To Infinity and beyond!

Rating: 9/10 (3 May 2018)

There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they can make the universe that nobody else would, to see if it can be more than a franchise. On that day, when Hollywood's most brilliant filmmakers came together to win box offices the way no one could. On that day, they made the MCU. All theatrics aside, this is an achievement unlike anything seen before. For ten years, we have had the pleasure of a consistently good series of films starring superheroes, many of whom were virtually unheard of or overlooked by the general public from "Iron Man" to "Black Panther". Now, the hype has reached its highest point yet when the Avengers and others must band together one more time against their greatest challenge yet, the mad titan Thanos, who seeks ultimate power by collecting the Infinity Stones, which power a Gauntlet that will allow its user total mastery of the universe.
Words may not be sufficient for what I experienced, but I'll do my best nonetheless (without spoilers of course). Seeing all the faces we've come to know and love come together, in some cases meeting for the first time, and playing off each other was beyond amazing, their chemistry practically flawless and well worth the wait. They also provide beautiful combos of skills and powers to the table with even minor characters like Nebula and Falcon having their moments to shine on the battlefield. The music perfectly accentuates many scenes from the epic to the tragic like Capt. America's first appearance and the comedy is top notch. Plot twists are at an all-time high here as there are many things that utterly shocked me to the core, one of which made my jaw drop. In fact, the drama is arguably as strong, if not stronger, than the action scenes with plenty of heart-wrenching moments and dialogue.
So, after all the buildup, how does Thanos hold up? Enough to hold up the very heavens. Josh Brolin brings an astonishing depth to a menacing villain who is almost the protagonist in this story, his backstory and motivations making complete sense when you think about it. You also empathize with what he's going through as he is not going on his campaign unscathed, physically and emotionally. He's not doing it out of a clichÃ©d bad guy desire but out of sense of what he believes is right (different from his comic counterpart but still effective).
It's funny how these movies played out as a trilogy, not just literally but in a state of being; the 1st had the spectacle in seeing these heroes come together (body), the 2nd was more philosophical (mind), and the 3rd hits you in the heart (spirit). The film ends on an open, ambiguous note, so we'll have to wait for the 4th Avengers to complete the story. Some of you should have spare underwear and be ready to empty your tear ducts for the awesomeness and tragedy to come. The tides of the MCU have changed and we must be ready for anything.