The film does present a conundrum when it comes to writing a review though as talking too much about the storyline makes it all too easy to divulge key elements that would ruin the experience for some if not all fans.

Suffice to say that the canvas this time out is huge and it taps into almost every Marvel film with the exception of two and it’s not too difficult to guess which two. The action is dizzying in it intensity and it’s not giving away too much is saying these battles take place on more than one front.

The film is very successful in presenting all your favourite characters in an ensemble piece and not watering down the traits that made them so memorable in the first place. Few films need to be seen with as much urgency as Avengers: Infinity Wars as a lot of the fun is the large number of surprises in store. Waiting runs the risk of diffusing those highs and lows through the disclosure of information.

Rob Hudson
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Chadwick Boseman (Get On Top and 42) puts in a stellar performance with a regal delivery and stately manner befitting of the role’s royal origins. He gets strong support from Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years The Slave and Star Wars) as his love interest who is also committed to social justice and Danai Gurira (The Visit and All Eyes On Me) who is riveting as a real badass who puts her country above all.

All the main characters have values systems that are very strong and their struggles are noble ones, even the big baddie, Michael B. Jordan (Creed and Fruitvale Station) turns out to have a solid value system for a bad guy. Success at delivering a superhero film devoid of one dimensional characters gives hope to many other members of the MU..

Its wonderful to get lost in the dark with characters this admirable and somewhat unusual for the universe from which they have sprung. Some of the special effect visuals are less sharp in focus and a little difficult to discern but in difference to the genre, it’s the interpersonal relationships that provide the film’s real firepower.
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The film is filled with new characters to the big screen like Black Panther (Chadwick Bosema) as well as drawing in players from other films new to the MU like Ant-Man. Paul Rudd’s diminutive character is a great addition and provides some much needed humor to what is one of the more serious Marvel outings. Marvel’s acquiring of Spiderman from his Sony overlords is also a worthy and comic addition.

The plot has more than a few strangely placed potholes. These could have been easily filled with some small degree of exposition but going down the road of having the Avengers pay some degree of penance for past caviler endeavours is a clever plot device even if handled rather clunky at times.

The film’s long running time (147 minutes) races by and the fight scenes while overabundant are very well staged. Pitting Chris Evans’ Captain America against Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man in a war of wills provides the majority of the human interaction but there are a number of smaller subplots that also provide interest. It’s great getting all the gang back together again and in a vehicle that is more strongly written and played out than last time. Just a small critique though, let’s please have the crazy credits at the very end provide us new information (like in the past) other than just being an ad for future films.

Rob Hudson
www.marvel.com/captainamerica