Avengers: Infinity War — Film Review
After 10 years of build up Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War is finally here, bringing together every character and franchise from the vast universe for an epic confrontation with the undisputed king of the bad guys, Thanos.
Every scene in Infinity War is pure fanboy wish fulfilment as characters collide, banter and generally kick ass across the universe. At times it can all get a little overwhelming and, as a fan, it will undoubtedly benefit from repeat viewings (bear in mind I’m reviewing this based on a Wednesday night midnight screening).
The danger with cross overs with this many characters is that it becomes impossible for each character to be given adequate screen time and there are a couple of Avengers who do feel decidedly underserved. Having said this Infinity War is almost entirely a climax and conclusion to a story that has been building over 18 movies. Where certain characters may seem under developed in this particular movie, they do not exist in a bubble and have been built over the course of multiple films. In many ways Infinity War feels like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It is a finale with lots of branching storylines and just enough time to tell them all. As a fan it was fantastic, if you were going in cold however, having never seen any Marvel film before I imagine it would be hard to care. Put it this way; would you in anyway be bothered about Sam and Frodo climbing Mount Doom if you had no idea who they were?
Where the filmmakers do wisely spend time character building however, is with the films’ villain, Thanos. Under copious amounts of CGI Josh Brolin delivers an outstanding performance as the Mad Titan as his back story and motivations are fleshed out in some of the more grounded scenes of the movie.
While the end of the world does indeed appear to be nigh the directors never forget to focus on fun with some great funny moments delivered throughout the movie, particularly from the Guardians who often steal the show.
As all the pieces come together and the movie builds to its epic final battle there is a breathless, frantic pace to keep up with but the filmmakers truly deliver on some crowd pleasing moments. I don't think I’ve ever been in a cinema in the UK where something happened on screen that prompted a small round of applause, but there’s first time for everything.
To say more about how the story plays out would really be a spoiler and to say Marvel have done an amazing job of keeping plot points under wraps would be an understatement.
If you in any way consider yourself a fan go out to see this film at your earliest connivence. If you’re not a fan and you find yourself seeing it anyway? All I can say is…where have you been for the last 10 years?
