"Avengers: Infinity War" Review: A War to Marvel Over

Rating: 9/10 (19 May 2018)

Where is the "Infinity War" review? What is an "Infinity War" review? I got one better...WHY is "Infinity War" review?.....okay that was a stupid reference.
"Avengers: Infinity War" gives fans the quality battles and banter they were expecting out of Marvel's biggest comic hero mash-up yet, but also takes things to a new high with a bold ending and providing the best MCU villain to date.
Following the breakup of the Avengers, the Earth and the entire universe is finally the target in the crosshairs of an alien war lord named Thanos, who seeks to collect all six infinity stones so that he can gain the power to exterminate half the population of the universe at the snap of a finger...literally. To take on this threat, not only do the Avengers have to get along with each other again, but team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to save the day. But can they?
This film is basically review-proof. You can barely talk about anything because just about anything would be considered a spoiler. Thanos plays an Easter egg hunt for 6 glowing power rocks and our heroes, broken into various parties, try to stop him from doing so. The film wastes no time getting to the point and never really has a moment where the film tones down its breakneck pace. Even in dramatic moments the film never drags on too long with any obstacle. Clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film never feels its length.
Character interaction was arguably the highlight of the original "Avengers" from 2012 and that is, even more, the case with "Infinity War". The new characters added to the Marvel roster are now thrown into the mix and the filmmakers clearly did their homework to make the sure the right individuals were mixed together to maximize the comedic effect. The best example of this is the mix of Thor and the Guardians. If someone back in 2008 would have coined the idea of paring the God of Thunder with a smart mouthing space raccoon (or rabbit if you ask Thor), reasonably the almighty film judges would have thrown the screen booking right at them without hesitation. However, to no one in 2018's surprise the combo works better than one could have dreamed. Then there is the matching of Iron Man (power by science) with Doctor Strange (power by magic). The more Strange appears in films the more I want another Doctor Strange solo film. Except with a good villain next time.
Speaking of good villains, that has been a notorious issue with Marvel films. At best, the antagonists are just fine and get the job done, but rarely has there been a villain who steals the show or really proves to be much of a threat. Black Panther more or less yanked the chain along with Guardians 2 and Spiderman: Homecoming. Now comes "Infinity War" with Thanos to break the chain. Just in the opening scene alone, the film establishes Thanos as a legitimate threat to our heroes. Not only is he a well presented threat, but he is also a well-defined character. Josh Brolin, who is basically good in everything, provides such a good performance that you almost start to reason with his character's plight...even if genocide is a part of the equation of it all. This really is his film in the end.
On the matter of "ends", the climax of this film is a new definition of daring not only to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but superhero films in general. I can't say what occurs, but needless to say, it will be interesting to see how they go about following it up. Remember, even though "Part I" isn't in the title, this is a two-part story that ends in a cliffhanger.
There are no real negatives to speak of here. I personally still put "Civil War" as the best of the MCU. I felt that film handled complex social issues and political differences in an interesting way and for me, watching heroes go against each other is more tragic then fighting another common enemy. I also felt the action had more interesting choreography. The battles are well handled in "Infinity War"... it is a war film after all...kind of in the title. Still, there wasn't really an "airport scene" or "omg Cap and Iron Man are fighting" scene. The action is grand, but it's not necessarily one of "Infinity War's" highlights in my opinion.
Still, it is very impressive when the highlight of a superhero film is the dramatic moments and not the action. "Infinity War" provides a quality dosage of both and should be more than enough to keep the core audience healthy and hungry for the next chapter in the MCU.