(SPOILER WARNING!!)
It's pretty incredible knowing that the MCU has lasted for a solid 10 years now. Who would've thought that 2008's "Iron Man" would lead to something as expansive and all-encompassing as Marvel Studio's project to bring their major comic book properties to the big screen? We've had a few blunders along the way (Thor: The Dark World, Iron Fist, Iron Man 2, The Inhumans, Agents of SHIELD), but that hasn't stopped Marvel from producing an overall consistently entertaining rollercoster of charm and personality.
And, of course, since "Avengers Assemble" first premiered in 2012 and we had our first glimpse at the character of Thanos, major fans knew that it wouldn't be long before the Mad Titan began his quest to wipe out half of the universe. Now, 6 years after "Avengers Assemble", we have reached the culmination of what the last 18 films have been building towards; Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War".
The premise? Thanos has decided to begin his endgame goal of collecting the 6 Infinity Stones, each one embodying a different energy of the universe; Time, Space, Reality, Power, the Mind and the Soul. Thus, it is left in the hands of what's left of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos in his tracks, or half of the universes population will vanish at the snap of his fingers.
For a film that has been built up since 2012, "Infinity War" has a lot to live up to, especially as it's adapting one of the largest scale stories in Marvel Comics' history. And now that it's here, I can definitely say that we were given everything we had been promised; the drama, the action, the acting, the effects, the set pieces, the music, the storytelling; ALL of it top notch.
As the film puts a major emphasis on the Mad Titan, it's only best that we first discuss Thanos. With maybe the exception of Wilson Fisk, Kilgrave and Cottonmouth, we don't really have that many in terms of legitimately great villains in the MCU. Most of them are either humourless, forgettable lumps (i.e.: Malekith or Ronan the Accuser) or they're too comical to be taken seriously (i.e.: Diamondback or Yellowjacket). However, with the last few films, Marvel has certainly upped their game with the villains, with Thanos being the perfect example. Not only does he prove to be quite formidable even without the Infinity Stones, but he also has more layers to him than most Marvel villains. You find yourself understanding where he's coming from with his journey to get the Stones, even if his methods can be quite cruel. He isn't just doing it for the sake of glory, or being evil for evil's sake; he believes so much that he is the hero of his own story and that using the Stones to carry out his plans are for the greater good of the universe.
There's even some form of sympathy to be had with the guy, as we get more expansion with his relationship with Gamora and the kind of impact that she has had in his life. He originally just took her to train her, but has also come to see her as his real daughter. He's deluded in thinking this, of course, but it also brings more light to the fact that Thanos isn't just a big monster, but someone who wants to prove so desperately that he's right, and not to fail in his quest.
Each member of the cast give top notch performances, which is to be expected as they had years to get used to these roles. Part of the charm and entertainment factor comes down to how their different personalities bounce off of each other almost seamlessly. Stuff like Thor going on an adventure with Rocket and Groot, or Tony and Star Lord's egos trying to compete with each other. Even brief interactions like Banner and Shuri get a legit laugh when the two are in the same scene. Hell, I think people should go see this film just for this VERY brief exchange between Groot and Captain America:
"I am GROOT!"
"I am Steve Rogers."
When the teenage talking tree and a star-spangled man with a plan have more chemistry than ANY of the DC films thus far, you know something is wrong.
The film also doesn't shy away from taking legit risks as well. In the very beginning of the film (if you ignored the spoiler warning, then I don't know why you're still reading), half the Asgardians, including Heimdall and Loki, are killed off. And not off-screen, either; we see Thanos choke Loki to death right in front of Thor, after seeing Heimdall get stabbed by one of Thanos' minions. It's stuff like this that, in my opinion, put the MCU leagues above the DCEU, as Marvel honestly cares about their audience and make sure you can feel the power and weight of the scene. And that's especially true when Thanos has no choice but to kill Gamora in order to get the Soul Stone. He is told by the Red Skull cameo (nice touch, by the way) that he has to sacrifice something he loves in order to have that Stone, and you can see the regret and hesitation in his face upon learning that, and even when he commits the act. It's not just a split second decision; it's a legit hard choice.
If were to nitpick the film in any way, it's that, as much as I love how the characters interact with each other, some of them are never really given a moment to shine and do something legitimately awesome. I'm namely pointing out Bucky, Rhodes, and Natasha, because although they do contribute to the story, none of them are given particularly major moments when their either fighting or just interacting with other members of the cast, most especially Bucky and Rhodes. They kind of feel like afterthoughts and were probably put in the film as a means of increasing the cast size and, well, they still had Sebastian Stan on set from the post-credit stinger from "Black Panther". Still, I give it a bit of leeway, as the cast is so massive, that some sacrifices had to be made.
And of course, the ending is certainly a massive game changer, not just because they include Thanos snapping his fingers with the Stones and the Gauntlet (brilliant nod to the comics, by the way), but because we actually see characters we have come to love disintegrate right before our eyes: the Guardians (bar Rocket), Dr Strange, T'Challa, Bucky, Falcon
