Avengers: Infinity War Review

It’s been a long time coming. Ten years later, we get what may be the biggest move the MCU has even made, and possibly the most ambitious project the studio has done. I have a lot to talk about, including the ending. I sometimes avoid it, but this time, it needs to be let out. So fair warning. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM YET, PLEASE WATCH IT AND THEN READ THIS REVIEW. SERIOUSLY, THIS HAS TO BE SEEN WITHOUT ANY SPOILER KNOWLEDGE.

Ahem. Now that’s I got that out of the way, let’s talk Thanos.

Infinity War

The story begins with Thanos’s mission to acquire all six Infinity Stones. After sabotaging the new Asgard ship, Thor makes his getaway and sends Banner back to Earth. There, he comes across Tony and the two visit Doctor Strange to warn that Thanos will appear and collect the infinity stones. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy are on their own mission and come across Thor, who seeks to return to his former glory and put an end to Thanos.

The plot is too long to explain in one paragraph, and I won’t give everything away just yet. I will say that this was one hell of a film. Both the visuals and the story were beyond my expectations and the acting was one of the best. It wasn’t too comedic, but it wasn’t too serious either. The whole film seemed to be about Balance, something Thanos wants desperately more than ever.

Balancing so many characters, so many plot threads, and so many scenes, this was one heck of a film to manage. It overachieves in so many ways that this might be the best in the MCU canon. Plus the series had numerous epic moments and encounters that it’s hard for me to pick just one that I liked.

We have Peter Parker and Doctor Strange meeting for the first time. Thor hanging out with Rocket and Groot, Tyrion Lannister Peter Dinklage playing an even bigger version of his most famous character, and of course, Gamora’s relation with her Step-father, Thanos. And it was all interwoven without anything lacking.

Again, condensing all of this into just two and a half hours was monumental. I’ve seen plenty of films that try this and give the shaft to so many plot threads and characters, but they did an amazing job. No doubt this must have been a headache. Plus, they pushed the date up and didn’t delay it past their intended May 4th date. Truly impressive.

Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes

What really made the enjoy this was how much screen time all the Avengers had. We’ve had numerous side stories between Tony, Peter and Dr. Strange; the Guardians of the Galaxy; Banner and Team Captain America; Wanda and Vision; Thor, Groot, and Rocket. I can go on, but they did try to cram as many as they possibly could.

A lot of them were given a slight shaft, but many of them had big roles that flowed smoothly, and in a two and a half hour film no less. A film like this should have been a logistical nightmare trying to make sure each scene had exactly the right amount for each plot arc. They handled it surprisingly well, almost too well.

Seeing the Guardians land on earth for the first time (Well, Rocket and Groot) no doubt turned some heads to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Seeing Winter Soldier and Rocket go wild on Thanos’s army was a joyous sight to behold, and not even missing a beat no less.

Seeing them all together again was also a good sight, and while I won’t go too deep just yet, I hope this isn’t the end for them. I really want to see more from them and hope they save the world once all this is said and done.

Thanos as a Villain

Thanos is amazing. He’s badass, he’s a humongous threat, and he’s more human than most villains I’ve seen. Usually, especially with comic books and kid shows, I see the villains as caricatures. They’re obviously evil, but you don’t care much because they exist for entertainment, not because they have emotions or anything.

Thanos takes everything you know about those kinds of villains and throws it out the window. Yes, he’s a walking caricature, but he’s a caricature with a purpose. A goal. A sense of honor despite his evil intentions. To illustrate this, I’ll talk about his relationship with Gamora. He’s abusive towards his daughters, especially Nebula, but he does it because he wants to see Gamora grow. He sees her as a true daughter, something he’ll never get.

On Volmir, he makes a huge sacrifice, and doing so, ends up crying. He didn’t want to kill Gamora, but his lust for power was so strong, that he’ll do unthinkable tasks to get what he wants. This moment was incredible because it showed that A: Not even Gamora was safe from his wrath, and B: No hero was safe from their doom.

His goal is to wipe out half of the universe so that it maintains balance. While it seems a little specific, he’s so dead set on that goal. He sees something wrong and he wants to do right, even if he has to commit heinous acts to do so. If anything, he’s the embodiment of perfection. He doesn’t swing one direction or the other. He’s dominant and cruel, but caring and honorable at the same time. Somehow, the creators have managed to make a hero seem believable and actually made me love rather than hate. He’s a villain, but I’m entertained by his power.

How many shows do you watch where you loved the villain, even if he was evil. They commit horrible acts, but you found a villain awesome enough that you want to see more. I love villains where their evil is through being themselves. Their villainy isn’t forced, but their hate is natural. I have to applaud Marvel for doing a fantastic job creating him.

The Ending

I have to talk about the ending. I. Have. To. I’m sorry if you haven’t seen the film, but please, go watch it and then come back, because this blew my mind that Marvel would even consider an ending like this. To explain, I have to summarize it a little.

So, Thanos arrives on Earth. He sees Wanda destroying Vision’s Infinity Stone, but despite their success, he reverses time and takes the stone anyway. His plan works and one by one, half of the universe fades away, including a majority of the Avengers like Groot, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and others. Then, the final scene shows him going to a beautiful planet, staring at a sunset, a smug smile on his face, knowing that he won.

First, this is such a gutsy ending. This could have been so controversial had this not have been confirmed as a two-part movie (the next part is in 2019). And second, I’ve seen endings where bad things happen, millions of lives are lost, but most of them have a sense of hope, that things will get better despite all that’s happened.

Nope. They FAILED! They’re not going to win, no matter what they do. They hinted that Captain Marvel might be the key (if the stinger scene after the credits is any indication), but to have the Avengers lose so badly that all hope is lost is mindblowing. This isn’t a minor setback where they can still find a victory. This isn’t him kicking the dog and injuring it. This is him killing the dog, burning it, running it over with his ten-foot hummer with absurdly huge tires, and making rude gestures at it after he won.

Sorry if that’s cruel, but you get what I mean.

Again, this was such a tremendous risk, but I think they did a good job with it. Having such a big failure is like getting the bad ending to a video game as the canon ending. Think Sephiroth killing Aerith in Final Fantasy VII or Titanic where the ship sinks and Jack drowns in the frigid ocean (yes, it’s based on a real event, but still…). Or hell, even Red Wedding, from Game of Thrones (I do not say that lightly, by the way).

I’m interested to see how the Avengers come back from this. It’s possible he may be too powerful now, but I was rooting for them to win, and it did seem like they actually won, but Thanos had other plans. Plus him being so smug at the end was brilliant. He just did what no other Marvel villain had done up to that point: be a significant threat, something most villains can’t pull off. The universe is doomed and no one can stop him.

This ending left me demanding for a secret moment where someone cuts in during the credits and say “hey, wait, this can’t be how it ends, right?” Nope. The longer I sat there, the more I realized that Thanos really did just do what I think he did. He wiped out half the universe with a snap of his fingers. HE. WON. I both respect and hate them for this ending. This was so risky that I wasn’t surprised that they forced fans to stay quiet. Had this been anything else, I wouldn’t see the point. They made a big deal about not spoiling, but I can see why. This was so monumental that even now, I’m still trying to process it. I’ve never seen anything like it before in a film of this caliber.

Final Thoughts

What more needs to be said? This is a masterpiece worthy of superhero history. A film with a huge cast of characters, an engaging plot from start to finish, and a villain who takes no prisoners (maybe one or two). Put it all together, and you have something worth celebrating. Back in the day, live-action comic book adaptations were either cheesy, mediocre, or just bad. Now, with MCU, we got something comic book lovers can enjoy for years to come. This was one hell of a ride, and I can’t wait for more.

So what did you think? Were you surprised by the ending? Do you think half of the Avengers are truly gone? Do you hope the Avengers get their victory over Thanos? Let me know in the comments below.

So that’s the review. I have one final Marvel-themed post, but it’s a personal one I’ve been mulling over for a while, so stay tuned.

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That’s all for today. Take care, and remember, the inn is always open.

If you have any suggestions for future topics and reviews, hit me up on my social media channels and let me know your thoughts. I always read the feedback, even if I don’t respond. Your feedback is what keeps me going, so thank you for supporting me.

My upcoming short story, Do Not Stare Into The Eyes of a Kitsune, is now up for preorder on Amazon and ebook retailers everywhere. Coming soon, June 5th, 2018.

If you liked my review of Infinity War, I did a monthly series giving my short thoughts on all the MCU films up to this point. You can find them here:

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Black Panther Review