You are not ready. Avengers: Infinity War is the biggest, most epic superhero film ever made, and it’s also the hardest to review. Since literally everything about the film is a spoiler, my review is going to be brief, focus on a few, broad strokes, and direct you to your theater. This film needs to be seen on the big screen, and everyone who has been a part of this 10 years of the MCU should have a chance to see it without spoilers. That being said, the comments are the place to discuss spoilers so do NOT scroll down there if you do not want to immediately regret it. Is it everything you dreamed it would be? Hard to say. Does a lot of stuff happen? Absolutely. Is the MCU forever changed? Yes. Do you just need to go see it yourself asap before it gets spoiled for you? YES! Just be aware, that you are walking into part one of what is a two-part film (no matter what Marvel has said about this standing on its own). My theater’s reaction was stunned. You may have guessed some things, but not all of it, and you’re not ready. The stakes are real, and the dread pressaged in the trailers was warranted.
The best way to describe Avengers: Infinity War is that if you can imagine the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War lasting 161 minutes, that’s pretty much the level of ON that the movie is the entire time. The stakes, unlike those of a lot of other films, are real in this film, and-no-not everyone is going to make it (but you knew that from the moment you saw the first trailer). This film juggles two-dozen major cast members as well as any film can, but if it has a breakout star it’s Josh Brolin’s fantastic performance as Thanos. He lived up to every bit of six years of hype, and he’s given more story than anyone. They build actual pathos into his character, and if you wondered how in the world you can fight someone with an Infinity Gauntlet, just wait until you see it try and attempted.
I was not kidding when I called this the biggest superhero epic. It spans the universe, pairing up heroes and villains who have never met before. Somehow, also, Marvel always manages to bring the funny. There are a lot of very funny parts in a film that is no joke about putting its heroes and fans through hell. A lot of the humor is born from how deep these characters have become and playing new combinations off one another (could we have a whole film of Thor and Rocket together?). But make no mistake, Infinity War is a heavy film. This is the start of knitting together 18 films worth of plotlines and there is not a wasted moment. In fact, one of my major complaints about the film is that 161 minutes was not enough time. This film needed 30 more minutes to allow things to breathe a little because the action hops across the galaxy and back so fast, that you’re a little whipsawed by the transitions. Thanos’ generals, The Black Order, are like a Dark Avengers team, and make memorable sub-villains to battle the heroes all over the cosmos while Thanos goes about fulfilling his destiny. I would love it if we got a director’s cut that was longer, but Marvel’s never done that and I don’t see them doing it for Infinity War.
I plan on seeing the film multiple times, and I think I will need to before I can fully wrap my head around everything I just saw. Some parts I had dead-on. Some things I was dead wrong about. Some surprises I didn’t see coming at all. When the credits rolled (there is ONE post-credit scene that you do need to stay for), my audience was shocked. Some people were crying. A lot of them immediately were asking when the next one is and how long we have to wait, because-again-this is not the whole story. The end is the natural intermission in what I think will be viewed over time as one incredible epic. The only real complaint, aside from some nitpicks, is that I wanted the whole story, and I wanted more of this one. Those aren’t the worst problems to have with a film that had Infinity War’s expectations.
9.50/10
UPDATE: After my second viewing, I increased the score .25. Really the only complaints I can offer about the film is that I wish there was more of it, and that I feel weird even grading something that’s half a film. What struck me most was the amount of care, fan service, and love put into this by everyone who made it. It really was a thank you letter to the fans for sticking with this grand experiment through 19 issues and letting them know that they were going to get a grand pay-off. I also felt confident that, even when the credits roll on Avengers 4, the MCU is bigger than any one or group of characters, and there is so much more left to explore. If next year’s can truly bring all of this home, I’ll give the combined thing a 10 without hesitation. We’re only at the intermission, people.
Awesome review, and you did a great job avoiding spoilers. I’ll be so happy when everyone’s seen this movie so I can discuss theories! (Louisa)
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Me too, the comments section have now officially become spoiler discussion territory. I’m going to wait until late next week to give people a chance to see it before I do any posts on spoilers because my theater is literally sold out through Sunday. So glad you liked the review. Dodging any spoilers in a discussion of this film is sort of acrobatic. Every SCENE is a spoiler.
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I know! I feel bad for people that haven’t yet seen it. So many just love spoiling things for others and this is one where it’s so much better if you know nothing going in.
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Absolutely. Im sure workplaces around the world today were full of scums of people discussing it and others running past them with their hands over their ears lol.
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I have never walked out of a movie like this one feeling such a fount of goodwill coming from the filmmakers. I have been told by some people that Return of the Jedi felt like this. I was not a rational adult who could judge, way back then in ancient times. But my God, everyone involved wanted us to really feel this one. This movie is a reward. They’re actually rewarding us for handing over so much money for the past ten years, and making the MCU more successful than James Bond. Yes, this film, and the next one, are a part of an unstoppable juggernaught. These two movies are trying to be a finale like Return of the King, and also an engine that propels the franchise forward, like, well, The Two Towers. But after being disappointed so often by films like this, by franchise films that were supposed to top the franchises that preceded them, and fell short, this movie actually felt like the Matrix to me, and not Matrix Revolutions. It felt alive, like the franchise realizing its potential instead of spinning its wheels. And it was built around a basically new character!
It was a joy to see the characters come together, just like we had hoped it would be! Didn’t I tell you that Bruce was just as important as the green guy? I wanted to see the green guy more, but there was a lot I wanted more of, and the fact that Banner stopped being able to get the Hulk to come out added another wonderful layer to his neurosis. Thor was exactly who he needed to be, except that yes, he REALLY needed to get Thanos in the head. And pairing him with Rocket was like something preordained.
Gamora, Gamora, Gamora. Oh, my God. And Peter was really going to kill her. Peter could have been more useful (I kept wondering why any of the others even kept him around at this point) but Drax is by far the most successful comic element in any of these movies, and watching teenage Groot prove that you can be a positive force in the universe with your nose in a device… it went against all that I believe, but it was great.
BW was underserved. So was Bucky, especially after he was built up at the end of BP. T’Challa was exactly who he needed to be in the midst of dark times, and I’m glad he was not in the film more. Oversaturation would have been folly. BP just made more cash than Titanic, after all. I guess my point is that it was all a balancing act, and while it would have been great to see more of some of these guys, I did not have a huge problem with any of it. And the one I cared about most, Doctor Strange, was a rock and a fount of wisdom.
Obviously Part 2 has now been set up as a send-off for the original core Avengers. That is happening in an even more pronounced way than I, and I guess most people, had predicted. By the end of this epic, the path will be cleared for the newer faces and beyond.
Hugo Weaving was sorely missed, but I guess he made it clear a while back that he was out for good.
Thanos… my only complaint is I wanted so much more. But it’s a measure of stellar acting on Brolin’s part that the character’s commitment to his cause was so convincing. The conviction seemed perfectly reasonable, which made it all the more terrifying. I did have a question (and maybe you can address this because your knowledge of the comics eclipses mine) about why the reality stone did not give him more power than what he exhibited.
But the filmmakers clearly set out to bring together every damn MCU hero to date, except for Hawkeye for some reason (I’m assuming this will be rectified soon), and make it all hang together by structuring it around Thanos. And it WORKED. And tonight I am happy.
Also… best end credits scene of all time. Talk about pointing the way forward, and teasing an upcoming film, in the very last second of the very last shot. Kudos! Kudos!
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I’m glad you liked it. My only quibbles revolve around the fact that it was a little frantic at points and could have used some breathing room (Hawkeye was iffy for the last couple of months, but obviously he’s in the next one). The next one I think will answer all my issues with this one and I’ll look on this as one film because it is halftime. It’s like a one-year intermission. I’ll address more of this tomorrow, but as for the Reality Stone, you have to realize that even though Thanos has all six stones (how ARE they going to beat them….Strange knew this had to happen, but he also knew he wasn’t going to be part of the solution) but he’s still learning. He is only limited by his imagination with the Reality Stone and his mission is done in his mind so he did what he wanted and reset Titan (where does that leave Tony on messed up Titan?) and he thinks it’s over. I think the characters not involved in the big twist are a lot safer than those who weren’t, and I’m wondering now after the ruthlessness of the deaths in this film, how many ARE going to actually make it through. My theater is literally sold out the rest of the weekend so a second viewing will have to be next week and maybe then we can have a detailed spoilers discussion. For now, everyone just needs to see this in the theater as quickly as they can. SW may be flagging but the MCU is sticking its first gigantic landing.
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I would be tempted to say that a few more small moments (as opposed to quiet ones, because even the quiet moments were big) would have made for a better movie, and a bigger moneymaker down the line, since you do have to be familiar with a hell of a lot of other films to keep up with this ones. People who are not already devoted will get worn out by the halfway point. That’s how big every second of this movie is, and how much information it contains. BP had the virtue of being a stand-alone.
But I can’t sit here poking holes. I won’t! Biggest opening of all time! Like I said, kudos! Kudos!
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Thats the only ding I could give it.
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