★★★★½

It's been 10 years since the MCU had its quaint and humble beginnings with Jon Favreau's Iron Man, the critical and commercial success that started it all. Of course, at that time the Avengers were just a fever dream foreshadowed in a post-credits scene. Who would've thought that an entire cinematic universe with characters from each film tied together with interwoven plots was an idea that would come to full fruition? Fast forward 10 years later, and that's where we're at - a big, loud, glorious spectacle where the strongest defenders in the universe ban together to save a fictional version of our world from complete and utter destruction. And if Infinity War teaches us anything, it's how deeply we've come to care for these characters 19 films later.

After their previous efforts with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, the Russo brothers have returned to direct the third Avengers film. Thanos is back as our villain and he's on a mission to get all six Infinity Stones, which will give him the power to, in essence, commit mass genocide. Of course, it is up to the strongest heroes on Earth and in space to stop this from happening. It honestly sounds like the premise of any average MCU film. But what makes this one stand out is that, for once, our heroes do not seem impenetrable and are not by default set up for success - for once, the odds are not in their favour.

Everybody's saying it, but it's true - Thanos makes for a really great villain. For once, I was not falling asleep during all of the villain's plot-developing scenes! This is a spoiler-free review, so I won't give anything away, but I will say that what makes Thanos so appealing as a villain in my eyes is that it's quite hard for me to believe he's pure evil. This can easily be contested, of course, not to mention his horrible moral compass, but there is a reason behind his madness and he shows moments of pure vulnerability that are quite difficult to ignore.

One of the great joys of this kind of movie is simply just the interactions that these characters have with each other. This movie is riddled with first-time interactions, and it is stuffed with pleasurable banter and witty humour. Half the reason this universe is so enjoyable is because we get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy confusedly encounter the guardians of NYC (Stark, Parker, and Strange, of course) and Bruce Banner embarrassing himself in front of T'Challa. The other half is that this franchise thrives in the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Was there a whole lot to take in often times with the skew of multiple narratives that the audience bounces between? Sure, but I feel like anyone going into this movie already knows that, and I think it's unfair to criticize this fact when in truth, this overload of action culminated quite well. And the ending is one that will likely shock most - it strays far from the generally expected conclusion to an MCU movie. It will upset and sadden many (myself included), but it's something that will likely find resolution in the next Avengers film coming out next year. And if not... well, then we're all screwed.