One hell of a first part

Rating: 9/10 (1 May 2018)

Let me start by saying that I am an avid MCU fan and have seen all the previous entries, however I can acknowledge when the franchise goes wrong (the sequels to Iron Man, Thor, and Avengers comes to mind). Infinity War did an utterly incredible job of tying together 10 years of storytelling. For what this movie was meant to be, I don't think they could have changed a thing to make it any better (save a few lines that didn't land or jokes that ran a bit too long). The acting and dialogue is on par with the past few movies, with good performances all around, but some really stand out ones from Chris Hemsworth, Zoe Saldana, and of course Josh Brolin. The action is great, there's good close cut hand to hand scenes that the Russos are famous for and more impressive sprawling epic battle scenes as well. The CGI is mostly good, especially on Thanos and the alien planets, however a few of the children of Thanos did look like 4 year old video game characters to me. The biggest criticism I've heard of this movie is that it's inaccessible to non-MCU fans, which I think is perfectly valid. If you've only seen a scattered few of the movies, you could very likely get lost as they don't spend time re-introducing characters and previous plot lines. I will say however, that at this point, 19 movies in, you should probably have developed an opinion on the MCU by now. Those who thoroughly enjoy the stories and characters will be caught up and this movie will blow them away. For people who are more casual fans who just go for the action and jokes and aren't wrapped up in the overarching plots and character arcs, Infinity War can still deliver exactly what they want. Lastly, for people who just flat out dislike the franchise, this movie won't change their mind. It's more of what we've gotten in the previous 18 entries but on a more epic scale. As a hard-core fan, this movie had me wanting to jump out of my seat and cheer at some moments, and cry at others. Infinity War is truly the reward fans of the franchise are getting after 10 years. I will say however, that it is hard to rank it compared to the rest of the MCU. Since this movie ends on such a large cliff hanger that must be resolved in the follow up, it's very hard to look at it as a complete story. My guess is that people will lump Infinity War and Avengers 4 together as one large movie, much like people do with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2. If the follow up sticks the landing and completes this story in a compelling way, then this movie would probably land in my top 5 just above the first Avengers, but conversely it could get dragged down if the sequel doesn't hold up. I cannot wait to see how this story is wrapped up next year, and strongly encourage fans of the franchise to check this one out in theaters. If you haven't yet discovered the joys of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, certainly don't start with this one, but make sure you come back to it 18 movies later. It's worth the wait.