Every Marvel movie had been leading up to this. This is the movie that Marvel fans have been waiting years for. So, is this the movie worth the wait? Absolutely. I went into this movie bracing myself for the loss of some of my favorite heroes that I grew up watching. However, I still ended up in tears by the end of this movie. Avengers: Infinity War is the darkest and grittiest Marvel movie yet and if you have not seen this film yet, I highly recommend you see it ASAP. I do recommend that you refresh yourself on your Marvel movies beforehand though to understand every reference made in this film. While I usually try to give a rundown of the film before jumping into the spoilers section, this is one film that I can’t really do that with. So with that SPOILERS ahead!

Facing Thanos; The Guardians + Peter and Tony prepare for the fight of their life. Photo by Marvel.

Right of the bat, Infinity War showed what kind of film it was going to be by starting off with Loki’s death. Right away, the fans knew that Thanos wasn’t going to be like all the other villains they’ve faced. After seeing Loki’s lifeless corpse on the floor and the blood spilling out of his mouth, I actually found it a bit hard to laugh at all the quick whips and Marvel humor that followed afterwards. Later into the movie, with the Guardians and Thor, I was able to laugh again though and put Loki to the back of my mind. I will say that I was quite happy with how the characters all played off each other. From Thor and Peter Quill to Peter Parker and Doctor Strange, these characters immediately had great chemistry and comedic timing. I was worried about how this movie would handle having so many characters, but their relationships ended up being one of the best things to come out of the movie. Obviously, not every hero got equal screen time, like Captain America his team didn’t have too big a role, but with a 2 hours and 40 minutes running time, I’m not surprised.

When Egos Collide; Tony and Peter Quill discuss a plan for taking down Thanos. Photo by Marvel.

I have to say that Marvel knows their audience well and knows just how to tease us. Like after Wanda and Vision were looking pretty beat up and a shadowy figure showed up across the train, and Captain America was revealed, my friends and I flipped out. Each hero had a pretty epic introduction true to their character. I loved that Ned did not hesitate to scream “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” to help Peter sneak out, the Guardians were singing along to 80s music, and as soon as the beat of the drums hit, the whole theater knew Black Panther was going to show up next. I will say that this was one of the best theater experiences I’ve had. We all laughed at the same time, gasped at the same time, cried at the same time, and got outraged at the same time.

Wakanda Forever; T’Challa offers his help to take down Thanos. Photo by Marvel.

I love that this is a superhero that had actual stakes. Each time Thanos got another Infinity Stone, we all felt our hearts drop. A common criticism of superhero movies these days is that they’re all the same. The good guy wins, the bad guy loses. This time, I had no doubt that Thanos was going to win, at least for now. Every time Thanos “died” like with Gamora stabbing him or Thor hitting him in the chest with his axe, I knew it wasn’t the end. I will say that I found the CGI on Thanos a bit comical at first, kind of like a purple Shrek, but as he continued his conquest and torture, I got used to it.

You Will Never Be a God; Thanos faces puny superheroes on his conquest. Photo by Marvel.

Another aspect that I loved about this movie was of course the action. All of the fight scenes were intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. Despite being over 2 hours long, I never felt bored during this movie or found myself wondering when it would be over. Some of my favorite fight scenes include Bucky picking up Rocket and spinning around like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, Wanda throwing Proxima into one of the wheels and her blood splattering on Black Widow, Black Widow pointing out that Wanda isn’t alone and her and Okoye helping out Wanda, Thor’s amazing entrance on Wakanda with his axe killing off hundreds of creatures before he even steps out, and Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians’ attack on Thanos on Titan before Quill ruined things. I obviously can’t blame the guy since he just lost the love of his life, but damn was that frustrating to see just how close they were to getting the Gauntlet off.

The A-Team; The Avengers + friends face Thanos on Wakanda. Photo by Marvel.

I have to say that out of all the deaths in Infinity War, Peter Parker’s hit me the hardest. Gamora’s death wrecked me, especially with the beautiful cinematography and the music that drowned out her screams, and seeing Wanda have to kill her love was also pretty hard to watch, but Peter’s death actually brought me to tears. Everyone else who turned to ash went so quickly that I was more overcome with shock than sadness, but Peter had time to clutch at Tony and fearfully sob that he didn’t want to die. I think it has to do with the fact that Spider-Man is my favorite hero and he’s also just a kid. In the MCU, Peter is only 15/16. He brought childlike wonder and charm to the MCU. The other main heroes like Thor and Captain America have all seen their comrades die before them. This is Peter’s first run in with his own mortality. We always think that our favorite heroes are immortal, but I saw Spider-Man die in this film. I applaud Tom Holland’s performance for portraying Peter Parker in his final moments for what he is without the mask; a scared kid.

I’m Spider-Man Then; Peter’s ecstatic to be fighting alongside Tony Stark again. Photo by Marvel.

Poor Tony. Tony Stark’s worst fear since the first Avengers movie was seeing all of his friends die before his very eyes. I remember when the trailer first dropped and everyone was theorizing why Tony’s hand was bleeding. Now that I’ve seen the film, I realize that Tony’s hand wasn’t bleeding at all, he was cradling Peter Parker’s ashes. That has to be one of the darkest sentences I’ve written about a Marvel movie in one of my reviews.

Til the End of the Line; Captain America gives it his all in the fight against Thanos. Photo by Marvel.

Now, as hard as the deaths of some of my favorite heroes hit me, I still held onto the fact that this is a superhero movie. I couldn’t fully suspend my belief because I know that these heroes have to come back. I have the outside knowledge that there’s a Spider-Man 2 in production and there’s no way Marvel is going to kill off Black Panther after his solo film became one of the highest grossing Marvel films of all time. I predict that the Time Stone will have a heavy influence in the next movie. Thanos will probably try to bring Gamora back out of guilt, also resurrecting all of the heroes who died after Gamora. That means that Loki and Heimdall are dead for good, though. Another issue with the movie was that I wish the Infinity Stones were better explained and what powers each of them came with. I hate the fact that I know that the heroes will all come back, and I don’t think there was really anyway to avoid this, but I still couldn’t fully grieve the characters. As morbid as it sounds, I hope that the characters who die in part two will stay dead.

Starstruck; Peter’s glad he saved the wizard. Photo by Marvel.

Overall, this movie was action packed, had great chemistry between all the characters, had a few laughs when needed, and left me in a state of shock. I give this movie 9/10 stars. It definitely left me anticipating the next part and ripped my heart out at parts. What did you guys think of Infinity War? Which death hit you the hardest? Let me know in the comments down below!