Deeply flawed

Rating: 4/10 (10 August 2018)

There are two types of stories where the hero doesn't save the day. Horror and documentary - horror because the villian is far too powerful to begin with, but even then is usually thwarted by the last of the survivors it has chosen to torment. The other is documentaries, because they are based on real events - but usually the heroes win, because they write the histories.
This film is neither and while others applaud the boldness of letting half of the universe get snuffed out, I would say that if the studio was truly bold it would not release another film featuring the characters it so casually got rid of. As it is, this 'boldness' costs them nothing more than thinking of some BS excuse to bring them back, and we are all the poorer for it, for if they can be brought back once, why not twice? Why not over and over again? Death has no meaning to these heroes, they'll be back as long as writers can dream up an excuse.
Further, I object to Thanos' loony idea. Kill five billion people on Earth (half is less but then there are airline pilots that disappeared, people killed in traffic because of crashes, etc. etc. Within 100 years, the population will be pushing 8 billion again. He hasn't stoped the problem, merely delayed it for a little while.
However, the problem isn't even real. Thomas Malthus published his 'Essay on the Principle of Population' in 1798 predicting that people would run out of food - yet today, we produce far more food than we can use (even if it was sent to feed the hungry in areas of famine).
Finally, Thanos doesn't even have the courage of his convictions. If he believed that it was for the good of the universe, he should have volunteered that he be the first taken. The fact that he isn't means that he doesn't believe and is also a coward.
Truly this is the worst of the Marvel films to date.