A good film and worthy of the MCU

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2018)

I saw Avengers Infinity War at the cinema and thought it was a brilliant film and a really good addition to the MCU collection.
I have been a fan of the MCU since it began with Iron Man in 2008, and after 19 films the only one I have disliked is Dr Strange.
I liked the character of Dr Strange but the film itself just got weird with the buildings turing on thier head and everything spiralling around them.
Dr Stange is himself a good addition to the MCU, and putting him with the rest of the Avengers kept him more 'grounded' (for lack of a better word) than if he were alone or with other magical beings.
One thing that I thought was strange is that he had an infinity stone yet never used it? During that fight with him, Iron Man, Spider-Man and the Guardians Vs Thanos, how much easier would it have been if he had simply frozen time?
Ok he used it once to see all the possible futures, and claims there was only one in which they win. But he clearly saw something else that he kept to himself because he was quick to surrender the stone to save Stark.
I was dissapointed that one of my favourite originals - Hawkeye - was missing (and why hasn't he had his own film yet? He more than deserves it) there is a reason I'm sure but it's still dissapointing.
And as a relative new-comer I had expected to see Ant-Man in the mix.
And on this note what happened to Korg, Meek and Valkryie? They were on the Asguardian refugee ship with Thor, Loki, Hulk and Heimdall at the end of Thor Ragnarok so where did they go?
I thought how Iron Mans suit had evolved with Wakandan nano technology was a good touch as it showed how Wakanda was intergrading itself into the world, but I thought they went a little over the top with it: turning his arms into swords and hammers etc almost instantly seemed a bit too much (it was almost like watching the fight scene between Peter Quill and a Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 when a giant rock Ego attacks a rock Pac Man) and the extra weapons that sprout from his back to hover at his sides just seems implausible.
Both Black Panther and Spider-Man's suit were also using the same nano technology but couldn't do that, so why do it to Iron Man?
I liked Spider-Mans new suit, it looked really cool; they had hinted at this suit at the end of Spider-Man Homecoming and it was great to see it in action. I liked the spiders legs that sprout from his back, reminiscent of the spider suit Peter Parker has in some Spider-Man games I've played, but where was the A.I. KAREN of his previous suit? I hope this new suit doesn't mean she's gone (hopefully it's like JARVIS and FRIDAY, whereby she continues in whatever suit he wears)
I thought they went wrong with Thor.
In Thor Ragnarok they let him explore his true powers after Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela, but suddenly they have back-peddled and gave him a new hammer/axe - Stormbreaker.
I see why they wanted Thor to go to Nidavellir, to show that the same dwarfs that created Mjolnir also made Thanos' gauntlet, and therefore hint at its power, but I thought how they tied Thor down to another hammer/axe stifled him.
I didn't really get how a small hammer/axe has the same power as the bifrost, where does it draw its power for a start?
All that aside it was good to see him using Stormbreaker it the big fight on Earth, and he did use his new-found powers to a degree, but I would have liked to see him build on the power he had unlocked at the end of Thor Ragnarok more, and they were quick to ditch the eyepatch.
Why was Black Widow suddenly blonde, what is the point of that? I did like the fight scenes with her and the Wakandan Captain Vs Thano's followers.
I thought having Paul Bettany looking like himself over Vision was a good touch, it had been shown in Captain America Civil War that he was starting to evolve and develop human traits, so showing him with a proper human form seemed right, but he was only like that for a short time, then for the rest of the film he remained in the robot form he'd always been which was a shame.
I thought how they retained the personality of the Hulk (which they established in Thor Ragnarok) was good, giving him the ability to control himself in not allowing Bruce Banner to bring him out, then allowing him to communicate with Bruce.
By not having the Hulk and giving Bruce Banner the 'Hulk Buster MKII' suit was an excellent idea, it gave the team the power and strength of Hulk, a nod to Iron Man (who was absent from the fight as he was on Thanos' planet) and we got to see more of Bruce than in previous films where usually the Hulk would take over.
Sticking loosely to the Hulk, it was weird how suddenly Heimdall is able to summon the power of the bifrost to sent Hulk to Earth (but then how else would he have got back) but if he could do that why not also save Thor, Loki and himself at the same time? And how are we only seeing this in him now after 3 Thor films?
I will say I was sad to see Heimdall executed.
I thought it was sad when Loki was killed by Thanos, but it did inspire Thor to fight back - and honestly we've seen Loki 'die' in nearly every film he's been in, so I wouldn't be surprised to find him alive somewhere down the line.
Thanos did make a mocking comment about 'no more ressure ting' but I don't believe that.
It was good to finally see the Guardians of the Galaxy properly intergraded with the Avengers, although I was very sad to see Gamora 'die'.
Spider-Mans references to films continued in this film, and how he and Peter Quill talked about movies I thought helped to cement the Gaurdians with the Avengers.
I liked the cameo by Red Skull, I didn't think he had just died at the end of Captain America The First Avenger, so it is good that we got closure by seeing his fate.
Nick Fury's scene at the end was really only there to give a link to the MCU's next big character - Captain Marvel.
Having not read the comic-books I'm not fully familiar with all the characters, but from what I've read online Captain Marvel has superhuman strength, durability and speed, she can fly and is able to project and absorb energy.
Not that I'm against Captain Marvel, but she is basically there to fulfil the roles of a creature that won't show his green face anyway (Hulk), two dead men (Quicksilver and Vision) and someone who has been 'destroyed' by the soul stone (Scarlett Witch) it seems she is only there to ensure a victory for the Avengers.
I say 'destroyed' with quotation marks against Scarlett Witch because, also from reading online, people 'destroyed' by the soul stone are presumably retained inside the stone, and can be resurrected from it should the bearer choose.
So it's possible that everyone 'destroyed' by Thanos with the stone could be resurrected later; as too with Gamora who was sacrificed by Thanos in order to claim the soul stone - and her survival was hinted at further by her child self appearing to Thanos (presumably she appeared as her child self because that is how Thanos always remembered her)
And we all know that eventually that HAS to happen; they already announced that there will be another Spider-Man film, so he must return.
There is likely to be another Guardians film so that's Peter Quill, Gamora, Mantis, Groot and Drax to come back (otherwise who's left? Rocket and Nebula) this would also apply to Black Panther and Dr Strange.
Assuming the absent Hawkeye survived Thanos' universal mass-exodus, none of the original Avengers were destroyed. Very curious, I don't see yet how Iron Man can get back from Thanos' world as he was left there alone, but are we going to see an original team reunion?
This was a very good film, but the mass-exodus the end (that we already know wouldn't last) did lose the film a star in my opinion.