Justifies All the Hype and Keeps the Marvel Blockbuster Train Rolling

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2018)

Marvel's been at this so long that their success is no longer a surprise. They aren't just a part of Disney film making, they're a benchmark in big budget entertainment. So, expectations for the new Avengers installment were sky high. We've had smash hit after smash hit from the studio and I'm happy to report that they've got another winner. One reason for this is that Infinity War maintains the delicate balance of keep things light while keeping the stakes raised. There were more than a few times that the entire audience burst out laughing but with the added threat of Thanos (Josh Brolin), the threat he poses to the world is grave and you feel that tension. This is compounded by the fact that this doesn't follow a template, they take things on new tangents and although I was able to guess a few things, Infinity War never fell into a rut or felt too familiar.
Much like the Russo's previous work for Marvel (CA: The Winter Soldier and CA: Civil War) they somehow give everyone enough time to show what they can do, even with such a large ensemble. I was able to spend enough time with each major character to find out their motivation and how they planned to deal with the looming threat. They also split into smaller groups and they had such great chemistry together that there wasn't a stale moment. Everyone is humanized, and no one is just defined by their special abilities. This even includes the villains which is no mean feat. We see new sides of some of the characters, background players get some time in the spotlight and although these heroes boast superhuman abilites, we learn just how vulnerable they are in their moments of weakness.
You don't get much bigger than the names in this cast. That sounds hyperbolic, but you have to remember just how many people have been collecting checks as heroes or villains in this universe. There are too many members in the cast to go through 1 by 1 but I did have a couple of favourites. Chris Hemsworth builds off his strong performance in Thor: Ragnarok, Robert Downey Jr. was his typically excellent self and it was nice that Elizabeth Olsen got more to do as Scarlet Witch. Some of the relatively new cast members like Tom Holland and Chadwick Boseman were also exceptional. I also really liked Josh Brolin as Thanos, he's a worthwhile villain for our heroes and there was a lot of feeling in his performance despite it being performance capture.
With a movie housing so many wild and memorable characters with their own independent style and motivations, there was bound to be a couple of missteps. The biggest for me was Gamora's subplot with Thanos. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of important work here where we see another side to Thanos that isn't a bloodthirsty lunatic. It makes him a more memorable Marvel antagonist instead of him just fading into the crowd. But Gamora loses strength as a character by how easily she bends to Thanos and it dampened parts of the story for me. They also make Dr. Strange even more arrogant and there were moments where his act was wearing a little thin. The movie doesn't completely skate around plot holes but none of them are egregious enough to wreck the movie. The other small issue is that there is so much buildup and hype for Infinity War that it was almost impossible to live up to that ideal.
The last thing I want to mention is that I want to credit the creative team for doing something bold with the ending. It would have been easy to just setup a sequel and slide into a happy ending but that's not the direction they chose to go with. They really caught me off guard and I think most people will have a similar reaction. It makes me just that more intrigued about where they will choose to go next (we know there's going to be another Avengers movie, that's not a spoiler).
Anyone who's been attending the local cineplex in the summer over the past 5-10 years has a passing familiarity with Iron Man, Captain America and the Marvel characters. The fans expected a lot and this movie delivered. Almost every character had their time to shine, the movie balances the action and the humour superbly and they tell a story that does all the buildup justice. They also take it a way that will open things up and stray from predictably just marketing for the next standalone. Keep your eyes open for some Easter eggs and a couple of surprise appearances. If you're a Marvel fan, I'd recommend this wholeheartedly but let's face it, you were going to go see it anyway.