Avengers: Infinity War Review

At a glance:

“Avengers: Infinity War”

When: Opened April 26

Where playing: AMC Corvallis 12 and Regal Albany 7

Rating: 9.5/10

Stars: Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Bettany, Tom Holland

Director: Joe and Anthony Russo

By Cam Hanson


Many movie series have had ambitions since the creation of cinema. Harry Potter has stretched across movies, and series like “Mission: Impossible” have sustained good quality for years, but one series towers above them all -- The Marvel Cinematic Universe.


For 10 years, Marvel studios President Kevin Feige has been carefully and calmly formulating his grand master plan to intertwine some of the world’s most adored superheroes into one large, shared cinematic universe, and it all culminates in “Avengers: Infinity War.”


“Avengers: Infinity War,” directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, is the 19th installment in the ever-intertwining MCU, and comes to cinemas with a $300 million budget, in case anyone doubted the time and effort put into this film.


The Russos have been responsible for the MCU’s greatest political thrillers, such as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and the well-done sequel “Captain America: Civil War.” The magic the Russos brought to these films carries over to “Infinity War,” but in a much different fashion.


Infinity War is rightfully being advertised as the blockbuster where the heroes we knew existed in the shared universe, such as The Guardians of The Galaxy and Doctor Strange, meet up with the heroes who have already established themselves, such as Iron Man and Captain America.


This plethora of characters had its doubters. “How can they fit so many people into one movie?” many asked, but let me be the first to tell you: they manage it, and they manage it VERY well.


Our heroes are split into three main groups, and without diving into spoiler content, tackle their respective goals accordingly. Whether it be in the forests of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, the busy streets of New York, or the deep realms of space that prove undiscovered, our favorite heroes share new and funny interactions with one another, all while maintaining the loveable personalities we’ve come to terms with in the past 10 years.


Joe and Anthony Russo have tackled Marvel movies as mentioned, but never attempted something so huge. They had to break the film into two parts, the next in 2019, due to its massive size.


“Well, you have to tell a story with a beginning middle and an end. You know? And it was important to us that these two movies didn’t feel like we’ve made one long film, got out a scissors and cut it in half,” said Joe Russo in an interview with Screen Rant.


While the directors have had a lot on the table, many of the actors are still contemplating their future in the franchise, as well as the severity of this multi-movie event.


“Believe me, I’m tired of every movie, you know, ‘It’s the end! It’s Armageddon! It’s the Be-all, End-all, forever!’ And then it’s … not. This one actually is. [Laughs] They’re not kidding. This is a heads-will-roll scenario,” said longtime MCU actor and pioneer Robert Downey Jr. in an interview with TheStanLee.com.


The film's main villain, Thanos, has been teased in small cameos and end credit scenes since “The Avengers” (2012) but finally makes a grand appearance as the film's main “antagonist.” I say this with quotes for one reason: his motives.


Thanos is not your average “kill everyone and claim dominance” villain as he was expressed in the comics, but rather a fleshed out character with motives for why he wants to do what he intends on doing. It’s just his choice of fulfillment that needs work.


This may be the first time I’ve seen the source material improved on, and possibly executed better than its original characterization. It works wonderfully and has you waiting for him to make another resurgence on-screen all movie long, a far cry for most villains, especially in past Marvel films.


“Infinity War” is a head-on collision of sorts. A curation of heroes that have grasped us by the heart for years that leads into the unknown of the franchise’s future. But if one thing is sure; it’s that the future is bright. Just when you think your favorite hero or villain will miss out on the action, they swoop in and fit the plot like a well-placed puzzle piece, a metaphor that can be used for the better portion of the MCU as a whole.


The movie leads more to question rather than satisfaction, but is it merely the start of Thanos’ reign, with the rest playing out in 2019 with the untitled fourth Avengers film.




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