Best. Superhero. Movie.

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2020)

Infinity War... where to start with this one.
Opening night was something spectacular for me when it came to this film. I went in with the same anticipation I had for most Marvel movies- which is to say excited but not expecting anything more than good. I am so glad that what we got rose above that threshold to be something I will never forget.
From the very start the film grips you by putting the focus almost entirely on Thanos as it's central figure and killing off characters that were just saved only a movie ago in Thor: Ragnarok. This cold open was enough for me to be sold on Thanos as a character and the film enhances him more and more as it goes on.
I have to give huge props to Marvel for letting the Russos, Stephen McFeely and Christopher Marcus be more impactful with this movie and it was well worth the hype. The action scenes carry the movie and are all well thought out, engaging, and creative to the big screen. Not one scene is wasted and the forward momentum keeps you enticed.
Alan Silvestri- what a comeback for his time with the MCU. He had previously only scored Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers before being dropped in favor of other composers for the next few projects. Him being back on for Infinity War gives the movie a score that enhances it's operatic weight to heights I did not expect. I knew his score would be great but so many moments are made by the music alone. The triumphant Avengers theme playing at the beginning as I had hoped since Age of Ultron was satisfying and the ending, that ending, was film score perfection. One of the best end credit suites to most recent blockbusters.
Another thing that was striking was the Russo's approach to color in this movie as most Marvel movies all share the same 2010 gritty bland-gray look and take away from some of the fun costumes. This time around they nailed the look, allowing for scenes to pop with their greenscreened backgrounds by having the sets lit identically to how they wanted them to look on film.
One of the biggest achievements of this movie was Thanos himself and all the VFX work that made him believable. That's extremely commendable but has done so too many times and I would rather praise the great VFX and artwork in general. The sound design and CGI blend to create a cosmic comicbook world that looks like something straight out of a conceptual artbook. There are tiny details in every VFX shot that sell these characters' interactions and action beats. Iron Man's nano armor was a stand out and the great colors of Nidavellir contrast the rest of the film to sell the third act.
The ending is what made this movie as big as it is- the heroes lose, what's not to love about that? It felt like The Empire Strikes Back for this franchise and a true epic finale to every story we had been presented so far. Getting to see these characters beat down was satisfying and had some of the most poignant scenes in the end. The infamous porch scene is a standout and is incredibly memorable- and daunting. No one was prepared for this and it made this movie all the more special.
There is so much more to say about Marvel's greatest achievement (in my opinion) but I think most of it has already been said. This is my favorite superhero movie of all time and I don't see any other topping it any time soon.