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“Infinity War” proves worthy despite audience sequel fatigue

“Avengers: Infinity War” marks the kick-off of a two-part culmination of the saga Marvel launched with 2008’s “Iron Man.” What follows has been one of the most successful movie franchises in cinematic history, introducing more than two-dozen characters from the pages of Marvel Comics via two Avengers and 16 stand-alone films films. While each stand-alone depicts adventures of their titular characters, Marvel and team have been spreading a trail of breadcrumbs teasing toward a finale in which all the heroes and villains collide. The time for this culmination has come with the release of “Infinity War.”

The movie dives right into the re-introduction of Thanos—the oversized villain lurking in the celestial fringes for the past 18 films—and his merry band of henchmen who are hellbent on finding the Infinity Stones. There’s also an extended discussion between Dr. Strange and Tony Stark in which they explain the stones themselves (hint, hint: once they’re combined Thanos wants to use them for cosmic annihilation by way of achieving a somewhat supreme balance in destroying half the universe). The first third of the film is so crammed with action and exposition it feels like it could be its very own Marvel movie. But once out of the way the film kicks into overdrive and, save for a few moments, never really relents.

All our heroes splinter off into different adventures and alliances, some willing, some reluctant; some Earth-bound, others flung far across the galaxy—all in pursuit of preventing Thanos from acquiring the Infinity Stones and gaining ultimate power. There are characters sacrified, there’s the destruction of worlds, and ultimately there’s failure, leaving the fate of the Marvel Universe hanging in the balance. The film ends on a cliffhanger; this is, after all, part one of a two-part saga that scatters the heroes we’ve come to love across the universe and leaves them reeling from their battle with Thanos with no clear indicator of where the second part will take them.

With “Infinity War” there’s something for every fan of the previous films. There are some breathtaking showstoppers and a few truly surprising moments—yet one of the high points of the film is its sense of humor. Some of the most humorous and memorable interactions are between Star-Lord, The Guardians, and the God of Thunder, and while the stakes are high, this creates good balance for all the mayhem and destruction.

While “Avengers: Infinity War” certainly pays off on the build-up of the previous films, one has to wonder if perhaps the Avengers saga could’ve been tied up much sooner and with far fewer sequels. Because while the work is highly entertaining and rewarding for fans of the MCU and comics alike, there’s a sense that we’ve reached peak-Marvel and, like Tony Stark, we’re all feeling a bit fatigued and battered, wary of staying in the fight.