As overwhelming as it is ambitious

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2018)

I'd like to preface this review by clearly stating that this movie has prerequisites to a certain degree. If you've seen every Marvel movie since The Avengers, you will know all of the characters and understand why they do what they do.
But, on the other hand, even if you don't even know the first thing about Marvel, it'll at least keep you entertained.
Avengers: Infinity War goes to incredible lengths to make you feel that you got your money's worth. The action is constant, the CGI beautiful, and casting nothing short of legendary. I think Marvel, and by extension Disney, set out to give the fans what they wanted from a high-budget action movie.
Because of this high-octane approach to entertainment, the story is very simple, straightforward, and borders on cliche. Trying to layer more elements on top of their final product would have required more character interaction scenes, which to me, would have been welcome.
On top of this, if you have a favorite Marvel movie character, you might leave the theater wondering if he/she was what you wanted to see. The movie does an admirable job at giving the characters equal screen time and making sure everyone plays an important part, but on the other hand, a couple of my favorite characters didn't feel quite right. I attribute this to the fact that Avengers: Infinity War had a tremendous number of moving parts, and I think they just had to take certain liberties that were bound to make some fans shake their heads.
For my last point, Avengers: Infinity War took risks. It took big risks. In a certain sense, this stays true to Marvel comics, which do the same. After a long line of Marvel movies that have generally exercised caution and given the fans a simple good against evil story, Infinity War goes beyond and feels as if it's bringing the series back to its comic roots. Because of this, I'm adding one star onto my initial rating of 8/10.