MOVIE REPORT CARD: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Date: 4/26/17
Title: Avengers: Infinity War
Directors: Anthony & Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch

GRADES

ACTING: 90
DIRECTING: 85
SCREENPLAY: 75
EDITING: 85
CINEMATOGRAPHY: 85
SOUNDTRACK: 95

FINAL: 86/B+

COMMENTS

For most of its hefty running time, Avengers: Infinity War feels like Marvel is playing catch-up with its own universe. It's kind of a miracle that this film works at all. There's so much happening in this movie, yet so little. There is very little story to go around here, and most of the film just skips along to the next beat the screenplay has to hit. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the film feel more bloated and than it actually is. That being said, enter the characters. The reason this film works, is the ingrained attachment we all have for these characters. The 10 years we've spent with these characters and actors, in this universe. When the film isn't trying so hard to be epic, it's the small character moments that work the best. Brolin, is fine as Thanos. While the effects on the character work, they don't work all the time (including his cronies). It feels like they were perfecting it as they went along. Which means by the end, when it matters most, they got it right. Brolin's performance is able to shine through some of the more "Uncanny Valley" moments of the character. When it's over, how you feel is going to depend on how invested you are with these characters. I want to see where this goes, even if I'm not jumping out of my seat. Avengers: Infinity War is an entertaining, often times muddled, hefty mess, but entertaining nonetheless.