Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Review

*NO SPOILERS*

Destiny has arrived...and it is the homerun everyone was hoping for.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his Black Order attempts to bring together the 6 Infinity Stones in an effort to wipe out half of all life in the universe. The fractured Avengers must re-unite and team-up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop the mad titan from using the Infinity Gauntlet.

Much like Marvel's The Avengers, and Captain America: Civil War before it, the dynamic of seeing SO MANY heroes on screen, interacting with each other will be the defining feature of this film. Particularly, knowing all the characters over the 10 years of the MCU has familiarized even the least notable characters, allowing the viewer to settle right into seeing them co-mingle with other, more established ones. IW does introductions right, with Captain America's (Chris Evans) first appearance and a certain Thor (Chris Hemsworth) introduction sending nerd chills throughout even a casual fans body. The interplay between Drax (Dave Bautista), Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Thor is particularly hilarious, as is Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.).

My biggest take-away from the film is the MCU's new defining villain. The motion-captured Thanos is menacing. Despite the purple, oversized body and villainous motive, Brolin's voice work and facials hold a hurt, sad quality that keeps Thanos from being evil for evils sake. This is also expressed by the several terrific scenes shared with his daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Perhaps the best scene in the film acting-wise involves a flashback to their first meeting, where we see the softer side of the big bad.

Much has been discussed in the past of the MCU's aversion to memorable music, but Infinity War will certainly assuage that notion. Alan Silvestri is back as composer, and there are several fist-pump worthy scenes where The Avengers theme plays at juuust the right moment. Individual heroes have twinges of their themes play during their introductions, again solidifying that Marvel is in it for the long game. Whether it be score or story, executive producer Kevin Feige has crafted a marvelous world that is more concerned with making a palatable first impression than unwisely attempting to wow you. While perhaps counter-intuitive to the film industry norm, this has worked wonders, allowing for the big pay-offs years later.

A final note: the action is incredible. My biggest fear was that the third act would devolve into a big battle vs a large army ala Avengers 1 & 2. This is not the case. Yes, the big battle is exciting, with different elements throughout, but there is also an incredible number of 1-on-1 fights, and even some team on team action. Without saying too much, seeing a number of heroes battling Thanos, using their powers in combination to try and stop him from using the Gauntlet is a highlight.

The biggest criticism (from myself included) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that the majority of its films are formulaic. Swap in and out different characters, and you basically have the same movie regardless. The third installment of the Avengers series is anything but. 10 years and 19 movies later, Marvel Studios takes the biggest risks of its life in Infinity War, and they all pay-off. Ending on a cliff-hanger, Infinity War shakes up the status-quo of the MCU in the best way possible, leaving fans wondering what comes next. The spectacle that is Avengers: Infinity War is the MCU firing on all cylinders, bringing the series to an absolute apex. A most definite SEE IT TWICE movie.