Film Review: Avengers Infinity War – 8.5/10

‘Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards…’

Here are some of the things that make the Marvel Cinematic Universe lag behind other established franchises such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings:

• ‘Monster of the Week’ antagonists who either only survive for one film or become good guys in later instalments
• The lack of a real element of danger for the main characters
• An overriding arch-villain who spans numerous films and acts as a genuine adversary to the Avengers
• The absence of a huge dramatic battle sequence between two armies
• Predictable plotting
• ‘Happy ending’ conclusions

I went into Avengers: Infinity War pretty excited after how much I had enjoyed Thor: Ragnorak and Doctor Strange. Whilst I was hoping for an improvement on Age of Ultron, I didn’t expect to be moved. I didn’t expect to be shocked. And I definitely didn’t expect half the Avengers to be turned into dust while Thanos kicks back on his porch. The flipping bad guy won!!! Hallelujah!!

I have been waiting for a franchise to take this dark road for so long and now it has finally happened I don’t really know what to do with myself. If the whole MCU ended with this film, it would be one of the greatest conclusions in the history of cinema. Sadly, that is not the case because there are still billions of dollars to be made and so the unforgettable conclusion of Infinity War will no doubt be devalued with each passing entry that enters into the never ending movie behemoth. If Marvel can hold their nerve and prevent bringing characters back from the grave however, this could be the new lease of life that the franchise has been crying out for.

When Thanos gains controls of a bunch of magical stones, everyone from the Avengers to Spider-Man to the Guardians of the bastard Galaxy to frickin’ Batman combine to try and thwart his evil scheme. At least I think Batman was knocking about, there was so much going off that it is hard to say. Unlike other Marvel films in which plotting has been, quite frankly, a mess, Infinity War is incredibly simple. Thanos wants to wipe out half of the population of the Universe. Everyone else wants to stop him. It is beautiful in its simplicity. Even Groot could understand it.

Infinity War addresses every problem on that snarky checklist I provided earlier and while it is very difficult to see how it could ever be topped, it has made the Marvel universe exciting again rather than something that you feel obligated to watch. If Thanos can become a kind of Darth Vadar figure with an ever changing and expendable cast of Avengers, we could be on to something really special moving forward.

If you are reading this then hopefully you have already seen Infinity War because otherwise I have just totally ruined it for you. Let’s all just put petty squabbling aside and bask in the glory of one of the finest comic book adaptations ever made.

Man oh man, I feel so alive! Someone buy me a goddamn Thor t-shirt and a Spider-Man action figure right goddamn now.