give everyone the shine they deserve. A lot of this film’s criticism will likely be based on who your favorite characters are and how much screen-time they get. It’s very impressive to see how well put together the film is considering how many characters and sub-plots the Russo brothers had to juggle, but it is undeniably imperfect. While it’s tough to keep up with all of the plots going on at times, the positives of jamming all these characters together far outweigh the negatives. Seeing members of the Guardians of the Galaxy interact with earth-based Avengers or Wakandans fight alongside Captain America is truly a blast and the humor that comes with some of these introductions is spot on.
However, I don’t think you can fully appreciate the humor, drama, action or plot of “Infinity War” if you haven’t been keeping up to date with the goings on in the MCU. This film does take the time to explain things like Infinity Stones and what some characters have been doing but you are definitely expected to have some knowledge of what’s been happening from the opening frame.
The action in this film is unlike anything we’ve seen in the MCU up to this point; “Infinity War” is the first film to ever be shot entirely with IMAX cameras and as a result every action sequence looks phenomenal, and there are a lot of them. In the two-and-a-half-hour run time we see literally dozens of characters with dozens of different abilities clashing across the galaxy and hammering home the severity of the situation. This is a Marvel film that makes you truly fear for the characters and that makes for some jaw dropping moments over the course of the movie.
Overall, “Avengers: Infinity War” is a big, long, exciting, suspenseful, funny summer blockbuster that will leave you excited for what the MCU has in store going forward.
Griffin’s score: 9/10
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