Spoiler-free review: Avengers: Infinity War is the ultimate comic-book movie

On April 26th, 2018, I went to the very same theater I saw the very first Iron Man in back in 2008 to watch the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in the form of Avengers: Infinity War. My life has changed drastically in various ways since seeing the first Iron Man, both big and small, but one of the few constants in my life has been going to this theater every summer and seeing the new Marvel movies for the last decade.

With all of those movies leading up to this, there was a lot of stakes going into this. Marvel was going to have to go big or risk disappointing everyone, everything prior to Infinity War was child’s play. This had to be the comic book movie to end all comic book movies… and it is.

If you’re hoping to find something with the depth and mature themes of something like The Dark Knight or Logan, you won’t find it here. That isn’t to say the movie is light or feels like it’s pure spectacle but it isn’t looking to have anything that says something about humanity, our society, or mortality. What it presents is a story that feels like it’s made by veteran comic writers who have been given the chance to bring their vision to life.

Avengers: Infinity War is a cosmic trotting adventure that follows Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on what may very well be the planet’s final days. A menacing titan known as Thanos is coming to Earth with a gang of powerful aliens in search of six powerful gems that can wipe out the majority of the universe in the snap of a finger. Thanos and his cronies will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal, even if it means ripping apart some of fiction’s most iconic characters in the process. It’s up to the Avengers and friends to prepare the assault on Earth and defend the gems with their life.

From the getgo, Infinity War lets you know it’s willing to take risks and is going to play against the “Marvel formula” that we’ve come to expect. For the last decade, we’ve come to expect that there won’t be any major deaths, it won’t get too dark, and more. There’s a perception that Marvel plays it pretty safe but Infinity War is possibly the riskiest and most daring comic-book movie of all-time.

Beloved characters meet their demise, there’s a genuine feeling of uneasiness when Thanos and his people arrive on Earth for the first time, there is a serious amount of dread. From the moment they go toe to toe for the first time, you can tell that if the Avengers want to win, they’re going to have to put up a massive fight, the likes of which have never been seen. Personally, I’ve never felt a sense of danger in a Marvel movie. This movie was like watching a massive global catastrophe unfold on the news.

The lack of music played during key moments, the brutal fight choreography, the way everything is shot, there’s a massive sense of scale and no film has ever achieved something like this. It’s clear that for the first time, the Avengers are not prepared to handle this threat. Thanks to Captain America: Civil War, everyone is scattered across the universe, there’s no order within this superhero ensemble, there is no truly unified “plan”. All hope is lost.

Thanos is by far the best Marvel villain to date by making you understand who he is as a, for lack of a better term, person and also making him an incredibly formidable and opposing threat. He delivers in just about every single way, anytime he was up close with another character, it felt like he could crush them in an instant and to his credit, he does that. He towers over pretty much everyone, Thanos is truly the ultimate baddie and will easily rank among the best comic-book movie villains decades from now.

They give you a reason to hate him, see his point of view, give him true depth. They had way more intimate and personal moments with him than I expected and it helps make you feel somewhat conflicted. His story is almost Shakespearean, putting the weight of the world quite literally on his shoulders, giving him this arc filled with all sorts of tragedy, and so much more. There are very few villains that could ever be considered as remotely interesting or intriguing as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

All of the drama, the scope, the danger, it all comes together to create what is arguably the ultimate comic-book movie. Is it the best superhero movie ever made? No. Is it the most faithful to the format it pulls from? Yes, by far. With all of the locations Avengers: Infinity War takes you to, all of the plots it manages to juggle and keep coherent, everytime we switch back to another group of characters it’s like we’re jumping to a new panel in a comic-book. It has an incredible sense of style without editing it to look like it is actually switching between comic-panels like the 2003 Hulk movie or Kick-Ass, it feels far more natural in Avengers: Infinity War.

Whatever you think is going to happen in Avengers: Infinity War, the reality is that your predictions/expectations will be exceeded and amplified significantly. The directing duo, the Russo Brothers, take us to places so shocking and unexpected that at several points in the movie, people audibly gasped, said “Holy shit!”, and a wave of whispers rushed over the entire theater as they began discussing amongst themselves what they just saw. Perhaps the best moments were the ones that were dead silent.

Where Avengers: Infinity War strides is really in its use of music. You have the usual triumphant score playing during heroic action moments, some sad and dramatic music, and then, there are large portions where the Russo Brothers just let scenes play out with nothing but the sound effects and dialogue. Music just ceases for long periods of time and it made me feel physically ill at times like I was watching just something absolutely horrific. It was scary and honestly, traumatizing, no hyperbole. I even began to see parents take their kids out of the theater, this movie goes to some dark places and really pushes everyone in ways that are incredibly frightening.

There was one particularly painful moment where it felt like my heart was attempting to crawl its way up my throat and out my mouth. The movie wants to make you feel, a LOT. It wants that feeling of dread, excitement, triumph, sadness, and everything in between. If you’re a fragile person, you’re going to have a tough time with this one.

When you’re not paralyzed by fear, you’re usually on the edge of your seat watching brilliant action scenes. My theater was cheering, throwing their hands in the air, and more. These are the most creative action scenes in a Marvel film to date with characters using their powers in really fun ways, while you won’t see every single Avenger on the same battlefield at once, they paired up lots of people we don’t typically see together to see really unique and cool combinations of powers.

While there’s definitely an overabundance of action scenes, Avengers: Infinity War is still jam-packed with story and drama. Thor is seeking a new weapon, Star-Lord has a personal vendetta against Thanos, Tony Stark wants to stop being tormented by the Mad Titan himself, Scarlett Witch is trying to keep Vision safe due to the Infinity Stone on his head being so vulnerable. There’s a lot to take in during the movie but the Russo Brothers manage to balance everything in this movie perfectly without making it feel like fight sequences drag or as if story beats are underdeveloped.

Marvel has set up a lot and done so many risky things but, depending on how they approach Avengers 4 next year, they could potentially kill the massive impact of Infinity War and make it feel like everything they did was cheap. There are endless possibilities of where they will take this story and it could be absolutely fantastic or it could end in a way that makes everything that has happened seem irrelevant. If Marvel plays their cards right, they could create one of the greatest “final chapters” to a franchise ever.

Avengers: Infinity War is ultimately the perfect way to kick off the end of this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s an unparalleled sense of danger, the action ropes you in with the clever usage of teamwork and powers, and the drama is tenfold in comparison to any Marvel movie before and most superhero movies before it. Marvel has currently hit a potential home run that would win the ballgame for them, now we’re just waiting to see if they hit it hard enough for it to fly out of the stadium or if it’ll end up getting caught in the outfield for the outfielder to throw three outs and end the game with a loss for the team we’re rooting for. Luckily, their batting average over the last decade is something that gives us hope that they’ll hit the ball so far, it’ll never touch the ground.