movie review on avengers infinity war

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, avengers: infinity war.

Now streaming on:

For a 160-minute epic that unifies a far-flung superhero universe that took a decade to build, packs 76 characters into one story, and has four to six plotlines cooking at any given time, "Avengers: Infinity War" hangs together pretty well. The plot finds the intergalactic bad guy Thanos ( Josh Brolin ) and his army of Green Goblin-looking warriors bouncing from star system to star system, torturing and killing various adversaries in order to gather six super-powerful Infinity Stones and embed them in Thanos' oversized glove. Once he's collected all six, Thanos will be able to achieve his dream of wiping out half the population of the universe in order to preserve its precious resources and restore "balance." The only thing standing in his way are the Avengers, led by Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ), Hulk/Bruce Banner ( Mark Ruffalo ), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ), Steve Rogers/Captain America ( Chris Evans ) and the rest. Plus all the characters from " Black Panther ." And the ones from " Guardians of the Galaxy ." And a few more Marvel characters who are new to this film.

Co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo , co-writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus , their small army of actors, and their hundreds of filmmaking collaborators have managed to get on the same page and stay on it. The film's running time doesn't fly by, exactly, but it rarely seems to stall out, which is impressive when you consider how many of the movie's big scenes consist of people talking, sometimes emoting, in close-up. The Russos swagger headfirst into melodrama here, more blatantly than in any previous Marvel film they've directed, though there are problems with their approach that I'll outline in a moment. The gambit works, mostly, because the story is an operatic tragedy that necessarily has to end with the heroes in a deep, dark place. In light of all this, it's inevitable (and in no way a spoiler to reveal here) that not every character makes it out alive, and that if you come away from the movie feeling bummed out and anxious rather than elated, that means "Infinity War" has done its job, just as " The Empire Strikes Back " and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One" did their jobs.

If only the film were better modulated, or perhaps longer, or more elegantly shaped, or ... well, it's hard to say exactly what's wrong here. But something's not up to snuff. This is, as many have pointed out, one half of a story broken in two, but it feels like less than half somehow. Until pretty recently, MCU films have suffered from collective curve-grading—each film seemed content to settle for "better than expected," as opposed to being really, truly good—and that feeling returns here, unfortunately. "Infinity War" faced so many challenges, many of them unique to this particular project, that it's a small miracle that it works at all. On some level, it feels ungrateful to ask a movie that already does the impossible to do it with more panache. But what are superhero movies without panache really good for? If there was ever a moment to swing for the fences, it was this one.

I like how the movie builds everything around Brolin's CGI-assisted but still fully inhabited performance as Thanos—an oddly wistful and lonely figure who is, essentially, a religious fanatic, yet carries himself with the calm certainty of a military man who's read the ancient Greeks and speaks tenderly to cadets while stepping on their necks. (Thanos' second-in-command, the snide and hateful space wizard Ebony Maw—played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor —makes an equally strong impression, though he doesn't have many scenes.) Some of the movie's most affecting and/or frightening moments see Thanos tormenting captive heroes (including Zoe Saldana's Gamora and her sister Nebula, played by Karen Gillan ) until they disclose the location of the stones, or forcing them to consider killing themselves (or having others kill them) to stop Thanos from achieving his dream.

The movie treats Thanos as an agent of pure chaos, like an Old Testament curse come to life, picking people up by their skulls, deconstructing them into three-dimensional puzzles with a wave of his hand, even rupturing the structural integrity of the universe. He seems to have the brute force of the Hulk and the conjuring skill of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, one of the only characters who routinely manages to counter his destructive power. At various points, characters wonder aloud if they'd have been better off not fighting him. These are action heroes, but the threat facing them is so daunting that they contemplate an alternate reality in which they don't act.

Vision ( Paul Bettany ), who has one of the stones embedded in his forehead, gets attacked while he's off the grid in Scotland, enjoying the company of his beloved Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch ( Elizabeth Olsen ); after they fight off Thanos' goons at great personal cost, he quips, "I'm beginning to think we should've stayed in bed." Peter Parker/Spider-Man springs into action during a class trip after spotting Thanos' enormous, doughnut shaped spacecraft descending on Manhattan, then gets the stuffing kicked out of him and says, "I should've stayed on the bus." The movie has wicked fun foreshadowing the possible demise of our heroes. In the only scene featuring Tony and his partner Pepper ( Gwyneth Paltrow ), they discuss Tony's dream that they had a baby; it feels like the superhero version of one of those scenes in a war flick where the young draftee shows off a photo of his fiancee and declares, "Ain't she pretty?" Thanos' assault on Wakanda, where Cap and the gang take Vision in hopes that Shuri ( Letitia Wright ) can preemptively extract and destroy his Infinity Stone, is depicted as the logical, awful result of revealing the once-hidden country's location, and aligning it with global defense organizations after centuries of neutrality.

And yet, despite the movie's embrace of pain and fear—exemplified by a scene where Thor lists all the loved ones he's lost, and appears to be battling PTSD like Tony—it almost never feels as special or as powerful as it ought to. The direction is part of the problem. Marvel's conceptual artists, visual effects technicians, colorists, and sound designers and mixers are operating at what might be their aesthetic peak here—as well they should be, considering how long this company has labored to perfect a consistent style and tone; the panoramic vistas showing wrecked cities and space stations and distant planets and alternate dimensions, a jumble of psychedelic ironwork and watercolor clouds, seem as strongly influenced by the legendary Marvel illustrator Jack Kirby as Taika Waititi's disco lark " Thor: Ragnarok ."

But rather than match their support team's inventiveness, the directors avoid risk. They capture both the violent (sometimes cruel) action and the emotionally intense private moments in either a boringly flat or frantically hacky manner (snap-zooms on falling figures; herky-jerky camerawork and fast cutting during fight scenes; the same stuff you see in most action films made during the past decade). They use the camera in an expressive or poetic way so rarely that when they do bust out a heartfelt flourish (like the long, slow camera move that reveals the Guardians in their spaceship engaged in a sing-along, or the "wipes" that reveal the reality that Thanos' illusions hide, or a climatic fight between Thanos and multiple heroes) it's as if somebody had briefly sparked a dull wedding reception to life by going out on the dance floor and demanding a song with a backbeat.

This would all be a lot less grating if the MCU hadn't produced two back-to-back hits, "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Black Panther," which had vivid directorial personalities (Waititi and Ryan Coogler , respectively), and took as many stylistic/tonal risks as Marvel's brand would allow. The studio is too bottom-line driven to permit the sort of eccentricity that would've made this project truly pop (Joss Whedon's ungainly potluck " Avengers: Age of Ultron ," with its spiky wit and nihilistic robot philosopher baddie, is looking better in retrospect). But it's no compliment to the Russos to say that it's tough to tell just by looking at the movie if they were were on a tight corporate leash the entire time, or if they decided to minimize the innate risks of a project this huge and eagerly anticipated by making vanilla choices.

Another issue—and I'm getting dorm room-philosophical, so bear with me—is that the format of a blockbuster MCU movie with 76 characters exposes the limitations of telling a superhero story via this now-well-established cinematic template, as opposed to telling it on the printed page, where the only limits are the writer's imagination and the illustrator's flair for presentation. The storytelling vocabulary of superhero movies doesn't have to be constricted (FX's extravagantly inventive TV series "Legion" is proof) but it feels quite constricted here; it always has been, notwithstanding occasional outliers like "Thor: Ragnarok," "Black Panther" and "Ant Man." There are an infinite number of striking or subtle ways that comic book writers and artists can convey exposition, character details, psychological states, and simultaneous events occurring in parallel storylines; you can do stuff like expand a single decisive instant so that it fills up six pages, or show Spider-Man swinging through midtown Manhattan in a full-page splash panel dotted with thought balloons that summarize a year's worth of his life. But in the sorts of Marvel films that the MCU has released since 2008, we've mostly gotten stuck in linear time, which is where most commercial narratives unfold. Most of the scenes in "Infinity War" fall into one of two categories: (1) scenes where people go into rooms or out onto the street and talk to each other, and (2) action sequences where characters banter while punching and zapping each other and dodging falling rocks, buildings, and spaceships and trying not to get sucked into time-space portals.

There's only so much information that can be put across when you've limited your storytelling in that way. The ticking clock proves a more formidable enemy than Thanos. There are only so many moments or lines that "Infinity War" can give, say, to Tony and Pepper; or to Bruce and Natasha, who had a powerful connection in "Age of Ultron," got separated soon after, and are confined to a couple of brief exchanges here; or to Peter Quill/Starlord ( Chris Pratt ), Rocket Raccoon ( Bradley Cooper ), Drax ( Dave Bautista ) and Mantis ( Pom Klementieff ), who are stuck doing comic relief when they aren't suffering greatly or setting up Peter to make some very bad, dumb choices. Heimdall ( Idris Elba ), The Collector ( Benicio Del Toro ) and Proxima Midnight ( Carrie Coon ) are barely in the film. Cap gets maybe two dozen lines and a few meaningful glances, mostly aimed at Sebastian Stan's Bucky/Winter Soldier, who has even less to do. Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther, who anchored his own marvelous feature just a few months ago, is reduced to a glorified field general in "Infinity War," standing alongside Okoye ( Danai Gurira ) and M'Baku ( Winston Duke ) and watching Thanos' troops burn, trample, and otherwise disfigure the countryside (an image that's more upsetting, for various reasons, than a lot of Thanos' violence against individuals).

Another downside of packing so many people into one film—so many that they apparently had to cut a few; the film's IMDb page lists numerous major players who are nowhere to be seen—is that you start to notice that certain characters are redundant variations on/photocopies of other characters, a realization that you might not have had if you were were watching them star in their own self-contained movies. Putting Tony, Peter Parker and Peter Quill in the same scenes, for instance, might sound like a slam dunk, but once you spend a few minutes with them, the barrage of wise-assery becomes grating. It's like being stuck at a party where every other guy in the room mistakenly believes he's the funny one. (The scenes between Thor and the Guardians are much better because Thor plays the straight man to Quill, who is threatened by his awesome masculine beauty.)

As is often the case in Russo-directed Marvel movies, the humor comes across more vividly than the action. (" Captain America: The Winter Soldier ," with its paranoid thriller stylings and brutal, close-quarters action, is still their zenith.) The movie makes excellent use of Thor and his trickster brother Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ), and gives Hemsworth more chances to show off his formidable deadpan (when Rocket expresses amazement that he can speak Groot's language, he explains, "They taught it on Asgard—it was an elective"). But the joking around doesn't so much complement the film's dark material as clash with it and undermine it. The self-aware humor that the MCU has always done so well ends up working against "Infinity War" in the end. Marvel's "just kidding" sensibility was a refreshing counterweight to the fashionable darkness of early DC Universe movies, as well as to the "dark & gritty" mode that became a global pop culture default after the success of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies. But if there was ever a time for Marvel to bust out the Zack Snyder-style, heavy-metal gloom and slap the smirk off its own face, it's here, in a film that's mostly about summoning the courage to fight battles that you know you can't win, and accepting the likelihood of dying on your knees with your head held high.

This movie shouldn't just engage and amuse and occasionally move us; it should shock and scar us. It should kill Ned Stark and Optimus Prime and Bambi's mommy, then look us in the eye after each fresh wound and say, "Sorry, love. These things happen." The last 15 minutes have the flavor of that sort of trauma, but without the actual trauma. Deep down, we all know that modern superhero movies are operating with even lower dramatic stakes than Star Wars or James Bond movies: beloved characters rarely stay dead after they've been killed, and no plot development, no matter how grave, is irreversible, so there's no possible way that what seems to be happening on the screen could really be happening. But we shouldn't be thinking about any of that as we watch Thanos hurt characters we've grown to love and cast the universe into ruin. The very sight should rip our hearts out.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

Arthur the King

Monica Castillo

Clint Worthington

Christy Lemire

Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

Glenn kenny.

Space: The Longest Goodbye

Marya e. gates, film credits.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

149 minutes

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man

Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / The Hulk

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Nomad

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord

Josh Brolin as Thanos

Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange

Don Cheadle as James Rhodes / War Machine

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther

Paul Bettany as Vision

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon

Sebastian Stan as James "Bucky" Barnes / White Wolf

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Idris Elba as Heimdall

Peter Dinklage

Benedict Wong as Wong

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Dave Bautista as Drax

Zoe Saldana as Gamora

Vin Diesel as Groot (voice)

Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon (voice)

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts

Benicio Del Toro as Taneleer Tivan / The Collector

Danai Gurira as Okoye

Letitia Wright as Shuri

Winston Duke as M'Baku

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw

Anthony Russo

Writer (comic book story)

Jim Starlin
George Perez
Christopher Markus
Stephen McFeely

Cinematographer

Trent Opaloch
Jeffrey Ford
Matthew Schmidt
Alan Silvestri

Latest blog posts

The Overlook Film Festival Highlights, Part 2: The Hands of Orlac, Kill Your Lover, Dead Mail, Red Rooms

Why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Remains Unforgettable

A New Skin: Losing Control of Your Body in the 2020s

Ebertfest 2024 Announces Full Lineup, With Guests Including Eric Roberts, Mariel Hemingway, Larry Karaszewski, and More

Share full article

Supported by

‘Avengers: Infinity War’: It’s Marvel’s Universe. We Just Live in It.

By A.O. Scott

April 24, 2018

Considered on its own, as a single, nearly 2-hour-40-minute movie, “Avengers: Infinity War” makes very little sense, apart from the near convergence of its title and its running time. Early on, someone menacingly (and presciently) says, “You may think this is suffering. No: It’s salvation.” That’s a bit overstated either way. It’s puzzlement and irritation and also, yes, delight. But of course this film, the 19th installment in a series, was never meant to be viewed or judged in isolation. In that respect it shouldn’t really be thought of as a movie at all, at least in the ways people with jobs like mine are accustomed to using the word. Which poses a few difficulties, for me and also, I would argue, for you.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo , scrappy fraternal climbers up the 21st-century Hollywood ladder, “Infinity War” is a chunk of matter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a vast entity that long ago expanded beyond the usual boundaries of sequelization and brand extension. This synergistic expression of the corporate interests of Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Company — which now include 19 feature films and much else besides — has come to be less a creative or commercial undertaking than an immutable fact of life, like sex or the weather or capitalism itself.

Anatomy of a Scene | ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

The directors anthony and joe russo narrate a scene featuring robert downey jr., benedict cumberbatch, mark ruffalo, benedict wong and tom holland..

Hi, I’m Joe Russo. And I’m Anthony Russo. And we are the directors of “Avengers: Infinity War.” This scene takes place about 20 minutes into the film in Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. And Tony Stark is looking at the burner phone that Steve Rogers gave to him, trying to decide whether or not he’s actually going to contact Steve about what’s occurring in the movie when he is interrupted by a sound. “Say, Doc. You wouldn’t happen to be moving your hair, would you?” “Not at the moment, no.” Part of the creative appeal of this movie was us bringing together disparate characters throughout the MCU and kind of smashing them together in a crisis situation. The intention was to create propulsive narrative, where the plot is driven by the villain, and he keeps interrupting the heroes because he’s one step ahead of them. This is one of those incidents. And this shot, you know, part of what we tried to bring to the MCU as filmmakers on a tonal level ever since our first film, “Captain America, Winter Soldier” is just a grounding and a real world patina over who these people are to try to bring out their humanity a little more in contrast to their powers. And this shot here is in that vein in the sense that it’s a very long shot. We stay in the perspective of these characters as they walk out into Greenwich Village and discover the scene of chaos unfolding. And we discover it as they discover it, and the scope of it as they discover it. It’s a way to increase tension as they walk down the sidewalk. What are they going to see? What is the audience going to see? And then here is probably the most asked about VFX shot in the movie is the hair standing up on Peter Parker’s arm. We’ve been asked hundreds of times how we got Tom Holland’s hair to stand up his arm. And it was a very gentle blowing on his ear actually did it. [laughs] It’s a CG shot. But this fulfilling the promise of “Infinity War” is that all of the characters are working together in this movie to try to stop Thanos, including Stan Lee. “What’s the matter with you kids? You never seen a spaceship before?” While this is a multi-perspective film, Thanos is the glue that binds all the characters together, as we watch Peter Parker swing off towards the incident in New York. [music]

That makes the franchise hard to criticize. You can’t really be for or against Marvel (in spite of the conspiracy theories of some DC fans ), and you can’t quite opt out of it either. They don’t call it a universe for nothing: Where else are we going to go? So we make our zigzagging ways, picking out our favorite planets and solar systems, accepting a baseline of tedious, standardized dead space that makes the brighter constellations seem disproportionately fresh and surprising. “Guardians of the Galaxy” was so funny and weird. Not like a superhero movie at all. Same with “Thor: Ragnarok.” Captain America is such a complicated guy. “Black Panther” gave audiences so much to root for and talk about.

[ Read A.O. Scott’s spoiler-filled article about the ending of “Avengers: Infinity War.” ]

Those interesting, unusual specimens — what we used to think of, in simpler times, as “good movies” — aren’t exactly accidents. They are carefully planned exceptions that uphold a rule (meaning a regime as well as a norm) of passive acceptance disguised as enthusiasm. This universe is engineered for variety and inclusiveness, within certain strict parameters. Above all, the Disney-Marvel combination is a giant machine that manufactures maximum consent. The cosmos is theirs. The rest of us just live in it.

I’m not complaining, but rather pointing out how pointless, how silly it sounds when anyone bothers to venture a complaint. Who wants to be a hater? Still, it’s worth noting that the ascendance of Marvel (and of other, not quite as universal entities like it) has narrowed the parameters of criticism. I’m supposed to tell you, in this review, how much fun you’ll have at “Infinity War.” (Yes, you will have some. Will you have enough? Almost.) But I’ve probably already gone too far in trying to think about what it means. The Marvel movies and others of their kind often produce an illusion of profundity, a slick, murky overlay of allegorical suggestiveness. This provides grist for the kind of think pieces that spar with one another — “Infinity War” is liberal; no, it’s conservative; but don’t you see that it’s a protest against Trump; actually, it’s an attack on the tyranny of political correctness — until they catalyze the inevitable anti-intellectual backlash. It’s just a movie! Don’t spoil the fun!

And of course it is with respect to “spoilers” that the policing of discourse is most ruthlessly and effectively practiced. Reviewers who attend advance screenings take a vow of silence about plot details that will be widely known within a week and all but forgotten a week after that. Government secrets are guarded with less care, and requests from public officials to go off the record are addressed with more skepticism. But if I mention which superhero dies, or which one has an unexpected relationship with someone else — well, I wouldn’t dream of it. Not because I’m afraid of Disney executives. It’s the wrath of their obedient, weaponized minions I fear. In other words: you.

This is not a healthy situation. The reasonable concern that major plot elements not be divulged has spawned a phobic, hypersensitive taboo against public discussion of anything that happens onscreen. If, for example, I were to share that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) mistakes Rocket (Bradley Cooper), who is a raccoon, for a rabbit — whoops, you already hit “send,” didn’t you? The joke is repeated a half-dozen times, so it kind of ruins itself. And until the end, the whole thing is weirdly free of any but the most superficial, mechanical surprises.

The action is especially tedious and predictable. I mean both the scenes of fighting and flying and the overall rhythm of the first two hours or so. People talk for a while, sprinkling jokes and morsels of personality into the heavy dough of exposition. Then they fight in the usual way, by throwing giant objects (and one another) and shooting waves of color from their hands. The noisy, bloated spectacles of combat were surely the most expensive parts of the movie, but the money seems less like an imaginative tool than a substitute for genuine imagination.

There is so much to explain, but basically a large purple fellow named Thanos (Josh Brolin) wants, on vague Malthusian principles, to wipe out half the life in the universe. As you try to keep track of all the good guys massed against him, you may decide he has a point. But he’s not a bad villain. I mean, he’s very bad, but his malevolence is laced with melancholy, and there is a ghastly grandeur to his ambition.

To fulfill his evil plans, Thanos needs to collect six “infinity stones,” which in spite of their awesome power look a lot like what you would find in the craft kit you have been meaning to regift since your kid’s seventh birthday. Also, come on: Another quest for magic gewgaws? This one lumbers from Vormir to Knowhere to Titan, with terrestrial stops in New York, Scotland and Wakanda. Along the way, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) stage a Sherlock Holmes meta-duel and compare goatees. The hunky-Chris showdown — Hemsworth vs. Pratt (Peter Quill) vs. Evans (Captain America) — ends in a three-way tie. Zoe Saldana is heartbreaking as Gamora. If you end up wanting more Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) or Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or War Machine (Don Cheadle), or whoever your favorite happens to be — well, that’s kind of the idea, isn’t it?

But where you end up may not be where you thought this was going. The final act, including the post-credits sting (to infinity and beyond, as it were) brings a chill, a darkness and a hush that represent something new in this universe. “Infinity War” is the first half of the final installment in the series, and it concludes with a premonition of finality. Its intimations of grief and terror feel shrewdly attuned to what is happening in the actual, unmarvelous world. But those emotions can also be folded back into the movies themselves. This universe is coming to an end. And then where will we be?

Avengers: Infinity War Rated PG-13. Rough talk and large-scale digital slaughter Running time: 2 hours 36 minutes.

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

For Parents
For Educators
Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Get the app
Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Avengers: infinity war, common sense media reviewers.

Intense violence, strong messages in shocking Marvel epic.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Heroism, courage, self-sacrifice are front and cen

Motivations and actions are unusually believable f

Frequent, intense, massively destructive comic boo

One scene is implied to be taking place after sex

Not constant, but a couple uses of "s--t," plus wo

Tony uses an ancient AT&T flip phone. Verbal r

Positive Messages

Heroism, courage, self-sacrifice are front and center in most Marvel movies, but with stakes feeling even greater than usual here, they really stand out -- along with teamwork, of course. Several characters face ultimate test; most pass. Several make extremely difficult decisions while acting out of love. The crisis unifies the heroes instantly, reuniting factions. All that said, violence still the core problem-solving method, and Thanos' mission of "mercy" involves genocide.

Positive Role Models

Motivations and actions are unusually believable for the genre. Characters can be selfish and sarcastic but also frequently make sacrifices and act to protect each other and in others' best interests. The Avengers are increasingly diverse (welcome back, Black Panther!); there are many strong female characters, including a powerful villain. Women make their own decisions and fight as hard and as bravely as the men. And Shuri may be the smartest. The youngest hero, teenage Spider-Man, is also brave and very clever. Thanos and his minions believe they're bringing salvation and mercy to the universe, but their method -- genocide -- is untenable.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent, intense, massively destructive comic book-style action violence, as well as brutal beatings, impalings, stabbings, and sudden smashings/crushings. Characters tortured. Violence is generally bloodless, but consequences feel real; the emotional impact is greater. Some deaths of well-known characters appear final, which will likely upset younger viewers. Also a scene of genocide, though actual murders aren't graphically or clearly shown. A flashback includes a scared child hiding with her mother from bad guys; the child is saved, but everyone she knows is killed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

One scene is implied to be taking place after sex (one character gets out of bed, while the other remains there). Loving kisses between couples. Talk of love; flirting.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Not constant, but a couple uses of "s--t," plus words including "ass," "a--hole," "douche bag," "nut sack," "dammit," "d--khole," "hell," "crap," "bastard," "jerk," "sucks," "stupid," "screwed," "God" (as an exclamation). Two suggested but incomplete uses of "f--k": One character says "chill the F out," and there's a cut off use of "motherf----r."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Tony uses an ancient AT&T flip phone. Verbal reference to Starbucks. Film is tied in to the vast merchandising/licensing efforts surrounding Marvel Comics.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Avengers: Infinity War is the most intense of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films so far, due to the villain's genocidal quest and the grave consequences for some well-known characters. It has plenty of humor and lighter moments, but it ultimately goes to places darker than in any previous Marvel Cinematic Universe entry. Also, it requires more knowledge of things that have happened in previous Marvel movies than other Avengers films have; it's the meeting point of several franchises and storylines. Violence is the biggest issue; it's stepped up even by MCU standards, with some torture and several impalings and crushings in addition to the usual smashed buildings, giant fights, and blasted spaceships. Thanos ( Josh Brolin ) is by far the most powerful nemesis the Avengers have faced, which the filmmakers establish right away with his brutal beatdown of one of the mightiest Avengers. The core plot element is mass murder on a universal scale, which might be a little much for younger viewers. Frankly, things get pretty grim: Key characters die, and the villains are much scarier than most comic book baddies. The gore level isn't higher; it's really the emotional impact that's different. There's also some strong language (including "s--t," "a--hole," "dammit," and several colorful insults), but sex isn't a factor beyond a few loving kisses. As always, teamwork and courage are core messages as the Avengers (including Robert Downey, Jr. 's Iron Man, Chris Evans ' Captain America, Chris Hemsworth 's Thor, and Scarlett Johansson 's Black Widow), other MCU heroes (including Chadwick Boseman 's Black Panther, Tom Holland 's Spider-Man, and Benedict Cumberbatch 's Doctor Strange), and the Guardians of the Galaxy (including Chris Pratt 's Star-Lord and Zoe Saldana 's Gamora) come together to defend humanity -- and the universe. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (175)
Kids say (415)

Based on 175 parent reviews

A historic piece of film history

What's the story.

In AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, Thanos ( Josh Brolin ), whose efforts to acquire powerful cosmic gems called "Infinity Stones" have been important elements in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, marches toward his goal of eliminating half of all life in the universe (he believes it's the only way to stop beings from using up all of the universe's resources). Lining up to stop him are almost all of the big-screen Marvel heroes, including Avengers Iron Man ( Robert Downey, Jr. ), Captain America/Steve Rogers ( Chris Evans ), Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ), Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ), and others; plus Spider-Man ( Tom Holland ), Black Panther ( Chadwick Boseman ), Doctor Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ), and the Guardians of the Galaxy, led by Star-Lord ( Chris Pratt ) and Gamora ( Zoe Saldana ). The sprawling epic takes place on multiple continents and multiple planets as Thanos and his terrifying accomplices stop at nothing to find the stones and take them by whatever means are necessary. It all leads up to a massive climactic battle with shocking consequences.

Is It Any Good?

This is the most intense, complex, and stirring Marvel Cinematic Universe film yet -- though the sheer number of characters and storylines make it a bit confusing for anyone who's not a hard-core fan. Avengers: Infinity War is also the grimmest MCU movie so far, with consequences unlike any that have come before in this massive franchise. Much of the talk about the film will center on those events (no more details here, to avoid spoilers), but there's more to it than that. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were already responsible for two of the best MCU entries to date, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War . With Avengers: Infinity War , they continue to respect viewers' intelligence while giving their characters deep motivations and presenting knockout action scenes. It's as lean as epics get; none of its nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time feels wasted. While the many characters and intersecting plots may confuse casual viewers -- the filmmakers assume audiences are familiar with all that's come before -- for fans, it's one mind-blowing moment after another, starting with a jaw-dropping fight in the first minutes. Plus, Infinity War is also one of the funniest MCU movies yet, relying on character-based humor rather than some of the wacky flights of fancy of, say, the also excellent Thor: Ragnarok .

The performances benefit from the strong script, no-nonsense direction, and the growth the actors have experienced in their roles over many years. It's fun to watch two of the MCU's biggest egomaniacs, Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange, bump up against each other -- and then for Pratt's off-kilter Star-Lord to crash into the mix. Relationships are deepened, and it's a huge relief to see the Avengers working together again after the events of Civil War . Thanos, as voiced by Brolin and brilliantly animated by the VFX team, is perhaps the most frightening villain ever in a comic book film (including Heath Ledger's iconic Joker in The Dark Knight ) -- largely because he's so thoroughly convinced that he's actually a good guy who's willing to make hard choices and impossible sacrifices in the universe's best interests. Without spoiling anything, the film's dire consequences feel almost Game of Thrones -like, with well-known characters defeated as never before. Some kids will likely be upset by that. But keep in mind that this is a comic book world (so things aren't always what they seem), and -- in the meantime -- appreciate the fact that the overall effect gives Infinity War the highest stakes and biggest wow factor of the MCU so far.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Avengers: Infinity War . How does it compare to the other Avengers movies? Is there a difference in the impact between hand-to-hand combat and catastrophic, buildings-collapsing type of explosions? Was the movie scarier than previous MCU entries? If so, why?

What are the movie's messages about teamwork and courage ? What happened when characters didn't work together as planned? Why is teamwork an important character strength ? Which teammates in Avengers: Infinity War were particularly effective? What strategies did they use to contribute to their team?

How does the movie explore the idea/theme of sacrifice? Are there different kinds of sacrifice in the movie? What role does it play in the movie? What impact does it have on the characters?

Why is it important for superheroes to be diverse? Do you think the Marvel Cinematic Universe offers strong examples of both racial and gender diversity? Has that changed over the films' history?

Captain America: Civil War left the Avengers split into factions. What's changed since then, at the start of this movie, and what happens when a larger threat arises? What does that say about what's most important to the characters?

Movie Details

In theaters : April 27, 2018
On DVD or streaming : August 14, 2018
Cast : Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Pratt , Chris Hemsworth , Zoe Saldana , Tom Holland , Josh Brolin
Directors : Anthony Russo , Joe Russo
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors, Latino actors
Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Genre : Action/Adventure
Topics : Superheroes , Adventures , Space and Aliens
Character Strengths : Courage , Teamwork
Run time : 156 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references
Award : Common Sense Selection
Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

The Avengers

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Black Panther

Captain America: Civil War

Guardians of the Galaxy

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Thor: Ragnarok

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Best superhero movies for kids, best superhero tv shows, related topics.

Superheroes
Space and Aliens

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Fandango at Home
Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

Civil War Link to Civil War
Monkey Man Link to Monkey Man
Scoop Link to Scoop

New TV Tonight

The Sympathizer: Season 1
Under the Bridge: Season 1
Conan O'Brien Must Go: Season 1
Our Living World: Season 1
The Spiderwick Chronicles: Season 1
Orlando Bloom: To the Edge: Season 1
The Circle: Season 6
Dinner with the Parents: Season 1
Jane: Season 2

Avengers: Infinity War Reviews

Avengers: Infinity War is the apex of franchise movie-making, bringing together a plethora of heroes from a number of different franchises to form the blockbuster of blockbusters.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2024

Avengers: Infinity War is a ground-breaking, unique movie within the genre.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jul 24, 2023

Who says all superhero films are predictable?

Full Review | Apr 20, 2023

People will have different opinions on the film depending on how invested they are in the characters in the movie. If you are knowledgeable of the characters and their stories thus far, this movie is flat-out incredible.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 16, 2023

It’s a thrilling, funny, emotional, rip-roaring crowd-pleaser that serves as a fitting culmination of their decade-long buildup.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2022

Infinity War is all about balance, in many different respects. Balance and tone, both of which, for a film with such ambition and size, are remarkable in how well they are executed.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 3, 2022

The audience is left drained, albeit thrilled, and as every great MCU title does, it leaves us hotly anticipating the next chapter.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 14, 2022

The grand Marvel Cinematic Universe team-up has been out for a few weeks now, and just about everyone from Ben Garland to Zsa Zsa the now-fired Buccaneers Parrot has probably seen this giganto box office muncher of epic proportions.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2022

Episode 7: Globalism

Full Review | Original Score: 80/100 | Aug 28, 2021

Thanks to the superb visual effects, the film is truly a work of art, even if it tries to pack in just a little too much, making some characters more like afterthoughts rather than integral to the plot.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2021

I'm torn on the big finale. This is either the gutsiest ending of any modern blockbuster, or a prelude to an emotional cop-out.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 21, 2021

If you are remotely interested and if you remotely enjoyed the films of the MCU, this is a must watch. The Russo brothers have done it again.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Aug 14, 2021

It succeeded in doing exactly what it was likely designed to do: it made me want to watch more Marvel movies.

Full Review | Jul 16, 2021

An enormous action spectacle that never lets up.

Full Review | Original Score: 4 / 5 | Jun 24, 2021

Another mammoth slice of superhero mayhem...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 18, 2021

The dangling nature of the story will be frustrating to some. For fans, however, the movie should deliver in a big way.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 4, 2021

No genuine or long-lasting amusement or engagement is possible, as the reverential treatment of completely preposterous events and processes is what predominates.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2021

The Russo brothers deliver an epic, brutal, and oftentimes scattered showdown with the Mad Titan Thanos.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jan 29, 2021

Avengers: Infinity War is full of entertaining little parts that somehow do not make a compelling whole. It is a phantasmagoria of stunning action sequences and beautifully poignant moments that nevertheless leaves one cold in the end.

Full Review | Jan 27, 2021

There's nothing new about Marvel's money-raking formula, but as each new chapter comes along, the serialized story becomes more and more unwieldy.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 5, 2020

Entertainment /

Avengers: Infinity War is stunning, hilarious, and heartbreaking

Directors joe and anthony russo create a superhero movie where nobody is safe.

By Bryan Bishop

Share this story

The most definitive overarching issue with the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the lack of stakes. Over the course of the saga’s previous 18 movies, MCU heroes have faced numerous world-ending threats, eking out victories by the skin of their teeth, only to have their worlds essentially return to normal in time for the next installment. The approach worked early, on a film-by-film basis, but when viewed as part of a 10-year narrative, it’s tended to weaken the broader franchise. There can be no drama without true risk, and in the MCU, audiences have learned that none of their favorites are ever really in harm’s way.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo seem acutely aware of this issue with their latest entry, the massive, multi-film team-up Avengers: Infinity War . The long-awaited face-off between the Avengers and Thanos (Josh Brolin), the MCU’s ultimate big bad, is massively entertaining, deftly incorporating dozens of characters across multiple storylines with a kinetic flair. Its devotion to banter and one-liners makes it one of the funniest movies in the studio’s history, but it’s also a film where very bad things happen to good people. After years of movies where even the most mediocre heroes appeared to be invulnerable and indomitable, it’s an arresting jolt — and exactly the film the franchise needed.

After years of teasing Thanos’ upcoming arrival, Avengers: Infinity War wastes no time with stage-setting. It opens with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) on the ship last seen at the end of Thor: Ragnarok , facing off against the big purple villain. Thanos is after a powerful crystal called an Infinity Stone, and he suspects Loki has one in the Tesseract — the glowing cube that served as a key plot device six years ago in The Avengers .

There are six Infinity Stones , the film explains: powerful crystals that originated in the Big Bang, and that represent aspects of existence and have related elemental powers. Some are spread across the universe, but half of them are on Earth, where they’ve played significant roles in past MCU movies. Thanos is trying to collect all of them, slotting them into a massive golden glove. If he acquires them all, he says, he’ll have the power to wipe out half the universe with a snap of his fingers.

It pays off years of emotional investment in ways that are often heart-wrenching.

The film tracks Thanos’ quest as he moves from stone to stone, while various superhero factions attempt to stop him. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) are attacked by several of Thanos’ henchman, who are eager to get the green Time Stone that Strange protects within the mystic Eye of Agamotto. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), who have gone into hiding to nurture their burgeoning romantic relationship, are attacked by minions seeking the Mind Stone that’s integrated within Vision’s brain. Along the way, the Guardians of the Galaxy team up with various heroes, a bearded Captain America (Chris Evans) comes out of hiding, and Black Panther’s home of Wakanda becomes ground zero for a central conflict. Nearly every character in the MCU is roped into the war, with Thanos swiftly establishing himself as an unprecedented threat on multiple fronts.

With so many characters in play, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely ( Captain America: Civil War ) are faced with a remarkable challenge: giving every character a place in the story, without letting anyone other than Thanos dominate the larger narrative. The story crosscuts between four or five major story threads, much like Game of Thrones , Westworld , and other complicated serial narratives. It’s a testament to Markus and McFeely’s work that the film never feels crowded, even though it’s juggling such a massive number of movie stars. In fact, the film is able to give many characters their own meaningful story arcs throughout the film, with Tony Stark, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and the Vision / Scarlet Witch love story given particular focus. The result is a film that often feels surprisingly earnest and emotional. It pays off the emotional investment movie audiences have been making in these characters for years, sometimes in genuinely heart-wrenching ways.

The most outlandish-looking Marvel villain is also its most complex and layered one

Even with all of that, this film belongs to Josh Brolin’s Thanos. The prospect of a giant purple computer-generated bad guy has prompted some skepticism , but in context, the character is wonderfully effective. The visual effects undeniably capture the nuances of Brolin’s facial tics and mannerisms, allowing the actor to shine through all the CGI wizardry. It’s a good thing that it works so well, because Thanos is not the cardboard cutout villain that some previous Marvel bad guys have been. His master plan involves destroying half the universe, but in his own mind, his motivations are noble. He thinks he’s the hero of his story, and while nobody is going to agree with his tactics, his backstory does give his overall reasoning a perverse sort of logic. At several key moments in the film, Thanos nearly becomes a sympathetic character — even while he is doing truly horrific, unforgivable things. The biggest surprise of all may be that the most outlandish-looking Marvel villain is also its most complex and layered one, which simply wouldn’t be possible without the film’s synthesis of script, direction, performance, and visual effects.

The film’s sparkling sense of humor balances the weight of Thanos’ actions. Marvel’s films have always had a flair for comedy, but Infinity War turns the dial up further, maximizing the levity found in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy . Pitting Star-Lord’s hyper-insecurity against Thor’s arrogant hyper-masculinity provides for some of the funniest moments in the entire MCU.

Doctor Strange and Tony Stark also play as comedic foils for each other, sparring over what might as well be the title for Most Arrogant Superhero On Earth. In a film that mixes so many different elements, it would be easy for many of these characters’ essential traits to fall by the wayside. But the Russo brothers don’t just preserve the characters’ innate sensibility. They’re actually able to incorporate the filmmaking sensibilities of the different franchises into their own tapestry. Sequences with Star-Lord, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) feel like they’re from one of James Gunn’s Guardians films; Thor seems like he’s walked right off the set of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok . The movie is a Marvel mixtape, combining the very best of everything that’s come before, but recontextualizing the individual parts to tell its own unique story.

The massive scale of the undertaking does have periodic downsides. The action sequences are mostly effective, but at times, there are so many characters being flung around like CG rag dolls that it can be hard to gauge what is happening to whom, in which order. And while every character does get a laugh, a heroic choice, or some other moment to shine, fans will no doubt be frustrated if their particular favorite hero isn’t foregrounded as much as other characters are. That’s simply the nature of the beast, however — it was inevitably going to happen with a project of this size. The fact that those concerns are fleeting, however, is a testament to what a massive storytelling achievement Infinity War is.

Audiences will be aghast at just how far The Avengers have fallen

The film can’t spread around its camera time in equal measure, but it does give all the characters an equal shot at despair. A decade of films have led up to Thanos, and Avengers: Infinity War delivers on that threat with a film that upends the entire fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No character is safe from the far-reaching implications of his actions, and it’s impressive to see just how dark Marvel is willing to go for this story. Even the biggest fan favorites are truly vulnerable, and the movie reinforces that idea — relentlessly, at times — as it sprints toward its final stunning moments. By the time the credits roll, audiences will no doubt be aghast at just how far the Avengers have fallen.

One problem, though, is that Infinity War leans so excessively toward darkness that it’s impossible to believe the studio won’t take back many of the things that happen onscreen. This is still the Disney-run Marvel universe, after all, and the popularity of some of its flagship characters all but guarantees that, no matter what happens during Avengers: Infinity War , much of it won’t be permanent. (In fact, in its final act, the film seems to tip its hand toward a Hail Mary solution that’s likely to come into play in the still-untitled Infinity War sequel .) But that’s the most minor of complaints. This is a comic book universe, after all, and the fact that Infinity War is able to embrace this darkness in the first place is a wonder. The only real crime is that audiences will have to wait until 2019 to see the conclusion.

Avengers: Infinity War opens on April 27th.

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

Nasa confirms origin of space junk that crashed through florida home, the free delta game emulator for iphones is live on apple’s app store, nine google employees arrested after eight-hour sit-in protest, sony might have perfected mini led tvs with its new 2024 lineup.

More from this stream Avengers: Infinity War: all the trailers, updates, and commentary for Marvel’s biggest film

Good news, thor’s roommate survived avengers: infinity war, how casual mcu fans experienced avengers: infinity war, how avengers: infinity war turned josh brolin into an eight-foot purple madman, how avengers: infinity war uses humor to solve its story problems.

International edition
Australia edition
Europe edition

Josh Brolin as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War review – colossal Marvel showdown revels in apocalyptic mayhem

Supersized set pieces, sharp one-liners and surprising deaths abound in the Russo brothers’ utterly confident comic-book movie mash-up

N ot infinity perhaps, but a really, really big finity war. Colossal, cataclysmic, delirious, preposterous – and always surreally entertaining in the now well-established Marvel movie tradition. It’s a gigantic showdown between a force of cosmic wickedness and a chaotically assembled super-team of Marvel superheroes made more complicated by Doctor Strange’s tendency to multiclone himself in moments of battle stress.

There are some very unexpected family relationships that we had no idea about – potentially compromising unity in the face of encroaching evil. There are also some very surprising deaths – of which, of course, the less said the better. There are, moreover, some surprising omissions in the cast list. Or are there?

Avengers: Infinity War is a giant battle for which directors Anthony and Joe Russo have given us touches of JRR Tolkien’s Return of the King and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The film delivers the sugar-rush of spectacle and some very amusing one-liners.

Whatever else it does, this Marvel movie shows its brand identity in the adroit management of tone. One moment it’s tragic, the next, it’s cracking wise. It’s absurd and yet persuades you of its overwhelming seriousness. And there are some amazing Saturday-morning-kids-show moments when you feel like cheering. Earth is being threatened by a massive malign hunk with a huge ridgey chin called Thanos, played by Josh Brolin. If he can gain ownership of all the talismanic infinity stones and place them in the holes in his custom-built gauntlet then he will have the ultimate power to destroy anything he wishes in the universe. And he has a chilling wish for mass slaughter of half the sentient beings in existence, ostensibly so that the other half will have enough food to eat – but really so they will bow down to him as the tyrant lord. Ranged against him, of course, are the good guys who come together not in a single phalanx but a constellation of improvised groupings, in which the alpha males have a tendency to bicker. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is nettled by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his supercilious air of intellectual superiority – and vice versa. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) shows up and annoys the hell out of them both with his millennial’s flair for pop culture references. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself having to do a ride-along with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is intimidated by Thor’s godlike machismo and finds himself trying to do the basso profundo voice. Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) are tormented by the glowing stone in Vision’s blue head, and they’re agonised by the thought that self-destruction is the only way to keep it out of Thanos’s huge mitts. Their own situation brings them into contact with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) – who prefers his non-super name now, not Captain America, and also the always frowning Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), together with the frankly traumatised Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Scenes and situations whoosh by like a bizarre and bizarrely exciting dream. A sudden trip to Wakanda, with its secret world of remedial hi-tech surgery, seems entirely plausible. T’Challa, or Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) greets the visitors with his habitual Shakespearean bearing and princely calm. Inevitably, there is a little confusion. Groups of superheroes clash and each thinks the other is on Thanos’s side. “What master do you serve?” shouts one, awkwardly. “You mean – like Jesus?” comes the exasperated reply. No. Thor is the only god around here and even he isn’t guaranteed a result. It’s all in the cosmic balance. In theory, all these superheroes crammed into one movie should trigger the law of diminishing returns and the Traveling Wilbury effect. And yet somehow in its pure uproariousness, it works. It’s just a supremely watchable film, utterly confident in its self-created malleable mythology. And confident also in the note of apocalyptic darkness.

I know it’s silly. And yet I can’t help looking forward to the next supersized episode of mayhem.

Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Superhero movies

Comments (…)

Avengers: Infinity War gives the fans what they want … and a few things they might not: EW review

Senior Writer

For the Marvel faithful, there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing. While some ticket buyers will no doubt look at the bloated 2-hour-29-minute run time of the new, all-hands-on-deck marathon Avengers: Infinity War and sigh, wondering if they’re about to watch a movie or a cricket match, diehards will be only too happy to purchase a bigger trough of popcorn and settle in for the long haul thinking that Christmas has come early. After months of unavoidable pre-release hype, not to mention rabid social-media guessing games about which superhero (or superheroes) may end up biting the dust in this chapter, D-day is finally upon us. And no, I won’t be offering any spoilers because, frankly, y’all scare me.

Let’s be clear, Infinity War is a movie for the fans. Especially those who’ve spent any time wondering what it would be like to witness Chris Hemsworth’s Thor wisecracking with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, or tagging along with some of the Avengers as they hightail it to Wakanda (the arrival there got a rousing wave of applause at my screening). It’s the Marvel equivalent of watching the old “We Are the World” video (Hey, it’s Bob Dylan singing between to Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis!). And for the most part, this super-sized mash-up works better than you’d expect. There are occasional tonal disparities when you get a smart-aleck character firing off quips next to a stoically straight-faced one like Chris Evans’ Captain America. Even in the real world, if you put a large enough group of people in a room together, all of the different personalities aren’t necessarily going to mesh. Comic book heroes, they’re just like us!

And it is a large group. With at least 25 marquee characters crammed into the same story, you can feel the directors Anthony and Joe Russo ( Captain America: Civil War ) struggle at times to keep so many balls in the air. It’s a bit like 10 pounds of movie jammed into a five-pound bag. Some, like Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon get so little to do, you wonder why they even bothered to show up. Marvel is sitting on such an embarrassment of riches with its deep bench of characters, that some don’t have much more to do than act as glorified extras. But restraint hasn’t ever exactly been part of the studio’s M.O. Too many of the characters seem to be fighting over too little to do. But that’s what happens when you’re making movies on a canvas this vast.

Infinity War kicks off with the evil Thanos (a CG Josh Brolin, kind of recognizable behind an oversized granite chin, Hulkian muscles, and Booberry-hued skin) terrorizing Asgardians Loki, Heimdall, and Thor, looking for one of the precious infinity stones. With some creepy-cool henchmen, he’s destroying worlds and taking names in his attempt to collect all six and become all-powerful. Ahh, the infinity stones — arguably the most sought-after and now-famous MacGuffins in Hollywood history. To some, a new batch of infinity-stone nonsense will seem like tired reheated leftovers; for others, they’re the stuff that dreams are made of — as riveting as Sam Spade’s Maltese Falcon or Indiana Jones’ Ark of the Covenant. I’m pretty agnostic. I do wish these films would find something else to obsess over, though.

Either way, Thanos is well on his way to getting his giant mitts on the full set and with it, total omnipotence. So it’s off to Earth and various intergalactic planets with names like Knowhere and Nidavellir to snag the others, setting off an apocalyptic doomsday crisis that can only be stopped by the Avengers and the Guardians and basically every other being who’s ever graced the pages of a comic book. But, of course, that means putting aside some old grudges and hurt feelings. If you’ll recall from Captain America: Civil War (which I’d argue was a better movie than this one, thanks in part to the great Leipzig airport battle royal), our heroes may agree on the saving the world, but tensions exist. They need to be smoothed over, stat.

But there are… issues . Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is been having a hard time of it lately turning into the Hulk, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange has to adjust to Robert Downey Jr.’s rat-a-tat wiseassery (he does pretty well, at one point calling Tony Stark a “douchebag,” which frankly seems a little more crass than his effete airs would suggest), Paul Bettany’s Vision and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch need to come out of their romantic hiding in Scotland to face evil yet again, Peter Parker needs to grow up under Stark’s fatherly wing, and the Guardians posse (including a distracted, now-teenage Groot) need to find a way to integrate into the established hierarchy like exchange students on the first day at a new school. The good news is, they do and nicely. It’s a lot to keep track of, to be sure. But this movie operates on such a simplistic mythic lizard-brain level, that it’s not too hard to reason things out even if you’re coming into the proceedings cold.

Everything I’ve just said is just a skimming of the Infinity War surface. I won’t go any deeper with regard to the plot. The problem is that with so many characters to shoehorn in and so many realms of the galaxy to put out various fires in, the heroic horde is broken into four or five smaller subgroups that we keep cutting back and forth to. And some, naturally, are more entertaining to sit through than others. And some just seem to vanish for long stretches until you find yourself wondering when the hell are we going back to Wakanda or wherever? It ends up feeling a bit too disjointed – like we’re flipping the channels between four different movies instead of watching one cohesive one.

What saves Infinity War from being just another bloated supergroup tour – and what will end up being the thing that blows fans’ minds to dust – is the film’s final stretch. Let’s be clear, when it comes to hand-over-fist cash cows like the Marvel films, any time a character is put into any sort of serious jeopardy, you immediately have to raise an eyebrow and roll your eyes a bit. All of these characters are such lucrative intellectual properties no studio, no matter how daring, is going to put them into too much jeopardy. You don’t have to think back very far to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (DC not Marvel, I know, I know) when it looked like Superman was done for at the end only to see his casket vibrating because…well, you can’t possibly kill off Superman. He’s freakin’ Superman! At least, not when so many executives’ annual bonuses are riding on the next installment. Still, there is something thrilling about watching just how much fun the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are having messing with the fans here. Even if, in the end, that little subversive act of freaking them out only lasts until the next sequel. B

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘avengers: infinity war’: film review.

'Avengers: Infinity War,' Marvel's biggest, most star-studded film yet, brings together characters from all of its franchises, including 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Black Panther.'

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

Share this article on Facebook
Share this article on Twitter
Share this article on Flipboard
Share this article on Email
Show additional share options
Share this article on Linkedin
Share this article on Pinit
Share this article on Reddit
Share this article on Tumblr
Share this article on Whatsapp
Share this article on Print
Share this article on Comment

“We’re in the endgame now,” Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange intones in the final stretch of the indisputably epic Avengers: Infinity War — and, more than in any other comics-derived superhero concoction one could mention, there’s a whiff of something resembling tragedy in a franchise that, for millions of fans, seems to play a role similar to what mythology did for the Greeks.

This grand, bursting-at-the-seams wrap-up to one crowded realm of the Marvel superhero universe starts out as three parts jokes, two parts dramatic juggling act and one part deterministic action, an equation that’s been completely reversed by the time of the film’s startling climax. “Huge” is the operative word here — for budget, scope and size of the global audience.

Release date: Apr 27, 2018

Back in Hollywood’s big studio heyday, the grandest company of them all, MGM, boasted of having “more stars than there are in heaven.” Marvel could arguably make that argument today, and it’s crammed almost all of them into this one densely packed superhero orgy, the first half of which is basically dedicated to finding a semi-coherent way of shuffling them into the same dramatic deck. How are ultra-egotists like Dr. Strange, Robert Downey Jr. ‘s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chris Evans ‘ Steve Rogers, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and even Chadwick Boseman’s more even-keeled Black Panther going to like having to share the heroic spotlight with one another, while also allowing some derring-do and dazzling deeds to be performed by at least another dozen characters with unusual talents?

The sharp-witted answer delivered by writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directors Anthony and Joe Russo, under the supervision of Marvel Films maestro Kevin Feige , is to acknowledge the traffic jam of egos and play it for laughs. The effect is both scatter-shot and precise, knowing and witty enough to be initially disarming and ultimately ingratiating. With more limited screen time than they’re used to and even more limited elbow room, the actors and characters (in what at least some knew would be their swan songs in these costumes) snap off one-liners and sharp remarks with an extra edge of sarcastic disdain. They don’t exactly send up their heroic characters, but there is more of a subtle commentary underneath it all (not so subtle in the case of Mark Ruffalo’s and Evans’ roles) about the frustrations of having two different personas in life.

Even early on, however, one makes note of tragic forebodings that Dr. Strange articulates. For all the activity generated by the superheroes, the fellow driving the action here is the heretofore glimpsed but never central Thanos (Josh Brolin ), a brooding tree trunk of a man whose stated goal is to achieve universal dominance by acquiring all six Infinity Stones. Each of these variously colored gems confers distinct powers. As he acquires them, he becomes increasingly unbeatable, but along with his determination and brute force he brings a philosophical intelligence.

Thanos has thoroughly thought through his ambition, as well as the moral and emotional toll it will take to achieve it, and Brolin’s calm, considered reading of the character bestows this conquering beast with an unexpectedly resonant emotional dimension, making him much more than a thick stick figure of a supervillain .

The imposing and unquestionable danger Thanos represents, and the way it increases exponentially with each stone he acquires, becomes quite serious after a while. So what begins as a lark — with the vast assortment of comic book characters trotting out their costumes; middle-aged Bruce Banner humorously being so out of practice that he can no longer transform himself into the Hulk; Tony Stark bantering once again with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts; Holland’s Peter Parker looking so childish even he seems to wonder what he’s doing in this company; Dave Bautista stealing every scene he’s in; Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle being given absolutely nothing fresh or original to do; Evans trying to leave his Captain America persona behind him — transforms into something genuinely threatening and grim, something, in fact, that has to be taken seriously: the prospect that evil can win.

With so many ingredients to stir into this overflowing pot, you have to hand it to the two experienced teams of Marvel collaborators who had a feel for how to pull this magnum opus off. Markus and McFeely wrote all three Captain America entries and have a deft, jokey, sometimes glib touch that spreads the humor around and prevents this long film from ever getting stodgy. The Brothers Russo directed the last two Captain America features and have a breezy approach that prevents the action here from sagging in any serious way.

And the scale of that action is astonishing. Some of it is set in space or in different realms, while other scenes take place in New York and elsewhere on Earth. When the intergalactic conflict winds up in Wakanda, Black Panther’s African homeland, it provides a bit of a start: Wait, we were just there a few months ago, and here we are again already for another giant battle?

Another major dramatic thread concerns the hitherto secondary figure of Vision (Paul Bettany), who crucially possesses the final stone sought by Thanos and hies to Scotland with Elizabeth Olsen ‘s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch before being tracked down.

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Gwyneth paltrow says fans would be “shocked” to learn which movies she passed on to raise kids, director john ford is focus of next tcm ‘plot thickens’ podcast, quentin tarantino no longer making ‘the movie critic’ as final film, a24’s new ai-generated ‘civil war’ ads generate controversy, jesse eisenberg hosts ‘sasquatch sunset’ screening for apes: “the bonobos were very curious”, nyu’s black list-inspired purple list reveals 2024 picks (exclusive).

Newsletters

Site search

Israel-Hamas war
2024 election
Solar eclipse
Supreme Court
All explainers
Future Perfect

Filed under:

Comic Books
Avengers: Infinity War review: Marvel’s biggest, most bizarre movie

Avengers: Infinity War isn’t the best Marvel movie. But it’s Marvel’s most daring.

Share this story

Share this on Facebook
Share this on Twitter
Share this on Reddit
Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Avengers: Infinity War review: Marvel’s biggest, most bizarre movie

Avengers: Infinity W ar feels like a Marvel movie on bath salts. Trying to describe any part of it alone will make you sound like you’ve lost your mind; trying to describe it all kind of makes it sound like it’s lost its mind. And it’s all the more confounding for how closely it mirrors its decade of movie predecessors only to end up shattering that mirror: Infinity War moves, sounds, and acts like a typical Marvel movie, but then unmasks itself as a creature distinctly its own.

Throughout Marvel Studios’ 10-year cinematic history, we’ve seen the world saved multiple times, from threats ranging from a chunk of Earth poised to crash down and wipe us out like the dinosaurs in Avengers: Age of Ultron to the unkillable goddess of death in Thor: Ragnarok .

You don’t have to squint too hard to see that all these villains and their endgames (take control of the planet and/or the universe), as well as our heroes’ efforts to stop them, have started to look essentially the same.

“We don’t trade lives,” Captain America ( Chris Evans ) tells his compatriots in Avengers: Infinity War , essentially summing up Marvel’s ethos over the past 18 movies: Leave no men, women, children, or any other life form behind.

Directed by the Russo brothers , the architects behind Captain America: Civil War and Captain America: Winter Soldier , Infinity War slyly betrays Cap, presenting his and the Avengers’ worldviews as naive and privileged. Instead, it dares to ask what happens if saving the day means taking real, tangible losses — a concept so foreign that it comes in the form of an intergalactic purple titan named Thanos ( Josh Brolin ).

It’s a testament to Marvel and the Russos’ daring that Thanos is actually one of the less surprising things about Infinity War . For the past six years, we’ve been told that he’s on a collision course with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, setting us up for the chaos that ensues in this long-heralded culmination. What I didn’t fully realize is just what that chaos would look like, and that Marvel had the guts to, mostly, pull it off.

Infinity War is more of a Thanos movie than an Avengers movie

The most difficult task facing Infinity War is addressing all of the characters, motivations, subplots, and relationships that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has built up over the years without making it feel like an expository avalanche careening down a mountain to bury the audience below.

For example: Gamora ( Zoe Saldana ) and Nebula ( Karen Gillan ) are adopted daughters of Thanos, the villain of Infinity War and the big bad lurking in the shadows of Marvel’s movies since 2012’s Avengers . Gamora and Nebula hate each other and hate Thanos, who tortured them by pitting them against each other; he also killed the family of Gamora’s Guardians of the Galaxy teammate Drax ( Dave Bautista ).

Gamora, Drax, and the other Guardians aren’t technically Avengers, but that’s just because they operate in Marvel’s cosmic universe, which we found out in Thor: Ragnarok is connected to Thor’s Asgard, a recently destroyed world populated by Norse gods and goddesses.

That intricate web of characters and motivations barely scratches the surface of four of Marvel’s recent movies; there are 18 total, not including Infinity War .

The Russo brothers’ solution to this dilemma is to turn a movie nominally about the Avengers into a movie about Thanos, played by Brolin decked out in lumpy mounds of purple CGI.

The special effects needed to turn Brolin into Thanos distract in the villain’s softer moments, as when he explains how exactly he came to be the Mad Titan. We’re told that, ages ago, Thanos’s home planet was bountiful but resources were finite. To alleviate the stress on the planet, Thanos had the idea to reduce it by half, eliminating life in order to preserve it.

Not satisfied with culling his own planet, Thanos has continued on a mission to eliminate half the life in the universe, and needs the Infinity Stones to do so. And it just so happens that our Avengers are the only thing standing in his way.

Thanos’s story allows Saldana to shine, as she rounds out Gamora with more humanity and purpose than the Guardians movies have allowed her. That she’s acting opposite a computer-enhanced Brolin in a majority of her scenes is even more impressive.

But giving Thanos such an expansive history comes at a price.

Most of the Marvel superheroes appearing in Infinity War , particularly Black Panther and Captain America, are compressed, concentrated versions of themselves. T’Challa ( Chadwick Boseman ) is given five or so lines to be majestic in his defense of Wakanda; Cap gets a few more minutes to be noble and inspiring. Spider-Man ( Tom Holland ) is around to remind us that he’s young.

Scarlet Witch ( Elizabeth Olsen ) and Vision ( Paul Bettany ) have scenes together to tell you they’re in love. Characters like Drax, Mantis ( Pom Klementieff ), Falcon ( Anthony Mackie ), Bucky Barnes ( Sebastian Stan ), Shuri ( Letitia Wright ), Okoye ( Danai Gurira ), Rocket ( Bradley Cooper ), Black Widow ( Scarlett Johansson ), and, of course, Groot (Vin Diesel) have a few one-liners.

Instead of showing us why these characters are so beloved, the Russo brothers employ a Marvel shorthand of sorts, relying on past movies to do most of the work. And that’s not an unreasonable instinct: Captain America’s first onscreen return in Civil War is awe-inspiring in large part because he’s the Captain America who’s lived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the past seven years.

The same kind of chills happen when the “Wakanda” theme plays in Infinity War — a testament to the power of Ryan Coogler’s massive film . For devotees of the MCU, there’s plenty to read into between the lines of Infinity War , but only if you know where to look.

Not all of the film’s heroes are underutilized, though. Tony Stark’s ( Robert Downey Jr. ) fear of a galactic threat, established over the past few films featuring him, is fully realized in Thanos, and Downey sinks his teeth into Stark’s vulnerability and apprehension. Stark has to not only defeat this villain but also reconcile that mission with the fact that Thanos’s plan is horrifyingly adjacent to Stark’s dream of a universe so safe that Avengers are rendered obsolete.

Benedict Cumberbatch ’s Doctor Strange and Chris Hemsworth ’s Thor are apt counters to Stark. Cumberbatch’s Strange is coolly stubborn, calculating in ways that Stark isn’t. And Hemsworth, after flexing his knack for comedy in 2017’s Ragnarok , taps into that same humor but laces it with jagged grief and anger informed by having seen Thanos’s wrath firsthand.

It would have been stellar to see all of Marvel’s superheroes allowed these little pockets of storytelling in between the Thanos action, but there’s already not enough room in Infinity War ’s two hours and 40 minutes. I don’t envy the difficult decisions the Russos had to make about the heroes and storylines to spotlight, but I’m also not convinced that giving us a Thanos origin story and relying on that Marvel superhero shorthand to fill in the gaps was the most efficient way.

Perhaps the easiest way to reconcile this is to understand that Infinity War doesn’t want to have multiple profound heroes, but rather have one profound thing happen to all of its heroes.

Avengers: Infinity War is the most comic book movie that Marvel has ever created

The best and worst thing about Infinity War is that it’s a comic book movie.

Comic book artists aren’t bound by visual effects budgets, so they’re allowed to give us priceless imaginations on paper: new worlds on every page, mystifying beings, dazzling spacecraft, spellbinding powers, and megaton fights. Infinity War is the closest iteration of this limitless power that we’ve seen onscreen.

Midway through, I lost count of the planets and galaxies visited, each one terrifyingly beautiful in its own way. There’s a breath-stopping visit to a deserted ghost city of a planet, so evocative you can almost smell the sulfur in the air and feel the temperature drop when it comes on the screen.

And the faces of Thanos’s Black Order , his cabal of henchmen, are fearsome and distinct, offering both scintillating powers and copious nightmare fuel. Their fights with the Avengers are the film’s highlights, and a couple of them truly feel like significant threats to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The problem with flexing this sort of expansive world building is that it requires so much jumping around the universe that the film feels like it’s spinning plates. That results in the compression I mentioned earlier, the feeling that some characters are around simply to remind you they exist. But it also, frustratingly, kneecaps what should be the MCU’s grandest fight scene, Infinity War ’s invasion of Wakanda.

It’s the largest-scale onscreen fight I can recall since the Battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers . Our heroes, in a valiant last stand, are the only thing that stands between Thanos and universal destruction. And his generals have unleashed thousands of intergalactic hounds — what look to be a cross between snapping turtles and WWE wrestlers — upon Wakanda. Cap and Black Panther teaming up to hold the line is a strange mix of joy and stress. Seeing Okoye and Black Widow’s combat expertise in tandem is breathtaking. Same with Scarlet Witch unleashing her full powers.

Unfortunately, though, because there are multiple storylines going on at one time, we jump from Wakanda to outer space and another faction of Avengers doing their part to save the universe, or get thrust into Thor’s side quest to find a weapon strong enough to kill Thanos.

It’s frustrating that it’s so difficult to fully appreciate the fantastic work that went into orchestrating these massive spectacles when we’re constantly being jostled from place to place. Midway through, all these different settings and all these jumps begin to feel exhausting.

The same thing can happen in comic books. Some story arcs are better than others. And sometimes you’ll have to read through them all — even the most boring ones — to get the full crossover experience and make sure you didn’t miss anything.

But also as in comic books, there’s one absolute bombshell of a moment that grabs you by the neck and drives you back into the story. Infinity War boasts the most breathtaking, audacious moment in superhero movie history, one that rocketed through my brain and tore apart everything I thought I knew about the past 10 years of Marvel moviemaking. For the first time in a while, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Will you support Vox today?

We believe that everyone deserves to understand the world that they live in. That kind of knowledge helps create better citizens, neighbors, friends, parents, and stewards of this planet. Producing deeply researched, explanatory journalism takes resources. You can support this mission by making a financial gift to Vox today. Will you join us?

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via

In This Stream

Avengers: infinity war: reviews, news, and analysis of marvel’s biggest movie to date.

From Captain Marvel to Iron Man: every Marvel movie, definitively ranked
Avengers: Infinity War represents the past, present, and future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Next Up In Culture

Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day.

Thanks for signing up!

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Mayorkas, wearing a suit and tie, looks up at committee members out of frame.

The very short Mayorkas impeachment trial, explained

NTSB Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX.

Boeing’s problems were as bad as you thought

Is Israel a “settler-colonial” state? The debate, explained.

Close-up photo of someone looking at a burger on a food delivery app on their phone.

How did the cost of food delivery get so high?

Kidney transplant surgeons operate on a patient.

Would you donate a kidney for $50,000?

What science is just starting to understand about periods

Entertainment

Avengers: Infinity War is wildly fun until it leaves you hanging

Spoiler-free review: Marvel's latest team-up, the best Avengers movie yet, melds hilarious and tragic moments into a streamlined diary of mad titan Thanos.

I was having infinite fun watching Avengers: Infinity War -- until it ended.

The film is the Marvel Cinematic Universe 's biggest superhero soap opera yet. And despite an ending that left me fuming at the screen, and a breakneck pace that shortchanges many characters, it's still the best Avengers movie yet .

One minute it's heart-wrenching, the next it's laugh-out-loud funny. You're watching Spider-Man (Tom Holland) swing through New York to help Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Then you're zipping to outer space as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) forges a new alliance with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Fortunately, giant captions help you keep track of the multiple characters' whereabouts, whether they're battling on behalf of the universe in Wakanda or Scotland.

With so many players and planets, there's plenty of potential for things to go awry. But the streamlined story makes the approximately 2.5-hour movie fly by. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have incorporated elements of each of the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe while keeping one character in focus the entire time.

Diary of mad titan Thanos

That character is Thanos (Josh Brolin), and as long promised , he takes center stage in his quest to collect six Infinity Stones that will let him wipe out half the universe.

Unlike Marvel villains who often lack character depth (think Helmut Zemo from Captain America: Civil War or Malekith from Thor: The Dark World ), Thanos gets plenty of screen time to show what makes him feel triumph and what makes him feel pain. He's still a genocidal maniac, but he suffers desperate consequences for his deadly goals. And I do mean deadly. Some of his actions are violent and grotesque enough that parents should take caution before bringing children elementary school age or younger to the film.

'Avengers: Infinity War' is going to blow your mind

Because of the galactic focus on Thanos, the movie feels much more like a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 than a follow-up to more grounded films like Captain America: Civil War or Avengers: Age of Ultron . This makes sense. Early on in 2014's original Guardians of the Galaxy , several characters quickly name Thanos as someone they want to betray or destroy. Those grudges haven't faded, and Gamora's (Zoe Saldana) close but complicated history as Thanos' favorite adopted daughter gets fully explored.

Guardians meet Avengers

As trailers have already revealed, Thor (post-Ragnarok) fits in with the Guardians as tightly as the Infinity Gauntlet on Thanos. If Thor isn't given a fourth movie to headline, I'd be thrilled to watch Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder instead bicker with Chris Pratt's Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 .

That's not to say the earthbound heroes don't have their moments. The love story between Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision has now fully blossomed as they fight to protect the Mind Stone that makes Vision as alive as a sentient robot-host on HBO's Westworld .

You'll cheer as Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) fight in Wakanda alongside Black Panther T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Okoye (Danai Gurira). And War Machine (Don Cheadle) is so over the Sokovia Accords that broke the Avengers apart in Civil War.

But many other Earth stories feel sidelined.

After being teased at the end of Black Panther, Bucky Barnes' (Sebastian Stan) return feels glossed over. The Sokovia Accords and most of the beef between the Avengers highlighted in the Russos' Civil War film are rapidly undone to get the Thanos fight started. And based on a few off-the-cuff references to time that conflict with earlier films , I'm now convinced nobody in the Marvel universe truly knows how much time has passed since the first Avengers movie.

Avengers assemble

What to watch before you see Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War: Everything you need to know
How to stream every Marvel movie available
Avengers: Infinity War has too many Avengers. Just admit it

Everything I just described involves having some familiarity with previous Marvel movies, and while this one is a breezy watch, some viewers may be lost right at the start without having seen previous Marvel outings, especially both Guardians movies, Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok . (Our quick catch-up guide can help.)

New characters include Thanos' Black Order, but none rise beyond the level of henchmen helping to obtain the Infinity Stones. Peter Dinklage's mystery character, who I won't spoil, is an absolute treat. And other cameos will happily surprise Marvel movie fans.

Avengers: Infinity War feels a lot like a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy.

Infinity War also outdoes itself in the special-effects department, depicting battles that highlight Wakanda's technological capabilities, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange's control of their magical powers and the might of Thanos -- often all in one sequence. Other backdrops look so obviously CGI-ed that reports Tom Holland acted in scenes by himself , with other actors added in later, make a lot of sense.

An abrupt end

We'll be analyzing the numerous plot lines for months, but the way Infinity War ends easily feels too much like a television show's cliffhanger season finale that baits you to come back next year to find out how it all resolves. Unless Avengers 4 has a heck of a subtitle, this movie should have kept its "part 1" label. As a result, audiences might leave the theater feeling cheated, and frankly having a hard time believing the film's stakes. (The movie also only features one post-credits scene, which deepened my conflicted feelings about the ending. We discuss and dissect what that post-credits scene means here ).

Until the ending hits, Avengers: Infinity War features all the cool superhero fight scenes you've come to expect, smartass quips between superheroes and super beings like Doctor Strange and Tony Stark, and with chances to see so many Marvel characters mingle among each other for the first time. It's absolutely worth the ride, but get ready to be left hanging.

Want to practice your Spanish. Check out CNET en Español's review of Avengers: Infinity War .

Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters worldwide on April 27.

You'll cheer when the Avengers fight alongside the Black Panther and Wakanda's forces.

How to watch every MCU property in the perfect order : From Marvel films to the shows on Netflix, here's the best order to experience the MCU.

Meet the Black Panther, ruler of Wakanda : CNET Magazine interviewed Chadwick Boseman and learned just how he came up with that accent.

Avengers: Infinity War Review

27 Apr 2018

NaN minutes

Avengers: Infinity War

Marvel has raised the pressure for itself on Infinity War , widely touting it as the endgame of three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and promising earth-shattering – or at least, judging by the trailer, moon-shattering – consequences to this two-part story, which will finish with next year’s untitled Avengers 4 . It would be hard for any film to live up to the level of sky-high hype that has resulted, and to satisfy the fans of every single one of these characters. Miraculously, this smashes right through your expectations and delivers shock after shock.

The film opens without the traditional Marvel fanfare, instead throwing itself into full-throated operatic drama. The opening minutes are designed to jolt you out of any complacency you may have felt about Thanos’ effectiveness, or the threat posed even by his minions in the Black Order. Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) and the rest make themselves instantly hissable. They may look like Lord Of The Rings rejects, and they boast little in the way of redeeming qualities, but that’s all to the good. They are big, they are powerful enough to test the Avengers independent of their boss, and that’s about all we need to know.

Brace for noble self-sacrifice, senseless tragedy and straight-up murder.

Thanos, meanwhile, gets monologuing from minute one, and it’s to Josh Brolin ’s credit that he is never less than compelling, whether speaking or letting his actions speak for him. Thanos is mad, and the solution he sees to the galaxy’s ills both evil and ineffective, but he has a thought process that (sort of) makes sense, and his commitment to his cause is so absolute that it is almost admirable. Almost.

Standing against him is a team that is physically fractured, scattered across the galaxy between the remnants of the Avengers, the refugee Asgardians and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The plot’s machinations result in unlikely combinations of Avengers meeting, bickering and, usually, working together semi-effectively. The addition of the Guardians of the Galaxy happens smoothly – which is to say that there is fighting, flirting, bonding over heavy weaponry and the steady erosion of Peter Quill’s ( Chris Pratt ) ego. Speaking of egos, the titanic clash between Iron Man ( Robert Downey Jr ) and Dr Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) is a delight, especially given spice by the addition of the naïve, entirely good Peter Parker ( Tom Holland ). The combinations of heroes working together feels both inevitable and unexpected, and the sheer charisma of the cast means that whatever scene or planet we cut to, there’s someone there to care about.

Everyone is tested. Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo ) comes up against obstacles he can’t smash, and Steve Rogers ( Chris Evans ) — relatively underused — has to reckon with his own personal worst-case scenario. Thanos’ genius is to repeatedly use our heroes’ mutual ties against them. Thanos is willing to sacrifice half the universe to achieve his ends, but he knows that others are not so determined. Over and over again, the film tries to force one character to make concessions to save a life, and over and over again they try to live up to Vision’s claim that “We don’t trade lives, Captain”. They may not, but Joe and Anthony Russo, evil genius screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, and producer Kevin Feige, have no such mercy.

Brace, then, for noble self-sacrifice, senseless tragedy and straight-up murder. The good news is that it’s also really, really funny. Tony Stark is briefly reduced to speechlessness. Thor gives an account of his family history that is accurate and also hilarious. Groot ( Vin Diesel ), Rocket ( Bradley Cooper ) and Drax ( Dave Bautista ) continue to leave a trail of much-needed laughs, without ever quite distracting from the danger they all face.

The film dances nimbly across the cosmos from one group to the next, turning the screws on each group, shattering them and pulling them back together in new combinations. With all these different strands, you might expect to see the gears move to keep this intricate plot humming, as in Age Of Ultron and Civil War . But this time the Russos achieve the impossible. Not only did they bring all these disparate characters and stories together, but they made it look effortless. And the ending laughs in the face of carbonite when it comes to raising the stakes for next time. “It’s not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake,” says one character, early on in Infinity War . If the universe he meant was the Marvel one, there’s no need to worry. We couldn’t tear ourselves away now if we wanted to.

Movies | 05 05 2023

The Russos and Zack Snyder – Pizza Film School

Movies | 18 04 2023

TV Series | 08 03 2023

Movies | 27 02 2023

Movies | 21 02 2023

Movies | 01 02 2023

Movies | 23 01 2023

Movies | 27 01 2022

Cast & crew
User reviews

Avengers: Infinity War

Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Vin Diesel, Paul Bettany, Bradley Cooper, Chris Evans, Sean Gunn, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Wong, Terry Notary, Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, Dave Bautista, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Letitia Wright, and Tom Holland in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

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. 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. 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.

Anthony Russo
Christopher Markus
Stephen McFeely
Robert Downey Jr.
Chris Hemsworth
Mark Ruffalo
4.6K User reviews
527 Critic reviews
68 Metascore
46 wins & 80 nominations total

Tony Stark …

Bruce Banner …

Steve Rogers …

Natasha Romanoff …

James Rhodes …

Doctor Strange

Peter Parker …

T'Challa …

Wanda Maximoff …

Sam Wilson …

Bucky Barnes …

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia Tom Holland was not allowed to read the script for this movie, since he revealed too many secrets for Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) . In one of the promotional videos for the movie, several of its cast members are in an interrogation room refusing to reveal any spoilers, and Holland's mouth is conspicuously taped shut.
Goofs (at around 1h 1 min) While on the Maw's spaceship, Tony Stark, Peter Parker and Dr. Strange's cape have a conversation. and for the entire scene Peter's hair is slicked back. During an intense exchange with Tony, Peter says "You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood"; the camera cuts to a speechless Tony and then goes back to Peter, who now has a completely different hairstyle, featuring a fringe. His hair turns back up for the rest of the scene.

Rocket Raccoon : This is Thanos we're talking about. He's the toughest there is

Thor : Well, he's never fought me.

Rocket Raccoon : Yeah, he has.

Thor : He's never fought me twice.

Crazy credits The Marvel Studios logo changes the "io " in the word Studios to the numbers "10" to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Alternate versions In the theatrical version released in India, some profanity has been muted. Also, the middle finger of Star-Lord during an action sequence has been blurred.
Connections Edited into Marvel Studios: Legends: Wanda Maximoff (2021)
Soundtracks The Rubberband Man Written by Thom Bell (as Thomas Bell) and Linda Creed Performed by The Spinners Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Group By arrangement with Warner Music Group & TV Licensing

User reviews 4.6K

andreascaloni
Feb 16, 2021
How long is Avengers: Infinity War? Powered by Alexa
Why did Black Widow dye her hair blonde in this film?
Why isn't Wolverine in this movie?
Why is Gamora?
April 27, 2018 (United States)
United States
Marvel (United States)
Official Disney+ Hotstar
Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (Pizza Shop)
Marvel Studios
Jason Roberts Productions
South Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$321,000,000 (estimated)
$678,815,482
$257,698,183
Apr 29, 2018
$2,052,415,039

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 29 minutes
IMAX 6-Track
Dolby Surround 7.1
Dolby Digital
Dolby Atmos

More to explore

Movie Review: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Vincent Gaine
Movie Reviews
--> May 5, 2018

Over the past decade, Marvel Studios have proved time and again their mastery of the superhero genre. Central to this success is the combination of superhero tropes with other genres: World War II film with “ Captain America: The First Avenger ,” conspiracy thriller with “ Captain America: The Winter Soldier ,” heist movie with “ Ant-Man ,” high school comedy with “ Spider-Man: Homecoming .” With Avengers: Infinity War , Marvel once again develop the superhero genre, pushing the envelope in a number of ways. The scale and breadth of the canvas on which the story unfolds is unprecedented in the genre’s history, the sheer number of characters is staggering, the tone and measure of the piece is truly epic, and the central conceit of the film as a whole is something new. This conceit is that while Avengers: Infinity War is a superhero/fantasy epic film, it is also a super villain film.

Whereas previous films in the franchise followed the selfless exploits of Thor, Iron Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War focuses on Thanos (Josh Brolin), a Titan in search of the Infinity Stones, most of which have appeared in the franchise. After the feeble Abomination (Tim Roth) of “ The Incredible Hulk ,” the flamboyant Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) of “Captain America: The First Avenger” and the charismatic Loki (Tom Hiddleston) of “ Thor ” and “ The Avengers ,” Thanos emerges as the most prominent, rounded and engaging villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Indeed, it may be overly simplistic to label him as a villain: His quest propels the drama in such a way as to make him the protagonist. Arguably, such “villainous” characters are frequently the protagonist because they are attempting to change something, whereas the “heroes” endeavor to maintain the status quo.

In the case of Thanos, he is trying to make significant changes, the Infinity Stones providing him the means to a profound end. Thanos’ wish is distinctive among his counterparts like Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) of “ Justice League ” and Green Goblin (Willem Defoe) of “Spider-Man”: Those figures displayed a vague desire for power, but Thanos has a belief in something beyond himself, something that he sees as good for others and to which he is fanatically devoted. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo take the time to flesh out this ideology, enabling the viewer to understand Thanos’ perspective and perhaps even sympathize with him. Brolin’s performance is remarkable: Despite the hefty dose of digital make-up that transforms him into a large purple alien, he conveys a sense of weight and pathos through body language and eyes, while his voice carries a sense of heavy responsibility and regret. Despite this, Thanos’ ruthlessness and viciousness are never compromised. These contradictory elements make him a complex character, convinced that he is helping others and, furthermore, his perspective does make sense, despite his various opponents repeatedly describing him as “insane.”

These opponents of Thanos are a motley and familiar crew, Avengers: Infinity War incorporating the vast majority of characters previously seen in the MCU (with a couple of notable exceptions). Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely also situate the film neatly within the MCU, continuing plot threads from “ Thor: Ragnarok ,” “ Captain America: Civil War ,” “ Doctor Strange ,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “ Black Panther .” The Russos combine this familiarity with innovation, as the film deviates from the structure of “The Avengers” and “ Avengers: Age of Ultron ,” both of which focused on the difficulty of our heroes’ cohesiveness and cooperation.

Here, different groups of heroes follow particular plotlines, the film cutting smoothly between them in a way that balances the plotlines with equal weight. The film’s form therefore mirrors its content since balance is a major and recurring theme: Balance of resources and feelings, as well as an ethical balance over what how much is justifiable. The characters demonstrate familiar elements in new combinations, such as quippy zingers between Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jnr.) and Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), competing egos between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), tenderness between Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Yet there is also development: Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a more grim and embittered figure than we have seen before, Bruce Banner and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) have a new difference of opinion, and the previously straightforward Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is given more background as well as internal conflict. These developments often lead to emotional outbursts, which may leave the viewer surprised and shaken.

Not that the action is restricted to internal conflicts, as Avengers: Infinity War delivers multiple spectacular set pieces on a variety of scales. Thanos’ lieutenants clash with different heroes, potentially fatal exploits of strength and resilience are undertaken, entire armies clash on vast battlefields. Despite the scale, the Russos maintain a keen eye for detail, the various powers of the Avengers, the Guardians and the non-affiliated allowing for variety both in interpersonal combat and against multiple opponents. Director of photography Trent Opaloch maintains a fluid, mobile aesthetic, weaving deftly between characters much as editors Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt cut between narrative strands. With its grand scale, multiple threads and range of characters, the closest cinematic cousin to Avengers: Infinity War may be “The Lord of the Rings,” specifically “The Return of the King” as, like in that film, many unite against a malevolent force, stories running in parallel while also building to more than one thunderous climax. Much like Peter Jackson’s magnum opus, Avengers: Infinity War runs the risk of becoming bloated and unwieldy, a problem that did afflict “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Captain America: Civil War.” But the Russos manage to avoid this pitfall through their careful balance of the myriad characters, and their central focus on Thanos.

What marks Avengers: Infinity War out is that it adds something different exceptional to the mood and indeed the meaning of Marvel’s movies. While there is fun and enjoyment, comedy, affection and visceral thrills, the film also carries an overwhelming sense of destiny and doom. The fatalism of the various characters suggests knowledge and acceptance of their mortality, and the viewer may well expect at least someone to die. But there is a deeper, more philosophical aspect to the film. Thanos’ immense power not only makes him menacing, it also lends credence to his quest, suggesting that might may actually make right. This is a common criticism made of superhero narratives: These immensely powerful individuals operate without oversight and are effectively above the law, making them unstoppable fascists. “Captain America: Civil War” and, from the DC Extended Universe, “ Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ,” presented this problem but more as window dressing than thematic substance.

Avengers: Infinity War , however, takes a less direct but perhaps more effective approach to this concept. Thanos is the protagonist of the film, so we follow his arc, sharing his excitement and sometimes regret even as his power may evoke fear in us. His goal is understandable and could be considered noble, while his devotion goes beyond that of Stark, Rogers or Strange. Like them, he believes in something greater than himself and is willing to make hard choices. He is, therefore, the epitome of Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) description of the Avengers Initiative: A remarkable person who fights the battle no one else can. He is an unstoppable fascist in his pursuit of a better universe, seeking to save lives in his own way, which happens to be violent and destructive. The key difference between Thanos and Thor, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), is that Thanos will make greater sacrifices. Rogers mentions on more than one occasion that “We don’t trade lives,” but the convenience of this perspective is that Rogers and his ilk end the lives of their enemies while prizing those of their friends. Vision offers another perspective when a single death might save many others. In addition, various “good” characters including Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) are largely motivated by personal goals including revenge. Thanos, however, prizes his higher calling above everyone and everything. And maybe he’s right, at least from a perspective that is prominent throughout superhero narratives: The ends justify the means, those with power have the authority to wield it as they see fit, the strong prevail.

Viewers may not share the perspective of Thanos, but have we not gone along with similar perspectives through our support and endorsement of ostensibly “heroic” figures? Avengers: Infinity War is therefore a fascinating development for the superhero genre. While it does incorporate elements of the fantasy epic into an established formula, the film’s focus on a super villain creates fascinating ambiguity, not only within the film but also in the perspectives of the audience. It is a film that raises intriguing questions, and while future installments in the MCU may provide answers, Avengers: Infinity War will likely remain a compelling adventure as well as a remarkable thought experiment.

Tagged: aliens , battle , comic book adaptation , sequel , superheroes , team , villain

Dr. Vincent M. Gaine is a film and television researcher. His first book, Existentialism and Social Engagement in the Films of Michael Mann was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. His work on film and media has been published in Cinema Journal and The Journal of Technology , Theology and Religion , as well as edited collections including The 21st Century Superhero and The Directory of World Cinema .

Movie Review: It Lives Inside (2023) Movie Review: The Inhabitant (2022) Movie Review: The Man from Rome (2022) Movie Review: The Breach (2022) Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Movie Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Movie Review: The Batman (2022)

| Log in

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

DVD & Streaming

Avengers: Infinity War

Action/Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

April 27, 2018
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man; Chris Hemsworth as Thor; Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk; Chris Evans as Steve Rogers; Josh Brolin as Thanos; Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow; Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange; Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine; Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man; Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther; Paul Bettany as Vision; Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch; Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/White Wolf; Tom Hiddleston as Loki; Idris Elba as Heimdall; Danai Gurira as Okoye; Peter Dinklage as Eitri; Benedict Wong as Wong; Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Pom Klementieff as Mantis; Karen Gillan as Nebula; Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer; Zoe Saldana as Gamora; Vin Diesel as Groot; Bradley Cooper as Rocket

Home Release Date

August 14, 2018
Anthony and Joe Russo

Distributor

Walt Disney

Movie Review

For years, Thanos has watched.

When the Avengers beat back an alien invasion, he watched. When the Guardians of the Galaxy saved a faraway planet from annihilation, he watched. For nearly the whole of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, as our superheroes did their hero things, Thanos has lurked in the story’s borders, watching, waiting, biding his time.

But now, his time has come. He is the coming storm, the creeping death, the threat of apocalypse and Armageddon, oblivion and omega.

Thanos’ name recalls Thanatos, the Greek personification of death. He might argue he’s unjustly named. Thanos doesn’t want to annihilate all life in the universe, after all. Just half of it. Just half.

All he needs is six stones, seeds of power sown when the universe was first born.

The first of these Infinity Stones is in his possession already— the purple Power Stone, taken from the same planet that the Guardians of the Galaxy saved not so long ago. That stone alone would be enough to lay waste to civilizations, to planets, to whole systems.

But it’s not enough. He needs all six.

The blue Space Stone , also called the Tesseract, was last seen in Asgard—Thor’s home world—before it was destroyed. Thanos suspects it might’ve survived, thanks to Loki, Thor’s brother. Easy enough. Thanos has dealt with Loki before.

The red Reality Stone was last in the possession of the Collector, a mysterious being who gathers the treasures and detritus of the galaxy like an extraterrestrial hoarder. But the Collector’s museum of the odd and arcane suffered its own cataclysm not so long ago. Thanos will have to visit and see how he—and it—are doing.

The Mind Stone could be trickier, given that it’s in the forehead of Vision, one of the Avengers’ most powerful, most enigmatic, heroes. Hardly seems possible that Vision and the rest could stop him, but they might muster enough strength to pester.

And then there’s the green Time Stone , lodged in the Eye of Agamotto. True, Doctor Strange used the stone to fine effect against Dormammu, a galactic demi-demon after Thanos’ own dark heart. But if Thanos has a couple of Infinity Stones of his own in tow by the time he faces Strange, he’ll hardly be a threat.

But what of the Soul Stone, hidden for so long? A glowing orange needle in a cosmic haystack? Perhaps Thanos has an inkling of where this most elusive stone is, too. Perhaps its secret will unfold like a flower.

One down. Five to go. And—yes, there it is, the spaceship carrying Thor, Loki and the refugees of Asgard. Another Infinity Stone nearly in hand.

For nearly all of the 10 years and 18 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos has been coming … slowly, inexorably.

Now he is here. And that Universe will quake as he passes.

Positive Elements

Let’s start in an unexpected place: with Thanos himself. He is, most certainly, the movie’s villain. But he sees himself as its hero—the only guy in the cosmos willing to do what (he believes) must be done. He thinks the universe has an overpopulation problem, and he reasons that if you kill some of its residents—OK, half of them—quickly and humanely, the folks left behind will live far better lives. He wants to help . He intends well.

‘Course, you know what they say about good intentions, and never has that saying been more true than it is here. While Thanos sees the universe simply as a math problem in need of some serious subtraction, our heroes understand that the lives at stake are precious. Every one of them. Those whom Thanos so cavalierly wants to kill have hearts and minds and souls. They love and are beloved. And they work like crazy to save the universe from Thanos’ genocidal number-crunching.

All of the heroes here display a great deal of courage throughout the movie, and all are willing to sacrifice a great deal—down to their very lives—to oppose Thanos. And even when things look bleak, there’s no quit in ’em. When someone tells Okoye, Wakanda’s great general, that it looks as if this battle could be the end of the country itself, Okoye says, “It will be the noblest ending in history.”

Spiritual Elements

Infinity War offers lots of interesting spiritual rabbit trails we could explore, but explicit references to faith are fairly rare. That said, we are dealing in a world of demigods here, and a few characters are considered by some to be gods (lowercase “g”, of course).

Loki refers to himself explicitly as the “trickster god.” Thor, meanwhile, tells Thanos that the purplish villain will “never be a god” (though Thanos’ powers become indeed quite god-like as the film goes on). Indeed, Thanos’ lackeys practically worship him throughout the film, reverently using titles such as “almighty Thanos,” and “Father.”

While not referenced explicitly in this film, we know from its predecessors that other characters owe their powers to godlike beings: Black Panther, for instance, credits the goddess Bast for his skills ; Peter Quill (leader of Guardians of the Galaxy) has the DNA of a powerful planet-like being (Ego) in his blood.

Elsewhere, Quill makes a joking reference to Jesus. When the Guardians of the Galaxy run across an unconscious Thor, the blue-skinned Drax admires the man’s body, calling him a cross between a “pirate and an angel.” Later, he’s jokingly referred to as a “god-man.” We hear a recitation of the universe’s creation at the Big Bang, and we learn of the simultaneous creation of the Infinity Stones in the universe’s first moments.

The very name of the Soul Stone suggests an understanding of the “soul,” and its powers seem predicated on sacrifice. One character has a dreamlike vision that perhaps suggests some manner of afterlife. Some characters are referred to as “wizards,” and their powers are quite magical. Someone looks into the future.

We hear conversations about how fate and destiny shape characters’ lives. One character says, “Attachment to the physical is detachment from the spiritual.” We see Doctor Strange assume the lotus position while meditating; a scene pictures him with multiple sets of arms, visually echoing depictions of the Hindu god Shiva. Someone tells Thanos, “The universe has judged you.” Thor says a prayer of sorts to the “Allfather.” There’s a verbal reference to resurrection.

A fight takes place in and around a church, and we see flashes of stained glass windows and the church steeple.

Sexual Content

Vision and Scarlet Witch drop off the grid and spend a couple of weeks in Scotland, and we see the two kiss. (They’re obviously sharing a hotel room as well.) Two other prominent characters kiss and express their undying love. Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanov bat their eyelids at one another.

Drax, a blue alien, never wears a shirt. Quill compares Thanos’ chin to a part of the male anatomy (using a crude slang phrase to do so), and Quill becomes rather defensive when his team admires the muscles on an unconscious Thor. (When Gamora massages Thor’s muscles in an apparent effort to revive him, Quill pleads with her to stop.) Someone uses the phrase “booty call.” Scarlett Witch and other female characters wear tight, revealing outfits. A character says suggestively, “Shoulda stayed in bed.

Violent Content

Infinity War is a superhero movie, and superhero movies are inherently violent. (I have yet to see a pacifist one, at least.) But here, the stakes feel far higher … as does the body count. We can’t detail every bit of mayhem here, but we’ll do what we can.

In flashback, we see Thanos’ lackeys execute countless citizens of Gamora’s home planet. Scores of others lie dead or dying on the floor of a spaceship. A massive battle with toothy, beast-like things creates numerous casualties (though, mostly, among other beast-like things). Sometimes, people simply turn to ash and blow away. We hear about the deaths of others. Various characters ponder whether someone’s death might avert calamity.

Blades wreak a lot of damage, though we see very little blood. One exception: A hero gets stabbed in the side, leaving a bloody wound and causing blood to trickle out of his mouth. Other folks are sometimes impaled through the chest or back, and we see blade jut from the other side. Still others are simply stabbed to death. One unfortunate hero suffers at least three separate chest wounds, only to bind them up and dive into the fray again. A man is tortured through what appear to be glass needles, one of which punctures his cheek (and turns part of his face a little gray and veiny).

One of the stones gives Thanos the ability to manipulate matter, and he uses it to pull apart one character, cause another to fall into blocks and still another to devolve into ribbons. (All these mechanizations, oddly, are non-lethal.) Someone is thrown from a great height and dies. Laser-like force fields kill myriad monstrous creatures; a force field also severs someone’s arm (which we see fairly cleanly detached and lying on the ground). Machinery crushes others.

Someone apparently dies in the vacuum of space. Another character has his throat crushed. People are tortured via other means. A hero withstands a long blast of celestial heat. One character comes close to asphyxiating. Quill asks crudely if a particular grenade is the kind that will “blow off your junk.”

We see lots and lots of fighting with fists and feet and various implements. I’ll spare you (ahem) the blow-by-blow.

Crude or Profane Language

Four s-words and a gauntlet of other profanities, including uses of “a–,” “b–tard,” “h—,” “d–n,” “p-ss,” “crap” and “douchebag.” Someone calls someone else a “d-hole.” Someone says “motherf—,” suggesting an f-word afterward without voicing it. Another character abbreviates the f-word as well, exclaiming, “Chill the eff out.” God’s name is misused about ten times. We see one crude hand gesture. There are a couple of slang references to the male anatomy (in the context noted above in Sexual Content).

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other negative elements.

We hear someone brag about smuggling a stolen eyeball his backside. Spider-Man skips school (albeit, I should add, to save the universe).

Avengers: Infinity War is unlike any superhero movie I’ve seen and, narratively, almost impossible to classify. Is it good? Is it bad? Hard to say. Aesthetically it works: It takes risks I’ve never seen in the genre before, and it’s got some really satisfying moments. But it’s not, in the end, a very satisfying movie.

That’s by design. Infinity War is really the first part of a two-part story, what with another Avengers’ movie rolling out next year. How I will ultimately feel about this movie depends, in large part, upon how well the next one works.

But given that we’ve got a whole year to wait—and without getting into any spoilers—let me offer this warning: Infinity War will challenge many a moviegoer, especially young ones. Kids and teens who’ve really invested in this universe will find this intense flick hard to watch at times.

At Plugged In , we often talk about how important it is to talk through the entertainment we consume, and that’s especially true for Infinity War . If you decide to see this movie—and if you take your family to see it—budget time to talk about it afterward. There’s a lot to process here, and many who watch it will need to process it. I won’t lie to you: I’m still processing myself.

Because of this movie’s astronomical profile, and because many viewers have invested so much into this universe and its characters, I imagine that plenty of families will feel like they have to see Infinity War . I totally get that. But remember, the word “war” is a wholly appropriate descriptor of Infinity War . And all wars—even fictional ones like this—come with consequences.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Latest Reviews

Irena’s Vow

Dune: Part Two

Sasquatch Sunset

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

Stranger Things Season 5
Deadpool and Wolverine
The Batman 2
Spider-Man 4
Yellowstone Season 6
Entertainment

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ review

Marvel pays off 10 years of movies with explosive and hilarious ‘avengers: infinity war’.

Captain America: Civil War really marked a turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The big crossover film brought together a whole mess of heroes, throwing a double-digit number of film characters — the Avengers plus Ant-Man, Black Panther and Spider-Man — into a single movie.

It sounded like it’d be too many characters for one MCU story to handle, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo somehow managed to make a huge film feel small and intimate. Civil War balanced the brand’s focus on raucous action with character development that not only took into consideration the many heroes’ issues with each other, but also their arcs across so many movies before. It was the movie that proved all this time fans are investing in MCU movies is going somewhere, and not just pushing them to see more movies (and maybe buy some toys).

Civil War might be the most important movie of 2024. Here’s why you need to see it
All the upcoming MCU movies we know about
8 ‘shocking’ modern movie twists that everyone saw coming, ranked

Infinity War is much more than the sum of its crossover parts.

Avengers: Infinity War has sounded like a movie with a lot of the same potential pitfalls Civil War once faced. It’s the culmination of 19 movies and a decade of work as Marvel has built its complex web of films, featuring a huge number of characters. In the Russo Brothers’ deft hands, though, Infinity War works much like Civil War did, building on the foundation so many other movies have laid before it to find fascinating new ways to challenge its superheroes. It might not be a perfect film — especially since it’s clear many of its hanging plot threads rely on Avengers 4 to tie up — but it’s about as good as something this big and unwieldy could have been, and it’s a blast to watch.

The man in purple

As any fan of the MCU already knows, Marvel’s films up to now have been building toward a huge, epic throw-down, when Thanos (Josh Brolin: Huge, purple and mostly CGI), a mega-powerful space villain, comes calling for the six all-powerful Infinity Stones. A few of the MCU movies have actually been about Thanos’ attempts to get the stones, with names like Space Stone, Reality Stone, Power Stone and Time Stone, which control the very elements of the universe. Previously thwarted, now Thanos is cruising the galaxy to finally accomplish his goal: Eradicate one half of all life in the universe.

Infinity War is mostly about various groups of heroes doing what they can to stop that from happening. Thanos sends his lieutenants, the Black Order, to Earth to get the two stones known to be there, where they run up against the Avengers. In space, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), last seen on his way to Earth on a spaceship at the end of Thor: Ragnarok , try to stop Thanos’ forces from getting the stones previously seen in Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy .

It is true that there are almost too many characters for Infinity War to deal with satisfactorily, and a few heroes — Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie), most notably — do get shortchanged.

Brolin plays the towering Titan Thanos with a quiet power that gets at some tragedy under all that purple.

For the most part, though, Infinity War acknowledges that it can’t quite get into the heads of every hero on the roster to see how they’re dealing with the Thanos situation, so it focuses on the people most affected. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has been dealing with post-traumatic stress related to the eventuality of a bad guy the Avengers couldn’t stop since his near-fatal moment at the end of The Avengers. Thor, fresh off the completion of his three-movie character arc in Thor: Ragnarok , is suddenly overwhelmed by the sense of responsibility he feels for the people of Asgard as their king. Vision (Paul Bettany), the android Avenger brought to life partially by an Infinity Stone in Avengers: Age of Ultron , struggles with balancing the life he’s barely begun (and barely begun to understand) against those of everyone else. And Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Thanos’ adopted daughter and the hero with the most baggage of any of them, can’t seem to separate her feelings of hate and love for the villain.

Those characters form the emotional core of the movie, with the rest of the heroes dealing with or reacting to them and their issues. Infinity War is really about Thanos, though; the Russos make the villain their main character, especially in the second half of the film. Brolin plays the towering Titan with a quiet power that gets at some tragedy under all that purple, especially when the movie turns the focus to Thanos’ relationship with Gamora. Laying the major focus on Thanos’ quest for the Infinity Stones, how he justifies that lust for power, and what it costs him, helps the whole story work without getting lost in its individual moving parts. It also makes Brolin’s Thanos a villain scary enough, and deep enough, to warrant so much ado over his arrival.

Thrills and grins

The other moving parts are pretty exciting, though. As expected, Infinity War is bursting with massive action scenes, bouncing from locations ranging from outer space and other planets to New York City and Black Panther ‘s Wakanda. The movie combines various settings with an enormous scope rivaling anything since the Battle of New York in The Avengers .

The Russos know how to keep clarity in their action scenes, as evidenced in Civil War and Captain America: Winter Soldier , and the directors use the addition of things like characters who fly around to pepper fistfights with wide shots that keep the whole thing in perspective. The fun part of having a crossover movie like this one, though, is bringing so many unique visual styles and abilities together in one place, and the best part of Infinity War ‘s action sequences is seeing so many different individual ideas and styles choreographed together. This isn’t just War Machine flying through the frame as Captain America (Chris Evans) punches a guy out: Everything here feels like an essential, well-planned part of a greater whole.

Surprisingly, the best part of the movie is how funny it is.

What really makes those setpieces work is the stakes, though. Culminating a decade worth of MCU movies means Infinity War isn’t forced to pull punches, and it goes hard from the start. This is a movie in which superheroes can, and do, die. Thanos really is the worst thing anyone in the MCU has ever faced, and Infinity War doesn’t hesitate to convey that not everybody is going to make it through this one — which makes its many action scenes all the more powerful.

Surprisingly, though, perhaps the best part of the movie is how funny it is. Infinity War most often excels in dialogue, using those weird meetups of characters like Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to create hilarious, yet endearing moments. They’re a shorthand for character development that was made in other movies, but they’re always great, and they pay off that investment across so many stories. Infinity War ‘s ability to manage break-neck turns from great jokes to tense, life-or-death stakes is an impressive feat of Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus’ script, and might be, more than anything, what keeps Infinity War afloat when it otherwise might sink.

There are weaknesses in Infinity War , of course, and it should come as no surprise that they’re largely related to its enormous size.

The film tries so hard to bring in every hero and character that it can’t quite handle them all, and the result is a film that isn’t quite as intelligent as Black Panther or as balanced as Civil War. The movie not only pays off the audience’s investment in the MCU, but it also requires it, and trying to view it casually will result in plenty of jokes that don’t land and plot points that seem a little confusing. Then there’s the fact that the real conclusion of the story is Avengers 4 , and despite a runtime pushing two-and-a-half hours, Infinity War leaves quite a few elements of feeling inconclusive and a little unsatisfying.

Despite its drawbacks (and its sheer enormity), though, Avengers: Infinity War is engrossingly, overwhelmingly fun, even as it feels like a suitably weighty climax of so many stories. Combining phenomenal action scenes, smart and fun humor, emotional gravitas, and unprecedented stakes isn’t just an impressive balancing act — it makes Infinity War something special, and much more than the sum of its crossover parts.

Editors' Recommendations

Like Alex Garland’s Civil War? Then watch these 3 great movies now
Civil War’s ending, explained
The Acolyte’s first trailer embraces the Dark Side of Star Wars
5 war movies like Masters of the Air you should watch right now
5 sci-fi and action movies like Rebel Moon you should watch
Comic Book Movies

Some say the sequels aren't as good as the original, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe has successfully produced many noteworthy sequels over the years.

Some of these follow-ups have even been labeled far superior to their predecessors due to how they expanded upon their characters, their conflicts, and overall story themes. Since the MCU shows no signs of slowing down, and with The Marvels shaping up to be a financial disaster, the studio should take note of what made these sequels the best in the franchise. Honorable Mention: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Recently, Variety released a bombshell article alleging that Marvel Studios is rethinking its plans for its ongoing Multiverse Saga following the lackluster success of its many films and TV shows. The studio is even supposedly pondering not having Kang the Conqueror be the saga's overarching villain after all since the character's actor, Jonathan Majors, is now on trial for accusations of domestic violence.

All in all, the studio clearly needs to return to the drawing board to bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe back to its former glory, and the higher-ups should consider doing these things in a revised Multiverse Saga. Have the heroes save the world less

Earth's Mightiest Heroes have been front-and-center in the Marvel comic book world for decades. Thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this band of superheroes otherwise known as the Avengers has skyrocketed in popularity beyond the comic book medium. Think about it, for those of us who can vividly remember back to 2007, imagine asking several people on the street during that year who Iron Man is. Most who weren't comic book fans likely would've shrugged. Now, Tony Stark is a household name - not just in comic books or movies, but in pop culture at large.

While the movies are absolutely thrilling, the Avengers have a long history in Marvel publications of saving the world and tangling with the most powerful baddies comic book writers could cook up. Some of those stories have been adapted for the big screen, while others simply remain as the creative endeavor of an author and artist in the pages of Marvel comics, graphic novels, and collected editions. Let's examine some of the Avengers' best adventures. 10. The Avengers (2012 movie)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Review

What thanos wants, thanos gets.

Avengers: Infinity War

After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron , Marvel Studios moved into Phase Three of their ever-expanding cinematic universe, fragmenting the relationships between Earth’s mightiest heroes all while growing its roster of powerful and relatable characters in the process. However, developing in the background for nearly a decade’s worth of heroic adventures lies the reveal and location of the six Infinity Stones. No matter how brief or lengthy their appearance, each of these stones has impacted this fictional universe in numerous ways. Now true believers worldwide finally get to see this lengthy quest for power conclude in the catastrophic showdown known as Avengers: Infinity War .

After making numerous appearances and cameos, Josh Brolin ’s Thanos is set to take centre stage and commands the silver screen with the presence of a tyrant. His objective is simple: find the Infinity Stones and use their assembled power to erase half of all life in the universe, putting it back in “perfect balance”. While this is an Avengers film through and through, Thanos is the central pillar of it and the one who the audience spends a majority of the time following as he hunts down the Stones with his Black Order of generals. This time, however, is justly needed as it gives the audience time to explore the layers that make up this threatening villain and his complex origins. Compared to the comics, Infinity Wars’ Thanos is a much different character. No longer obsessed murdering for sport or pleasing the physical manifestation of Death like he is in the comic canon, this Thanos believes what he’s doing is a righteous cause and draws inspiration from personal experiences. To say Thanos is the best villain to date in Marvel Studios’ cinematic history is definitely within the realm of possibility. At the very least, it’s safe to say his character was worth the wait and leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

Our beloved heroes are delegated to a different objective, playing the most dangerous game of keep away in history with the most powerful being in the galaxy, as they try to hide and defend the few remaining Infinity Stones they can. This takes form in the audience following three key perspectives, the renegade Steve Rogers ( Chris Evans ), the always egotistical Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ) and the vengeful God of Thunder, Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ). The rest of the rich roster of Avengers and future draft picks split off between these core three heroes, providing them with powerful reinforcements and enriching their strategies. That doesn’t mean that Black Panther ( Chadwick Boseman ), Spider-Man ( Tom Holland ) or the Guardians of the Galaxy are now merely bit players this time around. Each hero and fan favourite side character in Marvel’s cinematic library gets their time in the spotlight of this chaotic, yet visually stimulating, spectacle.

And yet, at the same time, this massive ensemble of heroes is also one of the greatest weaknesses within Avengers: Infinity War . Juggling over 30 characters is a difficult job for any crew, but Anthony and Joseph Russo’s competent directorial skills mitigate most of the damage. Just don’t be surprised if some characters are relegated to delivering more quips and mindless action instead of adding something of substance to the overall plot. Without Stephen McFeely’s excellent screenplay though, I feel all of these entangled threads would have been much harder to follow. Every key sequence of intense action, hilarious interactions and emotional resonance is placed in the perfect spot and every moment produced the appropriate reaction within the theatre. The only weakness that actually took away from my viewing experience of Avengers: Infinity War was Alan Silvestri’s mediocre score, which was surprising to see out of this talent. To be painfully honest, it felt too reserved and safe. Many of the worthwhile tracks are placed in the proper spot to elevate the scene further, but I found most bled into one other to deliver a rather bland or all too familiar tone to the overall film.

Despite that, Avengers: Infinity War is sure to impress every devout MCU fan. Every actor brings their A-game to their performance and even the special effects teams have redeemed themselves with this MCU entry, delivering the top tier quality of CGI action audiences have missed in the recent films. But the true cherry on top is just how much action there is and how fun it is to watch in amazement as the events unfold before my eyes. While I’ve reserved myself from spoiling even the smallest of details for moviegoers this weekend, I’m interested to see how audiences respond to the ending of Infinity War because everyone had something different to say while they were walking out. I was simply left in awe of what this movie was able to do and I’m more excited for what’s to come over the horizon.

Liked this article and want to read more like it? Check out Cole Watson’s reviews of Assassin’s Creed Origins and Gundam Versus !

Want to see more videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out the First 15: Fe , Monster Hunter World Beta: the Insatiable Nergigante , Dissidia Final Fantasy NT , Star Wars Battlefront II , Sonic Forces + Episode Shadow , and Super Mario Odyssey !

Don’t forget to tune in every Friday the Pixels & Ink Podcast to hear the latest news, previews, and in-depth game discussions!

Never miss when new CGM articles go out by following us on Twitter and Facebook !

CGMagazine is Canada’s premiere comics and gaming magazine. Subscribe today to get the best of CGM delivered right to your door ! Never miss when a new issue goes live by subscribing to our newsletter ! Signing up gives you exclusive entry into our contest pool. Sign up once, you’ll have a chance to win! Sign up today!

Final Thoughts

Cole Watson is CGMagazine's Sr. PC Hardware Editor. When not reviewing the latest and greatest tech offerings, Cole spends his time as an enthusiast of games, collectibles and model kits.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, CGMagazine may earn a commission. However, please know this does not impact our reviews or opinions in any way. See our ethics statement.

Civil War (2024) Review

Sting (2024) Review

The First Omen (2024) Review

Screen Rant

Avengers: infinity war review - marvel delivers a culminating film, avengers: infinity war delivers an exciting culmination of the mcu, though it's overstuffed and suffers from certain typical marvel movie problems..

Avengers: Infinity War sets out to accomplish a feat never previously attempted in Hollywood: bring together all the heroes of a sprawling superhero universe in a cohesive narrative while delivering an event that justifies 10 years and 18 movies worth of build up. There is an unprecedented amount of hype surrounding the latest installment in Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe, but an unprecedented level of expectations as well. The question of Avengers: Infinity War was whether Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and directors Anthony and Joe Russo could meet or exceed those expectations. Avengers: Infinity War delivers an exciting culmination of the MCU, though it's overstuffed and suffers from certain typical Marvel movie problems.

In Avengers: Infinity War , screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely set about the difficult task of including all the major superheroes of the franchise by splitting them into teams. As Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Mad Titan with ambitions of killing half the universe in order to bring balance, searches for the Infinity Stones that will complete his Infinity Gauntlet, all the heroes work to prevent him from achieving his goal. For Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), that means protecting the Time Stone, even as he butts heads with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), though they have help from Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) comes across the Guardians of the Galaxy - Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) - and they work together on their own plans to stop Thanos.

Back on earth, those left of the Avengers rally around Vision (Paul Bettany) in order to protect the Mind Stone, with everyone converging on Wakanda to receive the help of T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Shuri (Letitia Wright), the Dora Milaje lead by Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Jabari army led by M'Baku (Winston Duke). In a stand against Thanos and his Black Order, Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) battle the Titan's hoards of Outriders. But even with all the might of the Avengers, it's unclear if it will be enough to defeat Thanos.

The task of balancing so many characters, in addition to developing Thanos beyond his brief appearances in previous films, is nearly impossible. With so many characters set to share the screen in Avengers: Infinity War , there are bound to be those who unfortunately fall by the wayside in order for others to have complete narrative arcs in the film. Markus and McFeely focus predominantly on certain heroes based on which characters serve the story of Thanos' villainy the most. And for the Mad Titan's part, Infinity War offers a valiant effort to develop his character so as not to fall into the underdeveloped Marvel villain trap. However, with so much else going on and so many other characters sharing the screen, Thanos still fails to be a fully developed and sympathetic antagonist. As for the rest of the ensemble cast, the writers made sure even those who don't receive their own full narrative arcs, their presence is felt - either through standout lines of dialogue or cool action beats.

While Avengers: Infinity War attempts to balance so many characters and give them compelling narratives, very few of the emotional beats stick their landing. This is partly due to the movie being crammed full with too much going on for the pacing to allow much time to process any major emotional development before moving on. Further, with Infinity War jumping around between different storylines involving different groupings of characters, the shift in location and tone can be jarring. In fact, there is a moment that's meant to be particularly poignant and emotional, with big sweeping music to mark its significance, but it's followed shortly by a change of scenery and a joke that undercuts any emotional response the movie was aiming to achieve. Since viewers aren't given time to process certain developments in Infinity War before moving on to the next story beat, it's difficult to feel the weight of those moments.

The other reason certain emotional beats don't work is due to a lack of character development. If viewers don't feel connected to a character because of a lack of development, it's difficult to have a response to emotional beats in their story arc. However, Avengers: Infinity War does benefit from the character development achieved in previous films, assuming viewers know about previously established relationships between characters and building off those relationships. That said, when a number of major emotional moments in Infinity War are based entirely on character development established in previous movies, it sometimes comes off as cheap and unearned. This is especially the case when Infinity War has to move on to another story or character beat in order to keep up the film's brisk pace and wrap up in a reasonable amount of time.

With all that said, there is still plenty to enjoy about Avengers: Infinity War and fans who have stuck with the MCU for 10 years will find that it's another solid entry in the franchise. Of course, Infinity War suffers from many of the typical Marvel movie problems, with a villain that isn't quite as well developed as he could be (especially in contrast to Black Panther's Killmonger) as well as CGI that is, at times, genuinely bad. But, the latest Avengers movie balances out these lackluster aspects with certain really cool action beats - placed amid larger action set pieces that aren't really groundbreaking - and plenty of humor so as to create an overall fun experience.

For the most part, the Russo brothers and Marvel Studios delivered on their promise to bring the disparate corners of film franchise together for a battle against Thanos, all while staying true to the characters who made the MCU so popular. Coming back to the question of whether Avengers: Infinity War lives up to the hype and anticipation, the movie doesn't exceed expectations even though it does meet those expectations. What happens when a movie that many are hoping to exceed expectations only manages to meet those expectations - even if those expectations mark a massive achievement for a Hollywood franchise? Well, in the case of Avengers: Infinity War , we get a solidly entertaining event film that still may leave viewers wanting more, even if they're unsure what more the writers and directors could have done. Thankfully, Marvel Studios, the Russos, and Markus and McFeely will be back next year with Avengers 4 to bring the first three phases of the MCU truly to completion.

Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It runs 149 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

Want to talk about Infinity War without spoiling the Avengers movie for others? Head on over to our Avengers: Infinity War spoilers discussion .

Key Release Dates

Spider-man homecoming 2, the avengers 4, avengers: infinity war, captain marvel.

Avengers: Infinity War (United States, 2018)

Minimal spoilers. There are some vague references to things that happen and the usual discussion about plot elements available via trailers and pre-release clips, but I have tried to remain as “spoiler-lite” as possible. As always, however, if you’re concerned about maintaining the “virgin” experience, avoid reading this until you have seen the movie.

Avengers: Infinity War knows what it wants to be and goes about pursuing that goal with relentless intensity. An exhausting 150 minutes after opening with a bang, the film concludes with a quieter, solemn moment that illustrates how this movie has done something never previously attempted by a superhero film. No, it’s not a game-changer like Deadpool or Logan . It remains firmly anchored within the “traditional” comic book milieu. But, with an unwavering devotion to spectacle and action, the film throws down a gauntlet where this kind of mass team-up is concerned.

The volume of characters guarantees that no one gets much screen time and a few (like Ant-Man and Hawkeye) are absent altogether. If you’re a big Tony Stark fan, know that Robert Downey Jr. clocks in more minutes than most of the actors but that’s still not a lot. Thanos appears more than any of the heroes; in some ways, this is his movie. In order to make things manageable, the characters are broken into groups. Iron Man, Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) hang out and trade quips. The Guardians – Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Buatista), Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), Brooding Teen Groot (Terry Notary), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) – are joined by Thor (Chris Hemsworth) when they find him floating around in space. No-Longer-Captain-America (Chris Evans) returns to the fray, bringing his ex-Avengers compatriots with him. Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) share a few tender moments before eventually winding up in Wakanda with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) starts out the film with one group (the one he was with at the end of Thor: Ragnarok ) before moving on to another then a third.

This movie is a lot of fun, with a dash of substance thrown in for those who care to look (Thanos and his plan are allegorical). It satisfies the deep-rooted escapist desire most movie-goers experience from time-to-time with its spectacular visuals, unflagging pace, and understanding on the part of Joe and Anthony Russo of what MCU fans want from this important piece of the saga. The staunch superhero fan won’t need a morning cup of coffee before seeing Infinity War – the film offers a bigger jolt than caffeine could ever provide. As for those who are fatigued by the genre or were never interested in the first place, there’s nothing in this film that re-invents the comic book movie or morphs it into something else. The mission of Infinity War isn’t to convert the pagans; it’s to satisfy the true believers and, to that end, it succeeds admirably. Twelve months will seem like a long time to wait for the next Avengers movie to see whether the Russo Brothers craft a worthy conclusion to the story begun in Infinity War , but for at least a year we can savor where this story has taken things.

Comments Add Comment

Hidden Fortress, The (1962)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Braveheart (1995)
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
Catwoman (2004)
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
Short Cuts (1993)
Iron Man (2008)
Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Chaplin (1993)
Due Date (2010)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Avengers, The (2012)
Knives Out (2019)
Fanstastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Perfect Score, The (2004)
Nanny Diaries, The (2007)
Thor (2011)
Cabin in the Woods, The (2012)
Men in Black International (2019)
Red Dawn (2012)
Huntsman, The: Winter's War (2016)

lol Badge Feed
win Badge Feed
trending Badge Feed

Browse links

© 2024 BuzzFeed, Inc
Consent Preferences
Accessibility Statement

37 Final Movie Lines So Good, They Have Gone Down In History As The Best Ever

Featuring more than one Morgan Freeman ending narration.

BuzzFeed Staff

Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community what their favorite final lines of movies are. Here are some of the agreed-upon best of all time!

Hoggett tells Babe "That'll do, pig, that'll do"

— thehautefriend

2. The Princess Bride

The grandfather tells his grandson "As you wish" after the kid asks him to come back and read the story again tomorrow

3. Black Swan

4. some like it hot.

Jerry says he's a man, and Osgood replies, "Well, nobody's perfect"

"No contest."

Brody says he used to hate the water, and Hooper says he can't imagine why as they swim to shore

— aaronweeks101

6. Back to the Future

— matthewschonmorgan

7. The Usual Suspects

— brandy_lollis

8. Casablanca

— Maggie Shannon

"I second this! Such an iconic line from such a great movie."

9. Fight Club

— punchandpie

10. Toy Story 3

As Andy drives away to college, Woody says, "So long, partner"

"WHY DID THEY END IT LIKE THAT?!"

— am6261410

11. Avengers: Endgame

Sam asks if Steve wants to tell him about her, and Steve says he doesn't think he will

12. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2

Katniss tells her baby that to get through the trauma, she plays a game in her head where she lists out every good thing she's ever seen someone do, saying it's tedious but there are much worse games to play

— a43920c533

13. Silence of the Lambs

14. shutter island.

Teddy says, "You know, this place makes me wonder...which would be worse — to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?"

16. Stand by Me

Gordie types, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?"

"A great movie that leaves you numb and nostalgic. Sticks with you for a long time."

— mrmclovin36

17. Sky High

"My girlfriend became my archenemy, my archenemy became my best friend, and my best friend became my girlfriend. But hey, that's high school"

"Such an underrated movie. Sure, it's totally cheese-filled, but some days that's just what you need. Turn off the rest of the world and just be silly."

18. Kill Bill Vol. 1

Bill asks Sofie, "One more thing, Sofie: Is she aware her daughter is still alive?"

— trevorjdawson

"I planned on only watching the first Kill Bill that night, but I literally HAD to rent the second film immediately with a fantastic cliffhanger line like that."

— loulabelson

19. The Shawshank Redemption

Red narrates, "I hope to see my friend and shake his hand, I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams, I hope..." and reunites with Andy on the beach

— littleredshoes

20. It: Chapter 2

Ending narration "We're losers and we always will be"

"I cry every time. It’s a horror movie and I’m sitting just sobbing!"

— PennywiseSav

21. Chinatown

22. the lost boys.

Grandpa says, "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach...all the damn vampires"

"Epically hysterical ending line/scene."

— suzannewarden

23. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Dottie: "Don't you want to see the rest of the movie?" Pee Wee: "I don't have to see it, Dottie. I lived it"

24. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Willy: "Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted." Charlie: "What happened?" Willy: "He lived happily ever after"

25. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest

"All the Black Pearl 's crew looks toward the staircase as they hear the thud of heavy boots while the music swells. The mysterious 'captain who knows those waters' comes into view. It's the magnificent Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa. 'So tell me, what's become of my ship?' *Yaaaarrghing and general swashbuckling intensifies🤩🤩*"

— thefirsthovis

26. The Italian Job

As the bus teeters off the edge of a cliff, Croker says, "Hang on a minute, lads, I've got a great idea...uh..."

27. The Crow

Sarah says, "If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them; buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever"

— greyladybast

28. Avengers: Infinity War

"'Oh god.' Steve Rogers in Infinity War. I got chills in theaters the first time I saw the ending. The gravity of what happened seemed to hit Captain America in that moment. It was perfect."

29. The Hunt for Red October

Captain Ramius: "There's a river, not unlike this one, near Vilnius, where my grandfather taught me to fish. 'And the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home.' Christopher Columbus." Jack Ryan: "Welcome to the new world, sir"

"Far too underrated a movie, IMHO."

— scottaaronm

30. Before Sunset

Celine: "Baby, you are gonna miss that plane." Jesse: "I know"

"The two characters spend the whole movie talking about how they can't spend too long hanging out because Jesse has a plane to catch. Then, in the last scene...

"Celine: 'Honey, you are gonna miss that plane.'

"Jesse: 'I know.'"

— emilym4e8497a33

31. Gone With the Wind

"Though Rhett says arguably the most famous line in film history ('Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'), Scarlett gives us one of the finest closers (and mantra to millions for generations)."

— Mr. Spanky

32. The Apartment

Bud tells Fran he adores her and Fran says, "Shut up and deal"

— kirstyr435f741a2

33. Army of Darkness

Ash says in voiceover: "Sure, I could have stayed in the past. I could have even been king. But in my own way, I am king." Then out loud: "Hail to the king, baby"

— Phoenix97

34. Pirates of the Caribbean

35. secret window.

Mort says "I'm sure that in time, every bit of her will be gone, and that her death will be a mystery, even to me" as the camera pans to the cornfield

"I know it's not a super-popular movie, but I love it. The last scene of Secret Window , with Mort ( Johnny Depp ) quoting the line from his original story ... as the camera pans outside to a bunch of cornstalks, then down through the ground, basically confirming that's where the dead bodies were. Such a great movie; definitely worth watching."

— Michael David

As "Sympathy for the Devil" begins playing, Azazel says in a voiceover, "Oh. You forgot something, didn't you? At the beginning I said I was going to tell you about the time I almost died...see you around" as a cat walks by the bodies

"This is kind of controversial because I know not a lot of people like this movie, but I loved it."

37. And Finally, The Prestige

Cutter explains magic tricks and say people look for the secret but don't really want to know because "You want to be fooled" as we see dead Angiers in the theater

"A little longer than a last line, but I LOVE the last portion of The Prestige ."

"Goddammit, I love this movie! The way he says 'fooled' at the very end...amazing."

What closing lines didn't make the list? Let us know in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Share This Article

The 30 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time

Every few years, a blockbuster movie comes along and breaks the box office, joining the list of highest-grossing movies of all time.

Several of the films near the top of this list were released in the past decade, benefitting from today’s higher ticket prices, but every movie here has shown enough staying power at the worldwide box office to smash record after record.

That makes the No. 1 title, “Avatar,” even more impressive, since the underwater epic came out 15 years ago, when ticket prices were lower, yet is still on top of the worldwide list. Its sequel, “The Way of Water,” hovers not far behind at No. 3. The takeaway? Never underestimate James Cameron, since he has three out of the top four entries worldwide.

Note that this list is not adjusted for inflation; determining the top films of all time at the time they were released is an imperfect science. Looking at only domestic (U.S. and Canada) releases, the top films adjusted for inflation are estimated to be “Gone With the Wind,” “Star Wars,” “The Sound of Music,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Titanic.”

(Source: Boxofficemojo.com)

Avatar (2009)

Worldwide gross: $2,923,706,026

Domestic gross: $785,221,649

James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy epic “Avatar” smashed records and remains the reigning box office champion. Sam Worthington stars as paralyzed former Marine Jake Sully, who finds a new life on the planet Pandora when he begins inhabiting an avatar version of its native people.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

AVENGERS: ENDGAME, (aka AVENGERS 4), left: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, 2019. © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $2,799,439,100

Domestic gross: $858,373,000

Marvel fans from around the world waited in anticipation for the MCU’s follow up to “Avengers: Infinity War.” With the fate of the entire universe on the line, heroes from all different realms and planets teamed up to defeat Thanos and bring half the population back to life.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Worldwide gross: $2,320,250,281

Domestic gross: $684,075,767

More than a decade after the unparalleled success of “Avatar,” James Cameron followed up his biggest hit with “The Way of Water,” which jumps several years ahead to show Jake and Netreyi (Zoë Saldaña) raising a family together. When humans return to threaten Pandora, they turn to the planet’s water-dwelling inhabitants in search of safety.

Titanic (1997)

TITANIC, from left: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, 1997. TM & Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $2,264,750,694

Domestic gross: $674,292,608

Kate and Leo — need we use last names? — star as star-crossed lovers in James Cameron’s timeless drama about the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic. With a swoon-worthy love story, an iconic soundtrack showcasing the talents of James Horner and Céline Dion, and the intrigue of a historic tragedy, “Titanic” is a story we’ll “never let go” of.

Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015)

Worldwide gross: $2,071,310,218

Domestic gross: $936,662,225

“Star Wars” fans have always proven to be a dedicated group, and they certainly showed up for “The Force Awakens,” which features beloved franchise icons and newcomers alike. In the seventh installment to the Skywalker Saga, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Hans Solo (Harrison Ford) are looking for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) amid their fight against the Galactic Empire. While Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) leads the dark side, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) helms the Resistance.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Worldwide gross: $2,052,415,039

Domestic gross: $678,815,482

The “Avengers” saga led up to the penultimate chapter “Infinity War,” in which our beloved MCU heroes fight to stop Thanos from retrieving the powerful infinity stones, which he plans to use to wipe out half the population of the universe.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Worldwide gross: $1,921,847,111

Domestic gross: $814,115,070

“No Way Home” stirred tons of chatter long before its December 2021 release date, with fans speculating that its multiverse storyline would bring together Peter Parkers of past and present. While Marvel and cast members remained tight-lipped, audiences were indeed treated to the unprecedented joy of seeing Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland share the screen.

Jurassic World (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1,671,537,444

Domestic gross: $653,406,625

“Jurassic World” revived the beloved franchise that began with Steven Spielberg’s classic 1993 film, “Jurassic Park.” Chris Evans and Bryce Dallas Howard star in the blockbuster reboot, in which dinosaurs run loose at the titular theme park on Isla Nublar.

The Lion King (2019)

Worldwide Gross : $1,663,079,059

Domestic Gross : $543,638,043

“The Lion King” struck a chord with critics and audiences alike as the second live action reimagining of a classic Disney movie after “The Jungle Book” in 2016. The 2019 film tells the same Shakespearian legend as the first, following the young lion Simba on a quest to avenge the life of his father Mufasa and reclaim his place on Pride Rock as king.

The Avengers (2012)

THE AVENGERS, from left: Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, 2012. ©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide Gross: $1,520,538,536

Domestic Gross: $623,357,910

It’s the film that officially cemented the MCU as box office lightning for the next decade. “The Avengers” saw Earth’s mightiest heroes join forces on the big screen for the first time to do battle with the Norse God Loki his army of alien super soldiers.

Furious 7 (2015)

Worldwide Gross: $1,515,342,457

Domestic Gross: $353,007,020

“Fast 7” is the seventh of 10 “Fast and the Furious” films and marks the last performance of series lead Paul Walker before he tragically died in 2013. “Fast 7” sees the gang return to their normal lives after defeating global terrorist Owen Shaw, but they are pulled back into action after being threatened by Owen’s brother, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who is out for revenge.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

TOP GUN: MAVERICK, (aka TOP GUN 2), from left: Miles Teller, Tom Cruise, 2022. ph: Scott Garfield /© Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide Gross: $1,495,696,292

Domestic Gross: $718,732,821

The sequel to the 1986 classic soared high above expectations and gave a much needed post-pandemic jolt to cinemas across the world. “Top Gun: Maverick” saw Pete “Maverick” Mitchell return to the Navy 30 years later to train a fresh batch of pilots for a missions that seems all but impossible.

Frozen II (2019)

BRUNI - Curious and cute, this salamander inhabits the Enchanted Forest. Though shy at first, Bruni can't help but be drawn to Elsa's icy magic and enjoys the cool snowflake treats she creates. From the Academy Award®-winning team—directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, producer Peter Del Vecho and songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez—Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen 2” opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 22, 2019. © 2019 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Worldwide Gross: $1,453,683,476

Domestic Gross: $477,373,578

Following the massive success of “Frozen,” the sequel more than delivered on the same magic and charm that wowed family audiences around the world. “Frozen II” sees Elsa leaving her kingdom of Arendelle and venturing into far off lands on a journey of self discovery.

Barbie (2023)

Worldwide Gross: $1,445,638,421

Domestic Gross: $636,238,421

The pink-plastered blockbuster sensation was an immediate viral hit and the undisputed must see movie of 2023. “Barbie” saw the iconic plastic doll leave her home of Barbie Land for the first time to face the harsh realities waiting in the real world.

Avengers Age of Ultron (2015)

No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage.Mandatory Credit: Photo by Marvel/Walt Disney Pictures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5886283bf)Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-JohnsonAvengers - Age Of Ultron - 2015Director: Joss WhedonMarvel/Walt Disney PicturesUSALobby Card/PosterAction/AdventureAvengers: L'ère d'Ultron

Worldwide Gross: $1,405,018,048

Domestic Gross: $459,005,868

The second film in the “Avengers” series was an explosive follow-up to the original that saw the MCU adapt a darker presentation in its action and themes. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” pinned the Earth’s mightiest heroes against the robot overlord Ultron after Tony Stark’s plans for a team of dispensable robot peacekeepers goes horribly wrong.

Frozen (2013)

FROZEN, Hans (voice: Santino Fontana), Anna (voice: Kristen Bell), 2013. ©Walt Disney Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide Gross: $1,397,045,694

Domestic Gross : $400,953,009

The iconic first film is not only the third-highest grossing Disney musical of all time, but it is most likely number one in the hearts of many across the globe. In “Frozen,” after Queen Elsa uses her ice powers to cast an eternal winter over the kingdom of Arendelle, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man and a whimsical snowman to reverse the curse and save her home.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, from left: Princess Peach (voice: Anya Taylor-Joy), Mario (voice: Chris Pratt), 2023. © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $1.3 billion

Domestic gross: $574 million

This comedy-adventure animated film follows the origin story of the famous plumber brothers Mario and Luigi who become separated when transported to a different dimension. The brothers get caught up in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopas, and try to find their way back to one another.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2, l-r: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, 2011, ph: Jaap Buitendjik/©2011 Warner Bros. Ent. Harry Potter publishing rights ©J.K.R. Harry Potter characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and ©Warner Bros. Ent. All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett Collection

Domestic gross: $381 million

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermoine (Emma Watson) prepare for their final battle against Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the second half of the conclusion to the magical series. They continue to search for the Dark Lord’s final Horcruxes to rid the world of his evil.

Black Panther (2018)

BLACK PANTHER, Chadwick Boseman, 2018. © Marvel / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $1.35 billion

Domestic gross: $700 million

Former prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is crowned king of the country of Wakanda after his father’s passing, but is challenged by Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). T’Challa’s position as king and Black Panther is tested when a conflict he becomes involved in puts Wakanda and the world at risk.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, foreground, from left: director Rian Johnson, Carrie Fisher, on set, 2017. ph: David James/ © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Lucasfilm Ltd. /Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $1.33 billion

Domestic gross: $620 million

The second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” follows Rey (Daisy Ridley) learning the ways of the Force from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and the Resistance’s fight against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

(L to R) Owen (CHRIS PRATT), Franklin (JUSTICE SMITH), Claire (BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD) and Zia (DANIELLA PINEDA) try and save Blue in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Welcome to "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom."

Worldwide gross: $1.31 billion

Domestic gross: $417 million

The sci-fi adventure follow up to “Jurassic World,” “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” sees Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) return to Isla Nublar to save the remaining dinosaurs from a soon-to-erupt volcano. Set three years after the fall of the Jurassic World theme park, the pair discover new breeds of dinosaurs and a plot that threatens the Earth.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Emma Watson stars as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, a live-action adaptation of the studio's animated classic directed by Bill Condon.

Worldwide gross: $1.27 billion

Domestic gross: $504 million

The live-action musical fantasy film follows Belle (Emma Watson) and the Beast (Dan Stevens) in their love story. Adapted from the animated version of the movie, the Beast is a former prince cast under a spell that forces him to live as a beast until he finds true love in Belle, who he keeps prisoner.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

SUPER FAMILY -- In Disney Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” Helen (voice of Holly Hunter) is in the spotlight, while Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home when a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot that only the Incredibles can overcome together. Also featuring the voices of Sarah Vowell as Violet and Huck Milner as Dash, “Incredibles 2” opens in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2018. ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Worldwide gross: $1.24 billion

Domestic gross: $608 million

“Incredibles 2” follows the Incredibles family as they attempt to restore the public’s love for superheroes. Elastigirl continues to fight crime while Mr. Incredible stays home and takes care of Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. As the cybercriminal Screenslaver tries to hypnotize the world through computer screens to turn the public against the heroes, the family teams up to take the criminal down.

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Worldwide gross: $1.23 billion

Domestic gross: $226 million

The eighth movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, “The Fate of the Furious” follows Dom (Vin Diesel) turning against his team under the influence of a woman named Cipher (Charlize Theron). The rest of the racing crew must team up to stop Cipher and reconnect with Dom.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

IRON MAN 3, from left: Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., 2013. ©Walt Disney Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $1.21 billion

Domestic gross: $409 million

“Iron Man 3” is third movie in the Iron Man franchise. Robert Downey Jr. suits up as Tony Stark and faces a malevolent enemy known as the Mandarin.

Minions (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1.16 billion

Domestic gross: $336 million

“Minions,” the prequel to 2010’s “Despicable Me,” follows the Minions’ search for their new evil master after accidentally killing all of their old ones.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Sean Astin, 2003, (c) New Line/courtesy Everett Collection

Domestic gross: $379 million

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is the final battle between good and evil. It stars Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Ian McKellen.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Domestic gross: $408 million

Disagreements separates the Avengers into two factions: one led by Captain America (Chris Evans) and the other by Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). As the debate between the two heroes escalates, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are forced to pick a side.

Aquaman (2018)

Worldwide gross: $1.15 billion

Domestic gross: $335 million

Jason Momoa stars as the film’s namesake in “Aquaman.” The hero must retrieve the Trident of Atlan and embrace his powers to rule the underwater kingdom.

Skyfall (2012)

'Skyfall' highest grossing film In Australia

Worldwide gross: $1.14 billion

Domestic gross: $304 million

“Skyfall” is Daniel Craig’s third appearance as James Bond. 007 tracks down the threat when M16 is under attack.

More From Our Brands

Stephen colbert will bring ‘the late show’ to chicago for democratic national convention, this 1933 hispano-suiza j12 cabriolet could fetch $3.5 million at auction, ncaa council approves looser nil, transfer rules for d-i, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, ahs: delicate exposes a major betrayal ahead of season finale, verify it's you, please log in.

What Cull Obsidian From Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War Looks Like In Real Life

Cull Obsidian is the bruiser of Thanos' (Josh Brolin) Black Order as the larger-than-life villain packs a considerable punch, but the alien-like character is unrecognizable next to Terry Notary, the motion capture actor and stunt-double extraordinaire who plays the part.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Obsidian plays a key role in the villainous cosmic team's invasion of Earth, joining Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) to track down an Infinity Stone the Mad Titan seeks on the planet. After sparring with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), getting his arm decapitated, and being teleported by the Master of Mystic Arts to Antarctica, Obsidian reunites with the Black Order. He's seen next during the Battle of Wakanda, in a juggernaut fight against Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) in Hulkbuster armor. He meets his end despite nearly toppling the hero after a fiery crash into a forcefield.

Cull Obsidian's comic book counterpart shares similar physical attributes as the villain, though he originally went by the name Black Dwarf in his first appearance in "New Avengers" #8 (by Hickman, Mike Deodato, Frank Martin Jr., and Joe Caramagna). In the comics, Black Dwarf is the brother of Corvus Glaive and an enforcer for Thanos' Black Order. Not only is the axe-wielder a dangerous offensive force, but his unbreakable skin makes him capable of withstanding even the deadliest attacks.

We know Terry Notary brings Cull Obsidian to life as the motion capture performer on the big screen, but he's worked extensively within the MCU and has been involved in a variety of other projects as well.

Notary is incredibly experienced in motion capture and stunts

Terry Notary has had a long career in Hollywood, beginning as a stunt performer on films such as "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Planet of the Apes," and "X2." The veteran performer boasts an impressive resume, as he was a movement coach and performed stunts on "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer," "The Incredible Hulk," and "War for the Planet of the Apes." Notary worked on multiple projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, performing motion capture for Groot in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." His most notable non-MCU project is probably "Avatar," where he was the movement coach.

As his motion capture performances as Cull Obsidian and Groot in the same movie show, Notary is an expert performer in the world of MoCap. While he might not be a household name, he plays a significant part in bringing some of the best CG characters to life. Next, Notary will do his thing in Joe and Anthony Russo's upcoming "Electric State." While his role in the movie hasn't been revealed, it's fair to assume he might do MoCap for one of the robot characters from the original Simon Stalenhag story.

Regardless of who he plays, Notary getting some credit in bigger films like the "Avengers" franchise is long-deserved, as he's more than put in enough time behind the scenes to earn his current opportunities.

10 Marvel Characters Who Wore the Infinity Gauntlet (Besides Thanos)

Quite a few of Marvel's heroes and villains have donned the Infinity Gauntlet over the years.

In the Marvel Universe, one of the most powerful items is the Infinity Gauntlet, which can allow the wearer to do nearly anything they can imagine. Typically, it is powered by six Infinity Gems, representing Power, Space, Soul, Reality, Time, and Mind. Many characters are associated with the Infinity Gauntlet, including the supervillain Thanos, who wishes to use the device to erase half of the universe, in what would become one of Marvel's most famous storylines.

However, Thanos isn't the only character to have worn or even used the Infinity Gauntlet. One story even has Santa Claus wearing the device. The list of characters who've donned the Gauntlet includes both of Marvel's heroes and villains.

This sometimes happens in special universes or in non-canon stories. In fact, in a story where a character can rewrite reality, then a character can even go back and prevent themselves from using it in the first place.

10 Iron Man

Tony Stark, Iron Man himself, would become the first human being to wear the Infinity Gauntlet. In Avengers Vol. 4 , Parker Robbins, also known as the Hood, discovered where one of the Infinity Gems was located. It had been in the possession of the Inhumans' Black Bolt, who was deceased. The royal family was unaware of the gem, leaving it unprotected.

Stark Was the First Human to Wear it

During the conflict that ensured, Hood attempted to wish Iron Man out of existence, but the hero reappeared donning the Gauntlet, calling forth the Reality Gem. Stark noted the temptation to use the Gauntlet to improve the world, but decided such a world still wouldn't be the world they lived in. However, Stark would use its power for two things: to send Hood back to jail and to make it look as if the Gauntlet was destroyed. However, in truth, they were secretly given away to the Illuminati to keep them safe.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stark, with the help of Bruce Banner and Rocket Raccoon, designed the "Nano Gauntlet," which could contain the Infinity Stones, much like the Infinity Gauntlet. By Avengers: Endgame , Stark would manage to gain control of the Infinity Stones, using their power to sacrifice himself to stop Thanos.

9 Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock is a being created on Earth to serve as the next evolutionary step for the human race, originally known as "Him." Despite being created to take over the world, Warlock eventually became a superhero, fighting against his evil counterpart, Magus. He often serves as the bearer of the Soul Stone and the leader of the Infinity Watch, as well as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Power of the Soul Gem

In the Infinity Gauntlet series, Warlock battles Nebula for control of the Infinity Gauntlet. In order to prevent Nebula from gaining control over the Gems, Warlock places himself inside the Soul Gem. As a war between cosmic beings erupts, Warlock comes into possession of the Gauntlet, commanding an end to the conflict. Effectively ascending to Godhood, Warlock was later convinced by the Living Tribunal to divide up the gems, retaining the Soul Gem for himself.

8 Spider-Man

The Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet was a lighter take on the Infinity Gauntlet storyline aimed at younger readers. However, one main change made to the story was allowing another famous Marvel superhero to wear the Gauntlet. While Thanos was distracted, Spider-Man was able to obtain the Gauntlet and use its power to undo Thanos' actions, which included eradicating half of the universe.

A Victory Soon Forgotten

Effectively erasing what had happened from time, Spider-Man was seemingly left the only one who still remembered what had happened. While the famous web-slinger mused to himself that being a hero isn't about the glory, the final few scenes implied Thanos may also remember Spider-Man stopping him and is plotting his revenge.

RELATED: 10 Weirdest X-Men You’ll Never See in Live Action

7 Mister Fantastic

Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, the leader of The Fantastic Four, is revealed to have been investigating the Infinity Gems in New Avengers: Illuminati , something he initially kept under wraps. Obtaining and donning the Gauntlet, he uses its power to find the needed Gems. Noting that the Gauntlet was previously used to erase him from existence, he feels it is too much of a risk not allowing such a powerful item to be contained.

Even the Watcher Gets Involved

Initially seeking to destroy the Gauntlet, it soon appeared that Richards was unable to resist the temptation of its power, ignoring protests of taking it off. This even spurred the Watcher to appear. However, Richards decided on an alternative to using it: dividing up the gems once again among other Marvel heroes, effectively forming the Illuminati.

Interestingly, this wouldn't be the only story connecting Richards to the Gauntlet. In another story, Richards' analogues from other universes were revealed to have formed the Council of Reeds. The three founders were noted for possessing the Infinity Gauntlet of their universe.

The Hulk manages to wear the Nano Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame , severely weakening him, but another version of the character managed to use more than one in the comics. In Marvel's Ultimate universe, not only are there eight Infinity Gems instead of six, they are also spread across two Gauntlets, though they are less powerful than the one in the main continuity.

Naturally, one of Marvel's strongest characters would wear them: Bruce Banner, who became the Hulk in this universe through the Super-Solider Serum experiments.

Two Gauntlets for One Hulk

Banner's alter-ego initially works alongside the Ultimates, but gets contained after losing control. A mysterious woman named Kang frees him to form the Dark Ultimates. The released Hulk now contains both of the Gauntlets, though with only six of the eight Infinity Gems needed. The Ultimates went so far as to melt the Hulk to fight back. While the Hulk reformed, he only kept one of the Gauntlets.

5 Doctor Doom

Various stories have seen Doctor Doom obtain a version of the Infinity Gauntlet. One story starts out during a sort of truce with The Fantastic Four. After seemingly dying while protecting the universe from the Celestials, he soon encounters the Council of Reeds.

During this time, Doom manages to get his hands on two Infinity Gauntlets, as well as alternate versions of himself being held as prisoners. This inspires him to make his own villainous council: the Parliament of Doom.

For Doom, for Better or Worse

Another time Doom was able to obtain such power was in the story, " What If... Doctor Doom Kept the Beyonder's Powers? ," also starting off with Doom facing off against the Celestials. In order to prevent any challenges to his new supremacy, Doom even obtains the Infinity Gems. However, it turns out the fight with the Celestials has transformed the Earth into a frozen, barren wasteland. In the end, Doom restores the Earth and relinquishes his power.

Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes, and this is seen with Lockjaw, one of Marvel's most famous animal heroes. He is a giant Inhuman bulldog that has the power to teleport. He protects the Inhuman Royal Family while serving as their escort.

Though Lockjaw Preferred an Infinity Collar

In Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers , the title heroes are on a quest to find the Infinity Stones, with Lockjaw finding the Mind Gem near the Inhumans' home, Attilan. The powerful pooch decides to assemble the Gauntlet, though it ends up becoming a dog collar on him. Thanos underestimates Lockjaw during their inevitable showdown and is ultimately banished to another dimension for all his troubles. By the end, the Pet-Avengers give the Gauntlet to Reed Richards.

RELATED: 10 Great Comic Book Villains the MCU Wasted (And What They Could've Done Better)

3 Captain America

In the New Avengers series, Black Panther once discovers a parallel Earth is heading close to Wakanda and the event could risk destroying both universes. In order to prevent the impending disaster, Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, who serves as a member of the Illuminati, dons the Infinity Gauntlet.

Using it Came at a Price

While it initially seemed to work, using it came at a steep price: the Infinity Gauntlet was destroyed in the process. This leaves the heroes in a terrifying position: they've lost the greatest power that could help when another great threat shows up on the horizon. This meant the only option upon another attack was to destroy the alternate Earth and its inhabitants. Rogers was horrified by the idea, but, being in the minority among the Illuminati to think so, ended up with his memories erased.

2 Black Panther

T'Challa, the Black Panther and the ruler of Wakanda , proved to be a capable user of the Infinity Gauntlet. During the Secret Wars storyline, Doctor Doom managed to steal the powers of the Beyonders, allowing him to create a world called the Battleworld, where he was seen as a god and king. Doctor Strange, however, placed an Infinity Gauntlet somewhere in this world thanks to his suspicions of Doom.

A Gauntlet Worthy of a King

Eventually, surviving members of the Illuminati found their way to Battleworld, with Black Panther and Namor coming across the Gauntlet. Panther was able to wear the device, granting him power to fight off an empowered Doom during their final battle.

Once Doom was ultimately defeated, Blank Panther was able to go back in time to change this reality, preventing incursions that caused the events of the story, preventing deaths and pinpointing the future of Wakanda towards space.

The fourth-wall-breaking Deadpool is one of Marvel's more comedic heroes, so it's only natural him getting his hand into the Infinity Gauntlet would create a larger-than-life, world-breaking story. In the Deadpool story, Deadpool Roasts the Marvel Universe , Thanos has tasked Deadpool with the Infinity Gauntlet, only for the hero to pull a switcheroo and keep the item for himself.

And Everybody's Invited...

Naturally, Deadpool arranges a lavish roast, with multiple Marvel characters in attendance, complete with Howard the Duck serving as the special guest emcee. After a few jokes, Deadpool freezes his world so he can address the reader, noting he doesn't want to break the illusion for the other characters about their world. Deadpool decides to go back to the start, relinquishing the power of the Gauntlet back to Thanos.

Captain America 4 Reveals The Avengers Missed 3 Opportunities To Fix The MCU's Super Soldier Problem

New footage, first-look images, and story details for Captain America: Brave New World were revealed at 2024's CinemaCon.
Captain America: Brave New World will develop the threat posed by super soldiers in the MCU.
The MCU's super soldier threat could have been avoided by the Avengers on many occasions in the MCU's history.

Marvel Studios' super soldier threat is set to continue in Captain America: Brave New World , but these problems could have been avoided on multiple occasions in the history of the MCU . Shortly after the release of Phase 4's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, Marvel Studios confirmed the development of Captain America: Brave New World , which will mark Anthony Mackie's theatrical debut as the MCU's new Captain America. Captain America: Brave New World's cast features the returns of Betty Ross, Samuel Sterns, Thaddeus Ross, and characters from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , Joaquín Torres and Isaiah Bradley.

At 2024's CinemaCon, Marvel Studios revealed new footage, first-look images and story details for Phase 5's upcoming Captain America: Brave New World . As well as providing new looks at Sam Wilson's Captain America and Harrison Ford's President Ross, the new footage from Captain America: Brave New World revealed that the project will continue a story that dates back to the beginning of the MCU . At some point, sleeper super soldiers, including Carl Lumbly's Isaiah Bradley , will be activated with a song, transforming into mindless villains, which has been a popular theme in the MCU's history, but could have been avoided.

New Captain America 4 Plot Reveal Answers 1 Major Thunderbolts Cast Mystery

Captain america 4's super soldier plot was consistently foreshadowed to the avengers.

Super soldier antagonists have been a popular addition to the MCU since Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky was transformed into the Abomination in 2008's The Incredible Hulk . More often than not, super soldier experiments in the MCU are carried out in an effort to replicate Dr. Abraham Erskine's successful experiment on Steve Rogers, who became the super soldier Captain America in the 1940s. This storyline has been integrated into a huge number of MCU projects, with various members of the Avengers having fought super soldiers on many occasions , meaning the opportunity has repeatedly been there for this issue to be eliminated.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes could have seen how big a problem the rise of super soldiers was back in The Incredible Hulk, or in the wake of Captain America: Civil War after Baron Zemo had killed HYDRA's other Winter Soldiers and their creator, Vasily Karpov. This problem also contributed to the Extremis soldiers in Iron Man 3 , the Centipede Project in Agents of SHIELD , and various experiments that created several villains in Marvel Television's Defenders Saga . The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw a refined super soldier serum enhance Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers, but this evolution was still ignored .

Captain America 4 Reveals The Avengers' Biggest Mistake Was Worse Than Infinity War

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuted Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, an African-American soldier who was successfully given a super soldier serum during the Korean War. Fearful of the impact an African-American super soldier could have on the world, the United States government imprisoned Bradley for three decades, during which time he was experimented on, before his death was faked and he was freed in the 1980s . The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Sam Wilson orchestrate an exhibit memorializing Bradley's heroics at the Smithsonian, but Captain America: Brave New World will put a dangerous spin on Bradley's character.

Isaiah Bradley is one of the super soldiers awakened by the mysterious song in Captain America: Brave New World's new footage from CinemaCon. This sequence sees Bradley, as well as others in the room, attack President Ross and fight Captain America, and while this will show off his sheer power more than The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did, this could have been avoided had the Avengers not ignored the world's super soldiers. Sam Wilson discovered Isaiah Bradley was a super soldier in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , but did nothing to assess the threat this could have posed .

The MCU's Super Soldier Origin Story Is Now Even Darker After Marvel's Canon Change

Captain america 4 can finally address just how complicated the mcu super soldier problem is.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly , Anthony Mackie delved deeper into the themes of Captain America: Brave New World . Suggesting that the stories in the Infinity Saga were always "good versus bad," Mackie noted that Brave New World would be taking a different route. "When the bad guys reappear, in what form are they reappearing?," Mackie wonders, implying that Captain America: Brave New World will see friends become new enemies, and perhaps vice versa, suggesting the MCU's long-running super soldier problem may finally be addressed in Sam Wilson's debut feature film as the star-spangled man-with-a-plan in the MCU's Phase 5.

The title implies that there's a new, bigger enemy now; there's a new frontier that we have to conquer. From Captain America: The First Avenger to Endgame , the enemy was always good versus bad. Now that we've conquered that, where do we go from here? When the bad guys reappear, in what form are they reappearing? It is a new storyline with new characters, with new beliefs, and it creates a new idea of this new world that we're going into.

Captain America: Brave New World

Captain America: Brave New World (formerly titled New World Order) marks Sam Wilson's first MCU big-screen appearance as Steve Rogers' successor after receiving the suit and shield in Phase 4's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie returns as the titular Avenger alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk's former ally Samuel Sterns. Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.

Director Julius Onah

Release Date February 14, 2025

Genres Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Key Release Dates

Deadpool & wolverine, thunderbolts (2025), the fantastic four (2025), blade (2025), avengers: the kang dynasty, avengers: secret wars.

Captain America 4 Reveals The Avengers Missed 3 Opportunities To Fix The MCU's Super Soldier Problem

Your browser is not supported for this experience. We recommend using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari.

To the... well..

You tell us.

Join our e-newsletter

Travel Guide

IMAGES

Avengers: Infinity War Picture
Avengers Infinity War 2018 4k Poster, HD Movies, 4k Wallpapers, Images
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War wiki, synopsis, reviews, watch and download
Avengers: Infinity War Review
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR trailer brings everyone together for the first

VIDEO

Marvel Announces Avengers: Infinity War
Everyone's Excited About Avengers: Infinity War!
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Trailer #1 Reaction!
Movie Review
Hidden details you missed in Avengers Infinity War... #marvel #movie #facts #viral #youtubeshorts
5 معلموات لا تعرفها عن فيلم Avengers Infinity War

COMMENTS

Avengers: Infinity War movie review (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War. For a 160-minute epic that unifies a far-flung superhero universe that took a decade to build, packs 76 characters into one story, and has four to six plotlines cooking at any given time, "Avengers: Infinity War" hangs together pretty well. The plot finds the intergalactic bad guy Thanos ( Josh Brolin) and his army of ...
Avengers: Infinity War
Oct 04, 2018. The Marvel Universe unites in Avengers: Infinity War, an epic, action-packed adventure. When the Mad Titan Thanos comes to Earth to collect the last Infinity Stone the Avengers ...
'Avengers: Infinity War': It's Marvel's Universe. We Just Live in It
Avengers: Infinity War. Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi. PG-13. 2h 29m. By A.O. Scott. April 24, 2018. Considered on its own, as a single, nearly 2-hour-40 ...
Avengers: Infinity War Review
As promised, Avengers: Infinity War is very much a Thanos movie. The big purple CGI villain (played by Josh Brolin in a mo-cap performance) commands perhaps the strongest arc of the film. If we ...
Avengers: Infinity War Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 175 ): Kids say ( 415 ): This is the most intense, complex, and stirring Marvel Cinematic Universe film yet -- though the sheer number of characters and storylines make it a bit confusing for anyone who's not a hard-core fan. Avengers: Infinity War is also the grimmest MCU movie so far, with consequences unlike any ...
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is the apex of franchise movie-making, bringing together a plethora of heroes from a number of different franchises to form the blockbuster of blockbusters. Full Review ...
Avengers: Infinity War review
This is a comic book universe, after all, and the fact that Infinity War is able to embrace this darkness in the first place is a wonder. The only real crime is that audiences will have to wait ...
Avengers: Infinity War review
Avengers: Infinity War is a giant battle for which directors Anthony and Joe Russo have given us touches of JRR Tolkien's Return of the King and JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly ...
Avengers: Infinity War review: EW grades the latest Marvel movie
Infinity War kicks off with the evil Thanos (a CG Josh Brolin, kind of recognizable behind an oversized granite chin, Hulkian muscles, and Booberry-hued skin) terrorizing Asgardians Loki, Heimdall ...
'Avengers: Infinity War' Review
'Avengers: Infinity War,' Marvel's biggest, most star-studded film yet, brings together characters from all of its franchises, including 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Black Panther.'
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers infinity war is an emotional roller coaster. Using the strength of its powerful and interesting villain, the movie successfully brings together the past 10 years of Marvel movies into a largely effective cocktail of super-heroic dramatics. Joe and Anthony Russo create a superhero movie that it's every bit the epic that it needs to be.
Avengers: Infinity War review: Marvel's biggest, most bizarre movie
Prior to that, he worked at the Atlantic. Avengers: Infinity War feels like a Marvel movie on bath salts. Trying to describe any part of it alone will make you sound like you've lost your mind ...
Avengers: Infinity War review: A wild ride that leaves you hanging
Avengers: Infinity War is wildly fun until it leaves you hanging. Spoiler-free review: Marvel's latest team-up, the best Avengers movie yet, melds hilarious and tragic moments into a streamlined ...
Avengers: Infinity War Review
Avengers: Infinity War Review. Thanos (Josh Brolin), a giant purple galactic warlord, aims to unite six Infinity Stones in his Infinity Gauntlet and gain power over half the universe. The Avengers ...
Avengers: Infinity War
2018. PG-13. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2 h 29 m. Summary As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of ...
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War: Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans. 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.
Movie Review: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
It is a film that raises intriguing questions, and while future installments in the MCU may provide answers, Avengers: Infinity War will likely remain a compelling adventure as well as a remarkable thought experiment. Critical Movie Critic Rating: 5. Movie Review: Ghost House (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War movie review: it's all been leading to this
Ten years and 18 Marvel movies; 19 now, with the arrival of Avengers: Infinity War. This must surely be the most remarkable movie series in history, at least since the time when film was the TV of its day and moviegoers got endless installments of Sherlock Holmes fighting Nazis and Charlie Chan solving mysteries.
Avengers: Infinity War
Movie Review. For years, Thanos has watched. When the Avengers beat back an alien invasion, he watched. When the Guardians of the Galaxy saved a faraway planet from annihilation, he watched. For nearly the whole of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, as our superheroes did their hero things, Thanos has lurked in the story's borders, watching, waiting, biding his time.
'Avengers: Infinity War' Review
Infinity War is much more than the sum of its crossover parts. Avengers: Infinity War has sounded like a movie with a lot of the same potential pitfalls Civil War once faced. It's the ...
Avengers: Infinity War Review: What Thanos Wants, Thanos Gets
Runtime: 149 min. Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi. Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Review Score: 9. After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel ...
Avengers: Infinity War Movie Review
Avengers: Infinity War delivers an exciting culmination of the MCU, though it's overstuffed and suffers from certain typical Marvel movie problems. In Avengers: Infinity War, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely set about the difficult task of including all the major superheroes of the franchise by splitting them into teams.
Avengers: Infinity War
The third Avengers movie is the 19th entry into the ongoing series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and it shows that the long game is approaching its end. Avengers: Infinity War delivers a fan's wet dream. It's overstuffed with familiar characters; moves with breakneck speed on a obstacle-filled track that careens between New ...
37 Best Final Movie Lines
37 Final Movie Lines So Good, They Have Gone Down In History As The Best Ever ... Avengers: Infinity War. Tap to play GIF Marvel "'Oh god.' Steve Rogers in Infinity War. I got chills in theaters ...
The 30 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time
The "Avengers" saga led up to the penultimate chapter "Infinity War," in which our beloved MCU heroes fight to stop Thanos from retrieving the powerful infinity stones, which he plans to ...
What Cull Obsidian From Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War Looks ...
The alien-like Cull Obsidian from "Avengers: Infinity Wars" is unrecognizable next to Terry Notary, the motion capture actor who plays the part.
10 Marvel Characters Who Wore the Infinity Gauntlet (Besides ...
Tony Stark, Iron Man himself, would become the first human being to wear the Infinity Gauntlet. In Avengers Vol. 4, Parker Robbins, also known as the Hood, discovered where one of the Infinity ...
WrestleMania 40 Was Basically the WWE's Avengers: Endgame
Rhodes' rematch at Night Two of WrestleMania 40 was made all the more harrowing following The Rock and Reigns' Avengers: Infinity War-esque cliffhanger victory over Rhodes and Seth Rollins the ...
Captain America 4 Reveals The Avengers Missed 3 Opportunities To ...
At 2024's CinemaCon, Marvel Studios revealed new footage, first-look images and story details for Phase 5's upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.As well as providing new looks at Sam Wilson's ...
Dinner & Movie Night: Avengers Infinity War
Avengers, assemble! Join us in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a special showing of Avengers: Infinity War. Watch a free showing of the film, while enjoying an appetizer platter. Our full Tasting Room beverage menu will be available throughout the night, but as a bonus, ticket holders will have access to a specialty cocktail menu. Tickets are pre-purchase only, and seating will be limited ...

Movie Reviews

Matt Zoller Seitz

Now playing

Arthur the King

Monica Castillo

Clint Worthington

Christy Lemire

Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

Space: The Longest Goodbye

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Writer (comic book story)

Cinematographer

Latest blog posts

The Overlook Film Festival Highlights, Part 2: The Hands of Orlac, Kill Your Lover, Dead Mail, Red Rooms

Why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Remains Unforgettable

A New Skin: Losing Control of Your Body in the 2020s

Ebertfest 2024 Announces Full Lineup, With Guests Including Eric Roberts, Mariel Hemingway, Larry Karaszewski, and More

‘Avengers: Infinity War’: It’s Marvel’s Universe. We Just Live in It.

Anatomy of a Scene | ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Or browse by category:

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Common Sense Selections for Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

A Lot or a Little?

Positive Messages

Positive Role Models

Violence & Scariness

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Products & Purchases

Parents Need to Know

Where to Watch

Community Reviews

A historic piece of film history

Is It Any Good?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Suggest an Update

The Avengers

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Black Panther

Captain America: Civil War

Guardians of the Galaxy

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Thor: Ragnarok

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Email not verified

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Movies / TV

Avengers: Infinity War Reviews

Avengers: Infinity War is stunning, hilarious, and heartbreaking

Share this story

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

More from this stream Avengers: Infinity War: all the trailers, updates, and commentary for Marvel’s biggest film

Avengers: Infinity War review – colossal Marvel showdown revels in apocalyptic mayhem

Comments (…)

Avengers: Infinity War gives the fans what they want … and a few things they might not: EW review

Related Articles

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

site categories

Todd McCarthy

Related Stories