(Reviewed by our guest critic, the Movie Knight) The mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a quest to collect the 6 infamous Infinity Stones. If he succeeds in collecting them all he will have the power to destroy half of the living beings in all universes with just the snap of his fingers. The only force standing in his way are the mighty Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Marvel fans have been waiting for this moment for six years. Ever since they got a quick glance of Thanos during a post credit scene in the first Avengers movie they knew what that meant, the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, one of the biggest events in comic books was coming to the big screen. It is finally here, and it has been worth the wait.
Audiences will not have to wait long for things to get going. This cliché may get thrown around too often, but once this picture starts, it never stops until the last frame. It is filled with one great action sequence after another that will have you cheering for sure.
This entry into the Avengers franchise also brings heroes together who have not appeared on screen together before. You’ll see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) shares time with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) meet Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Since the Infinity Stones are galaxies apart, the storyline takes our heroes in many separate adventures. That, in turn, can make this 154-minute affair, the longest Marvel movie to date, feel like it is spread out a little thin. However, directors Anthony and Joe Russo keeps things going enough that those times don’t last too long.
Don’t expect every single scene to be full of action. On the other hand, don’t fret. The Russo brothers dedicate some time to do some character development and establish an emotional core to the story. The stakes are higher than ever before, and people are wondering if all their favorite heroes will make it out of this one.
As Marvel often does, the movie is chopped full of humor to help off set the intensity. There are some good laugh-out-loud laughs here. A big fear of an event release of this magnitude that it will end up being a letdown. Not the case! In fact, this is likely to be something you will want to see more than once. You’re not getting anything extra from a 3D screening, but it is worth the extra money to see it in IMAX or other large screen format. The summer movie season has begun and it’s starting off with a very big bang!
3.5 Tiaras