These eyes have seen AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and the one thing I can say confidently about it is that it delivers and is worthy of all the hype surrounding it before its worldwide release.
I will confirm what pretty much every Marvel fan has assumed is going to happen in this movie... several characters will die real deaths. The Russo brothers have previously confirmed this, too, so this should not surprise anyone. The question as to who will die should remain a mystery for you and I encourage everyone to stay away from spoilers. Those who you think may die, might not, while those who you didn't consider, might die. Definitely a few surprises and the deaths are sad to see.
Now, you might think how these so-called confirmed deaths are potentially ambiguous, however, there are a few that do seem to be permanent. I won't tell you who because you need to experience this for yourself. So could the Infinity Stones alter these permanent deaths in AVENGERS 4? Perhaps, but that is something which is not certain by the time the credits role. And definitely stay through all the credits because there is one post-credits scene and it will get you very excited for what's to come in AVENGERS 4!
Let me get to the point of this review and that is to talk about Thanos. Actor Josh Brolin performed this role in motion capture and his voice work is absolutely terrific. He truly makes Thanos terrifying. He also gets several moments to add emotional weight based on the progression of the story and at one important point of the movie I did feel sad for him.
Physically, Thanos is the absolute badass and one the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have yet to see. One hero in particular goes toe-to-toe with Thanos at the very beginning of the movie and it leads to a beatdown not yet seen in the MCU. Thanos proves he is a legit threat in this initial fight and leaves you worried for how any hero can defeat him.
The film definitely has the feel of a movie centered on Thanos. You get some needed backstory, albeit brief backstory. His purpose is not domination. It is one of cleansing in order to keep the universe healthy. His mission is not to remake the universe is his image, or trying to be a God-like being who is worshipped across the cosmos, he just wants the universe to thrive.
In order to give you a taste of everything else in this movie I will say that there are groups of teams spread across the universe on their own respective missions in order to stop Thanos and prevent him from acquiring all of the Infinity Stones. You'll see team-ups of Avengers characters mixed with Guardians of the Galaxy characters and they all mesh so well together. Seeing Drax interact with those outside of the Guardians team is still funny and weird. Having Tony Stark and Doctor Strange meet and banter for the first time is great. Steve Rogers meeting back up with Bucky Barnes brings a huge smile to your face. Rocket and Groot hanging with Thor is a blast. The tone changes when moving from team-up to team-up and it is not awkward at all. The pacing of the movie is swift in jumping around and can be exhausting in the end. (And that's not to be taken as a bad thing.)
Yet it is not all about Thanos and being a badass because he has some sensibility to him. He really does care. While his motivations are most definitely his own, he does show enough emotion where moviegoers may actually shed a tear or two with him... as well as against him. One of these sad moments involved the Soul Stone. There are two big surprises attached to this stone and both are shocking in their own respective ways and you have no idea about either as long as you stray away from spoilers in advance.
In the end, Thanos is the kind of memorable badass who will take his place alongside of some of the best villains ever seen on film. I'm actually talking about a Darth Vader level of badass icon. Yeah, I went there because Thanos is every bit deserving. Thanos, as Vader before him, will most definitely have his own large villain fanbase for years to come. Kids and adults will flock to stores to buy action figures and merch of Thanos in the same way they have bought Darth Vader figures and merch for decades.
Finally, there are some great surprises, as well as letdowns, in this movie. You may be annoyed by some and elated by others. When you leave the theater, you should be smiling, sad, and upset since this is in fact a standalone movie but it does leave you wishing you didn't have to wait until May 2019 to see the conclusion to this story. This is a movie with a beginning, middle, and an end but do not doubt about the fact that this movie could very well be the greatest cinematic cliffhanger seen since STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
Today, I now know I need to do everything in my power to stay healthy and alive for at least one more year to see the conclusion to the events in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, in AVENGERS 4. I need to know how this truly ends, and you'll feel the same way once you see it.
Written by Daniel Wolf, Founder & Publisher
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