“Avengers: Infinity War” Changes Everything

When I suggested writing a review of Avengers: Infinity War, my teacher responded with “If you spoil anything for other students, I can’t protect you.” An exaggeration? Not really, considering the multiple threats I received from my classmates offering to do me personal harm if I gave away any secrets of the movie before they managed to see it.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerated a bit, but I do value my life. So, here’s my (mostly) spoiler-free review of Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War is brutal, shocking, hilarious, and sad, somehow all at the same time.

After over 10 years of build up for the arrival of arch-villain and extremely powerful alien Thanos (Josh Brolin), Avengers: Infinity War is everything I had hoped for. The film starts on a completely different note than any other Marvel movie, replacing the Avengers’ theme with an ominous song alongside a call for help from the sole Asgardian ship, which was left stranded after the loss of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok.

This tone carries throughout the movie as Thanos continues his quest to collect the Infinity Stones, no matter the cost. In case you need a refresher, the Infinity Stones were created at the beginning of the universe, each representing a keep piece of creation: Time, Space, Reality, Power, Mind, and Soul. Only the strongest beings in the universe can harness the stone’s power, and when all are in hand, anything is possible.

Throughout the movie, Thanos’ true motivation collecting the Infinity Stones is slowly revealed, and it’s pretty simple. Thanos believes that the universe is finite, and that the only solution is to cut the number of people in the universe in half, thereby making every planet a paradise– or so his theory goes.

Now, with the stakes set so high, you’d likely expect Thanos to be a horribly evil person. I mean, seriously, wanting to kill half the universe is pretty bad, right?

Yet in a weird sort of way, I understood his motivation. Thanos is obviously doing the wrong thing, but you see that has he feels he has to save the universe, and if that means killing millions or even billions of people…oh well, it’s for a good cause.

Of course, I’ve had that “love-to-hate” feeling for villains like Darth Vader from Star Wars, Voldemort from Harry Potter, or The Joker from the Batman series, and that’s because Thanos isn’t doing this to conquer, he’s doing this to save the universe. 

That’s where Thanos’ charm lies; he’s a tragic villain, which is a trope not commonly seen anymore in films, books, or TV. And that’s why you could argue that Avengers: Infinity War isn’t really a movie about the Avengers: It’s really Thanos’ movie.

I could write about Thanos and his motives for hours, but what you probably really want to hear about is the Avengers themselves.

Right after the introduction of Thanos, the focus switches instantly, going to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who has taken note of the arrival of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) in the New York Sanctum. The two gather Iron Man and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) when two of Thanos’ generals–Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan Lawlor) and Obsidian Cull (Terry Notary) of The Black Order–arrive in New York.

Next, the action jumps to space, where the Guardians of the Galaxy burst onto the scene. There’s an instant change of pace with their introduction, with upbeat music and the Guardians’ usual charm. Since the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Groot (Vin Diesel) has grown to a teenage tree-man, and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is pursuing his flirtation with Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) continue their awkward relationship, and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) remains his normally sarcastic self. The Guardians come upon a grim scene, which I’ll avoid discussing to not give any major spoilers.

Back on Earth, but across the world, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) are hiding away from all the troubles of being Avengers. However, two other members of the Black Order, Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) and Corvus Glaive (Micheal James Shaw) interrupt their solitude. A group consisting of Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) must join together to save Vision and Scarlet Witch.

These three stories carry on throughout the film, with some superhero groups merging, and others–surprisingly, and perhaps disappointingly–never meeting.

The acting is phenomenal, with every actor building on the personalities that have been set for them in their personal movies. Some characters who haven’t had much interaction in previous films finally get some funny moments together

Most notably is a conversation between Bruce Banner and War Machine (Don Cheadle) who visit the African kingdom of Wakanda. When War Machine tricks Banner into embarrassing himself in front of the Black Panther, the audience around me erupted in laughter, proving that one of the things that makes Marvel movies so popular is how the writers manage to keep throwing together different superhero pairs, often with hilarious results.

As is common with Marvel movies, the CGI is excellent throughout, with huge explosions and characters looking realstic, not fake.

Avengers: Infinity War is easily the best Marvel movie so far, and it was so hard to write this review without giving any spoilers. I honestly can’t wait to see Infinity War again, and I’m planning to buy it the moment it comes out on digital.

I give Avengers: Infinity War 6 out of 6 Infinity Stones, because of its flawless execution of an amazing plot, beautiful effects, and cinematography, and because it brings heart-wrenching scenes to a series that has been previously cautious about upsetting viewers. This time, the writers are not holding any punches, so bring your tissues and expect that some of your favorite characters may meet their demise. 

I’d recommend Avengers: Infinity War to anyone and everyone, and I can’t wait until May of 2019 when the next Avengers movie comes out to learn the future of the Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

For a primer on previous Marvel movies and how their plots and many super hero characters fit together, see my article, What You Need to Know for Avengers: Infinity War.