Ever since the release of Iron Man in 2008, fans of this new Marvel extension to cinema have known that something big was coming, especially from the end-credits scene where an “Avengers Initiative” was mentioned. The lineup ahead didn’t help either; with films on the horizon like Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, anybody familiar enough with the Pepsi to the Justice League’s Coke was well aware that for the first time, a string of films about superheroes was building up to a movie where all of them came together to fight a greater evil than before. Of course, this was proven true in 2012 when Avengers finally hit theaters far and wide. Audience’s reactions? Astounding. Obviously, the prospect of a sequel was within reason not only due to how exceptionally the movie performed, but with the wealth of material from the comics that can be utilized. The first movie followed Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye as they fought back against Loki who summoned an army to conquer Earth.

Then, in 2015, the world saw the release of the long-awaited sequel: Avengers: Age of Ultron. Age of Ultron featured our favorite heroes from last time battle against a rogue AI from ending humanity in an effort to “free” it. The movie didn’t do as well, but it brought new faces to the table such as Vision and Scarlet Witch. In that time, there were mostly sequels to already-established characters pumped-out between the first and second movie, except for a curveball that caught everyone off-guard. This oddity in the timeline, Guardians of the Galaxy, immediately enveloped viewers with an unmatched charm, sense of humor, and style, following the misadventure of Starlord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and his pal Groot as they attempt to stop a villain known as Ronan the Accuser from using a legendary stone to, guess what? Seize a high status of power; how surprising. However, this movie introduced a concept new to all but viewers familiar with Marvel comic stories, the Infinity Stones. Throughout the now seven years the movies were being released, in the background a new side-plot has been forming that many knew would hit a climax eventually, warranting its own film. After countless new characters were introduced, series collided, and many fan freak-outs were had, we arrive at the 2018 Magnum Opus of this studio with Avengers: Infinity War (Part 1).

This may go without saying, but there are so many spoiler warnings I’d issue here had there not been a staggering ten years of movies that I would have to explain. So, I’m issuing this “watch before seeing/reading” warning right here in canonical order for your convenience.

Iron Man (2008)

Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thor

Captain America: The First Avenger

Avengers

Thor: The Dark World

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Guardians of the Galaxy

Ant-Man

Doctor Strange

Captain America: Civil War

Black Panther

Spiderman: Homecoming

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Thor: Ragnarok

So, if you were one of the few that needed a solid week to watch all of these (my condolences for the extra pounds you probably put on from all of the sweet and salty snacks that were most likely consumed while doing so), you’re now ready to proceed with the article spoiler-free.

To those who were not familiar enough with the comics when Guardians of the Galaxy came out, the topic of the Infinity Stones turned audiences’ anticipation for the following films into the newest round of: Speculate Which Movie Will Feature a Stone. These play an integral role in Infinity War (obviously) with the big baddie pulling the evil strings this whole time, Thanos, attempting to find and collect each and every one to slot perfectly into his spiffy new gauntlet that can harness the power of the six stones. Why? To wipe out half of the world in an effort to bring “balance”. We were already acutely aware of where five out of the six stones were located. There was the power stone in the orb, featured in Guardians (the first one); the time stone was within Doctor Strange’s nifty little pendant, the Eye of Agamotto; the reality stone, which was kept in the protection of the Collector at the end of Thor: The Dark World; and Loki HAD two of them: the space stone inside the tesseract, and the mind stone which was put snugly inside of… Vision’s… head… Yeah, most audience members knew that this was going to be fair-game ever since we knew Thanos was after these little sparkly rocks.

That foreboding bit of plot aside, as you may have heard or guessed, Avengers: Infinity War serves as the current climax for the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). This means that all of the stops need to be pulled and make every hardcore fan nerd-out since every established character from the MCU that’s still kicking about (with one exception that I’ll touch upon later) come together on the big screen for the first time to duke it out with Thanos. So, is it any good? I’d definitely say so.

Despite the criticism from many that the film was disappointing, I feel as if it brought things together nicely. Now, obviously, despite the way things are sounding, I highly doubt that the second part will mark the end of the MCU. That being said, it may be the end of it for a couple characters in more ways than one. It goes without saying that this is where I would typically give the full synopsis of the movie or game I’m reviewing this month, but everything I said above just about sums it up; Thanos wants to achieve his goal of nerfing the system he thinks is overpowered (the current population of the universe) and to do so requires that he makes his shiny gauntlet even shinier by finding a bunch of glow-y pebbles. However, the heroes know that’s a bad thing and realize that to stop him, they all have to come together and put an end to his quest. Though saying that kind of undermines the entire story as a whole and the amount of dramatic buildup that’s been leading to it, really, that’s about it.

When it comes to how the film was shot, the fight scenes were put together quite well, and that helps more than you would realize since the film is nearly three hours and the majority of it is fight scenes. The script was clearly crafted in a way that acknowledges that the fans are already VERY familiar with the concept of the gauntlet and the stones, but it also takes time to explain it to the new people going to see the movie; almost too many times, in fact. I’m not sure, maybe it’s because I knew about the stones ever since they began appearing on-screen and I’m more familiar with Marvel than the people who just like the movies, but I got tired of the constant “There’s six stones that each control some aspect of the world, and if he gets them and shoves those suckers into that neat little oven mitt of his, we’re all screwed!” Speaking of the script, I can’t help but be a little confused at how sour most of the characters are towards each other. For example: Tony (Iron Man) gets really salty towards Doctor Strange just because he won’t give him the Eye of Agamotto to protect (in the beginning, mind you) which is something Strange vowed to keep safe from the start of becoming a sorcerer and taking responsibility FOR ITS SAFE KEEPING. I don’t know, everyone just seems a bit too hostile on that end of the plot; the end with Cap, Black Panther, and Vis? Fine, although everyone was just a bit too cool with Vision running off despite having one of the stones planted firmly within that smooth forehead of his.

As for that exception I mentioned prior, the only characters to NOT make an appearance within this movie are Hawkeye (who is mentioned to be under house-arrest so that he can be with his wife and kids) and Ant-Man. However, I find it rather coincidental that between Part 1 and Part 2, the second Ant-Man film is set to release, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp along with Captain Marvel afterwards towards the end of 2018. If you watch the end-credits scene for Infinity War, you may see how both are going to be worked in, and rather seamlessly, if you ask me.

Regardless, this is a film I’d be doing a disservice as to not recommend. It’s a culmination of ten years’ worth of pleasing fans but making a profit by doing so the right way. How is it the right way? By crafting it specifically for the fans and yet allowing newcomers to become invested not only in the characters, but the universe they reside in. I think I’ve said enough here. Go see it if you haven’t already, I don’t really think anything more needs to be said anyways.