This is obviously a big one so I thought I’d chip in with my thoughts. In case you missed an earlier review by Dylan S. Phillips, click here.
Synopsis: As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment , the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain. (Marvel Studios)
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr and Josh Brolin
Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Rating: PG (Canada)/PG-13 (United States)
Running Time: 149mins
Trailer:
For showtimes and more, check out Avengers: Infinity War on movietimes.com.
So this is what that last 10 years have been leading to? Suffice it to say that there are a lot of moving parts here with characters and storylines from 18 different films carrying over. Getting everything on track is a necessary evil and may cause growing pains for some but what was the film’s biggest risk ended up being one of its biggest strengths. Obviously, there was considerable amount of ground to cover for the story to get to its inevitable destination as it followed several clusters of characters as they took on their largest threat so far, Thanos (Brolin), from multiple fronts.
Ever since The Avengers, Thanos had been slowly trying to collect the Infinity Stones (Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Soul and Time) in a quest to achieve unattainable power over the universe. Out of all the MCU villains so far, Thanos stands above the rest (literally) as he has been slowly developed just like all the other characters over the course of the last few films. Most of what we know about him was what he did to the other characters over those films so none of the character motivation felt forced. In this film, he came and he conquered, all while posing a legitimate threat. However, as in the last few MCU films, this one offered another side of him that helped show that he was more than just a menacing presence.
The stakes have already been established since The Avengers so with that out of the way, it was exciting to watch these clusters of characters go about Thanos and his minions. All these subplots may seem unconnected at first but the story manages to fit them together in a way that it respects the surplus of characters in play. This meant some unusual combinations (ones that we haven’t seen before) that did not disappoint because of how the film was able to seamlessly combine all the different personalities. It also found time for comedic and serious moments that worked more often than not.
There were plenty of great and surprisingly emotional character moments throughout as the story developed over the last several phases of the MCU started to come to its conclusion. There were ups and downs as well as some twists with the story handling some heavy themes along the way (assuming you’ve avoided spoilers). The characters didn’t disappoint and neither did the action. The film was a spectacle and so were the action sequences. What ultimately tied everything together was its epic score that always managed to fit the action on screen without overpowering it.
The acting was great across the board. We’ve spent a considerable amount of time with these actors and they’ve only gotten better over that time. The film was a showcase of how far they’ve come. Their chemistry is what made everything work as well as it did. Everyone, more or less, had a chance to shine, however, there were still a few performances that stood out above the rest. Most of the characters had some sort of arc throughout the film but the best belonged to Thor and Thanos. Chris Hemsworth’s performance as Thor was his best yet and Brolin’s excellent vocal performance as Thanos brought the CGI character and all of his layers to life.
For those who don’t already know, expect one post-credits scene at the very end of the film. While this is the longest film of the MCU, clocking in at 2.5 hours, it is very much worth the wait.
Overall, this was an excellent spectacle of a superhero film and a worthy first part (although not technically the first part) of the finale of the current MCU that is nowhere near over. It had a compelling and surprisingly emotional roller coaster story that respected all of its characters while giving them a formidable protagonist in the form of Thanos.
Score: 9.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
