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The time has finally come. Avengers assemble. They are about to come face-to-face with the powerful Thanos and must band together with their allies to attempt to defeat him before his blitz of devastation puts an end to the universe as we know it.
To achieve his goal, Thanos needs all six of the Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, in this culmination of a decade-long string of films and TV series. The fate of people living on the Earth has never been more uncertain.
To call Avengers: Infinity War a monumental achievement by Marvel Studios is truly a massive understatement. Combining more than 22 superheroes into one team, to fight a villain that has been hyped up and foretold for the last 18 movies, is no small task, and they surmounted it.
As this is such an ensemble cast, there are few ‘main’ characters to speak of, though there are a couple that deserve extra praise. Namely, Thanos, as played by Josh Brolin.
The hulking purple villain is fantastic, and a welcome departure from the tired clichés of total madman or stone-cold warrior. He is intelligent, vulnerable, tireless in his purpose, and morally ambiguous to the point where you occasionally struggle to find fault in his logic. As for the rest, if you’ve seen any of the previous Marvel films, you’ll delight in watching all of your old favourites on screen. Everyone brings their fullest to the film, but the real standout of this particular Avengers instalment is the various interactions between the characters.
StarLord (Chris Pratt) arguing with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) about the best plan of action, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) fighting side-by-side with Okoye (Danai Gurira), or Captain America (Chris Evans) meeting Groot (Vin Diesel): every interaction is excellent, and it leaves you laughing crying, and in the case of the audience on the press preview night, cheering.
Another particular standout in this movie is Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who has gone from being one of the most underrated Avengers to a huge crowd favourite, and for good reason.
The special effects of the film are fantastic, as to be expected for an endeavour with such an immense budget. It’s all brought to life with so much vigour, you feel completely immersed in what’s happening in front of your eyes.
What is most surprising about the film is just how epic it feels. With such an impressive cast, it would be easy to have parts feel hollow, unnecessary, or even forced, but the story flows evenly and at a steady pace, so that you’re never at risk of getting bored or wishing for a reprieve from all the action … of which there is a-plenty.
From complex fight scenes that highlight each superhero’s unique style, to large-scale space-based battles, to a host of new toys for every hero to play with; if you thought that Black Panther had a wild amount of new tech, then Infinity War blows it out of the water.
Trying to describe the magnitude of influence that Marvel has had on movie culture in the last decade is nearly impossible. And the best part is, there’s a lot more to come, so as much as the ending (no spoilers) may seem jaw-dropping, just remember that there something to look forward to too.
Marvel has exceeded expectations here, creating an instalment that will surely be held up as the paragon of all superhero films.
l Now showing in: Cineco, Seef II, Dana Cinemas, Wadi Al Sail, Mukta A2, Al Jazeera
