Avengers: Infinity war | a *spoiler-free* review by a casual fan

I’m going to try to keep this movie review as spoiler-free as possible, and I also want to point out that I’m not a huge Marvel buff, unlike my husband. So if you’re like me and maybe haven’t seen all 19 of the MCU movies, don’t worry, I’ll start with a quick catch up of what you need to know.

The Infinity Stones

Six stones were created during the Big Bang. Each has its own power: Space, Power, Mind, Time, Soul and Reality. They are scattered across the universe, and we’ve already seen a few in course of the previous movies. Thanos, the Big Bad Guy, wants to collect all six to become all powerful.

Where did we leave everyone?

The Avengers have gone their separate ways after the events of Civil War. The Guardians of the Galaxy are on the lookout for another adventure after Volume 2. Thor, along with Loki and Hulk, are aboard a refugee ship which holds the survivors of Asgard at the end of Ragnarok and lastly, Bucky Barnes is in Wakanda with the Black Panther.

So… Is it any good?

The quick and easy answer to that is YES! I loved it, and so did my husband and son. It’s the culmination of ten years and 19 movies worth of build up and backstory. Combining the worlds of the Avengers with that of the Guardians of the Galaxy was ambitious, but it worked without feeling overly crowded.

Each of the major characters has their own part to play. Even for a casual fan, like me, I felt I could enjoy it without having to extensively research what’s been going on. I’m still yet to see Black Panther, but I did finally watch Spiderman Homecoming on the night before going to see Infinity War.

Moments of inevitable action interspersed with the quippy one-liners and comedic moments we’ve come to associate with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even moments of shock and despair. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least.

One thing I loved was Thanos. As a villain in a comic book/superhero movie, it would have been very easy to make him two-dimensional and generic (I’m looking at you, DCEU), but Thanos has a motivation, he justifies his actions. To himself, he’s not evil, just making the tough decisions. Without giving anything away, there is a moment where you can clearly see how pained he is by this. Josh Brolin did an amazing job of bringing him to life.

I think it says a lot about a movie such as this one when, as the end credits begin to roll, there’s an audible “whaaaat?!” from the audience. I, for one, can’t wait to see where to story goes in the next as-yet-untitled Avengers movie, which is set to hit cinemas next spring.