Avengers: Infinity War

As we sit down waiting for the press screening of Avengers: Infinity War to begin, a message is projected across the screen appealing to the auditorium of critics to “maintain a level of secrecy” as to the details contained within this hotly anticipated blockbuster, complete with a menacing image of the purple titan Thanos – this instalment's big bad, played by Josh Brolin – looming over the audience.

It’s a level of secrecy that we have come to expect from titles of this magnitude. The problem isn’t new, however. It was the same back in 1960 when Hitchcock appealed to audiences on the release of Psycho to keep mum about mother. This level of control comes with good intent: no one wants to make a Homer Simpson-like blunder revealing the parentage of Luke Skywalker, and rest assured we won't be revealing any spoilers herein.

Keeping the film's surprises under wraps isn't the only challenge faced by Infinity War's directors, the Russo Brothers, who've helmed the last two Captain America movies. They've been tasked with stitching together ten years’ worth of films and characters into a comic book showdown that will both satisfy audience expectations and keep them wanting more.

Unlike Joss Whedon, who made the two previous Avengers films, Avengers Assemble and Age of Ultron, the Russos have opted for a foreboding tone, with moments of light relief sprinkled sparingly throughout. Meanwhile, Alan Silvestri is on score duty with compositions that are appropriately muscular and stirring. In other words: stakes have been raised. How else to keep us caring after 18 films in this Marvel Cinematic Universe?

The Russos also have the unenviable task of balancing the variety of tones that each of these MCU instalments have encompassed, ranging from the grand theatricality of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor to the candy-coloured comedy of Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok. These styles are meshed and enhanced like the latest iteration of Iron Man’s armour, and, for the most part, seamlessly patched together to form a frenzied, relentless, slick thrillride where god-like heroes are made to feel a little more mortal. This team is battled hardened, but cracks are showing in the armour, and you begin to wonder who will survive the final showdown.

Almost every character that we have met in the MCU to date gets screentime to greater or lesser effect, ranging from relatively new additions like Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, to old-timers such as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). It’s a tricky balance which the Russo Brothers manage well, giving each character their space while hurtling along at breakneck speed in a rollicking showdown of titanic proportions.

Then there's the villain. Marvel films have had their highs (Tom Hiddleston’s Loki) and lows (Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull) when it comes to antagonists. Brolin’s Thanos, a giant homicidal brute on a mission to collect the six infinity stones (shiny MacGuffins that will give him infinite power), shows some evolution towards a more compelling nemesis. His drive is a warped pragmatism, believing that in a universe of limited resources, the only answer is to cull half of existence. Despite his murderous tendencies, Thanos isn’t without heart, shown through a somewhat heavy-handed backstory concerning his surrogate daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana); even a giant purple orc can feel, it seems.

An adrenaline rush of a film, Infinity War is laced with bombastic action, thrilling setpieces and a level of satisfaction that is the cumulation of a decade-long journey. It’s in the final act that the real orchestrator of the MCU plays his best hand, showing that however chaotic things get on screen, there is always the guiding presence of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige overseeing all. Fans – and many of the actors – may not have a clue what awaits the Avengers, but Feige clearly knows where he’s taking audiences next.

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Released by Disney