"Dread It. Run From It. Destiny Still Arrives...."

I'm not entirely certain how long this film has been planned, or how they evolved the other Marvel films and shows around it, but Avengers: Infinity Wars has arrived after many, many years of anticipation and earnestness. After subtle and not so subtle attempts and hints, Thanos finally makes his play for the infinity stones and bring about literally universal balance. The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy along with other superheroes do what they can to stop him. The film begins pretty much where Thor: Ragnarok ended. This is perhaps Marvel's darkest film ever produced, and Thanos is perhaps the most powerfully menacing villain they have ever put on-screen. Despite not really having a physical presence on the film, Josh Brolin's vocal performance (and most likely motion capture performance as well) as Thanos was perfect. This character is not around to endlessly talk, or fruitlessly pummel his enemies to death; he gets to the point, which is refreshing for a villain, and people die when they get in his way. Creating this connection to mortality and the audience suddenly realizes that the heroes aren't immortal, which really ups the ante. His henchmen were also superb and were similar to their master, not bumbling morons who talked a big fight and weren't able to deliver. The villains in this movie are some of the finest I've seen in a while, but we shall see how all of this plays out going forward. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man is about the same in this film as he usually is; excellent performance, cool gadgetry but he has someone with just about the same size of ego to contend with unlike before. Dr. Strange played by Benedict Cumberbatch was quite superb like his previous performance, and when Dr. Strange and Tony Stark had scenes together, they were some of the best. Chris Hemsworth redeemed himself as Thor for me. He gave a much more heroic and intense performance of the hero, who is now essentially an Asgardian king. I could have done without Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, but there is no denying his dynamic added to the film. Tom Holland reprised his role as Spider-Man, and he was more tolerable this time around, but he was more distraction than good for the film. Zoe Saldana as Gamorra had one of the more interesting and complex parts of the film as the daughter of Thanos, and she played it very well. Her sister Nebula, played by Karen Gillan, had a small but pivotal role in the film, but she did well and has come a long way. Tom Hiddleston as the god of mischief Loki also had a small but pivotal role in the film; his presence has diminished greatly since the first Avengers film. Paul Bettany as Vision and Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch were amazing together; complex, interesting, and this ethereal nature of their relationship was such a delight. Chris Evans as Captain America, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Benedict Wong as Wong, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis all had presences in the film, but nothing really substantial aside from some narrative dialog and mostly action. Peter Dinklage had a lovely part as an important kind of blacksmith, and of course I cannot forget Stan Lee's usual cameo appearance which is always fantastic. As you can see the cast was great, but since there were so many, substantial screen time was a premium, which was perhaps the films biggest flaw, but also having so many potent characters and stars made it also its greatest strength.
Anthony and Joe Russo directed the film and did a great job, and considering both men are veterans of the Marvel cinematic universe, they definitely have a handle on where everything is going, so props to them. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay and did for the most part an excellent job, although there were some moments with the dialog that could have used a little more polish. Alan Silvestri composed the music, and although he is becoming the define composer for the Marvel universe, I really wish they found someone with a little more talent. There just aren't really any memorable themes or motifs from the film, except perhaps the Avenger theme (which was composed several films ago) and something that might be Thanos' theme/motif. The cinematography was good, and considering all of the special effects, I think Trent Opaloch did a fine job. The two people who deserve a great deal of credit for the finished product are the film editors Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt. These two individuals took a film of epic proportion with over twenty big name stars, massive action sequences, essentially three to four storylines and weaved together a cohesive film that wasn't boring, too over the top, and balanced the important characters with what the story was all about. Not an easy feat. I really enjoyed the film, and it probably had something to do with the villains and the tone of the film being quite dark. What I didn't care about a lot for in the film were the Guardians of the Galaxy characters, except Gamorra and Groot; everyone else, especially Rocket and Quill were obnoxious, especially Quill. I don't know why a comic book hero has to be depicted as such a vain, insecure, silly person but he met his match with Thanos, and Tony Stark (which ironically are two very self-confident characters, aside from Captain America). The action was very well done, and the special effects were excellent and the pace was almost perfectly timed. One of the things I really enjoyed about the film was the ending. However, I have a feeling I know what is going to happen in the next Avengers film, so not everything may stay as it is thought it is. This would be a real shame, but there are plenty of Marvel films to come so they can't make too many changes in this film which honestly really cheapens the heroism of the characters. But that's film marketing for you. Filmmakers who want to make excellent villains need to take notes from this film, because Thanos and his henchmen were perfection; they were my favorite part of the film, aside from Dr. Strange and Iron Man.
Avengers: Infinity War interviews
Avengers: Infinity War clip
Avengers: Infinity War trailer