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Avengers Infinity War, Avengers Infinity War Film Review, Benedict Cumberbatch, Black Panther, Bradley Cooper, Captain America, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hulk, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity Stones, Iron Man, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, loki, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Spider-Man, Thanos, The Avengers, The Vision, Thor, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Wakanda, Wanda Maximoff
Avengers Infinity War Film Review
Review by Paul Bowler
Get set for Marvel Studios’ Avengers Infinity War to rock the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its very core as the Avengers and their superhero allies confront the deadly power of Thanos, played with gravely voiced menace by Josh Brolin. Earth’s mightiest heroes must prepare to sacrifice everything in order to prevent Thanos from gathering the Infinity Stones into a gauntlet that could enable him to destroy the universe!
Quintessentially the culmination of everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building towards since its inception way back in 2008 with Iron Man, it now falls to the nineteenth film in Marvel‘s box-office hit-machine franchise to bring this ten year journey across the MCU full circle with Avengers Infinity War.
Although our heroes were left fractured by the events of 2016’s Captain America Civil War, it’s not long before they reunite in the face of the threat posed by Thanos and the mad Titan’s nefarious scheme to wipe out half the universe.
With returning favourites including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) leading the charge into battle along with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olse), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and War Machine (Donn Cheadle), there’s also the welcome addition of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and the Guardians of the Galaxy into the mix, along with numerous other characters from the MCU also joining the ranks of the films heroic ensemble cast in the battle against Thanos!
Right from the jaw-dropping opening, it quickly becomes apparent that not everyone will survive either. The two and a half hour running time boasts spectacular action and drama, with its narrative interwoven across four major plot threads, spanning locations across the entire MCU; this epic crossover event is ably handled by the directing duo of the Russo brothers and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely.
For a film so packed with plotlines and characters the Russo brothers still manage give everyone a moment in the spotlight – however fleeting – and still keep everything and everyone on track. Thanos cuts a swathe of devastation in his quest to acquire all six Infinity Stones, but it quickly becomes a very personal battle for the Avengers because one of the stones is embedded in the Vision’s forehead, making the androids impending plight especially heartrending for his love interest Wanda Maxim off – in scenes movingly played by Elizabeth Olse and Paul Bettany. Chris Evans continues to impress as Captain America, times have been tough for Cap in recent films but the camaraderie between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes / White Wolf (Sebastian Stan) shines though here, as does Roger’s great respect for Wakandan king T’Challa / Black Panther. The spiky banter between Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man / Tony Stark and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is another highlight, and Tom Holland’s wisecracking Spider-Man is always fun to have around. Chris Hemsworth also gets some great scenes as the vanquished Thor who teams-up with Guardians of the Galaxy Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in the fight to stop Thanos.
Avengers Infinity War crams a hell of a lot in but it never feels bloated or gets bogged down in needless exposition. The majority of the characters are well served by the script, key emotional beats really hit the mark, and there are plenty of fun one-liners to enjoy. Infinity War also goes out of its way to firmly establish the giant purple alien Thanos as the ultimate Big-Bad of the Marvel Universe, and the CGI wizardry together with Josk Brolin’s brilliant performance mesh seamlessly to bring us one of the most richly compelling villains to have ever graced the MCU. Although his motivations in Avengers Infinity War diverge slightly from his comic book counterpart, Thanos still remains a towering presence throughout the film, there’s also great pathos to his scenes with Zoe Saldana as his adopted daughter Gamora, and his fearsome lieutenants The Children of Thanos (known as the Black Order in the comics) are an imposing – if rather one-dimensional – addition to the villain’s forces.
Avengers Infinity War is a veritable fangasim of comic book action, packed with mind-boggling special effects and huge action set pieces that dazzle amidst every twist and turn of the plot as events inexorably rumble towards the epic final battle, and its subsequent game-changing conclusion. Once the dust settles the excitement, gut wrenching loss, and unexpected surprises in Avengers Infinity War will leave you reeling as to where the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes from here. Avengers Infinity War doesn’t pull any punches, however with the stakes raised so high in this move it makes you wonder how much of it is set in stone – especially with the continuation already due in next year’s fourth Avengers film – but one things for sure Avengers Infinity War is without doubt one of the most ambitious and breath taking superhero movies ever!
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
I liked it but didn’t love it. And while I felt some of the emotional punch of the first two deaths in the film, the remainder didn’t land for me because of knowing what the future holds for the MCU – by Disney’s own roadmap, and by a certain plot point in the film giving them an easy out. That said, I do think it is amazing what Marvel/Disney has accomplished.
I enjoyed Avengers Infinity War. I think the future of MCU is well set out, as indicated by the plot point you mention, however I’m sure there will still be a few surprises in store to keep us on our toes. I agree, considering the size of the plot and the cast, I think Marvel / Disney did a great job of making Infinity War work so well.
My favorite MCU film yet. I do agree that they Thanos a more sympathetic
Its certainly up there in my top three as well, Infinity War was awesome! 🙂
Sorry… sympathetic villain. It makes you feel that he has a sense of morals and there is an intelligent plan behind his quest to destroy half the life. In the comic he was just a psychological killer chasing the love of lady death not trying to save the universe from it’s self.
LOL that’s ok. Yes, I though the way Thanos was portrayed was handled exceptionally well – despite the slight differences in his motivations in the comics. Infinity War was an epic film, so man y great moments, and all the characters were integral to the plot. Can’t wait to see what happen next in Avengers 4 🙂
Seeing it this weekend. Can’t wait!
Have a great time. I held back this review for a bit to try and let people see the film first, you’ll have to let me know what you thought when you’ve seen it 🙂
Cheers! Will do!
Enjoy 🙂
How can Infinity War possibly be topped? It was completely epic!
Yeah, Avengers Infinity War was so epic! I thought it was great, so many possibilities for how they could resolve what happened in this move (like you mentioned in your other comment on the Ant Man trailer), and I’m really excited to see what happens next in Avengers 4 next year.
I really enjoyed this movie and chucked at that thing they did (or didn’t do… no spoilers) which made many in the audience either yell, “WHAT??” or “NO!!!!” One young woman behind me even yelled, “Marvel, I hate you! I hate you now!” She didn’t. 🙂
I really enjoyed Avengers Infinity War as well. It was so exciting and lots of fun as well. Yes, had similar thing in the cinema, as the audience reacted to key moments in the film too. Avengers Infinity War was certainly an epic movie 🙂
I had so much fun watching this … it didn’t feel like 2.5 hours went by. I agree it’s ambitious but never feels bogged down. Hope to watch this again in theaters!
Avengers Infinity War was such an exciting film. Its a film certainly worthy of its running time as well. I want to see the film again soon as well 🙂
Great review, this was a truly monumental film for our time and a perfect way to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the MCU. Marvel Studios is on a roll and hopefully they will keep hitting it out of the park for a long time.
Avengers Infinity War brought all the strands of the MCU together perfectly for this awesome adventurer! I really enjoyed the film. A great way to celebrate 10 years of the MCU, and I’m sure Marvel will continue to deliver the goods with future films. Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review. It was a tough one to do, as its almost impossible to talk about too much without spoiling stuff, so glad you liked it 🙂
Great Review!
Surprised that Dr.Strange didn’t just zap Thanos into another dimension and deal with him there…?
When Black Dwarf (and what a titchy thing he is too!) got his hand lopped off, I took that as a hint that that is how they will extract th Mad Titan’s gauntlet, but…
How many heroes/superpowers assembled here? And it just boils down to a simple tug-of-War?! 😉
Oh well! Roll on No.4!!
I expect Dr Strange might’ve done that, but perhaps the power needed to move Thanos to another dimension might’ve been to great even for his spells to cast? There were certainly plenty of heroes on hand to take the fight to Thanos in Infinity War, thought it was good how they brought them all together in this movie. Will be interesting to see how everything is resolved in Avengers 4 next year! Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review 🙂
Nothing is too difficult for th Master Of Th Mystic Arts.
Yes, plenty of heroes, but no Adam Warlock – sorry to keep bringing it up, but whenever I’ve read Thanos in th comics, Adam was always there too!
Going to look for Th Infinity Gauntlet (1991) to get some ideas as to what could happen in A4 next yr
Cheers!
Well, you never know, Adam Warlock could turn up in the next film perhaps? I’ve been re reading Infinity Gauntlet as well for any clues about what Avengers 4 might be about.
I was half-expecting Adam to pop up right at the end of this one, and fade out with “To Be Continued”
They say that th Golden Boy is not due until Guardians vol.3, but I reckon Marvel Studios have got their logistics wrong by bringing him in too late
(I will only be able to catch The Infinity Gauntlet as a graphic novel – individual ishs are either unavailable or too costly)
Cheers!
Yes, we will have to wait and seen when or if Adam Warlock shows up, sure it’ll be at some point in a future movie. The Infinity Gauntlet graphic novel is a great buy, those individual back issues can indeed work out very expensive.
Adam is set to make his debut in Guardians Vol.3 – his entry was hinted at during one of Vol.2’s post-cred scenes.
He was going to make his debut during Vol. 2 but James Gunn decided that there were already “too many characters”
Wotda fudge, man?!
Imagine if Darth Vader was dropped from Rogue One ‘cos there were “too many characters”…!
Don’t think I dig James Gunn. Let’s all team up and fight him! 😉
Have a nice day!
Awesome review Paul (I’m glad that I continue to impress as Captain America haha), I had no doubt that the Russos would pull this off and they deserved accolades for doing such a great job of keeping it all tight. The pressure is certainly on for Avengers 4…
LOL, I see what you mean! I read that twice before I got it LOL! I’ll have to start calling you Cap now! Agreed, the Russo’s did a great job with all these plot lines and characters in Infinity War. Avengers 4 is going to have to be something really special to top Infinity War now but I’m sure it will meet our expectations. Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review. It was a fun one to do 🙂
Amazing review, Paul. I too heavily enjoyed this one too myself. I was a bit disappointed by what Thor Ragnarok turned out to be (even if it was ultimately a good family movie), but this one really went in the right direction for me. How they split up the heroes in different cohesive teams was really well-done and how Thanos was developed was fascinating. I’m definitely pumped to see what they plan on doing for Avengers 4 and what the MCU will look like post-Avengers 4.
Thank you glad you enjoyed the review. Avengers Infinity War was certainly an epic story, and I think its really good how they brought all the storylines and characters together in it. Thanos was a really menacing villain as well, a real threat for them to unite against. Will be counting the days until Avengers 4 to see what happens next, and I’m sure films from the rest of the MUC will keep us entertained until then 🙂
I haven’t been engaged in this series, but I really enjoyed your review. And this cast!! I can’t believe all the incredible actors in this series. No wonder these movies sell so many tickets.
Well, that and the special effects too, I suppose… 😉
Indeed, Avengers Infinity War has some spectacular effects and battle sequences! 🙂
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the review. Yes, Avengers Infinity War sure had an impressive cast. It was a good, exciting film, and made great use of all the characters. I’m sure the next Avengers film will be just as popular 🙂
The Russo brothers took a nearly impossible task and actually made it work. Probably the strongest aspect of this movie from a storytelling standpoint is its strong focus on Thanos. It turned him into a very compelling character, and the changes made to his motivations from the original comic event probably works better for a movie. And with so many characters, there’s no way they could give everyone a good amount of focus, so it’s best they focus on characters who normally don’t get as much focus, like Gamora, Scarlet Witch and Vision. They’re the three most dramatically important heroes in this movie anyway.
Agreed, the Russo brothers did a fantastic job with Avengers Infinity War. All those characters and plotlines worked together so well, no mean feat with such a huge cast of characters to accommodate. Thanos was indeed a compelling villain, probably the best we’ve seen in the MCU so far, and I thought the change in his motivations from the comics version worked exceptionally well for the movie. Nearly all the characters get their moment in the spotlight as the heroes battle against Thanos, but Gamora, Scarlet Witch, and Vision certainly played a crucial part in the story. A great movie and I can’t wait to see what happens next in Avengers 4 🙂
This was a great movie. I was happy to see returning heroes like Steve Rodgers. The ending of the movie made me really sad. I also like how they made Thanos sympathetic. I agree that the Black Order were one dimensional. They were powerful, but all I remembered from them is that they were strong with unique fighting powers and skills.
Yeah, I wish they’d developed the Black Order characters a bit more as well. I still really enjoyed Avengers Infinity War, it was such an exciting film, and the ending was really powerful. Can’t wait to see what happens next in Avengers 4!
Yeah they want to make them more like henchmen. Avengers 4 is going to way more epic than Infinity War. I love this movie and I can’t wait to buy it.
I expect Avengers 4 will be another epic in its own right, going to be awesome to see how they continue the story after how Infinity War ended. Looking foward to getting Avengers Infinity War when its released on Blu Ray as well, sure that movie will have loads of extra features with it.
Yeah and without spoiling anything, I bet this is going to be more epic and dramatic than this one. I would buy for Blu-Ray so I can watch it on HD.
Oh year, Avengers Infinity War blu ray is going to look so stunning, can’t wait. Bet the extras will be brilliant as well – perhaps there’ll be cut scenes included as well maybe?
I was thinking about that too. What if there was more things that could have been added to the movie.
I’m sure there were scenes that were cut, I expect they will find their way into the extra features.
If that’s the case, I should probably it on blu-ray.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll do as well 🙂
It will look good with my collection.
Spider-Man may “not feel so good…” but I felt so good watching this movie. It was just breathless as it moves from one scene to another without, to me, feeling rushed or sacrificing tension. I can’t wait for the second half.
I thought Avengers Infinity War was brilliant. Thanos was such a palpable threat and all the heroes were integral to the plot. I’m certainly counting down the days until the sequel as well. Avengers 4 is going to be epic! 🙂