Avengers: Infinity War Review

This will always be remembered as one of the most remarkable releases in cinema history. It's the first part of what the entire Marvel universe has been building to as it has grown from small beginnings to a vastly powerful juggernaut within the industry. There are few franchises that come close to what the heroes have been able to accomplish across their solo films and ultra team-up segments. That all concludes with the Infinity War battles and it's quite a ride. I'm looking at this particular movie from a standalone perspective when reviewing it.

I'll keep in mind what came prior, but try to be closed off from what I know will come in the future. It's really not fair to compare this to what might come, and to instead look at what it is for now. Things start off tonally different from any other entry. There's no heroic music, just horror and it sets the situation right from the start. This is a panic, and the core enemy Thanos wastes no time showcasing what he's capable of. There will be loss, and lots of it as this one harbinger of death has no equal. His goal is the Infinity Stones, it once again reminds the audience what these are and what they can do.

It's best to not directly talk about the film as spoilers would be abundant, it's a dark and really brutal entry. This is something new and it delivers on what fans have expected for it. It's really an action driven ride with the narrative elements being sprinkled throughout. It was surprisingly sorrowing at times and Josh Brolin's Thanos brings an extra element of humanity to the character I didn't expect.

This is a visually heavy experience, there's a lot going on and across multiple areas. The teams are fractured and all of them bring their best. I did notice that while the environments looked incredible for the most part there were many times where the CGI was awful for some suit based costumes. I know the budget is high, but this is going to be an iconic film for all of time and those smaller mistakes should have been sorted out properly. Still, the story is emotionally charged and it should bring the hurt for so many fans.

The Conclusion

Avengers: Infinity War may not be the perfect movie, but it delivers far beyond the expectations that anyone could have had for something that's been so heavily worked towards for such an extended period of time. Thanos is immediately menacing and while there still are laughs, this is a serious tale. The action is fantastic, there are moments of heroism mixed with brief sections of hope. Each of our favorite heroes are there in full strength and it's great to see them all unleash out there.

I really appreciated some of the smaller details for references and some of the side stories. They helped wrap up a number of long term extra stories from the other movies. It's an intense release and the run time feels perfect. The pacing was excellent and the multiple story lines came together in a very satisfying way. They balanced the cast well giving enough time for everyone and making the audience clearly see the struggles at play. It's going to be a very different Marvel Cinematic Universe now.

Avengers: Infinity War Review at Theater with DBox 3D AVX Atmos Viewing

Rating Overall: 8.5