After years of anticipation, “Avengers: Infinity War” is almost here and the reviews are mostly positive.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the movie had an 88% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Ahead of the movie’s release this Friday, April 27, critics have found the latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be a satisfying epic that is fast-paced (despite its 2 hours and 40 minutes runtime) and action-packed, with a worthy villain in Josh Brolin’s Thanos.
It may also make you feel things you didn’t think you could watching a blockbuster movie, according Business Insider’s Carrie Wittmer, who compared the events in the movie to the devastation of “Game of Thrones.”
Not everyone loves the movie, though, and some critics find the spectacle to be "noisy" and "bloated," with too much going on.
Below is a roundup of some early reviews for Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War":
"If you think you don't care about any of these characters, that will change once you see 'Infinity War.' 'Infinity War' makes you feel things you never thought you would watching a studio movie."
Carrie Wittmer, Business Insider
"I like how the movie builds everything around Brolin's CGI-assisted but still fully inhabited performance as Thanos—an oddly wistful and lonely figure who is, essentially, a religious fanatic."
Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
"Those two-and-a-half hours zoomed right by. Be sure to stick around, empty popcorn bag in hand, for the post-credits scene, which left me wanting another sequel. Preferably tomorrow."
Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times
"If it’s not exactly the 'cinematic event of a lifetime,' it’s still a deeply satisfying tale of pathos and wit that manages to credibly link dozens of characters, multiple narrative threads and innumerable arguments."
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
"It’s really the simple pleasure of seeing so many good actors together that makes 'Infinity War' — an 'Ocean’s Eleven' in hyper drive — work. The screenplay, by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, spreads the heroes around in improvised groups that create some funny dynamics."
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
"The Russo brothers have clearly never learned the concept that less is more. They've used the premise of an Avengers reunion to put on a fireworks explosion of action and laughs (those roguish Guardians!) that won't quit."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"'Infinity War' is big, blustery and brave, taking viewers to places that they may not be used to going. Whether Thanos ends up getting everything he wants is one thing. But audiences should be warned that they probably won’t."
Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post
"Scenes seem trimmed to make way for Josh Brolin’s Thanos, the character whose movie this is — nobody’s onscreen more than this brooding purple titan, and he’s a more compelling villain than most non-Loki, non-Killmonger Marvel screen baddies."
Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice
“'Avengers: Infinity War' is jumbled but never messy, speeding forward in fits and starts but plenty of calculation ... it’s so fast-paced that no single viewer could possibly anticipate the next move."
Eric Kohn, Indiewire
"It's too much. Too many characters, too much action, too much everything. It's a superhero surplus with too many heroes and not enough screen. It's Infinity overload."
Adam Graham, Detroit News
"The noisy, bloated spectacles of combat were surely the most expensive parts of the movie, but the money seems less like an imaginative tool than a substitute for genuine imagination."
A.O. Scott, New York Times
