[Movie Review] Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Chadwick Boseman, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olson, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Zoe Saldana, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Samuel L. Jackson, Coby Smulders, William Hurt, Jacob Batalon, Winston Duke, Idris Elba

If that cast list is daunting, it's because literally almost everyone who's played a major lead role (and several important supporting characters) in a Marvel film since 2008 is in this movie. All but one of the Avengers, all of the Black Panther major cast, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange. The only missing characters are Hawkeye and Ant-Man. It's like we've had an entire comic book multi-title year-long crossover extravaganza dropped on our screens - and it's glorious.

It's a struggle to review this without spoilers, but I'll do my best. Marvel Entertainment has spent the past decade working up to this, slowly getting audiences acquainted with these characters while teasing the presence of Infinity War's villain in almost every film. The payoff had to be big, and it is. The film starts out with a surprising opening, then rapidly brings all of the heroes together and acquaints them with what they're up against. Naturally that villain has to be very big, and he is. I don't think it's a spoiler to state that it's Thanos, since they've been teasing him in movie after movie and he's mentioned in all the trailers.

Thanos is one of the biggest villains in the Marvel comics universe, and he's a major challenge for all of these characters we've come to know. They must fight harder than they've ever fought before - and oh, boy, do they fight. This film is full of massive, jaw-dropping combat scenes. The use of various characters' powers and abilities is inspired. I think I did spend a good third of the movie with my mouth hanging open.

But despite the vast battles, the movie makes time for intimate moments and gives every one of the main characters a chance to shine. There's a greater focus on certain characters, which I suspect will come into play in the next film. But no one was completely ignored. Best of all, Thanos isn't a typical revenge-obsessed villain; he's actually a fully developed character who is even sympathetic in some scenes, and he has a believable if misguided goal beyond "kill (insert name here)". He looks really good, too, like they spent a lot of time and effort making that character convincing even though he's probably 85% CGI. I'm not as disappointed with the DC films as some are, but I do admit that Thanos is a vast improvement over Steppenwolf from Justice League.

I noticed the music much more in this movie, too. I've heard Marvel being bashed for not producing really memorable scores, but I don't think anyone can say that about the score for Infinity War. It was another perfect piece in a very well-crafted movie.

My only problem with Infinity War is that its sequel isn't due to be released until next year, and I want to know what happens next now, not a year from now!

If you've enjoyed the other Marvel films and want to see a superhero film where the heroes truly have superpowers and are fighting against epic odds, you'll definitely want to see Avengers: Infinity War.

Be sure to stay for the after-credits scene. If you don't get it, ask me and I'll tell you what it means.