Jason's Movie Blog

DESTINY HAS ARRIVED

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There was an idea…to bring together a group of remarkable people….to see if we could become something more…so when they need us, we could fight the battles…. that they never could. Thus, such an idea was born in the year 2008 with the release of Iron Man, a superhero movie that set-in motion one of the most famous (and profitable) shared cinematic universe in the history of filmmaking titled the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” (or simply dubbed the “MCU”). While Iron Man was well-received from critics and moviegoers alike (bringing the iconic superhero character of Tony Stark to life via actor Robert Downey Jr.), it was the start of something that really did usher in the “golden age” of superheroes film, bring together a collective group of actors and actresses in portraying these popular comic book characters on the silver screen. The pool of comic book character to grace the big screen range from some of the more popular ones like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, and Spider-Man to some of the more lesser known ones like Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Each one of the 18 films (so far) in the MCU series brings a sense of palpable superhero merits to stand on its own foundation on their own solo adventures as well as the team-up superhero features that bring together a group of them to stop an overpowered enemy. The film themselves have taken its viewers on big adventure experience to the next one, from the streets of New York City in Spider-Man: Homecoming, to the fictional / technological African nation of Wakanda in Black Panther, to the battlefields of WWII in Captain America: The First Avenger, and to the mythical land of Asgard in the Thor movies, and to the farthest reaches of the cosmos with the Guardians of the Galaxy films. With the success of these movies (both in its fandom with Marvel fans and in causal moviegoers), the MCU (as a whole) has continued to grow and expanded, especially when Disney acquisitioned Marvel to bring the superhero world into the “House of Mouse”, finding each new installment in their sequential Phases sagas to try to had another layer to the overall complexity to this cinematic world as well as being superhero entertainment to viewers everywhere. While some critics might be a bit miffed by “comic book movies” and in their criticism, the MCU movies have found their “golden ticket” formula of success with public (i.e a mixture of heart, humor, and blockbuster superhero nuances), raking in millions upon millions at the worldwide box office with each new release. Now, after the universal acclaim and huge financial success of Black Panther, Marvel Studios, in conjunction with their 10-year anniversary celebrations, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo prepare for the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the highly anticipated film Avengers: Infinity War. Does super large superhero team-up film deliver on its inherit hype promise or does it flounder and ultimately crumble underneath the incredible high expectations from fans everywhere?

THE STORY

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With a dark ambition to annihilate half of sentiment existence from the universe in order to bring a certain balance, Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Mad Titan searches for the all-powerful six Infinity Stones that will complete his Infinity Gauntlet and so achieve his desire. His quest for the primordial stones lead him and his forces across the known universe, coming across a variety of obstacles that stand in his way. For Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), that means protecting the Time Stone from the Mad Titan’s clutches, even though he butts heads with Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and finds an ally in Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Elsewhere, left for dead and adrift in space, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) comes across the Guardians of the Galaxy – Peter Quill / Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff)- and they work together on their own plans to stop Thanos from acquiring Stones and executing his master plan. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the remaining Avengers, including Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner / The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow ( Scarlet Johansson), Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), James “Rhodey” Rhodes / War Machine (Don Cheadle), Sam Wilson / The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) rally around their fellow team member Vision (Paul Bettany) in order to protect the Mind Stone, with everyone converging on Wakanda to receive help from T’Challa / Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Shuri (Letitia Wright), the Dora Milaje lead by Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Jabari army led by M’Baku (Winston Duke). It’s time for all these heroes to make their stand against Thanos, his Black Order generals, and his hoards of Outriders. However, even with all the might of these collective superpower individuals, it’s unclear if it will be enough to defeat the Mad Titan from achieving his ultimate goal.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

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I am Iron Man. You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.” God, I love that line and it was the start of things to become from Marvel Studios as well as the now trademark tradition of staying until the ending credits (for almost any movie nowadays) for hope at a secret Easter Egg ending clip. Well, I’ve said many times before and I guess I’ll say it many more times, I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movies have always been a favorite past time for me to watch, enjoy, and get lost in their world of heroes and villains. To me, what makes them great is that, while most usually are somewhat standalone adventures that focuses on a single hero or group, the movie’s have that blockbuster quality that brings a sense of big time “popcorn feature” to the proceedings, allowing its larger-than-life characters to display their uniqueness in thwarting the bad guys. Of course, the interlinking of these films within a shared cinematic movie universe is another great attribute, connecting most of the installment features into an over-arching narrative for the 18 films (so far) in the MCU.  Some of my personal favorites being the first Iron Man movie, two of the three the Captain America films (The Winter Soldier and Civil War), the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies (i.e Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) and (of course) Black Panther.  Yes, some might look down upon the MCU superhero movies as just major “cash-cows” for the movie studio behind (i.e Disney) or just big / dumb blockbuster tentpoles of recycled ideas, but, in truth, the MCU has flourished in evolving beyond such the superhero genre by blending other genres into the mix (i.e fantasy, heist, supernatural, historical, political, etc.) and has ultimately become a dominate force of movie entertainment; dazzling viewers (both young and old) in escaping into a world of superheroes and villains, gods and monsters, and where cinematic adventures being told are just as large and grandiose as the comic book characters that populate this franchise. In short, from “I am Iron Man” to “Wakanda Forever” (and everything in between), the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are the stuff of my inner fanboy material and some of the best popcorn flicks to date in the superhero genre.

Naturally, as you can quite imagine, this brings me back around to talking about my review for Avengers: Infinity War, the MCU’s 19^th feature film in this ever-growing movie franchise juggernaut. While it’s not quite as obviously noticeable (sprinkled in a few film’s plot threads and some end credits Easter egg scenes), but this shared cinematic universe has been building up to a certain point, leading turning point that will have majority of its characters come together and fight against and “ultimate” evil that threatens all of existence. Yes, that’s what Infinity War was promised to be, a collective and climatic installment that would unite Earth Mightiest Heroes (the Avengers) with the Guardians of the Galaxy to do battle against Thanos, the Mad Titan. Of course, this build up as been for quite some time as many fans, including myself have super anxious and eager awaiting this monumental film that was to be the “be all, end all” feature in the MCU, bringing a sense of finality and grandiose climax to the first three phase sagas within the 18 installments. Like many, I scoured the internet for any clues, hints, and set photos for Infinity War, finding a few tidbits here and there, hoping just for a smidge of news on this movie. Of course, the film’s trailers hit the internet and blew everyone way, myself included, showcasing the enormous adventure that was being planned (the gathering of entire cast is enough to be get excited about) and the sizeable threat that Thanos posed. As you can imagine from this already lengthy review that I was beyond excited to see Infinity War as I literally counted down the days to the movie’s release. You can also imagine that my expectations were extreme high for this cinematic tale, so I set the bar pretty high for how I wanted this movie’s overall presentation to be. Now, it has finally come. The day of days for fans of the MCU as I went to see Infinity War on its opening night. To get a good frame of mind for this movie (and to not be spoiled by it), I made sure that I stayed clear of any spoiler feeds on the internet / social media, ensuring that went into seeing Infinity War completely fresh and to be totally surprised by the movie’s events. So…. the big question…. what did I think of it? Well, how should I say this, but I absolutely loved it! While there were a few slight minor grumblings, Avengers: Infinity War delivers on its promise at being a tremendous and incredibly awesome culmination of the entire MCU saga thus far told. To put it simply, this movie is my already my all-time favorite MCU movie.

Infinity War is directed by the Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo), who are credited to directing such past MCU films including Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War). Given the how well-received both The Winter Soldier and Civil War were received by many (critics and moviegoers alike), it’s seems like the ideal suggestion to have the Russo Brothers direct Infinity War. The end result is something quite extraordinary and highly entertainment, with the Russo Brothers crafting a extremely large and immersive story within this Marvel world of heroes and villains. Basically, to say this movie is massive undertaking is quite the understatement, for the Infinity War has a lot of moving parts with many of its popular / iconic characters in different areas and in separate sub story lines which makes up the story as a whole. Luckily, Joe and Anthony have plenty of experience in handling a Marvel movie, clearly a decisive path through many of the narrative threads being told and executing some exciting scenes that are big on action, laughs, and dramatic poise. Of course, the movie’s action is another big highlight of the experience, with Infinity War almost bursting at the seams with plenty both close-quarter combats to large-scale invasions. If you were a fan of any MCU movie with big battles scenes, the Russo Brothers deliver good helping of action-packed Marvel superhero aspects and nuances. The third act is probably my favorite, with the two major battles scenes (in two different locations) playing out at the same time. So cool and so epic. To be quite honest, I was so engrossed and enthralled with Infinity War that it’s super long runtime of being 146 minutes long (roughly two and twenty-six minutes long) breezed by so fast.

The film’s script, which was penned by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, tells of a very large narrative, centering around Thanos’s dark ambition to hunt and gather the six Infinity Stones in his quest for universal balance. Yes, perhaps one of the best parts of this movie is the fact that Mad Titan is finally unmasked rather than his shadowy / cameo-like appearance in previous MCU films. He becomes the titular main antagonist that we’ve all read about and wished for, with the film’s narrative placing a heavy emphasis on Thanos’s presence whenever he’s on-screen. The other various Marvel characters also must learn to come together in working around to protect their Infinity Stones and / or to task of thwarting Thanos’s plan. It was just an absolute joy to see all the Marvel characters interact with one another, especially when the Guardians meet up with some of them. It’s was kind of like “worlds collide” type feeling for me, but it was great! And yes, the movie does show where the Soul Stone is and (without spoiling it) it’s probably one of the most emotional scenes of the entire film. As an interesting side-note, one of the common themes through some (not all) MCU films is the theme of “daddy issues”, especially revolving around the characters of Iron Man, Thor, Star-Lord, and (slightly) Black Panther. As you can already guess, the father / daughter relationship between Thanos and Gamora is talked about Infinity War and plays a crucial part in the narrative. Lastly, it’s sort of a bit hard to judge Infinity War as it’s basically the first half of a two-part superhero adventure movie. While this isn’t uncommon in recent Hollywood, it’s move that’s bold and different for the MCU. Still, even if a viewer looks at Infinity War as only half the story, it’s still the best “Part 1” endeavor out there, especially when you think about a lot of the other Part 1 films that were (for lack of better term) lackluster like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, and The Divergent Series: Allegiant (and that movie never even got to see a Part 2 aka The Divergent Series: Ascendant). So, even if you didn’t like the movie as much as I did, you simply can not deny the fact that Infinity War is still the best “part 1” cinematic endeavor to date.

In terms of production design and overall presentation, Infinity War is beautiful and dazzling cinematic world that’s worthy of any rivaling blockbuster feature film out there. It’s definitely one of the biggest and most expansive (in terms of technical filmmaking style) MCU film to date, creating a wide array of different locations with some being familiar and unknown to us (the viewers) from the bustling streets of New York City, to the African grassy plains in Wakanda, to the outer rim of cosmos (i.e. visiting new planet locales like Nidavellir and Vormir), and to even Thanos’s ruined homeworld on the planet Titan. Thus, I would have to say that credit must be given to production designer Charles Woods, set decorations by Leslie Pope, and to the whole art direction department team for their work on the movie. Adding to that list, is the team that handled all the film’s multitude of visual effect shots. I know in a superhero comic book movie that CGI is heavily used to tell a lot of “fantastical” elements or render scenes in otherworldly places, but the visual wizards that worked on Infinity War worked their magic on this project and the results are incredible. While there are few smudges that I notice (i.e. mostly some scenes that involved the Hulkbuster…and you’ll see them), but, for the most part, the effects are well “effective” in bringing this blockbuster universe of superheroes to life. Perhaps my favorite was the visual effects in bring Thanos to life. I mean his face has some many intricate details in comparison to how Steppenwolf looked in 2017’s Justice League (sorry to hate on the DCEU parade, but it’s definitely true).

Additionally, costume designer Judianna Makovsky must be mentioned for all the various costumes for all the characters (both major and minor). While some of the costumed outfits have been seeing before in other movies, there are some minor tweaks to a few and with some being completely new designed. Again, great work! Other members of the crew that should be mentioned is cinematographer Trent Opaloch for some absolute magnificent camera shots and angles throughout the feature as well as film editors Jeffery Ford and Matthew Schmidt for splicing this massive scale of a movie together and some good tight edits here and there, especially in the film’s confrontational battles scenes (both wide angle and close up shots).  Of course, and if you’ve been a reader of my blog for some time, you know that I have to mention the film’s score. Composed by Alan Silvestri, the music in Infinity War is awesome, filled with some familiar tunes (i.e. the Black Panther theme and the original Avengers composition), but Silvestri creates a whole slew of music selections that are extremely strong and evoke a lot of emotion whether it be epic and bombastic action sequences or soft somber ones. All in all, the technical presentation in Infinity War shines immensely.

There are few problems that many will come across in Infinity War, with the most prominent being the movie is a tad overstuffed with too many characters in the movie. Naturally, this was gonna be a problem right from the get-go, with so many character together in a one single movie and Russo Brother do manage to navigate through much of this problem. However, there are some characters that get shortchanged, but, given the fact that Infinity War is only telling part of the tale being told (i.e. Avengers 4 or basically Infinity War: Part 2), this didn’t bother me as much. Although, it might bother some…just a fair warning. The other problem some might find with the movie is fact that the movie ends on massive (and do mean massive) cliffhanger, ending Infinity War on such a precarious and dark place. To me, I really did like this ending as it provides an ambiguous result for the entire cinematic universe as well posse a lot curious question for what the next installment will hold (and how it will ultimately shape up to be). What would’ve been more interesting (to me at least) if the ending for Infinity War was to be closing chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ending on such a creative way that would be both melancholy / somber yet satisfying way. Again, this didn’t bother me, but it might bother some out there.

One of the biggest highlight of all the MCU movies is the incredible and talented actors and actresses that populate this cinematic world, especially the main collective roster of superheroes. Thus, you can imagine that excitement to see most of these superhuman characters together in Infinity War. While some have come together before (i.e. the Avengers movies and in Captain America: Civil War), the Russo Brothers (and Markus and McFeely) utilize the roster of characters and create some unique, fun, and sometimes hilarious combinations of pairing superheroes together. Perhaps the most prevalent one of group would have to be the combination of Tony Stark / Iron Man, Peter Parker / Spider-Man, and Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange, who are reprised once again by actors Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes and Chaplin), Tom Holland (The Impossible and In the Heart of the Sea), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes and The Imitation Game) respectfully. With Downey being the seasoned veteran (almost heart of the entire MCU), it’s naturally given that he would be a somewhat main focal point in Infinity War….and justly so. He can easily slide into the character of Stark and does once again in this movie. Plus, it’s great fun to see him along side Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange as the two butt heads and quibble with each other, providing a lot humorous banter between the two of them. In the middle of these two is Holland’s Peter Parker, who also provides another layer of humor as the youngest member of the group who gets caught up in the plot’s grand scheme. Much like in Civil War and in Homecoming, Holland provides to adept in handling himself on-screen, especially surrounded by more seasoned actors, and certainly does have fun in reprising his role as Spider-Man once again. Loved these three in the movie.

Along with these characters, Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy also take center stage in Infinity War’s main narrative. For actor Chris Hemsworth (12 Strong and Rush), returning to his roles as the Asgardian God of Thunder and, especially after his more humorous iteration of the character in Ragnarok, gets more of a larger dramatic substance. Still, his journey in Infinity War is quite important, but it’s not all business for Thor as Hemsworth gets do show off his humorous acting bits once again with a lot of dialogue conversation with various Guardian members. Plus, he’s still rocking the shorter hair from Ragnarok of which I still think he personally looks better in. Likewise, and probably my favorite, all the Guardians of the Galaxy members, including actor Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation and Passengers) as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, actress Zoe Saldana (Star Trek and Live by Night) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Spectre and Blade Runner 2049) as Drax the Destroyer, actor Bradley Cooper (The Hangover and American Sniper) as Rocket Racoon, actor Vin Diesel (XXX: Return of Xander Cage and The Fate of the Furious) as Groot (or rather moody “teenager” Groot), and Pom Klementieff (Old Boy and Borderline) as Mantis (the newest team member of the group). Each one of the Guardians team gets their moment to shine on-screen (Bautista’s Dax definitely gets one of the best spotlight moments with one particular scene), but Pratt’s Star-Lord, Cooper’s Rocket, and Saldana’s Gamora get the most “bang for the buck” in the movie’s view time and in the actual narrative itself, especially Saldana. Still, being a huge fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, I loved their involvement in Infinity War, finding each one to bring their respective quirks and idiosyncrasies to the film’s plot and works great with the group comes in contact with other members of the Avengers. Also, actress Karen Gillian (Doctor Who and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) returns to her post in playing Nebula, Thanos’s other adopted daughter and Gamora’s adopted sister. While doesn’t have a strong presence like she did in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Gillian’s Nebula is still a fun character to see return in the movie and to fight alongside the Guardians team once again.

The rest of the main characters are mostly the earthbound / remaining Avengers team members that try to help protect Vision from Thanos’s henchmen, who have been sent to procure the Mind Stone for their master. Of course, actor Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code) and actress Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla and Wind River) get the most screen time of this grouping, playing the characters of Vision and Wanda Maximoff / Scarlett Witch respectfully, especially Vision as he plays an integral part in the film’s narrative. Behind him, I would say that actors Chris Evans (Gifted and Push) and Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher and Spotlight) get the more secondary screen-time as Steve Rogers / Captain America and Bruce Banner / Hulk. Their involvement in Infinity War isn’t a major important beyond a few scenes, but their presence on-screen is felt, especially that very first seeing when Evan’s Rogers appears on-screen. The rest, however, including actress Scarlett Johansson (The Island and Ghost in the Shell) as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, actor Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker and The Adjustment Bureau) as Sam Wilson / The Falcon, actor Sebastian Stan (I, Tonya and Kings), actor Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda and Crash) as James “Rhodey” Rhodes / War Machine, are mostly “window dressing” for Infinity War. Naturally, all these actors and actresses no these characters inside and out and have been well-developed in previous movies, but they’re mostly in the background to fill in and few scenes here and there. Of course, like I said, each one gets there moment to shine in the film and I kind of knew that some superheroes were going to be push aside in this expansive roster of MCU characters. Thus, it really didn’t bother me as much.

Additionally, the movie sees the return of several Black Panther characters that appear to aid the Avengers in their endeavor to protect Vision. Reprising their Wakandian roles is actor Chadwick Boseman (Draft Day and Marshall) as King T’Challa / Black Panther, actress Letitia Wright (Black Mirror and The Commuter) as T’Challa tech savvy sister Shuri, actress Danai Gurira (Mother George and The Visitor) as the head of T’Challa royal guard Okoye, and actor Winston Duke (Person of Interest and The Messengers) as the leader of the Jabari army M’Baku. Much like a lot of these characters in this category, their involvement in the movie is palpable, but they don’t get a whole lot of time for them to be fully developed beyond what was already established in the Black Panther film. Still, the incorporation into Infinity War is great and indeed a fun one to bring them into the “larger fold” of the MCU world.

In the villain category, perhaps the most notable (and most prominent no-brainer) of the feature would have to be Thanos, the Mad Titan himself, who is brought to life by actor Josh Brolin. Known for his roles in Only the Brave, Hail, Caesar!, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Brolin’s deep and commanding voice provides the exact power, palpability, and gravitas to such a titular villain. What Brolin also succeeds in bringing Thanos to life (along with providing the motion-capture performance for the character) is the fact that he used mostly a calm and collective demeanor, which juxtapose against the massive hulking body of Thanos, is quite intriguing rather than just playing a loud, over-the-top bad guy that screams and shouts all the time. As for the character himself in the movie, it actually one my favorite parts. Like I said in the paragraphs above, Thanos is given much more to do in Infinity War, playing the central antagonist of the feature and being the grand puppet master that guides all the narratives towards their ultimate conclusion. While he isn’t the most complex and relatable villain that the MCU has created (i.e. Loki from the Thor movies, Eric Killmonger from Black Panther or Adrian Tomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming), Thanos does a deeper pathos logical mindset in his desire to rescale the balance of the universe. It’s not quite exactly fully fleshed out (I bet it will be in Avengers 4), but it’s a better understanding of what he’s really longing for rather than just a villainous bad guy that just wants ultimate universal domination / conquest (i.e. Hela from Thor: Ragnarok). All in all, Brolin’s Thanos is absolutely fantastic and definitely shows us (the viewers) why the Mad Titan is literally the biggest and baddest villain than any other in the MCU and he clearly shows that in Infinity War.

While both Gamora and Nebula have fallen out of favor with their adoptive father, Thanos has a set of new children, which are dubbed in the movie as “The Children of Thanos” but are derived from the group known as “The Black Order” from the comics. These members include Corvus Glaive, who is played by actor Michael James Shaw (Desire in New York and Limitless), Proxmia Midnight, who is played by actress Carrie Coon (Gone Girl and The Post), Ebony Maw, who is played by actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Becoming Jane and Daphne), and Cull Obsidian (aka “Black Dwarf” in the comics), who is played by film stunt coordinator Terry Notary (Kong: Skull Island and War for the Planet of the Apes). Also, while these four performed all the motion-capture movements, they also provided the voices from them as well. These four provide some great comic book henchmen fun, with each one given a unique set of abilities and titular strength to face off against members of the Avengers. Plus, you have to admit that they all look pretty cool! Unfortunately, I really kind of wanted to see more of them. Sure, they make their appearance known in Infinity War, but I think they could’ve been more developed (given backstories and whatnot) if Marvel made use of these characters in previous installments; acting as side-villains or even cameo-like appearance like Thanos himself (scattered across several MCU films). Given the overstuffed narrative of a movie such as this, this quartet “Children of Thanos” (i.e. The Black Order) get the shortchanged in character development. Thus, this probably a biggest complaint I have for Infinity War.

In smaller supporting roles, several other actors and actresses return to reprise their roles in Infinity War to help build a sense of continuity and / or familiarity to this carminative endeavor. This includes actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love and Sliding Doors) as Tony Stark’s fiancée and closes confidant / CEO of Stark Industries Pepper Potts, actor Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak and The Night Manager) as Thor’s mischievous brother Loki, actor Benedict Wong (The Martian and Annihilation) as Doctor Strange’s loyal follower in his Sanctum Sanctorum Wong, actor Benicio Del Toro (Traffic and Sicario) as Tanleer Tivan (i.e. The Collector), actor Idris Elba (Molly’s Game and Luther) as the Asgardian gatekeeper Heimdall, actor Jacob Batalon (Every Day and Don Quixote) as Peter Parker’s best high school friend Ned, actor William Hurt (Dark City and Lost in Space) as Secretary of State Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, and actress Kerry Condon (Rome and Better Call Saul) as Tony Stark’s A.I. interface Friday. Some have one scene, some have few, but (again) there inclusion is a welcomed one, especially since the movie is, more or less, focused on the extensively large superhero cast as Infinity War’s primary characters. Additional, actor Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones and The Station Agent) makes more for a fun and memorable supporting performances in Infinity War. Again, I won’t spoil it, but it was sure fun to see him in Marvel movie. Lastly, there is a secret past character that returns in Infinity War (one that many will be wondering what happened to him). While I don’t spoil on who this particular character is (be it he or she), I was completely blown away the said character’s appearance, which was pretty cool. There are few others, but I won’t spoil those ones…just be on the lookout for them.

Of course, since Infinity War is being toted as the biggest film in the MCU arsenal, it goes without saying that their (i.e. Marvel) continues their time-honored tradition of having secret Easter Egg scene during the film’s end credits. While I won’t spoil what it is about, it does happen at the very end of the film’s credit (only one, no mid-credits scene) and promises something to come in what I expect to be Avengers 4 (again, Infinity War: Part 2).

FINAL THOUGHTS

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Thanos’ s quest for the Infinity Stones and his goal for universal balances reaches a climatic pivotal point, calling upon the Avengers, the Guardians, and others to stand united and to thwart the Mad Titan’s masterplan in the movie Avengers: Infinity War. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo latest film lays the ground work for being the “biggest comic book movie of all time”, pitting almost full roster of the MCU superhero characters against one of the most powerful adversary they have ever faced. While there some minor nitpicks that have here and there, the movie itself was such an awesome cinematic adventure that delivers on its promise of being not just a grand spectacle, but also a poignant turning point for the franchise. Add in the film’s beautiful visual effects, the Russo’s direction and handling of the enormous project, and the incredible cast of talented actors and actresses of this well-developed pool of characters, and you get the ultimate fruition of superhero movie. To me, as you can clearly tell, I absolutely and unequivocally loved this movie. My expectations were extremely high and the movie blew me away. The scope and grandeur of the film was massive, the story was climatic, the cast was incredible, the classic Marvel heart and humor was there (and in rare form), and the ending cliffhanger left me wanting more (and that’s a good thing). I haven’t held my breath and / or felt so shocked and amazed at watching a movie for quite some time. I can’t wait to see this movie again (already planning to see it multiple times in theaters) and can’t wait until its home release later this year (a “Day One” purchase for me). It may falter slightly, but (to me) it damn almost reaches Marvel superhero perfection. Thus, and this comes at no surprise, that I would give Avengers: Infinity War my “highly recommended” stamp of approval. If you’re fan of MCU, you won’t be disappointed (I promise you!). With a cliffhanger ending at the end film, everyone’s attention now turns towards Avengers 4 (Again…Infinity War: Part 2) and how that particular film will wrap up and conclude Marvel’s first three saga phases. I’m sure there’s going be so much speculation and theories on what will transpire in that movie from now until that movie gets released next year (a set release date of May 3^rd, 2019). For now, Avengers: Infinity War is a massively solid and a tremendously entertaining superhero blockbuster that delivers on its promise; a crowning achievement at being the biggest and most elaborate, and most unprecedented superhero cinematic adventure to date….

 

I really do want to hear from everyone on their thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War. So, please, drop a comment below and tell your thoughts on this epic Marvel movie.

4.9 Out of 5 (Highly Recommended)

 

Released On: April 27th, 2018

Reviewed On: April 27th, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War  is 149 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout and some crude references