Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Reviews

• Unlike anything ever done in the history of cinema

  kjames-265422018-08-14

  This movie is the beginning of the culmination of Marvel's masterfully woven cinematic universe. Beginning back in 2008 with iron man, we are finally seeing the results of all the movies have been pointing to; and it did not disappoint. Thanos is a complex villain, with deeper and more interesting desires than just "world domination." The dilemmas all the characters face in this movie (both the heroes and the villains) are truly thought provoking and leave you on the edge of your seat. No other set of movies has beeen so involved, so expanded, and encompassed so many story lines/characters and previous movies. The sheer amount of star power alone in this film is insane; and they do a masterful job of weaving all these unique and various characters into a common storyline.

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• This movie will blow your mind and break your heart - and make you desperate to go back for more. Brave, brilliant and better than it has any right to be.

  shawneofthedead2018-04-25

  Over the past decade, Marvel has earned itself the benefit of the doubt. The studio has consistently delivered smart, funny, brave films that both embrace and transcend their comic-book origins. The 18 blockbuster movies produced since Iron Man first blasted off into the stratosphere in 2008 have not only reinvented superhero films as a genre - they've helped to legitimise it. Indeed, Marvel's two most recent films - Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther - have received the kind of accolades usually reserved for edgy arthouse flicks. And yet, it's perfectly reasonable to be apprehensive about Avengers: Infinity War. This is a blockbuster film that's been ten years in the making, its plot hinted at and scattered throughout 18 other movies. It features 30 or so characters, each with their own complex backstories and motivations. And all of them are coming together in a bid to stop a giant purple alien dude from destroying the universe. It sounds ridiculous, and feels impossible. But that's precisely what makes the final product such a monumental achievement. Masterfully directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Infinity War is bold, brainy filmmaking at its very best: the kind that will lift your spirits, blow your mind and shatter your soul - occasionally in the same scene. It demonstrates on an epic scale what Marvel has known all along: that special effects and tightly choreographed action are there to serve the story. For all its blockbuster spectacle (and there's almost too much of that), the film works because it's anchored by the heart, humour and humanity of its characters. The film's basic plot is simple: Thanos (played via motion-capture by Josh Brolin), intergalactic purveyor of death and destruction, has long been on the hunt for the six Infinity Stones that will give him complete control over the elemental building blocks of the universe. He dispatches his acolytes to Earth to retrieve the Time Stone, currently in the possession of Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and carve the Mind Stone out of the forehead of Vision (Paul Bettany). It's a literal existential threat so terrifying that all the heroes we've come to know and love - from the Avengers to the Guardians of the Galaxy - must put aside their differences and unite against a common foe. From the outset, it's immediately clear that neither the film's directors nor screenwriters (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) are interested in playing it safe. Most other superhero films are bled of high stakes - the hero in the title might suffer untold trauma, but it's a super-safe bet that he or she will make it to the end alive. There's no such guarantee here. Within the first ten minutes, we are confronted with the dark, twisted depths to which Thanos and his acolytes in the Black Order will sink in order to achieve their goals. Death, as well as genuine loss and sacrifice, is intrinsic to the narrative drumbeat that drives Infinity War ever forward, and the film is all the better for it. That's not to say the movie is a morbid and depressing experience. What's so impressive about Infinity War is how it expertly juggles its constantly shifting tones and moods. When it's funny (and it very often is), it's deeply, truly funny. The film finds maximum joy in flinging characters together with merry abandon, mixing and matching ones you'd never have expected to share scenes or trade banter. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is floored by Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) godly muscles. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is charmed by the wit and intelligence of Shuri (Letitia Wright). And it'd be impossible to not be utterly delighted by Peter Dinklage's inspired cameo. It's a blithely tongue-in-cheek sensibility shared by Marvel's best comic books, which understand that humour can make you care when it really counts. And, boy, does Infinity War make it count. There are many heartbreakingly human moments threaded throughout the film: from the charming surrogate father-son dynamic shared by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Peter Parker (Tom Holland), to the undeniable love that ties Vision and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) together. In many ways, the film stands as a testament to the human capacity not just to love, but to love fiercely and beyond all logic. It's right there when the unfailingly noble Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) declares, "We don't trade lives", even when giving up one could save billions. There's even a chilling echo of it in Thanos himself. A lesser film would have turned Thanos into a one-dimensional villain, much the way he's all monster and maniac in the comic books. In Infinity War, however, Thanos' end goal is surprisingly relevant when it comes to thinking and talking about the staggeringly overpopulated world in which we live today. There is, as it turns out, method to Thanos' madness. It makes the tragic twists and turns in his relationships with his estranged adopted daughters, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), all the more unsettling. For the most part, Infinity War does justice, too, to the many heroes who have been assembled for the film. The Russo brothers displayed great skill at interweaving multiple perspectives and character trajectories in Captain America: Civil War, and they do so again here, with twice as many characters. Even the most minor of supporting players, like Don Cheadle's James Rhodes/War Machine, are given story beats that land. It helps that Marvel has always taken care to cast genuinely good actors in roles that might otherwise come off as silly and slight. Even so, there are a few standouts amongst this enormous and enormously talented cast. Emotionally speaking, this is Downey's film. He plays every note of Tony's reluctant courage and bone-deep trauma, as he embarks on what he's convinced is a suicide mission. He's ably matched by Cumberbatch, who finds vulnerability even in his character's most cunning and calculative move. Hemsworth, meanwhile, is given free rein to import the big-hearted comedic swagger of Thor: Ragnarok into this film - while also layering it with a deeply-felt, jagged grief for the losses he has suffered at the hands of Thanos and the universe. In a film with so many moving parts, some elements don't work quite as well. A couple of characters that you might have expected to be right at the forefront - including an original Avenger or two - fade into the background. The film tumbles from dizzying fight scene to dizzying fight scene, and while most of them are fantastically choreographed, there are some purely dumb moments that literally revolve around attempts to prevent Thanos from clenching his fist. In effect, this is a superhero mêlée that's part over-the-top and part overkill, and might prove too much for those who don't already care for this franchise and the characters in it. Minor quibbles aside, though, Infinity War is yet another step in the right direction for Marvel. It continues the studio's tradition of placing a premium on rich, complex storytelling that respects both its characters and its audiences. But it also refuses to make things easy for itself. The film ends even more bravely than it began, with a final ten minutes that will haunt and horrify you in equal measure. It's a stroke of bold, brilliant genius - a narrative risk so audacious that you'll want to follow Marvel wherever it goes next.

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• A Summer Film That IS Even Better Than The Hype

  garethvk2018-04-24

  Summer movies often hype themselves as spectacular events not to be missed and their ad campaigns use words like "epic", "spectacle", and "smash" as ways to build the hype to increase advanced box office sales. The summer 2018 film season kicks off in a big way with "Avengers: Infinity War" and it is the rare summer film that exceeds is lofty expectations and delivers a crowning achievement for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Thanos (Josh Brolin), embarks on a deadly campaign to find and possess the Infinity Stones, he leaves a path of death and destruction in his path. When his pursuit leading him to Earth, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who enlist a reluctant Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), to the cause just as the minions of Thanos arrive. With The Avengers fractured and scattered following the events of "Captain America: Civil War" the teams find themselves dealing with the threat in various groups as fate steps in to divide many key members of the team. This allows for a great entry by the Guardians of the Galaxy and allows the film to take a very enjoyable path. Essentially the movie weaves separate storylines into one cohesive and very satisfying epic. You have a story with the Guardians as well as one with many of the key Avengers, as well as others with characters old and new. As such it is like a Guardians, Avengers, and Marvel film all rolled into one and each one supports the other very well yet has the charm and identity you would expect. While the tone is very dark as you would expect with literally half of the known universe facing destruction, there is also some solid humor in the film that never once undermines the story or pacing. Naturally the effects are stunning as you would expect as Marvel has put a significant amount of money into the film and it shows in every eye-popping action sequence. What really impressed me the most was that the Russo Brothers never let the FX of the film overshadow the characters and with a very large cast, it was nice to see everyone got their moment and you did not see members of the cast trying to one up each other. There are some real surprise moments along the way and the action is easily the best of any Marvel film to date. Many fans had expressed disappointment with "Avengers: Age of Ultron" for me this film is significantly better than the prior film and is everything that a Marvel fan would want in a film. I was also surprised by how well Thanos was portrayed as while you hopefully will not agree with his deductions and methods; you could actually understand his motivations and it help him transcend from the usual megalomaniacs which are so common in films of his type. I am really looking forward to seeing what comes next and make sure you stay through the credits for a bonus scene. Believe the hype, "Avengers: Infinity War" is an epic not to be missed and is an example of what a summer event film should be. 5 stars out of 5

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• Excellent Film

  kevintgeisler2018-06-19

  I was amazed to see so many negative reviews; so many people are impossible to please. This movie was 2 1/2 hours long, but I could have sat there another 2 1/2 hours and not noticed. Thoroughly entertaining, and I love how the directors weren't afraid to take chances. I've read a lot of other user reviews that claim that there's no plot. Unless you're mentally handicapped or not paying attention because you're on your phone the entire movie, the plot is pretty clear, and decent in my opinion.

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• The amount of people that don't understand the movie is astonishing

  blparker-317382018-04-27

  All the reviews that say this movie has no plot are either trolls, idiots, or didn't are to take the time to watch previous marvel movies. Every single one of those ratings and reviews should be taken down and not added to the rating for Infinity War because of their fundamental lack of understanding. It's like coming in and watching the last 2 minutes of an hour long drama show and saying this episode sucks because it has no plot. It's utterly ridiculous! There have been 31 marvel movies leading up to this point. All 31 has have some plot that leads to infinity war. Infinity War IS the end game movie. There is nothing left to explain, nothing left to discuss, it is all-out fight for control of the most powerful items in existence, the infinity stones. There have been 31 movies to explain in someway the power of these stones and/or the heroes that come together to fight Thanos in this movie. It's like a long game of chess where Thanos finally makes his move, and it's a huge one. So I beg of any of you who reads this. Don't listen to anyone who says this movie has no plot, has no reason and is only fighting. They aren't worth listening to, Infinity Wars has roughly 60 hours of plot from 31 precious movies leading up to this monumental fight for life or death, and the movie is done to near perfection. The movie is glorious, the CGI is fantastic, the battles are awe-inspiring, and Thanos is made worth of your fear from the very beginning. He is truly the Mad Titan that captures your heart and crushes it right in front of your eyes. Anyone who doesn't think this clearly didn't see the same movie.

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