Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Anthony & Joe Russo, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, M 149 Minutes
This latest Avengers saga from the Russo brothers is the 19th in the Marvel series following their direction of ‘Captain America-Civil War’ only this time the Avengers have assembled allies to quash the genocidal goals of Thanos (Josh Brolin –‘Sicario’).
They include Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Ironman (Robert Downey Jnr), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Spiderman (Tom Holland), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Vision (Paul Bettany).
In what must be the Avengers’ greatest challenge they must stop Thanos the villainous tyrant of Titan with his rock-like chin from halving the populations of all the worlds in the universe once he has acquired six infinity stones.
The first of these is the Space Stone snatched from Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after sacrificing his life for Thor on the Asgardian spaceship enabling Thanos to head to Earth with his army to try to gather the remaining stones.
Arriving on Earth Thanos is confronted by Dr Strange, Hulk, Ironman and Wong just as Thor joins up with the Guardians-Star lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gomora (Zoe Saldana), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper).
At this point Gamora’s long-term relationship with Thanos is revealed – that she is his stepdaughter – but this does not dissuade him from continuing with his goal of getting the rest of the god-like stones and proceeding with his planned genocide.
By eliminating some of the Avengers and their allies, Thanos is left to confront Black Panther’s forces which ultimately leads to a final battle scene involving the remaining members of the Avengers and the Guardians.
The Russo brothers’ rendition of ‘Avengers-Infinity War’ is an entertaining action-packed, fantasy adventure provided one can keep pace with the switching of scenes to accommodate all of the Avengers and Guardians in this one epic movie.
Apart from being too long it is debatable whether it was necessary to include all the Avengers and Guardian characters in order to combat one giant villain who is returning in a sequel sometime in 2019.
Besides the eye-catching special effects, most of the superheroes’ performances were enjoyable especially from Cumberbatch, Hemsworth and Saldana with the standout being Brolin’s motion-captured portrayal of Thanos.
It’s a pity that fans and patrons alike will need to wait till next year to find out the final fate that awaits their favourite characters, not to mention that of Thanos.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
