by Edward Baillargeon
10 years ago, Marvel Studios released their first feature film with Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The movie was a massive hit with both audiences and critics alike and jump started the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 4 years later, after the build up of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel brought all of their characters together with 2012’s mega-hit blockbuster The Avengers. In the following years, the MCU began to grow bigger and bigger expanding with the talents of many different directors and various genres rather they be more serious like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Captain America: Civil War, or something funnier like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Marvel Studios has became a trusted brand for a quality moviegoing experience. Now, after 10 years and 18 films of build up, they finally bring all their characters together for Avengers: Infinity War.
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows known as Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
Now because of how big this movie is, in its stakes, large cast of characters, and how anticipated it is, I’m going to do the best I can to keep this review FREE OF SPOILERS. But back on to the review, Avengers: Infinity War is not a movie, it’s an event 10 years in the making and it’s most certainly worth the wait. I have to give major credit to writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and directors Anthony & Joe Russo for balancing this many plot lines, characters, and tones and they pull it off with the right mix of gut-busting humor, intense action, and really emotional moments and it never feels confusing or boring at any points in the film. As someone who has seen all 18 of the previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you do feel for all of the characters in the film and only hope they are not next on the chopping block. And getting to see some of the Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy is always a real treat to watch. All of the actors give great performances and I’m not going to list out all of their names because it’s going to take forever, so if you really want to know every actor that is in this movie, just look at the movie’s IMDb page. But one performance that I do have to give major props to in this review has to be Josh Brolin’s performance as the main villain of the feature, Thanos. Because of both his character development and Brolin’s performance, he always gives you the chills whenever he’s on screen making him easily one of the MCU’s best villains. And it is one of the biggest things that Marvel Studios has improved upon in their recent films by giving their villains development and personality, making them more memorable, and not just being some guy who wants to take over the world because the movie needs a bad guy. Thanos is right up there with Loki in the first Avengers, Vulture in Spider-Man, Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, and Killmonger in Black Panther as one of the best Marvel villains. All of the action scenes are also very fun, exciting, and emotionally tense to watch especially when you see it on a big IMAX screen.
Overall, Avengers: Infinity War is a fantastic event that is most certainly worth the wait with the usual great things audiences expect from Marvel movies. If you have been a long-time fan of Marvel’s movies, it’s most definitely worth seeing and if you’ve already seen it, go see it again! And like with all of Marvel’s movies, ALWAYS STAY AFTER THE CREDITS! I’m going to give Avengers: Infinity War a 10/10 with my highest recommendation and, of course, the Edward’s Seal of Approval.
