Avengers: Infinity War Is Marvel's The Empire Strikes Back

       The summer movie season begins with the much anticipated third installment in the popular Marvel universe titled Avengers: Infinity War. Making the 10th anniversary of Marvel's beginning as a cinematic universe with the release of Jon Favreau's Iron Man, the universe has grown over the course of a decade spawning endless comic book origin story film's and television shows.The first Avengers film not only stands as being one of the best superhero movies of all time largely due to it's ensemble cast of iconic characters, but also for it's dynamic chemistry as well as it's rich development of characters. For many fans, the first Avengers was a dream come true for comic book nerds and was the start of a grand trilogy of films in which the heroes joined together at the end of each phase. Avengers: Age Of Ultron wasn't as good of a sequel to the first Avengers movie nor did it make as big of a splash with audiences, but it still provided the thrills and promise that the iconic Marvel characters would all join together again to combat a new threat. Fast forward three years later with the release of Avengers: Infinity War, expectations as well as anticipation for the new installment is high with the stakes being raised with the presence of a newer and more powerful enemy Thanos, brilliantly played by Deadpool ll's Josh Brolin. With many fans finding disappointment with the last entry in the Avengers franchise, Infinity War successfully manages to make up for that films shortcomings with a much darker story that can best be summed up as Marvels The Empire Strikes Back with a helluva climax, that will be talked about and discussed until the next installment releases next May.

      

   Marvel's Infinity War is not just an improvement over Age Of Ultron, the film completely blows it out of the water and stands with the first Avengers as being one of the finest superhero films ever made. The storyline for the third Avengers film centers around the Avengers and their allies being forced to take on their greatest threat yet with the powerful space enemy Thanos with the team realizing that they must be willing to go as far as sacrificing themselves in order to defeat him before his sudden reign of devastation and ruins wipes out the universe. Infinity War is a popcorn blockbuster, that lives up to it's name in delivering relentless action and excitement while managing to completely surprise and shock it's audience. While it's true that the film doesn't have enough time to flesh out every single character in the film thoroughly, but given the scope of the story and the movies ambitious running time, it does a damn fine job of juggling them all together. The stakes are much higher in this film and the threat is more lethal to both mankind and the Avengers team with the films opening sequence despite being brutal, sets a different kind of tone for the film in comparison to the other Avengers movies where there was always hope hinted throughout the story. With this installment, hope is thrown out the window with the knowledge introduced that anything can happen in this film. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Infinity War retains the freshness of the first Avengers film while being more witty with it's characters. Despite Josh Whedon's noble efforts with Age Of Ultron, one could feel the filmmaker was tired and the film not being as fresh nor as innovative as the first movie. The Russo brothers prove to be fine replacements in the directors chair as they manage to engage the audience and keep them invested in the characters and story. What helps the film significantly is the presence of it's main antagonist who appears to be larger than life as well as being the gravest threat the Avengers team has faced yet.

      As far as the acting performances go, Infinity War shines not just because of it's technological aspects, but also because of it's remarkable cast of actors that bring believability to their roles as well as surprising yet effective moments of emotion (Cough Tom Holland as Spiderman Cough). Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans both shine in their roles as Iron Man and Captain America, both proving beyond a reasonable doubt that each man is born for the role and simply irreplacable. It will surely be a sad day for Marvel fans when the time comes for both actors to retire from their roles. Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as Thor with Mark Ruffalo poving to be the true Hulk. Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Paul Bettany, and Anthony Mackie all delivering terrific supporting performances with the limited time they all share. The films main scene stealing performance however goes to Josh Brolin as Thanos, commanding the screen whenever he appears as well as being one of the most powerful and indestructible villains to grace the big screen since the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. With Thanos, there is a feeling that all hope is lost in trying to defeat him as he feels too powerful for the Avengers to take head on, With the weight of the cast on the films shoulders, the script and story had to be up to par to deliver the spectacle the audience is anticipating. Thankfully the script manages to tie all the character subplots and general plotline together without losing focus of the main narrative that this story isn't so much about winning but is more so about defeat, failure, and even death.

      On the films technical aspects, this is the most visually stunning Avengers film thus far. The visual effects are impressive as usual as Marvel movies are heavily dependent upon special effects. The cinematography and sound effects are top notch with the films editing proving to be fast-paced for a two and a half hour film. As far as summer blockbusters go, this is probably the fastest two and a half hour comic book movie since The Dark Knight where the action and sequence of events are so consistent that there isn't enough time in between for the audience to relax too long before the Avengers find themselves in another intense scenario. The films Art-Set Decoration and Costume Design are stunning with the epic climactic battle being nothing short of pure spectacle that shouldn't be missed on the big screen. Avengers: Infinity War is not just the most impressive Avengers film on a technical note, its also one of the most visually striking superhero movies ever made as well as blockbuster. The film is worthy of both visual and sound effects at next years Academy Awards, though if Black Panther beats it in both those categories, that's perfectly fine.

      Infinity War is a dark superhero film and summer blockbuster, that's not to be taken lightly as the film centers around themes such as genocide, overpopulation, failure, revenge, vengeance, sacrifice, and reality.  The message behind the film says that great power, and the pursuit of even greater power, doesn't come with great responsibility or a medium of both sanity and empathy. Infinity War is a film that's epic in story, spectacle, and themes. The film is not only a tremendous improvement over the previous Avengers film, but shows a darker side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than what fans are accustomed to. The movie is sure to divide some fans over it's controversial moments such as the films shocking climax, but one cannot denounce without giving credit to the Russo brothers as well as Marvel for having the guts to go as far as they did with the story as well as providing the ending they did. Much like Empire Strikes Back, Infinity War is a bridge to the next film which will be the finale to the first four phases of the Marvel universe. Like that movie, the movie ends on a downer note that's both powerful and badass with hope being ,lost but the excitement to see what comes next slowly builds up after audiences exit the theater. While not every Marvel fan will agree with the decisions made in Infinity War, the movie stands proudly as being one of the finest comic book movies ever made as well as being one of the best summer blockbuster for it's ambitious nature and fearless approach to telling it's story. Not every comic book movie needs to have a happy ending and here, the ending is perfect as it blows the audience away while leaves them wanting more. Despite Black Panther being a stronger film in regards to story, Infinity War is bigger and more exciting. It's a must see film as the anticipation for Avengers 4 slowly begins to build up for next year.

                                                                                                                Final Verdict: SEE IT