Avengers: Infinity War

Greetings, Avengers: Infinity War was a long anticipated instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began in 2008 with Iron Man, and is the latest movie to be released in this major interlinked project which currently spans 19 films. All of its main characters were joined together in this picture, with a few exceptions, after previously staring in their own separate adventures. Notable absentees from Infinity War’s line up include Antman and Hawkeye who are only referenced in passing. Some of the most noteworthy actors or actresses include Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo and Josh Brolin. Even though there is a strong cast of numerous heroes and heroines, there is still another batch of supporting characters who play a more minor role in the plot such as Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Idris Elba as Heimdall or Peter Dinklage as Eitri. The music was composed by Alan Silvestri who had been involved in conducting the score for previous Marvel films in the series.

The plot begins where Thor: Ragnarok’s post-credit scene ended in which an Asgardian refugee ship is approached by an unknown vessel. It is revealed that the ship belonged to the Mad Titan Thanos. The villain attacks the ship, which was escorting the Asgardian survivors from the events of the previous film, in the hopes of retrieving one of the Infinity Gems known as the Power Stone. There are six of these gems scattered throughout the universe and Thanos has already acquired one before the opening scenes. Once they are all inserted into the Infinity Gauntlet wielded by Thanos, he will have harnessed unimaginable power and is able eradicate half the universe with the click of his fingers. The Asgardian ship falls to Thanos and his forces despite being protected by Thor, the Hulk, Loki and Heimdall. Thanos successfully captures the stone that was aboard the vessel, killing both Heimdall and Loki in the process but not before Heimdall transports the Hulk to Earth via the Bifrost. Thor is left badly wounded in the crumbling remains of the ship as Thanos departs for Earth in search of the Time Stone which is guarded by Doctor Strange.

The Hulk crash lands into the abode of the aforementioned Doctor in New York City and warns both Strange as well as his assistant Wong that Thanos is coming for them. In light of the news, Strange opens a portal to another location in the city where Tony Stark, better known as his alter ego Iron Man, is enjoying a walk in the park with Pepper Potts. Doctor Strange quickly relays the news and recruits Stark in his fight against their approaching enemies. A space ship arrives in the centre of New York, heralding the arrival of the Mad Titan’s henchmen by the names of Maw and Obsidian. The appearance of the vessel draws the attention of Peter Parker who then investigates the scene as his superhero persona, the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, before quickly getting involved in the fight for the Gem. Maw is unable to steal the Time Stone due to an enchantment Strange had sealed upon it and so he decides to kidnap the defeated sorcerer while the others are engaged battle. Stark and Spiderman notice the ship is about to depart with the captured Doctor on board and find a way to enter it without raising any suspicions as it leaves Earth’s atmosphere.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. The encounter with Thanos had been teased for a long time since its initial set up in the original Avengers film from 2012. I believe the Cinematic Universe as a whole, even though I have yet to see some of the more recent releases, has actually improved in quality since its earlier works. I certainly felt the previous Avengers film, Age of Ultron, was a lower point in the series that has since been vastly eclipsed by Infinity Wars in terms of entertainment value. There is plenty of good humour throughout the movie. I particularly enjoyed the comedic back and forth exchanges between Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole group of heroes never team up in one scene altogether as it eventually splits into two distinct groups who are trying to halt Thanos in different locations. In my opinion, the film was impressively handled in relation to spreading out the screen time between its large cast but of course some characters such as Black Widow were effectively reduced to a much more minor role. While this isn’t going to be everyone’s idea of good fun, I definitely enjoyed watching Infinity War and am very interested in seeing the next instalment because, in part, of a suspenseful cliff hanger.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special Effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

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