‘Avengers: Infinity War’ worth the 10-year wait

“Avengers: Infinity War” was not what I was expecting. It didn’t go where I thought it would go. I should’ve seen it coming. For weeks, now, TV ads for this movie have been asking me, “Where will you be when it all ends?” Maybe I should’ve had a more accurate premonition about how this movie would end.

But regardless of the particulars, the folks at Marvel Studios have given us one heck of an ending! After a decade of setting up characters and story points like dominoes, producer and mastermind Kevin Feige, with the help of directors Anthony and Joe Russo, knock everything down, leaving us with an event film that’s thrilling, brutal and even a little shocking.

Here’s the story: Interstellar bad guy Thanos (voiced by Josh Brolin) is collecting Infinity Stones and assembling a weapon with which he intends to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Standing in his way are the Avengers, led by Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) — or rather, what’s left of them, since they went their separate ways after “Civil War.”

The plot is broken into several different quests pursued by several different teams of characters. It’s a bit like the last two “Lord of the Rings” films in that we’ll spend time with one group and then jump to another story strand featuring different characters. We get to see characters like Stark and Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) butt heads, and that gives us some laughs.

“Infinity War” needs the lighter moments because this is easily the heaviest and darkest Marvel film to date. And a lot of that has to do with Thanos. This dude is seriously bad news: more powerful than Avengers can deal with and possessed with an iron-clad conviction that his success is the best thing for the universe.

This guy is 100 percent pure unstoppable engine of destruction, but he’s also a well-realized, rounded character with a real arc. His mission takes a real toll on him. Brolin and the animators do a brilliant job bringing Thanos to life, giving us the best Marvel villain since Loki.

Some other real acting highlights include Downey, who gets to play more than arrogant and wise-cracking here. I want to avoid spoilers, so let’s just say he goes through a full range of emotions. Tom Holland is great as Spider-Man, a kid desperate to help but in so far over his head, it’s not funny.

Zoe Saldana‘s Gamora has some good emotional scenes, and Dave Bautista’s Drax is a highlight. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany have some tender scenes together as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Vision that bring the feels. And Chadwick Boseman is once again regal and cooler than the other side of the pillow as T’Challa/Black Panther. I could keep going, but there are so many character and actors I could shout out and I still have a lot to talk about.

The biggest selling point of “Infinity War” the action scenes, and they do not disappoint. My favorite action moments involved Thor, Bruce Banner in Hulkbuster armor and the fight where Captain America first enters the movie. The action scenes feel epic, and special are as good as they get in big blockbuster movie, and the fights against Thanos himself are full of tension and drama.

The Russo Brothers bring “Infinity War” together in best way possible. They make sure each character has a moment to shine, and they know how to shoot good-looking, exciting action. Still, the movie has some issues. Because the story jumps from one strand to another the way it does, characters get lost for long stretches of time. This leads the story to feel jagged and unfinished.

Another issue is the humor. Although most of it works, there are jokes here and there that go on a bit too long or that deflate the tension or mood in scenes. This is most true of some scenes featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Still, if you’re looking for epic superhero action, “Avengers: Infinity War” has everything you’re looking for and then some. It’s funny, gripping and breathtaking in a way few blockbuster movies are these days. It’s a movie that will likely lose something in the translation from cinemas to home video and streaming, so see it on a big screen. ASAP.

4 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13