Ten years ago, Marvel had an idea. Back in 2008, Marvel launched their own movie studio with their debut film of Iron Man. And while that film was excellent in its own right, arguably the most important moment of that film was the final ninety seconds, which had Nick Furry telling Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. Since then, we have seen the continuous rise of what has now become the biggest film franchise of all time, all while falling in love with characters such as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and many others. The franchise has broken many box office records and in my opinion, has made a lot more good films than bad ones. Even a life long DC fan such as myself would remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the influence and success that the MCU, or Marvel Cinematic Universe, has had on modern blockbusters for better or for worse. And with that, we have finally reached the beginning of the end for these characters, as Avengers: Infinity War serves almost as the series finale for this rendition of the MCU. And thank goodness it does, for I can’t remember the last time a movie with over a decade of build up was able to stick the landing the spectacularly.

Avengers: Infinity War is the third film in the Avengers franchise and the 19th film overall in the MCU. After feeling as if there is no other option, Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, sets off on a quest to find the six infinity stones in order to kill off half the universes life forms in an effort to combat over population. In order to stop them, The Avengers must finally put their differences behind them and band together in order to stop the looming threat. The first thing I want to tackle is that this movie feels remarkably huge, even for an Avengers movie. The threat of Thanos has built up for a while now, so hearing the characters talk about his forthcoming attack and seeing the wreckage he leaves in his search feels gigantic at this point. You really feel that not only is earth in peril, but the entire galaxy is sue to Thanos’s wrath. This event has been built up for years now an although one could say that is a fault against the movie because it requires viewings of other films, this franchise has earned that as it has paced its build up pieces well over different films. The film has almost all of the heroes we have grown to love thus far and while the story does get a bit to big for its britches at times, the movie very cleverly each of its heroes there moment to shine in this final battle for humanity. Those moments may be small as there are a lot of heroes to get to, but they all get their moment nonetheless. I would be here forever if I went into detail on every major character in this film, but let’s just say these are the same characters that you know and love and the actors who play them once again give great performances. My three favorite hero characters in this movie however were Doctor Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch who is beginning to form into his own character, Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. who is finally taking the role of the responsible leader for change, and Star Lord, played by Chris Pratt who goes on in my opinion the best and most emotional arc of any character in the film. However, there is one character that most definitely takes the spotlight in this film, and that would be Thanos. From the first scene of the movie, we know Thanos is not to be taken lightly and with a series that has a villain problem like the MCU, I was very pleased that Marvel was bale to pull of their best villain when it counted. Thanos is menacing, he has a presence, he never cracks jokes, and probably the best of all, you can actually see where he’s coming from. Thanos does not enjoy what he’s doing, but he is so dead set on the fact that he is in the right that you almost at times find yourself on his side. And his relationship with his adopted daughter Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana, is hands down the most heart breaking and tragic relationship between any two characters in the Marvel universe. While the movie has Avengers in the title, this is very much Thanos’s story first, and thank goodness for that because he ends up becoming the best villain in the MCU, and probably in the top 2 comic book villains of all time with Heath Ledger’s Joker. And not only is Thanos fantastic, but the group of Thanos’s followers called The Black Order are also very intriguing and add to the mysticism of this character. In order to refrain from being to cluttered, this film wisely places many of its characters on different planets and worlds. This allows us to see multiple teams dealing with the same conflict in different ways, and every hero has an interaction with Thanos at one point. And when you have been building up to this moment for ten years, making sure you do right by the characters is a necessity.

As we have seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, we know that The Russo brothers can direct small scale action. But with Infinity War, they take their directing to the next level as they deliver some of the biggest set pieces in all of the MCU. The fight is taken to New York to Wakanda and to may other locations that once again show how well The Russo’s have a grasp on battles on multiple fronts. This film is wonderfully shot, as you never have any confusion about what is going on as you can easily keep track of everything. The action is a lot heavier then most Marvel movies as the stakes feel a lot higher and our characters feel much more in danger. Everything feels big here as low angle shots are combined with wide angle to make everything seem more epic. While none of the action scenes quite match the perfection of the airport scene Civil War, but the action is still undeniably top notch as it brilliantly balances the multitude of characters that make up this huge cast. The CGI is well crafted and stylized and fast but not sporadic editing often lets you take every vista and hero shot in. Not many movies can put seventeen main characters in a shot and have you be able to spot and point out every single one. You also go to many different worlds and planets in this film, which once again makes this movie seem a lot like an adventure. You still get that annoying trope that I hate where they show the location in big text when you first arrive, but the sense of discovery is still there. My favorite new location is Vormir, and without spoiling anything, the way how it plays into the story is very clever. This may be the most well shot Marvel movie thus far, because not only is everything presented in a grand fashion, but the colors that usually in habit most MCU movies are a bit more distilled here, which goes in theme the tone. While there are still funny moments in the film, particularly with the Guardians, the jokes are definitely turned down in this film as the end of the world is imminent. For the first time, our heroes seem like they are completely out of ideas and are just fighting for the small chance that they may escape with few causalities. This is the darkest Marvel has ever gone and don’t expect everything to turn all honky dory in the end as no one in this film comes out unscathed. Although don’t get me wrong, there are many points in this film where you will be pumping your fist in pure joy at what is happening. One scene with Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, in particular stands out in this category. This film is a little over two and a half hours and I can honestly say that it does not feel that way. While you maybe could’ve cut out about five minutes, the movie uses its screen time perfectly, as you are on the edge of your seat the entire time all the way up to that insane ending. Seriously, I can’t remember a blockbuster went for it this hard in their ending. I wouldn’t dare spoil it, but let’s just say that your jaw will be in shock as to what just happened, and you will begin counting down the days until Avenger 4. The only issue I had in the end was that there is one ability that Thanos gained in this movie that does have me worrying for the future. There are no issues yet, but I fear that we may have a new device that may becomes the MCU’s plot convenience machine. But other then that, it is clear The Russo brothers have a firm grasp on these characters, and they executed one of the most beautiful finales I have seen to any franchise. Not much else to say other than my gosh, The Avengers by Alan Silvestri really is incredible.

For a franchise to go on for ten years and remain this consistent, something has to be working within. The James Bond franchise has been going on for over fifty years and it wishes it had the same level of consistency that the MCU has. We have had years of fun with these characters, and I am very happy that Marvel seems to be heading to new horizons as they begin to close the book this chapter of their franchise. In the end, Avengers: Infinity War is a great culmination of everything set up thus far as we are introduced to one of the best cinematic villains of the past five years, all while the pieces are knocked clear off the table for next year’s Avengers 4. If you don’t Marvel movies, this will not be the one to change your mind most likely. But even if you are a casual fan of this movie, I still strongly recommend you see it in the theatre. This is one movie that will most definitely have you assembling with hope for the future of Marvel Studios.