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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.
You cannot help but watch “Avengers: Infinity War” with a certain amount of trepidation but also excitement. As I sat at the press screening, waiting for the lights to dim, I remembered the previous two iterations and while I enjoyed them both, the build-up to “Infinity War” has been incredible. I didn’t grow up reading about these superheroes in comic books, they just weren’t my thing but I have enjoyed the hell out of the movies. Even with this year’s “Black Panther,” a movie I enjoyed but came away from very disappointed, had some wonderful moments throughout. “Captain America: Civil War” felt like an Avengers film, minus a few of the central characters but overall, it was enjoyable. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who helmed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” the best Captain America movie to date, and one of the best entries in the MCU, return for “Infinity War.” And boy did they have their work cut out for them. With the Avengers having to face their greatest and most powerful enemy to date, Thanos (played wonderfully by Josh Brolin), this could have crumbled very easily under the weight of the vast amount of Marvel characters who make an appearance but the brothers allocate just the right amount of screen time to satisfy even the most impassioned fans.
Two years after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” the Avengers have split up and gone their separate ways and for most of them, life has returned to normal. Tony and Pepper are about to be married, Peter Parker is still in school, Dr. Strange is still protecting the Eye of Agamotto, and Scarlet Witch and Vision are living happily together in Scotland. At the end of “Thor: Ragnarok,” we witnessed a large spaceship tower over the Grandmaster’s vessel on its way back to earth, the spaceship that housed Thor, Loki, Hulk, Heimdall, and the survivors of Asgard but as “Avengers: Infinity War” opens, we quickly realize that the ship belongs to Thanos. He battles with Thor and Loki and their ship is blown apart, with Thor’s body thrust into outer space. Before the ship was attacked, an SOS was sent out and the Guardians of the Galaxy intercepted it. They come across the debris of the spaceship and then see Thor’s lifeless body. They bring him inside where Mantis wakes him up. Naturally, Thor is beyond pissed and informs the Guardians that Thanos is on his way to earth to pick up the two Infinity stones that are housed there.
Back on earth, one of Thanos’ circular Q-Ships invades New York and Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange battle the creatures within. When Doctor Strange is knocked unconscious in the ensuing battle, his body and the Infinity Stone he guards, is beamed up to the ship and as it begins to leave earth’s atmosphere, Iron Man and Spider-Man manage to get on board, with Tony giving Peter a new and improved Spider-Man suit, capable of withstanding extreme weather temperatures. When Scarlett Witch and Vision are attacked in Scotland by more of Thanos’ soldiers, trying to retrieve Vision’s Infinity Stone, Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon intercept them and scare them away. They make it back to Avengers Headquarters where they find out about Thanos and his forthcoming trek to earth to pick up the last two Infinity Stones. Vision is willing to destroy his Infinity Stone so that Thanos cannot get his hands on it, even it means sacrificing himself but Scarlett Witch refuses. When Banner states that there might be a way to remove the stone without killing Vision, he says that he doesn’t have the resources in their current facility to do so but Steve suggests the ideal place: Wakanda.
Once there, Shuri, Black Panther’s 16-year-old sister and Princess of Wakanda, and who has a genius level intellect for designing evolving technology, immediately goes to work on trying to remove Vision’s Infinity Stone. Steve, Black Widow, Falcon, Bucky, Banner, and War Machine, along with Black Panther’s armies, wait for the arrival of Thanos. In the meantime, Tony and Peter manage to rescue Dr. Strange but instead of turning the ship around and coming back to earth, Tony suggests the element of surprise. Since the ship they are on is programmed to return to Thanos’ home planet of Titan anyway, he won’t be expecting them. Strange reluctantly agrees and when they finally reach Titan, they run into the Guardians, who are trying to track down Thanos themselves. They team up together to battle him and manage to temporarily subdue him and his powers but when Star-Lord hears some distressing news about Gamora, he loses his cool and this causes Thanos to break free. Now heading to earth, if he retrieves the two remaining Infinity Stones, he will become the most powerful being in the whole universe and could wipe out as many lives as he wants. As everybody gets ready for the fight of their lives, Thor makes his way to a secret location where he forges a new weapon, one called “Stormbreaker,” and, he is told, the only weapon that can kill Thanos and bring an end to his reign. He just has to make it back to earth in time.
“Avengers: Infinity War” is bigger, badder, and better than its two predecessors and the rest of the MCU combined. When we met the Avengers in their first big-screen outing in 2012, they comprised of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk. Since then, the Avengers have grown and we now also have Dr. Strange, Scarlett Witch, Falcon, Vision, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, and an ever-growing list of superhero allies around the world. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo manage to administer more than enough screen time for each character by combining many of them into groups, therefore, allowing more time for each character and their interactions with those around them. The action is absolutely spectacular and while Thanos is completely CGI, after a while, you forget about this and he blends seamlessly into the background with every other character. The ending of the movie is a huge cliffhanger and like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy before it, you will have to wait until May 3rd, 2019 to find out what happens next. Since I never read the comic books growing up, I have the advantage of being uninformed and while the movies have never adapted any one particular comic book story, rather, they have infused several together, there’s still enough information out there to spoil what could come next. The movie is smart, funny, and filled with more than enough superhero appearances to keep everyone happy, and don’t forget to wait for that one final post-credit scene as it sets up something truly exciting!
Available on Digital HD July 31st and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD August 14th
