Perfectly balanced

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2018)

Thanos(Brolin, giving us a layered villain, the best in recent years) has...*finally*... started to gather the Infinity Gems. If he gets all six he can wipe out half of the universe with a snap of his fingers. Will our heroes be able to stop him and his "Children"?
The hype for this was unreal. Many say that it couldn't live up to it. And I realise that a lot don't, and won't(as it premieres around the world), think it did. For my money(and they'll keep getting them as long as they keep making them this good), it delivered, and then some. Obviously, with so many major characters, they cannot possibly all get a lot of screentime. You could criticise their decision to include so many. Honestly, you're free to think so, but this is not a movie for you. Which is fine. I don't doubt that you love flicks that aren't for me. This is a cinematic version of an event comic, not decreased in scope as most of the adaptations of those stories are, something I've been waiting for for 20 years to be done right. So rather than complain about something that couldn't be helped, let's look at whether it's satisfying. Personally, I absolutely think so. I've loved most of these since I first saw these versions of them, and I felt that they were all featured to the right extent. Every single one of them makes an impact, most get arcs, not a single one feels like they're just in the background(as is the case with every single X-Men film).
This wastes no time starting the plot, moves quickly, and introduces us to all the groups quite early on, and yet never feels overpowering. I realised the following is an old example, however, recently rewatching Revenge of the Sith, the difference is incredible. Both were built up to for years(at least 6 in both cases), and where that one is massively overcrowded, and quite tiring and tedious, this one isn't, even a little. I know. I can hardly believe it myself. It delivers on emotion, interaction between individuals, growth, in addition to action scenes(which, ultimately, is the bread and butter of a Summer blockbuster). Does it, outside of the bad guy's depiction, including personality and motivation, reach a level of depth akin to the solo adventures? No. It would be unrealistic to expect it to. It's not going for that. Finally, there has been a lot of reasonable concern, for how they would handle the supposed killing off of fan favorites. I'm not giving away whether or not they do, or if it's only for bit parts. What I will say is that everyone who kicks the bucket in this, on either side of the conflict, gets to be memorable and important before they do. They were very smart and how they handled that. Like everything else in this.
I recommend this to anyone who finds it to be appealing. Do note that the ending is very much a setup for the next one, and doesn't feel conclusive. It used to be called part 1 for a reason. And yes, that will disappoint many - and they're not wrong. Personally, I'm just incredibly excited for Avengers 4. 10/10