Avengers Infinity War Review

Avengers Infinity War (2018)
Directed by: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlet Johnasson, Tom Holland, etc.

I remember back in 2012 seeing the first Avengers in theaters.  I remember it was the first culmination of what was shockingly set up in 2008's first Ironman when Nick Fury came out of the shadows in Tony Starks' apartment to tell him something about "the Avengers Initiative".  It was an unprecedented set-up of what would become a decade journey so far of watching numerous Marvel heroes come together to form the now billion dollar, worldwide phenomenon that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  What started out as Nick Fury's "idea" soon because a world where a raccoon and tree could talk, a god of thunder would learn to become humble, a brilliant scientist would learn how to control the large green monster of near limitless strength within him......and then there was the Shawarma scene at the end of the first Avengers! lol But before that, there was one last scene that sent chills throughout millions of movie goers' spines as the being behind the orchestration of the New York attack that brought the team together for the first time revealed himself...smiling gleefully at what was to come.  Thanos, the Mad Titan, the official biggest bad of the MCU was set up 6 years ago with the build up of the Infinity Gauntlet story encompassing the Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the universe's franchise.  Avengers Infinity War isn't just the culmination of 10 years worth of build up to the biggest team-up in cinematic history, but one of the most devastating 2 and half hours I have ever experienced watching a film.  It really isn't so much a film but a near 3 hour ride of desperation, action and a relentless emotional roller coaster.

Basically, if you needed a moment to catch your breath during the film and take this all in; there's not really any.  What I immediately loved about the film was the majority of screen time was undoubtedly devoted to Thanos, as he was possibly the greatest aspect of the film as well as his relationship with Gamora.  I was shocked how emotionally invested I was not only in Thanos' quest for the Infinity Stones, but his character in general.  Listen, I know there have been many people trying to rationalize his ultimate goal of destroying half the universe as Thanos feels the only way to keep the life prospering is to destroy half of it but you can't help but sympathize with his reasoning when you deconstruct his backstory with his homeworld, Titan.  Thanos is simply a powerful being doing what's best for the universe....even though he has stones that could do a lot more than cause universal genocide! O_O I'm gonna try to keep this review as brief as I can because I don't want to give away any major spoilers to those who might be reading this who haven't seen the film yet.  All I can say is after Black Panther's riveting Killmonger and now, Thanos, Kevin Feige has finally fixed the issue with MCU's lackluster villain problem.

I'm so glad the Russo Brothers came back to direct both Avengers Infinity War and its still untitled, mysterious follow-up, Avengers 4.  If you thought Civil War was a major challenge of balancing numerous heroes together, then Infinity War nearly triples that with the unprecedented amount of characters that need to be balanced here as the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and newly introduced allies must all come together to stop Thanos' plan to wipe out half the universe with a single snap of his fingers! Naturally, with an overabundance of characters, we can't see them all together at once onscreen and must be divide into smaller teams. So while you would love to see some specific characters interacting for the first time, you really won't.  Then again, there will be a 4th Avengers, so this was just a taste of the many more interactions to come.  I gotta say though, I love the set up as we see through Tony's eyes what the world's superheroes are up against as it's Dr. Strange and Wong who must explain to him the significance of the Infinity Stones and each of their individual power: The Reality Stone, Power Stone, Mind Stone, Soul Stone, Time Stone and Space Stone were all elements formed from the universe's birth but were each separated throughout the cosmos and made to be safe guarded as all the stones together would create a devastating event that could destroy all life as we know it.

From there the story charges forward with each team having their solo adventures but each working toward the same goal of stopping Thanos once and all.  What I love about this movie is we finally get a full exploration of the massive world building that the MCU has done.  We get to go to places like uncharted star systems and unknown planets that follow the majority of the Guardians' scenes of the movie to more familiar locations like Wakanda where the majority of the Avengers regroup to seek help from T'Challa and his army of soldiers.  I have to say though, this film is filled with some of the most breathtaking fight scenes I have ever seen!!!  From the smaller scale fights like when Scarlet Witch and Vision are attacked by Thanos' henchmen, the Black Order (which sort of reminded me of Apocalypse's 4 horsemen) to the colossal battle that concludes on both Thanos' homeworld, Titan and Wakanda, I never knew the MCU could reach Lord of the Rings' level and style of battle sequences.  Sometimes the action can be hard to follow because of that, but still it's so incredible to see all these superheroes and allies team-up in such a grand fashion.  And it's not just how big and chaotic the battles are but it's also the amazing direction behind them.  The Russo Brothers manage to interject an abundance of humor as you would expect from an MCU film.  Usually I would say the humor was overdone or the comedy was too numerous in scenes but considering how dark and depressing the film is at times, I didn't take the comedy for granted this time around!

I want to talk about the Black Order as I thought there were great generals for Thanos' army as well as fascinating characters in and of themselves.  They each had their own fighting style and specific demeanor when in came to handling themselves in the fights to get the Infinity Stones for Thanos.  I have to say my favorite Black Order member was Ebony Maw, who seemed like the most sadistic and faithful to Thanos.  His dialogue was often masterful at times, especially during a torture scene between him and Dr. Strange that seemed genuinely painful to watch. OUCH!!! Proxima Midnight was the member who mostly got to shine against the female heroes like Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Okoye.  Black Dwarf aka Cull Obsidian was undoubtedly the brute of the Black Order who gets some nice action scenes against the heroes in Wakanda and while Corvus Glaive was by far the weakest of the 4, he still made for a decent villain among them.  I have to say going back to the Avengers themselves, the Guardians and the newest heroes, they each relatively get their time to shine I think.  Sure some don't get as much screen time as some other characters but that's to be expected with so many characters being bounced around on screen as well as a film of this magnitude.  What's so great about the MCU and this film in general is that we've had 18 films prior to this to get to know ALL these characters.  While there isn't time for character development, it really wasn't needed at all because we need to focus on the tragedy and intensity of the film's plot.

All I can say is, the final moments of Infinity War have been causing a lot of mixed feelings because of how utterly morbid it is.  Even after all the epic action sequences, emotional battles and many moments of sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds in defeating Thanos, the film ends quit abruptly in one of the most haunting final shots I have ever seen in a film.  I won't say if the heroes won or not, I won't say if Thanos achieved his goal or not, I'm not gonna even talk about the end credit scene that sets up what's to come. All I am gonna say is I'm glad I just slept on my feelings of the film after I saw it last night.  I can't imagine what kids, especially fans of the MCU who have been following this franchise since it's inception feel about the hopeless finale of the film but all I can say I commend Kevin Feige, the Russo Brothers and especially the writers for finally bringing the franchise into some truly despairing , horrifying moments.  For those complaining about the MCU being not as serious and dark as the DCEU or being too comedic and family friendly, you'll be eating your words by the time the credits roll.......  Avengers Infinity War is quite the experience I'll never forget as many were in tears during my screening of it and appropriately so.  All I will say is, if you don't at least get emotional during the last scenes between Groot and Rocket as well as Tony and Peter....you are fooling yourself you heartless bastard. :(  That's all I will say....

"After a decade of watching the MCU grow into a new age phenomenon of superhero legendary, Avengers Infinity War, the first chapter of the final battle between Earth's Mightest Heroes and the Guardian of Galaxy against the Mad Titan, Thanos, is a hilariously entertaining, action packed joy ride with moments of emotional resonance earned because we've been following these characters for so long.  The ending is quite possibly one of the most gut wrenching conclusions to a film you'll ever see; leaving you with a feeling of grief and guilt that will leave the world begging for the final and 4th Avengers film next year to answer all of our heartbreaking questions.  Overall, flawed but fearless filmmmaking!"

Final Film Score: A