TITAN — It’s finally here, the day so many of you have been waiting for so long.

Many of you are mere hours away from seeing “Avengers: Infinity War” and I’m here to tell you in a completely spoiler-free way that you will not be disappointed.

I am notorious for my general dislike for a majority of Marvel films. My reviews of “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” were not glowing reviews, but I really enjoyed the likes of “Ant-Man,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Thor: Ragnarok.” So I guess I’m a mixed bag when it comes to my taste in Marvel movies and unlike most of the population on earth I was not excited about “Infinity War.

I have to say I was wrong in my assumption — kind of. “Avengers: Infinity War” is Marvel’s epic, packed to the gills with superheroes and storylines culminating in a cliffhanger that will have fans salivating.

The movie has plenty of missteps and pulled out more than one eye roll from me. But the film also had some really enjoyable moments and intriguing character arcs that kept me entertained for the duration of Marvel’s longest film to date at 2 hours and 29 minutes.

For 18 films the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building to this moment, when all of the superheroes, minus a couple, finally face off against the mighty villain Thanos for better or worse.

Let’s now dive into why “Avengers: Infinity War” is a great time at the movies and why it also left something to be desired:

The good

Some story lines are enjoyable and humorous

As you can imagine there are multiple story lines going on in “Avengers: Infinity War.” There are 30-plus superheroes in this one film and it takes several intersecting story lines to keep them all a part of the action.

With that said there are a few plot lines that I could not get enough of. I won’t get into which ones, but know that the humor was just right and gave nice levity to an otherwise incredibly heavy film. These story lines seemed to follow the vibe of some of my favorite Marvel movies and made the movie enjoyable for me.

Thanos is (mostly) a good villain

My biggest complaint with most superhero movies these days is the ambiguous bad guy who is evil just because and wants to take over the world or universe, because why not?

This was one of the biggest issues with “Justice League” and is just lazy writing. The best superhero villains are those like General Zemo from “Civil War” or Vulture from “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” because these characters are relatable and doing these terrible things because they truly believe it’s what’s right for everyone. They have actual depth and reasoning and the filmmakers tried to do this with Thanos.

I will not get into backstory or motivations here to avoid spoilers for those who have not read the comics, but know a small part of you will actually relate to Thanos and his desire to get the infinity stones, the magical gems that give whoever has them immense power.

This was my biggest worry walking into “Avengers: Infinity War” and I’m really happy they addressed this and made an effort to make him somewhat relatable and not just the big baddy who likes to destroy things for fun.

With all of that said Thanos still had some issues for me and is not the greatest movie superhero villain by a large margin, but I did enjoy his character and motivations much more than I thought I would.

Related

6 essential Marvel movies to watch to prepare for 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Here are the must-watch Marvel movies to be sure you’re familiar with before strolling into the gauntlet of "Infinity War."

Thor and Peter Parker are delightful

Thor was probably my least favorite character in the entire MCU up until “Thor: Ragnarok,” which ended up being one of my favorite movies of 2017. On top of that I could not believe we were getting yet another Spider-Man movie, but I was thoroughly surprised with “Homecoming” and thought the movie was absolute blast with the right mix of humor and story.

I’m happy to say the Peter Parker we came to love in “Homecoming” and the new and improved Thor from “Ragnarok” are back in Infinity War. I was worried they’d take Thor back to his serious roots from the first two films, but they stuck with the Ragnarok version and it’s fantastic.

If you’re anything like me you’ll keep waiting until those two show up on screen throughout the whole movie.

The bad

Other story lines aren't interesting

Remember when I said some of the story lines made the movie? I feel some of the other story lines nearly ruined it. The film has some tone issues where some of the less interesting story lines get bogged down with such a serious tone that it leaves you waiting to get back to the ones that are actually entertaining.

Every time there was a scene change that sent us back certain characters I started looking for my snacks to keep me engaged for a few minutes until we got back to the good stuff.

There is so much going on

With approximately a billion characters you can imagine there is a lot going on in “Avengers: Infinity War.” For the most part the film does a pretty good job of mixing story lines and characters and making it feel cohesive, but I felt like I needed a Marvel encyclopedia at times with all of the history and backstory from 18 previous films.

This movie hearkens back to movies all the way back in 2008 and often references small moments from other films nearly a decade old and it’s hard to keep up with at times.

All of the major plot points are pretty obvious and easy to follow, but the casual fans are going to miss out some jokes, references and callbacks.

Conclusion

“Avengers: Infinity War” is not the best Marvel movie to date in my opinion, but if I were a betting man I’d say fans are going to lose their minds and absolutely love this thing.

The movie is big, has all your favorite characters and higher stakes than any other Marvel film in the MCU. So for those like me you’re going to have an entertaining trip to the theater, but for the fans you’re going to have an experience you won’t stop talking about for a long time.

Check KSL.com tomorrow for the “Avengers: Infinity War” content guide for parents to see what you can expect in the movie.

“Avengers: Infinity War” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

Thor and Peter Parker are delightful

Thor was probably my least favorite character in the entire MCU up until “Thor: Ragnarok,” which ended up being one of my favorite movies of 2017. On top of that I could not believe we were getting yet another Spider-Man movie, but I was thoroughly surprised with “Homecoming” and thought the movie was absolute blast with the right mix of humor and story.

I’m happy to say the Peter Parker we came to love in “Homecoming” and the new and improved Thor from “Ragnarok” are back in Infinity War. I was worried they’d take Thor back to his serious roots from the first two films, but they stuck with the Ragnarok version and it’s fantastic.

If you’re anything like me you’ll keep waiting until those two show up on screen throughout the whole movie.

The bad

Other story lines aren't interesting

Remember when I said some of the story lines made the movie? I feel some of the other story lines nearly ruined it. The film has some tone issues where some of the less interesting story lines get bogged down with such a serious tone that it leaves you waiting to get back to the ones that are actually entertaining.

Every time there was a scene change that sent us back certain characters I started looking for my snacks to keep me engaged for a few minutes until we got back to the good stuff.

There is so much going on

With approximately a billion characters you can imagine there is a lot going on in “Avengers: Infinity War.” For the most part the film does a pretty good job of mixing story lines and characters and making it feel cohesive, but I felt like I needed a Marvel encyclopedia at times with all of the history and backstory from 18 previous films.

This movie hearkens back to movies all the way back in 2008 and often references small moments from other films nearly a decade old and it’s hard to keep up with at times.

All of the major plot points are pretty obvious and easy to follow, but the casual fans are going to miss out some jokes, references and callbacks.

Conclusion

“Avengers: Infinity War” is not the best Marvel movie to date in my opinion, but if I were a betting man I’d say fans are going to lose their minds and absolutely love this thing.

The movie is big, has all your favorite characters and higher stakes than any other Marvel film in the MCU. So for those like me you’re going to have an entertaining trip to the theater, but for the fans you’re going to have an experience you won’t stop talking about for a long time.

Check KSL.com tomorrow for the “Avengers: Infinity War” content guide for parents to see what you can expect in the movie.

“Avengers: Infinity War” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

Related topics