Avengers Infinity War Review

Greetings Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation back once again with a new movie review! Since that mid-credit scene in the first Avengers movie, we knew that there was a bigger, badder threat looming in the background for the Marvel heroes. And now, that threat has arrived. Folks: it's time to review Avengers: Infinity War!

The plot to Infinity War is pretty simple: Thanos, the guy who's been chilling in a chair for the majority of 6 years, is now on the hunt for the magic space rocks known as the Infinity Stones, and every hero we've seen throughout these Marvel movies...

Except these guys...

Are trying to put a stop to that. Again, very basic plot, but the journey throughout the film makes it all the more entertaining. Alright, getting this out the way right now: Infinity War is the climax to a 10 year (technically six but that doesn't have as nice of a ring to it) Epic that's been told throughout these movies. If you go into this movie not having at least seen most of the Phase 3 movies, you're gonna be a little lost with some of the references. Some of you reading this may think this is a no-brainer, but considering we have people who after almost 20 of these movies still leave during the credits, it's kind of worth noting.

Another thing people may find as a negative for the film is that it jumps around a bit, as it naturally would considering all the characters in it. But this also means that you may not see enough of your favorite character from the past movies. It really all depends on who's your favorite MCU hero.

One of the biggest appeals to Infinity War is the interaction and banter between the characters. A lot of new heroes have been introduced since 2012, and as someone who's watched nearly all of these movies, it was a treat watching Thor joking with The Guardians of the Galaxy and seeing Iron Man and Doctor Strange play off one another. All of these movies have a different kind of style to them and to see them all not only well integrated in a film that could've easily felt bloated (but is actually pretty easy to get through), but to see them mingle with one another is incredible.

It's because of this that I feel Infinity War is a much truer sequel to the first Avengers film than Age of Ultron was (Nothing against that movie, I still think it's fine). It has many of the same beats that the first one did, but it's done on a much grander scale. Plus there are a references and callbacks that guys like me who have been following these movies will get a good kick out of, especially one cameo that...you'll know when you see it, that's all I'll say.

But we can't keep talking about this film without mentioning the big purple elephant in the room; that being the main villain Thanos. To put it bluntly: yes. He lived up to the years of build up. From the very second he is on screen, he is presented in a way that I don't think any MCU villain has before; and considering how long we've waited for him to take center stage in a movie, it's a well deserved payoff. Infinity War feels like it's Thanos's movie because it's his goal to collect the Infinity Stones that drives the plot. The heroes themselves spend the majority of the film reacting to him and his Black Order (Who outside of cool designs are just there to job out to the heroes).

Between Josh Brolin's fantastic performance, the screenplay from Stephen McFreely and Christopher Markus, and the almost real looking CG, Thanos is this complex, almost poetic kind of character. Now he's not complex in the same way that Kilmonger in Black Panther or Wilson Fisk in Daredevil are where you can understand their point of view. But it's more the idea that the villain in this film believes that what he's doing is the right thing; and this combined with the combined efforts of the cast both on screen and behind the scenes creates easily one of the most interesting and most standout villains in the entire MCU.

It's kind of strange for me to say that with all the movies under their belt, Avengers Infinity War is probably Marvel Studio's biggest gamble to date. All the roads in the MCU were leading to this movie and with all these characters and different subplots it's one that could've easily collapsed on itself. Instead what we've got was a movie with all the great quality you expect from Marvel Studios at this point, while also not being afraid of having quiet, melancholy. and even downright dour moments.

In the last 6 years, we've seen many studios attempt to start their own cinematic universe to emulate the success of Marvel Studios and even rival them. But as the saying goes: There are innovators and there are imitators. There's a reason why even after all these cinematic universes crashed and burned, the one that started the trend is still rolling and has no intent on stopping. Because even after a decade of movies, they can still put you on a roller coaster of a movie and have you wanting more. If you couldn't tell by this folks: Go watch Avengers Infinity War. Although judging from the Box Office, you probably have already.

Til next time folks, I'm The Shaman of Animation and I'm going to mourn for Lionsgate's failed attempt at a cinematic universe.   

I had so much faith in this you guys. You don't even know...

Take Care...