A Complete Blast For MARVEL Fans!

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2018)

Even though it's not perfect, I must say that AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR totally delivers all you want from a MARVEL movie. It gives you: the characters you love, the villain you've been waiting for and, of course the action sequences you've been craving like a fist-shaped bar of MARVEL-brand chocolate! We ALL should know by now that Joel and Anthony Russo+ MARVEL MCU= greatness and INFINITY WAR proves that fact yet again! Overall it's a pretty cool and fun ride, but you certainly have to prepare yourself for typical superhero silliness. However, the silly superhero stuff is told in a mature, non-patronising way and it wasn't like the rest of the of the frankly "daft" superhero films of the past year. Yes, I'm talking about you, THOR: RAGNAROK, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, BLACK PANTHER and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2. Though INFINITY WAR is certainly NOT realistic at all, it grips and has a serious tone that keeps you watching. The script is dynamic but also very funny in some parts and we get a good look at MOST of the characters. The plot is simple and nothing THAT new or fresh but it still grips and provides real closure on the already rather over-bloated MARVEL cinematic universe. There were a couple of elements I wasn't QUITE sure on but more about them later. Firstly, the good things: the plot, the characters and action.
The plot for the most part was really exciting and really had me gripped; it was serious and tense. However, it WAS a little dull in some parts. There were a few times when things lagged for a while but on a whole I was never really bored during this film. The main thing I was concerned about in this film was the amount of additional characters and how the film could easily become convoluted. Here's the thing: it didn't feel convoluted BUT, some of the characters do get sidelined. Some of your favourites like Captain America, Black Widow and Black Panther were kind of pushed out into the background and though they featured, they didn't feature as much as some (and me) would have liked. The story really focuses on three sectors: Thanos, Team Iron Man and Team Guardians. Everything else is really not that major. Now, on to the action. The action in this film was quite frankly AWESOME! After all, these are the directors behind the elevator and airport fight scenes in the Captain America films 2 and 3. The battle for Wakanda plays out like a completely OTT version of the battle of the Pelennor Fields from LOTR 3 and once the infamous AVENGERS score kicks in, you know you've got a good thing going!
Now, on to the acting! Almost ALL the members of the cast are great and give it their all! Some of these characters may not get all that much to say but they're all well-acted. However, I REALLY wasn't sure about the movie's main villain Thanos (Josh Brolin). I must admit I found Thanos (as a character) rather bland. You certainly realise what a threat he poses to the Avengers but really, he's a purple Darth Vader who's not THAT interesting. Brolin's performance is strong as the genocidal maniac but there were times when Brolin simply read the script. Though the villain is something new, I don't see him as a cinematic villain that will stand out!
On a whole, the film was fun, action-packed and gripping but it's nothing REALLY new and as my Dad so rightly said: "once you've seen one; you've seen them all!" The conclusion was devastating and raised many, many questions and the after-credits scene was certainly interesting even though it wasn't really worth waiting for. Definitely a fun ride but I couldn't really say that "this... Does bring a smile to my face"...