Avengers: Infinity War is one of Marvel's best. Not only because of the impressive cast of characters but because of their ability to tell all of their stories fluently. Seeing all of these characters that I have grown up with finally come together was definitely one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had. And I'm sure that many others can agree. With a few standout performances and a mind-blowing ending, this movie has solidified itself in history as a remarkable achievement in filmmaking.
The best part about this film - which is the part I was most worried about - was its ability to effectively tell so many stories in a limited time span. I have been worried for months that with so many characters, the overall story would be imbalanced and too much emphasis would be put on a few characters. While that is slightly true, the Russo brothers did an amazing job of giving every single character their due screen time. Except Hawkeye and Ant-Man, which I am still very angry about. I mean seriously, Scott would have HANDLED that situation in Wakanda with his enormous stature. Anyways, I digress. The many character interactions in this film were great to finally see, especially the introductions of the spunky charisma of the Guardians and the mystical peculiarity of Doctor Strange to the rest of the Avengers. My only issue with having so many stories was that at times it still seemed a bit all-over-the-place. I had to put the previous pieces of the plot back together in my head before the next scene would start in order to understand which part of the universe we were heading to next. Overall, however, they all worked together very fluently for the ending. Which brings me to another praise. The pacing in this film was extremely smooth and was done expertly. This movie really draws you in the entire time and does not let you go until you are shaking (and probably crying) in your seat. It did not feel like two and a half hours, which was very impressive.
All of the characters' stories were balanced well with each other, but some just seemed to go on for a bit too long. The main offender being Thor. Thor has definitely proven himself to be one of the best-developed characters in the past year (thank you Taika Waititi) and has made his way to one of my favorite characters in this universe, but his plot in this movie dragged on forever. It was important for him, Rocket, and Groot to get his new weapon ready to kill Thanos, but his entire plot revolved around the creation of the weapon, which could have been told much quicker. However, the very first scene of the film involved Thor and the Asgardians and absolutely put the fear of everything into the audience's bones. Killing off Heimdall and Loki in the first ten minutes of the movie really put Thanos' power into terrifying perspective. Josh Brolin's portrayal of Thanos in this film is definitely one of Marvel's best villainous performances. He was given enough background to work with the story but Brolin made the character haunting as all hell. Along with his brilliant performance, the ending of this film really shook me and the rest of the theater. It was a complete 180 from what I (and many others) expected to happen. I feel like it's not a coincidence that all the original Avengers plus a few more were left alive, but I still have no idea how they are going to get themselves out of this one. Even though many beloved characters disappeared into the wind, the most emotional death for me was Spider-Man. When Peter simply said "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good," I knew what was happening but I refused to accept it. That scene alone showcased Holland's incredible acting while reminding us that he's still a kid.
Even though this film contains one of the most emotional endings in any superhero film, some of that emotion was still taken away from me. In our current world of social media and constant communication, us fans know that a Black Panther sequel, Spider-Man sequel, and third Guardians films are already in the works. Simply logging on Twitter will let you know this information, and knowing all of this takes away from the impact for me. There is no possible way that they would permanently get rid of some of their biggest revenue-earners. Because of this, the ending was mostly shock value for me, even though it was indeed very bold of Marvel to wipe out more than half their characters. I feel if they would have shown cities around the world getting wiped out (don't forget that Thanos killed half the universe, not just our heroes), then it would have been a bit more jaw-dropping. Some of my other issues with this film are the extended sacrifice sequences and Captain America's underwhelming role. There were too many moments in this film where a certain character would have one of the stones and another would try to sacrifice themselves to Thanos instead of him getting the stones. This honestly became a motif in the movie and was overused a bit. The final part that annoys me was Captain America's dull role. He had maybe five or six lines in the entire film and I thought he was going to play a much bigger part. Cap may have his time in the light in the next film, though. We will have to wait and see.
A conglomeration of stories 10 years in the making, Avengers: Infinity War is a spectacle that is not to be missed. An impossibly large cast and an exciting story make this film the worthy blockbuster that it is. While it still has some problems, Marvel could not have delivered a better or more emotional film for the "end" of their universe.
My Rating: ★★★★
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