"Avengers: Infinity War" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

A decade ago, a new Marvel movie called "Iron Man" came out, and there was born an idea to create a Marvel universe. At the time, it was an ambitious move that no person involved in was sure would pan out. It could've very well been a disaster. But, because of all the talent in front and behind the screen, the first "Avengers" movie came out to immense box office success. From there, the MCU has only continued to grow in its success. The total box office of all its nineteen movies has to be an absolutely staggering in amount, as not a one of them has been unsuccessful. But, "Avengers: Infinity War" is ambitious on a totally new level. This movie brings in nearly all its Marvel heroes from all its past 18 movies. That includes all the main heroes (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, etc.) and all the more minor ones (Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Rocket, etc.). To list all the characters in this film would be time-consuming. In "Infinity War" our heroes are on a race against Thanos to stop him from collecting all the infinity stones... because collecting all of them could be the end of the world as we know it. While that premise might sound cliched, trust me, this movie is far from that. "Avengers: Infinity War" is an incredible experience where you get to see all sorts of characters you love, perhaps the best Marvel villain to date, and a surprisingly dark and weight-filled tone throughout.

Before you start reading, be warned, there will be SPOILERS. It's near impossible to talk about this film without delving into spoiler territory. There's so much in this movie that I just have to talk about in order for my review to work. So, if you haven't seen the movie, then please, don't read any further. I'd hate for it to be spoiled for you. Now, on to the review. It's almost impossible to call "Avengers: Infinity War" a movie. It feels more like an experience. There's not generally a coherent three act structure, and there's also not that much character development. The premise of the movie is for the heroes to stop Thanos from getting all the infinity stones. What this movie, partly, is for is to see so many of your favorite characters coming together, interacting, and fighting evil. This movie excels on that front. The Russo Brothers, the directors of this movie, knew exactly how to perfectly pair all their respective heroes. Having Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and Peter Quill (the three most sarcastic characters with hearts of gold) interacting together was an absolutely ingenious idea. I loved the moments with them together. Having Thor with the Guardians was also a match made in heaven. The moments with them together creates some of the best comedy I've ever seen from any Marvel movie. There's moment after moment here where you will have a smile on your face just because of what the characters get to do. Something amazing about this movie is that there is no character that gets thrown out in regards to them getting significant screen time. Even the more minor characters, like Scarlet Witch and Vision, have some amazing moments dedicated to them. If you're a fan of the MCU, there should be several times when a smile will cross your face because you're seeing characters together or doing something that is such a pay-off of where their characters have been in other movies.

In general, another impressive thing about this movie is the sheer scope of it. It must have been a real challenge for the Russo brothers and the screenwriters to come up with ways to try and balance all these characters and plot points all happening at the same time. And yet, somehow, they mostly managed to do it. Like I mentioned before, it doesn't feel like any character is ignored or disregarded. The Russos know how much each of these characters mean to the fans, and they wanted to make sure proper respect was paid to all of them. Even though there are certain characters that definitely have more time paid to them (Thor, Gamora, Dr. Strange, Vision/Scarlet Witch, Iron Man), you still don't feel that any character is pushed to the side. This film also has to deal with vast changes in tone style. The Guardians of the Galaxy movie style is very different from an Iron Man movie style. Even though the tone changes can be a little hard to swallow at times (more on that later), I still think the Russo Brothers did better with it than I could've ever possibly expected. But what makes the scope of this movie ultimately work, is that it is not focused on the Avengers. The focus is actually on the villain, Thanos. This is a first for Marvel. They have always done a good job of focusing on the heroes, and that has left the villains lacking. Sure, there are some memorable "villains" like Loki, Killmonger, and Vulture, but I would consider those characters to be more like anti-heroes. Thanos is pure evil and menace, but he still gets a lot of depth and sympathy given to him. The audience is able to understand him beyond just being this guy who wants to take over the world. It floored me what they did with his character, especially in his surprisingly touching and heartbreaking relationship with Gamora. Thanos is a villain through and through, but a tragic villain in many ways. He gains what he wanted, but he still seems by the end of the movie to be fully aware of what it cost. I applaud the Russo Brothers for that alone. It was a risky move to make your villain the protagonist, and it paid off immensely. I was worried about Thanos being generic, but now his appearance in many of the other Marvel movies has worked. He's probably their best villain to date, only being maybe competed by Loki (who, like I said, is more of an anti-hero anyway).

Let's talk about something else that I appreciate so much about this film: the risks it decides to take. The idea of having all sorts of heroes together in one long movie was already a risky premise in itself. But this movie takes that risk even further than I expected. For one, this film is dark, easily the darkest Marvel movie to date. There's a feeling throughout that every moment could be a character's last. Right in the beginning of the movie, the dark tone is established with Thanos brutally killing Loki. As Loki is probably my favorite Marvel character, this was already dark and heartbreaking to me. If you don't like movies where you see some of your favorite characters die, then this movie isn't for you. Character's choices have consequences in this film. Even Thanos, who comes out victorious in this movie, still has to kill Gamora in order for him to achieve that victory. That was yet another death that blew me away, as I wasn't considering her as being one of the characters who would die. Even though there is comedic banter in this movie for a pretty good amount of time, you can still tell that all the characters know how important beating Thanos is. There isn't a moment where you aren't feeling the weight of them feeling that. This movie does feel like a war movie at times, especially in its surprisingly risk-taking ending. That ending was probably the last thing I would expect any Marvel movie to do. Even though I'm positive many of these characters will probably come back in part 2 (with Spider-Man and Black Panther being the most obvious to return), I still once again applaud the Russo Brothers for going fully dark and honing in on the very real theme of failure. The heroes don't always win. Sometimes we need to realize that, and this movie bring that reality into focus with perfection. Even though there are some deaths that feel more like they're not actual deaths in this movie, the weight of the passing of Loki, Vision, and especially Gamora are felt immensely.

Of course, I can't go without talking about this movie without discussing all the memorable performances here. There's hardly a single weak link in this cast, with some of the actors being at their absolute best. Of course the highlight of the movie is Josh Brolin as Thanos. He embodies this character perfectly. He gives Thanos so much menace, but he also provides him with an incredible amount of sympathy. This character shocked me in the best way possible; I'm so glad the movie revolved around him. Watching his character develop is fascinating, and was done so well that I was able to understand his motives, even if I didn't agree with them. I was also pleasantly surprised by Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Thor is a good enough character, but ultimately was never that interesting to me in comparison to Loki. Here though, Hemsworth nails his performance. Though Thor still jokes around quite a bit, there's a tragic element to his character that he's never had before. He's lost his brother, his father, and his home, so he really has nothing to lose now. Hemsworth brings forth this tragic element in an excellent way. Perhaps my favorite performance out of all the hero performances was actually Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange. If there was a hero here who had some sort of character arc, it would be him. Cumberbatch brings out the arrogant side of Strange, but he also brings out a touchingly compassionate side to him. I loved seeing where this character ended up; Cumberbatch absolutely shines bright in this movie every time he's on screen. Zoe Saldana brings such a fitting end to Gamora. I wasn't that fond of her in GOTG 2, which was unfortunate because she was my favorite part of the first one. In this movie she's much more like she was in that movie, and that made her death feel all the more powerful. Robert Downey Jr. gives it his all as Tony Stark, really making this character feel all the weight of the world as he tries to stop Thanos. Chris Evans gives Steve Rogers a chilling moment where he almost nearly fights off Thanos's hand with the gauntlet just by himself. That moment was powerful, as that is so fitting of the heroism and grit of Captain America. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen bring a lot of weight to Vision and Scarlet Witch's relationship so that you feel Vision's passing at the end. The only weak performance in the movie is Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, who just doesn't really do it for me in any of the Marvel movies he's been in.

There are just a few weak points to discuss about this movie. One is that the movie sometimes lacks a coherent tone. It was at its best when it was focusing on its dark tone or following Thanos. But, there were times when there were very abrupt changes. The changes could be confusing and can leave you in a constant state of whiplash. At the end of the day, it's not the biggest detractor, though. I think the Russo Brothers did the absolute best they could with the balancing act they had to accomplish in this film. I also almost wish this movie was a little longer. Even though I know that there's a part two, I honestly think this movie could been fleshed out to three hours and been better for it. Two and a half hours is still long enough, but just some more run-time could've decreased the constant feeling of breathlessness. My final issue with the movie is that there is (debatably) a lack of weight to some of the character's deaths in the movie's conclusion, which can slightly decrease the tension of the ending. There's no doubt in my mind that characters like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Dr. Strange will come back. I can still appreciate this ending on its own, though. There was finally a dark ending to a Marvel movie. The heroes lost; the heroes failed. That on its own is something that I never thought I'd see Marvel do, and the fact that they did upended any expectations I had. So, I almost have to forgive the flaw that we will almost certainly see the return of many of the characters who faded away here.

It's not often that I sit in a movie theater completely speechless and dumbfounded after a film is over. "Infinity War" did that for me. I had to sit there silent for a big portion of the credits, trying my hardest to take in all that I had seen. Often, when coming out of a Marvel movie, I will realize the flaws. For this one, I was more thinking about all the impressive strengths of the film, and just how boldly risky this movie was. I don't think many audience members were expecting it to take this route. I certainly wasn't, and I think this shows the potential of Marvel being able to create movies that are darker in tone. I'd love to see that in the future. Congrats to the MCU on this amazing feat. What an experience!