The culmination of a decade long meticulously pre-planned saga, Avengers: Infinity War is finally upon us. With almost every original character returning from MCU, expectations for this movie are running at a fever pitch. The hype train is a looming juggernaut of epic proportions, so could the team behind Marvel pull off the impossible and come up with the goods? Let’s see as we delve into this “spoiler free” review.
After many years of biding his time, Thanos, together with his team of loyal lieutenants, attempt to located and gather up the rest of the infinity stones (six in total) which are strewn across the universe. Doing so will result in the extinction of half of the inhabitants in the entire universe. Add to that the fact that Thanos grows in power as each infinity stone is retrieved. Soon after, the Avengers discover the truth about Thanos and his imminent arrival. Thus ensues the fight of their lives against easily the most powerful adversary they will have ever faced. Revealing any more information than that is tantamount to ruining it for anybody else having not yet watched the movie. Avengers: Infinity War is the definition of “the less you know, the more you’ll enjoy it”. However, this vague premise alone sets the stage for what might well be the best movie thus far from MCU.
Now, initial thoughts when going into this movie could be, how on earth will they be able to do justice to all the different characters and their individual story arcs, in a fair and balanced way? Well, the short answer is yes, they do. From the outset, they place various members of our beloved superheroes into groups, which in turn allows them to follow their own distinct path within the movie. It must be noted that this has the indirect consequence of some thoroughly enjoyable banter exchanged between themselves. Both hilarious and intriguing, I particularly loved this aspect of movie. Though, as they quickly realise the severity of what’s at stake, our heroes ultimately learn to work together and that’s where the true magic begins. Which brings me nicely into the astonishing action set pieces.
They are simply breath-taking. The run-time of this movie is around the two-and-a-half-hour mark. But given the wide scope of narrative to be told and from so many different points of view in the film, pacing throughout is at breakneck speed. It’s an almost non-stop action fest, which does contain some subtle respites to push the story forward through with some strong and clever dialogue. Therefore, I was amazed at how well everything held together in that respect. There is one fight in particular, that will leave your jaw firmly on the floor. Astounding and breaking the mould in terms of what we’ve seen before in the MCU franchise. The camera work focuses squarely on the fights that take place, without any hint of “shaky cam” to be seen. Watching the rich characters we’ve all grown to know and love, applying their unique abilities in conjunction with one another, is a joy to behold. Movie magic in a bottle.
However, the crowning achievement in Avengers: Infinity War has to be the villain himself, Thanos. Never have I seen such a deep, complex arch enemy on-screen within the context of the MCU. Gone is the “being evil for evil’s sake” cardboard cut-out bad guy which always seemed to be MCU's one Achilles heel. From the outset, he instils a presence of omnipotent power and a lifetime of history behind him. Being conflicted and solemn, as well as menacing and savage, there are hidden layers to his persona that convey some form of conscious weight to his devastating actions. These areas are explored to some extent here whereas others are being saved for later. But they all add up to a truly memorable additional character to the franchise, whose intelligence is every bit as great as the immense power he wields. Thanos is "supposed" to be a formidable adversary and he has been translated to MCU with a well thought-out perfection. All these elements merged together, conclude in a movie climax that has to be seen to be believed. Disney, you’ve done us proud and this may well be your finest hour yet.
So, in regards to the question at the start of this review. Did Avengers: Infinity War deliver the goods, given the magnitude of it’s hype train? The answer is a resounding yes, which I consider a small miracle in itself. DC can only look on in awe as this franchise just keeps breaking new grounds and one-upping itself at every corner. Prepare yourself for, without a doubt, the darkest and best of all the MCU movies. I loved every second of it and almost didn’t want it to end. I could not think of a single thing to fault this masterpiece. And, as always, remember to stay until the end credits for the usual “something special” easter egg. Avengers: Infinity War will blow you away. Oh yes, it is that damn good!
My Verdict: (9.5/10)
