Infinitely heroic

“Avengers: Infinity War” is the culmination of 18 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, otherwise known as the MCU. These series of films include the “Iron Man,” “Thor” “Captain America,” series, as well as “Black Panther,” “Hulk,” “Spiderman” and many other heroes.

The cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Olsen, the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, and many many others. It is one of the most expensive films ever produced.

As I don’t want to give out any spoilers, you may find this review a bit vague. If you ever do see it, or if you already have, I bet you don’t mind me leaving out key parts. Anyways, the film begins with a bang, and absolutely never lets up.

Throughout a series of events, Marvel’s most important characters (barring Hawkeye and Ant-Man of course) are pared off on different side quests, all related to taking down Thanos, who also happens to be Gamora’s (of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films) father.

A lot of the fun of the film comes from the interactions between perfectly mismatched heroes. These include Star-Lord and Thor, Iron man and Doctor Strange, Bucky and Rocket, and the list goes on.

One may think that it would be hard to form a cohesive story that gets all of these mega-heroes together, and one may be right. While “IW” is more than worth the ten bucks it costs to get in, if you haven’t seen the MCU movies that come before it, you might not know what the hell is going on.

There are some truly deep dives here. Much of the film is comprised of deep cuts to both the preceding film series and the comics that the heroes are based on.

Big fans, such as myself, will be in euphoria as long-forgotten characters return and small subplots from other films are briefly mentioned. “IW” is basically superhero porn, straight on, and that’s one of the reasons why it is so much fun.

One of the most surprising things about the film is the point of view from which it’s told from. Perhaps the main character in the story is Thanos, the film’s villain.

Josh Brolin gives one of the best motion capture performances I’ve ever seen here, and he plays the villain off as a relatable, and almost sympathetic, character. It was a bold move to make the center of the story a big, hulking (pun intended) purple cgi character, but it payed off.

You might be going into this expected a full blown action film, and it is a lot of that. However, it’s the quiet scenes of quirky humor and heart-on-your-sleeve emotion that absolutely hammers the picture home and makes it a reigning chapter in the MCU saga.

All of the characters are mostly exactly like you remember them, and once their in danger, you absolutely feel the tension. Usually you know how a superhero film is going to end up… well… not in this one you don’t.

Now, this isn’t a perfect film. If you don’t like Marvel movies or superhero films in general, stay away from this one.

There’s also a couple of side quests that could’ve been pared down to make the daunting running time a bit better, but those are some of the only qualms I have.

“IW” has been marketed as a closing chapter to the stories of the heroes we know and love. I’ll say right off the bat, it is not that. It’s quite clearly the first of two chapters.

While the film does absolutely have a beginning, middle, and end, there is obviously more to be told of the story than what’s left on screen after the credits roll. The decision to cut the movie into two pieces, but not to market it that way, was a brilliant decision. I promise you, you will not be expecting what happens at the end of this film.

When the credits rolled, I was in tears and in awe. Never have I seen such a mega-blockbuster pack so much heart, pathos, and stakes into one movie. It is an absolute masterpiece of the high budget star powered kind.

If you’re a fan of the MCU, you should’ve already seen it. However, if you’re just a fan of good blockbuster filmmaking, then I recommend that you brush up on your Marvel history and get yourself to a theater.

rolled, the

cries of children (and some adults) could be heard all around the theater.