Avengers: Infinity War - Movie Review

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillan, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Benecio Del Toro, Danai Gurira, Idris Elba, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, Letitia Wright, William Hurt, Carrie Coon, Ross Marquand and Winston Duke.
Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely.
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo.

★★★

This 2-hour 38-minute epic showdown is what all 18 previous movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been leading up to, and this movie is leading to the next Avengers movie opening in May 2019. This movie ends on a cliffhanger. It is definitely part 1. And it needs every minute it takes to get there.

I like how this just assumes you're up to speed and you've seen most of the Marvel movies leading up to this one. The action starts immediately, with Thanos (Josh Brolin) attacking Asgard looking for one of the infinity stones. The infinity stones have been around in previous movies. We know the tesseract that Loki used is one. That the stone in Vision's forehead is another. Dr. Strange's amulet is another. There are six total, and with Thanos's gauntlet, he will have ultimate power over the universe if he's able to attach the six stones to it.

There are so many superheroes in this movie that they use one line to explain why Hawkeye and Ant-Man aren't here (but they'll surely be in the next one). We get to see characters meet and interact in fun, unexpected ways, like the arrogant Tony Stark and the equally arrogant Dr. Strange. Chris Hemsworth gets to continue showing his comic chops he displayed in Thor Ragnarok by bouncing off the Guardians of the Galaxy. And so on.

This movie is really about Thanos, who's lurked in the shadows but takes center stage here. He wants ultimate power because he believes his cause is ultimately for the greater good.

I've seen a lot of references to people crying at certain deaths in this movie. I didn't. It's pretty obvious that many of the characters who die in the final battle are going to be brought back to life in the next one. And I for one am excited to see Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and (after-credits spoiler hero) team up with the survivors in the next one to take on Thanos.