AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR REVIEW

Here's a helpful tip.  If you are the least bit interested in the movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom that comes out in June, do not watch the trailer.  I saw it in front of the Avengers movie and I now feel like I have seen the whole film.  I don't know why studios continue to release these spoiler laden trailers but as long as they do I will keep giving a heads up every time I see one.

The Avengers: Infinity War is the third official Avengers film and the latest in the ever expanding Marvel cinematic universe. This film boasts the largest cast of comic book heroes ever brought to the big screen.  It also has quiet possibly the highest stakes of any Marvel movie to date as the mighty Thanos threatens to alter the course of reality as we know it.  To do this, he needs to recover the six lost infinity stones, two of which are under the protection of the Avengers. 

Right off the bat, here is my number one problem with this film.  I don't understand what they have done to my personal favorite Marvel character Captain America.  He looked so different from the traditional version of Cap that I forgot who he was throughout the movie.  He wore an all black suit with no mask, I'm assuming so Chris Evens can show off his new beard, and he didn't have his trademark shield.  Apparently I missed what happened to the shield somewhere along the line but please bring it back. 

Having this many heroes in one movie was a daunting task and directors The Russo Brothers as well as screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely should be commended for how smoothly they were able to service all the larger than life characters in the film.  The different characters stories are intertwined very well.  The transitions between all the different scenes playing out at the same time are seamless and perfectly timed.  This movie was not nearly as confusing as it should have been.  Also surprising, every hero got adequate screen time as far as I'm concerned. 

I thought the villain Thanos in this movie was terrific.  I would call him easily the best MCU villain to date.  He had a presence on screen and a desperate motivation that made him feel dangerous in a way that many comic book villains do not.  Josh Brolin did a great job in the role.  His work made Thanos feel real and all the more menacing.  Congratulations Marvel, you finally got the villain right. 

This movie has an ending that a lot of people are going to hate.  That being said, the emotional impact was real and the ending really did work for me.  I personally thought that it was the only way the movie could have ended to make the whole thing seem worthwhile. 

This is a very good comic book movie with very few problems in my opinion.  It's probably not in the top tier of comic book movies all time, but I think it was close to that.  I missed a few characters who weren't there like Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and the more traditional Captain America.  Aside from that, however, the film is focused, not nearly as convoluted as it should be, and the stakes feel high enough that the plot has weight to it.  THE MOVIE MAN GIVES IT 4 OUT OF 5 STARS.