We preview Marvel’s heroic extravaganza Infinity War
CERT 12A, 156 MINUTES, IN CINEMAS 26 APRIL
Starring: Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland Directors: Anthony Russo, James Russo
THE PLOT Bouncing off the storylines of all the various properties in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe, notably 2016’s Avengers-packed Captain America: Civil
War, the comic-book film studio now realises its grand ambition: Project Merge! Yes, for the first time, all the main characters will appear together in the same movie, notably including Black Panther and his associates, Doctor Strange, Spider-man, Ant-man, the various Guardians of the Galaxy and the panoply of names associated with the Avengers. Powerful villain Thanos (Brolin) believes the only way to save the over-populated universe is to destroy half of it, and must assemble six Infinity Stones in order to acquire the power to do so. Since one of these jewels, the yellow Mind Stone, is located on the forehead of Vision (Paul Bettany), Captain America hides him in Panther’s secret African kingdom of Wakanda. Let battle commence…
WHAT’S RIGHT/WRONG WITH IT? With no critics’ previews of this one in time for our deadlines, we can only share in the fan excitement at seeing all the Marvel characters collide. You worry about how they are going to find room to breathe, even with a running time of more than two-and-a-half hours, but Marvel rarely disappoints.
VERDICT Advance ticket sales are reported to be far, far ahead of any previous Marvel film. Whatever the creative outcome, this one’s going to be massive.