It has been ten years since Iron Man first flew into cinemas. In that time fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have enjoyed a rollercoaster ride of awesome movies...and some not so awesome movies. But all great things must come to an end, and the culmination of the last ten years has begun with Avengers: Infinity War.
Picking up where Thor: Ragnarok left off, things aren't looking good for our heroes; the Avengers are divided, half of them are wanted by the authorities, Thor and Banner are far from Earth and have just encountered Thanos' ship; Sanctuary 2. The Mad Titan is planning to wipe out half of all life in the universe and to do that he needs all six Infinity Stones. And the only people standing in his way aren't talking right now, but they do have some new friends to help them, including the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and the armies of Wakanda. But will that be enough?
The Russo Brothers have once again delivered. There aren't many people who could juggle a project of this magnitude, but they have done a wonderful job. Infinity War is well deserving of all the hype...and the wait. It's fair to say, the movie has a lot of surprises in store. Things kick into high gear right from the off and don't let up until the credits role. These characters that we've gotten to know over the last 10 years end up even more scattered than they have ever been, which results in some interesting team ups. You get a hint of this in the trailers, but they've definitely saved the best for the main event. Despite the dire situation facing the Avengers and their new friends - in fact the stakes have never been higher - the humour that the Marvel movies are known for hasn't been lost. Both James Gunn and Taika Waititi were brought in to help with the script. The result is a movie that can be funny one minute and sad the next, and everything just seems to flow perfectly.
Like all movies in the MCU, the visuals are stunning. The locations, the characters and all of the visual effects, everything looks amazing. Well apart from one small shot that is, and everyone who has seen the movie will know the one I mean. The story takes us to several new places, including some interesting new planets. Both Iron Man and Spider-Man get new suits with fancy new tricks up their sleeves. Thanos and all of the CGI characters look great, with mo-cap performances translating perfectly. Then there's the Infinity Gauntlet, it's a little bit chintzy for my taste but considering Thanos is 9 feet tall and purple, he really pulls it off. We've seen what most of the Infinity Stones are capable of individually, now we get to see what happens when you combine them. And it wouldn't be an Avengers movie without some epic battles. The fight scenes come thick and fast throughout, but the action-packed finale - which takes place in two distinct locations - is one for the books.
Ever since Infinity War was announced, people have been questioning whether it's possible to fit so many characters in one movie without some getting lost in the background. Well for one thing the movie is two and a half hours long - not that it ever feels like it, in fact it flies by. All of the performances are great, everyone is on top of their game. Yes, some characters get a little more screen time than others, but none feel short changed. What really separates this from every other movie in the MCU is, this is the villain's story. Ever since he made his first appearance back in 2012 at the end of Avengers Assemble, we've been waiting to see what Thanos has in store for the universe. And lets just say, between Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's script and Josh Brolin's performance, the Mad Titan doesn't disappoint. Oddly enough, Brolin was able to make him quite relatable. It's a very powerful performance, through which we get to see many sides of Thanos, he sacrifices a lot. His goal is not all that sinister, he actually wants to make life better in the universe, but the way in which he's going about it...well they don't call him the "Mad Titan" for nothing!
The problem with a cinematic universe like this one, is we are aware of future planned movies. For fans, knowing which characters have movies in the pipeline can undermine the overall story. I can honestly say that the writers and directors made some bold decisions with the direction the story takes in Infinity War. But in some cases this doesn't hold as much weight with audiences because we know what the future holds, even with Marvel's talent for deception. As you can imagine, Infinity War ends on a massive cliff hanger, and it will leave you very curious as to how things will turn out in Avengers 4. But I don't think you'll ever be worried for any of the characters.
Avengers: Infinity War is one of, if not the most ambitious project in movie history, and the Russo brothers just knocked it out of the park. This epic adventure - with its intense story and complicated villain - is fun, action-packed, and really quite emotional. But to a degree this part has always been fairly predictable, the mystery lies in where things go from here...at least we don't have to wait another ten years to find out!
10/10
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