By Brett Blake This is going to be a slightly lighter review than normal, partially because I don’t particularly want to get into specifics about plot (as there are legitimately surprising things that happen throughout), but mostly because AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is not a complete movie. It is half of a five-hour story that we will see conclude next year. As such, there’s not much that can be discussed in depth, because many things remain up in the air. Pushing past that, I can safely say that INFINITY WAR is a massive spectacle, crammed (probably too crammed) with terrific characters, wild action sequences and fights, and the sense of humor audiences have come to expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe... albeit tempered by a weightier, slightly more tense, apocalyptic flavor. Since nearly anything one could say about what happens in this movie could be considered to be a spoiler to somebody, I’ll limit discussion of the plot to the official synopsis: “The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.” Beyond that, I will only add that the fight against Thanos brings together nearly all of the major characters who have so far appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Black Widow, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even more. The weight of expectation can be a deadly, dangerous thing for a film. Marvel, in a rather fearless display, has leaned hard into that with INFINITY WAR, actively embracing the notion that this is the culmination of 10 years (and 18 movies) of long-form cinematic storytelling. In doing so, Marvel has invited the highest of expectations on the part of those who have been following these movies since IRON MAN first arrived in May of 2008. INFINITY WAR is a climactic chapter to a half-dozen individual series -- it has literally dozens of characters (many the focus points of their own films) to service, and a large handful of running storylines to begin to pay off. Taking all of that into account, perhaps INFINITY WAR’s greatest achievement is that it isn’t a complete mess. There is undeniably too much going on, as the movie races from action sequence to action sequence, but there is a breathless quality to it all that pulls us through, and the characters are consistently engaging enough to patch over what is probably a too-straightforward plot driving everything. The real joy of this movie is in seeing these heroes - many of whom have never encountered each other before - sharing the screen, sparring with each other, and ultimately teaming up, and on that level, INFINITY WAR is massively entertaining. Some characters get more to do than others, but that is very likely by design will probably be balanced out somewhat in next year’s AVENGERS 4. One of INFINITY WAR’s biggest tasks was making its villain, Thanos, worthy of years of teasing and buildup. Though he’s appeared in a few movies leading up to this in small cameos, this movie is the first where we’ve gotten to spend any significant time with him. INFINITY WAR has to do the heavy lifting required to make him feel like, well, an actual character and a true threat to the Avengers... and Earth... and even the universe itself. Somehow, the filmmakers have pulled it off and created a layered and complicated antagonist, one who can physically go toe-to-toe with the most powerful superheroes, sure, but who is also motivated and has legitimate (and very effective) character development. Josh Brolin, acting underneath layers of digital animation, is able to deliver some quite subtle notes in his performance, and he helps makes Thanos the MCU’s best villain to date. With the density of the mythology being played with, and the number of characters (and their existing relationships that the movie expects audiences to be fluent in), this is easily Marvel’s least-accessible entry to date. That’s not to say it’s inaccessible, but it certainly is asking for a level of continuity literacy on a bigger scale than any of the films that have come before. With a few key exceptions where some backstory is relayed, this is not a narrative that is interested in stopping to make sure viewers have everything connected. The movie is also overstuffed, there’s no question (the script breaks the cast up into smaller groups that are presumably more manageable, but even so...), however, a positive byproduct of this is that it is absolutely packed with incident; there are countless moments in here that will thrill and shock fans of these characters, and that goes a long way towards making the film a memorable spectacle that demands to be seen on the largest screen you can find. If this review comes across as skewing somewhat lukewarm, it’s because so many of the most wonderful things about INFINITY WAR are individual beats that I can’t talk about! Needless to say, I’m confident that anybody who is a fan of Marvel and pays to see INFINITY WAR will find they absolutely get their money’s worth. If nothing else, INFINITY WAR goes big. It goes for broke. It starts at a 10 and escalates from there, leaving nothing on the table. It’s kind of exhausting... but mostly in a good way. It does make you wonder, though: where can AVENGERS 4 go from here? How can Marvel top the enormity of this? And how can it possibly tie-up the threads that are left dangling here when the credits roll? We’ll find out next year.
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