It’s here, it’s finally here. After 10 years of stories, stoked fan anticipation, teases both big and small, Thanos will finally arrive in Avengers: Infinity War this weekend to do battle with Iron Man, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy and all the other heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (except the television characters because the film division likes to pretend that they don’t exist).
Let’s take a moment to tip our caps to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, who put this entire world together and created the single-most successful entertainment entity in Hollywood history. Eighteen films in, and this shared cinematic universe is still garnering rave reviews and smashing box office totals.
We have no idea just how well Infinity War will perform at the box office, but topping the MCU-high of 2012’s The Avengers ($1.5 billion) seems well within reach. Thus far, the MCU’s entire slate has earned upwards of $14 billion worldwide.
Positive buzz and word-of-mouth will help the movie beyond a guaranteed massive opening weekend, which makes the critical reaction all the more important. Based on past efforts, Infinity War should be OK in that department.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo cut their teeth on the small screen with the hilarious and clever Arrested Development and Community, two of the best sitcoms of all time. They moved up to the big leagues with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, two of the most well-received and financially successful entries in the MCU.
Now that the social media embargo for Marvel’s crown jewel has lifted, let’s take a look at what the critics are saying about Avengers: Infinity War.
Infinity War: Like It
Does it have issues? Sure, it’s a punch fest, yeah, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the dynamics of all these disparate teamups. Let’s see a Thor and Rocket Racoon buddy comedy spin-off. pic.twitter.com/jfjNxTWZYj
— The Playlist (@ThePlaylistNews) April 24, 2018
I saw #AvengersInfinityWar earlier tonight and I can say that it delivers. There's a lot of really fun character interactions, some cool action moments (Thor's powers, Iron Man's suit), and a few powerful emotional beats. Most of the humor is 👌🏻 Also Captain America is 💥 pic.twitter.com/WoZNPDpGXk
— molly freeman (@mollyrockit) April 24, 2018
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is basically CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR times 20, except with less hero-on-hero fighting. I think people who loved the airport fight in CIVIL WAR like I did will go nuts for this film, and people who were bored will be 20 times as bored here. #InfinityWar
— Tasha Robinson (@TashaRobinson) April 24, 2018
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR: A movie version of a massive comic-book crossover, for better (fun character interactions) and worse (it's pretty much all Infinity Stone shenanigans). YMMV. #avengersinfinitywar
— Matt Singer / mattsinger.bsky.social (@mattsinger) April 24, 2018
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR has like ten legit "chill down the spine" great moments. But it's for sure the first half of a two part movie and I left a little unsatisfied/frustrated, maybe by design … at least that's how I feel right now three hours later.
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) April 24, 2018
Infinity War: Love It
Jaw on ground. You are not ready for 'Avengers: Infinity War'. All you have to know is AVOID ALL SPOILERS! Seriously. Go in knowing as little as possible. The @Russo_Brothers did the impossible. Wow. pic.twitter.com/noKZ5cQWdc
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) April 24, 2018
#InfinityWar is everything you want, nothing you expect. It’s funny, surprising, dark, filled with delightful interplay between characters never seen on screen before. I know many filmmakers say they are trying to make a sequel in the vein of Empire Strikes Back, this succeeds.
— /Film (@slashfilm) April 24, 2018
#AvengersInfinityWar pretty much had me laughing, screaming, or crying the entire way through. It never lets up. I sat in my chair stunned as the credits rolled, speechless and sobbing.
— Joshua Yehl (@JoshuaYehl) April 24, 2018
Wow! Marvel dropped all the rules, fists out and what a tornado!! #AvengersInfinityWar was a blast and Thanos just dethroned Killmonger as the champion of villains.
— Kristian Harloff (@KristianHarloff) April 24, 2018
#AvengersInfinityWar is my second fave @Marvel movie after #BlackPanther. The superhero interplay is hilarious and surprising at every turn. The action is monumental. And there are actual stakes this time around. Kevin Feige is not f-cking around with this one.
— Nigel Smith (@nigelmfs) April 24, 2018
Infinity War: Hate It
#AvengersInfinityWar: Despite some truly thrilling moments, feels like less than the sum of its parts. A definite step down after that epic run of GotGV2 / Spidey / Thor 3 / Black Panther, but what else did I expect?
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) April 24, 2018
