In Marvel’s latest cinematic masterpiece, Thanos the Mad Titan is looking for all six Infinity Stones in order to add them to their respective slots in his Infinity Gauntlet which enables him to use the power of all six stones simultaneously. With the Infinity Gauntlet and the stones at his disposal, Thanos plans to bring balance to the universe by killing half of all existing life without conquest with the snap of his fingers.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) launched with the release of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man in 2008. The finale of the previous 18 films since the original Iron Man is the MCU’s 19th film: Avengers: Infinity War. With ten years in the making, Infinity War had the largest ensemble cast of any MCU film with the five main Avengers, the seven Guardians of the Galaxy, the four new Avengers, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Wong, and Black Panther for a grand total of 21 heroes in the ensemble. These actors lead this film to have a nearly $400 million budget. Most films do not gain that much money in gross revenue.

At 2 hours and 40 minutes, one would think it would feel like you are sitting there forever, but the film has a surprisingly fast pace and feels very refreshing.

The ability to pace the film well is due to the work of the editor, Jeffrey Ford whose work made the film one of the more organized and transitional than other MCU films. The transition from each set of heroes to Thanos felt natural and fit well with the story.

The two of them have written the Captain America Trilogy, Thor: The Dark World, and the sequel to this film, the untitled Avengers 4. Their scripts are usually very well written but can be become a monstrosity as in Thor: The Dark World by the director and editing team. This current work by the duo is 2nd only to The Winter Soldier also written by them. Infinity War mixes the humor that is drastically different from all the characters into a nice blend that treats the film as a Marvel film but also an end to an era.

However, the true talent in this film is the work of the actors. Their work has brought what was once childhood dreams into reality. Robert Downey Jr. brought the role of Tony Stark into his own and really shined in his scenes with Benedict Cumberbatch, as Doctor Strange, with their quick and dry sense of humor respectively. Above all, the true star in the film is Josh Brolin as Thanos. He made you feel sympathy for his character and understand his motives in a way I have not seen since Ian McKellen as Magneto in Bryan Singer’s X-Men.

Visually, Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet looked beautiful on the big screen not to mention the Infinity Stones when they illuminated as they were used. Each stone’s power effect looked mystical and cosmic. Thanos was a completely CGI character with motion caption body movement.

The film is, in my opinion, the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a very solid movie. The Russo Brothers have made a masterpiece. The limited chemistry of some characters together and the tired acting of Chris Evans leaves some blemishes on what is a perfect milestone to ten years of Marvel Studios.