Marvel works its magic once again

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2018)

Avengers: Infinity War was a wholly enjoyable experience which presents the MCU at its peak. I was certainly surprised at how well balanced the film was considering how many characters they crammed in and how many different sub-plots were going on. The tone was mostly consistent, with the serious moments thankfully not being undermined too much by humour, but the humour that was there worked pretty well.
Also Thanos was a great villain who actually felt intimidating and a real threat to any of the superheroes he came up against. The way his character was constructed meant that you understood his motivations for why he wanted to wipe out half the universe. The section of the narrative that looks at his relationship with Gamora was also very effective, providing an intriguing backstory to both their characters.
However, what made this film for me was the presence of actual stakes and consequences which previous MCU films severely lacked. Heimdall and Loki are killed off within the first 5 minutes which sets the tone for the very bleak ending in which half the universe fades away after Thanos gathers all the Infinity stones and clicks his fingers. I really appreciated this.
I do have some minor gripes such as the beginning of the narrative being rather clunky and some dialogue being quite poor but these don't outweigh the many positives of the film.
Also the ending makes me very excited for the next part as I don't really have any idea of where they go from here. The post-credits scene of Nick Fury messaging Captain Marvel suggets that she will have an important part to play in the sequel so I'll look forward to that immensely.