A Near Impossible Task

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2018)

The task set out for infinity war is near impossible from a cinematic perspective.
18 movies culminate into this. 10 years of MCU. Over 7 different story arcs, over 70 characters some 20 of which are superheroes and are so thick that they have entire movie franchises built on them and another 30 easily deserve their own movie. And then you need a single villain large enough to take on so many of these superheroes and yet prove more formidable than all other villains who have ever graced the MCU. Not to mention the need to maintain the tonality of a guardians and sync it with the mysticism of a doctor strange and then blend it with the royalty of a Black Panther. All directed by different directors in different styles.
And finally make all this live up to the hype. Make all character's count and earn fans, critics and the masses adoration alike.

It is fair to say that nothing quite like this has been attempted to date in movie history. From the onset this is a near impossible task.
And believe it or not Avengers: Infinity War delivers and delivers it with an action packed, genuinely funny and yet emotional punch.
So let's begin with the central theme of the film. From frame one you have Thanos walking in and in the first ten minutes you know what you are in for. Anything is possible is Inifinity War and the Russo brothers' vision is going to be as uncomprising as maybe Thanos' own vision of the universe. To be fair this is an out and out Thanos story. He is the central character and with 20+ superheroes, this is a wise script move.
No matter how well you understand the MCU nothing can prepare you for Thanos. His vision is evil yet logical. His methods psychopathic yet emotional. And his power is cruel yet absolute. Even if CGI, Josh Brolin's Thanos will go down in history as one of the top ten villians of all time.
Meanwhile the Avengers and the Guardians assemble together in bits and pieces trying to take on Thanos and his henchmen (who btw may look like Harry Potter rejects but are formidable in their own sense particulary Ebony Maw who floats around and has this eer ie philosophy of expecting victims to welcome death). These fights happen in various parts of the universe with only one objective to prevent the eponymous infinity stones from being taken by Thanos.
The genuinely laugh out loud ego clashes and the interactions of these super egoed super heroes are a highlight of the film but the laughter soon turns into mayhem as soon as Thanos' shadow falls on the scene. There are at least 7 story arcs mostly about love family and relationship and how far will characters go to sacrifice to get to their goals including Thanos. What is astonishing is that there is something for every character. You have this epic scene with Thor, another great one with Dr. Strange, the Guardians light up the screen every time they come on it with their unintended humour and then there is the whole black panther brigade - royal, clinical and deadly.
Mixing all of this together and making it a heart stopping 150 mins is the true cinematic achievement of Infinity war. The last 20 mins is like a Marvel movie on Flakka. Before you can even digest what is happening, it's already happened.
It is undoubtedly the unmissable movie of the year and arguably of the decade and if you are an MCU fan watch it before you start noticing the spoilers. As Thanos says "Dread it. Run from it. Destiny will still arrive."

Speaking of spoilers - SPOILER ALERT
The end credits scene literally spells out what will happen next and if Infinity War 2 will have this character in it then rest assured Kevin Feige is setting up an even more massive MCU part II. Cant wait for part 2 and the interim film that is essential.