Avengers: Infinity War

(★★★✩✩)

AFTER 10 years of lean, threadbare, Lilliputian tales, Marvel Studios has, thank heavens, finally decided to go big. The scale of Avengers: Infinity War, of course, isn’t a departure for Marvel. It’s an apotheosis. But is it possible to supersize what is already colossal? Infinity War, which brings together more than 30 significant characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and enough spandex to clothe a small nation, is a little like launching an invasion after the war was already won. Despite assured dominance, Marvel has gone nuclear. Infinity is an interesting word for the Marvel machine, which sets much of its development pipeline a decade in advance. Never-ending is indeed how the superhero era of blockbusterdom sometimes feels, both to its fans and its critics.

But the title refers to the six “infinity stones” scattered around the universe, each conveying a power of sorcery. They are dearly sought by Thanos, the indestructible Titan warlord, who rules over much of space but would like all of it.

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 spreads the heroes around in improvised groups that create some funny dynamics. Infinity War rarely, surprisingly feels as overstuffed as such a superhero smorgasbord ought to, a testament to the filmmakers’ adept plate-spinning skills. – Jake Coyle/AP