This installment of the Marvel universe is a little different from what we’ve seen in the past. It is a much darker and mature experience and has a grislier tone than is usual for the comical universe. That doesn’t mean the jokes aren’t there, they are just paired with much more material aimed at older audiences.
I for one was not very impressed with either of the previous installments. I found them lacking in story and any real sense of danger and no one important ever seems to die or even get a splinter. That lack of danger in previous installments is even more apparent as they are now facing much more powerful enemies, making the previous films’ antagonists seem that much more unimpressive.
With that said, Infinity War was great. It tackles real conflict (on a universal and personal level), the sense of dread never ceases, the multiple threads are stitched together seamlessly (unlike the convoluted mess of other installments), and it’s still massively entertaining while including tons of themes you find in much more serious films. In the end the road was hard, the threat real, the losses hit home, and we are treated with a strangely satisfying cliffhanger.
This is one of those rare films that I would have no problem watching two or three times in theaters and likely will. I haven’t done that since The Dark Knight.
The only strange bit for me was in Wakanda when they square off with Thanos’ army (The trailer scene when they are all running in a line.). Wakandans are the most advanced society on the planet and, for some reason, they are fighting using hand to hand combat in a spat for their very existence. It makes for fantastic visuals and builds a real sense of struggle, but is entirely ridiculous when there are only two guys who have guns and only two others commanding air superiority on a battlefield between an advanced society and an army of space aliens who literally just fell out of orbit from a massive ship. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great fight scene. It was just a moment of, “wait, that doesn’t make sense.” However, the rest of the film allowed me to forgive this tiny issue.
This is a must watch for any moviegoer.