First Take: Avengers Infinity War- 10 years, 18 films, one beautiful climax

Spoiler free as usual. Because #ThanosDemandsYourSilence.

SYNOPSIS- The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

In 2008, Marvel pulled the trigger on a shared universe that was considered to be a huge gamble- and here we are, 18 films later about to embark on a storyline so beloved by fans of the comics that even the slightest whiff of a spoiler results in the loss of your reputation as a critic- so treading very carefully indeed, it’s time to talk about a film which will change the course of Marvel’s output going forward. Is it good? My god, it is one of the most well executed ensemble films ever made.

The Russo Brothers are at the helm of arguably the most daring film yet, clocking in at a gargantuan 2 hours 29 minutes, and they are able to bring together that incredible amount of storylines in a way that makes it feel weighted and balance, not suffering from any slow moments- look away and you miss a valuable clue to the film’s plot, written very nicely by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who also wrote the next Avengers film). It runs like a well oiled machine, and that is a damn good compliment to the team. Add to the smooth direction some cinematography from Trent Opaloch that looks stunning on any big screen (most notably on IMAX- this is the first film to be shot entirely on their digital cameras) and a cracking score from Alan Silvestri (with some contributions from Ludwig Göransson during the Black Panther sequences) and you have a film that changes the landscape of the Marvel universe forever- yes, there’s a lot of death, but it’s balanced with the humour we’ve come to expect, especially as the final act dishes out a lot of destruction.

And now, the performances. The main cast are just fantastic as ever, so I’ll make this quick: Robert Downey Jr is on form as ever, Chris Pratt provides the humour to the film alongside his Guardians colleagues, Scarlett Johannson kicks ass and takes names, and with every main MCU character you can name of from Bucky to War Machine and back making an appearance, fans will be happy with the amount of returning faces. But arguably, this film belongs to Josh Brolin as Thanos. In just ONE film he has made the role his own, and with the amount of screen time he gets, viewers will love to hate him, and with that, his work on Deadpool 2 may have just got a little more spicy, especially after seeing how this ‘season finale’ of sorts has ended. I can’t wait another year to see how Marvel pick this up and take it forward- a true indication as to how well planned they can be.

THE VERDICT

Avengers Infinity War is pure cinematic bliss, and the ultimate payoff to 10 years of storytelling from Kevin Feige and his team at Marvel Studios. Yes, plot holes will be found in good time, but the quality of the writing, the performances and the general direction of the film say it all- this is a love letter to the fans who made 2008′s Iron Man possible. Marvel have hit it out of the park yet again.

RATING- 5/5