Avengers: Infinity War early reviews hail its super villain Thanos, ensemble star cast and 'bombshell' of an ending

_Avengers: Infinity War_ will finally see the light of the day this Friday on 27 April. Boasting of unarguably the biggest superhero ensemble yet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe offering premiered in the USA on 23 April. While the early reactions on Twitter hailed it as ’epic beyond compare’ with ’the best ending ever’, major Hollywood publications pushed out similar sounding reviews on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_3755095” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  A promotional still from Avengers: Infinity War. Image via Facebook[/caption] All the early reviews are in unanimous praise of the following three aspects of Avengers: Infinity War… Thanos Marvel’s super villain, played by Josh Brolin, who is hell-bent on wiping half of population, received a thumbs-up in all the early reviews. Vox writes in its review of the film, “Avengers: Infinity War is more of a Thanos origin story than an Avengers  movie.” Variety describes him as, “He’s like Hellboy, the Hulk, Darth Vader, and Oliver Stone rolled into one eloquent sociopath.” Forbes gives a special mention to the antagonist in its review as well, “Josh Brolin makes a fine antagonist, even if he’s not quite as sexy/fun as the last few MCU baddies (this isn’t Labor Day Brolin). The movie goes out of its way to make sure that he’s not another generic CGI overlord bad guy.” 20 superheroes saving the world While there are complaints of the ensemble film not giving enough breathing space to all its 20 superheroes, all early reviews heap praise on Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Holland for their exceptional portrayals of Iron Man, Thor, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. The reviews do criticise the Russo brothers for the bloated cast but also pats on their back for pulling off a well-rounded entertainer despite the galaxy of stars it entails. Vox claims that exciting superheroes like Black Panther and Captain America are given a short shrift. “Most of the Marvel superheroes appearing in Infinity War_,_ particularly Black Panther and Captain America, are compressed, concentrated versions of themselves. Instead of showing us why these characters are so beloved, the Russo brothers employ a Marvel shorthand of sorts, relying on past movies to do most of the work.” Variety, however, says that the film gives a chance for all its heroes to shine. “Infinity War is a brashly entertaining jamboree, structured to show off each hero or heroine and give them just enough to do, and to update their mythologies without making it all feel like homework. At the same time, you may begin to lose hold of what made each of these characters, you know, special.” Forbes seconds the opinion, “The story mostly splits up our heroes into smaller groups, which makes sense but A) prevents some long-desired reunions and B) creates a scenario where some subplots are more engaging than the others.” Climax The ending of Avengers: Infinity War, while sets up for its sequel slated to release on 3 May, 2019, it also makes for an unexpected twist, one that is sure to defy market diktats. Vox expands on the same, without giving spoilers of course, “As in comic books, there’s one absolute bombshell of a moment that grabs you by the neck and drives you back into the story. Infinity War boasts the most breathtaking, audacious moment in superhero movie history, one that rocketed through my brain and tore apart everything I thought I knew about the past 10 years of Marvel movie-making. For the first time in a while, I can’t wait to see what happens next.” Variety echoes the same opinion, “Of all the things that have ever happened in an MCU movie, there will be much chatter about the ending of Infinity War. It is dark and spooky and, in its way, chancy and shocking. Do any of our beloved characters die? Well, yes. But, in fact, the ending is so audacious that you realize it’s all an elaborate card trick. Despite what it shows us, these movies are rarely about more leading to less. Count on the sequel — due one year from now — to demonstrate that more, in the MCU, will lead only to more.” Forbes, however, sounds more skeptical, “Its climactic status quo is no more or less of a cliffhanger than the last episode of a given season of Game of Thrones or Lost. But as a singular motion picture, it is almost entirely foreplay and ends in a place so incompatible with market demands that there is no emotional reaction to what transpires. However, the core problem, one which hobbles a mostly entertaining and clearly ambitious action fantasy, is that it devotes so much time being a prequel to next year’s Avengers that it mostly fails to be a sequel to what has come before.”