Infinity War, the long awaited climax of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), debuted on April 27, effectively engaging and shocking viewers with a whirlwind of humor, surprise appearances, plot twists, and devastating losses.

The movie introduces the largest accumulation of Marvel characters in a film ever seen. Thor, Loki, Hulk, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Spiderman, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision, War Machine, Black Panther, White Wolf, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Black Widow, and Thanos, among many more characters appear in the movie.

The film begins on Thor’s ship, picking up where the previous Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, left off. The ship contained the last of the Asgardians, a separate race of beings from Asgard, one of the Nine Worlds ruled by Gods. The villain in Thor: Ragnarok, Hela (Cate Blanchett), brought destruction to Asgard, forcing all inhabitants to flee with Thor and survive on a ship in space. In the opening scene of Infinity War, cameras panned over the ship’s former inhabitants, who were lifeless or dying on the floor. The cameras came to a halt at a pair of feet and followed them as they stepped over the bodies without care, eventually coming to the faces of Loki and Thor.

Thor, the ruler of the Asgardians, and his brother Loki, a Frost Giant adopted as a baby by Thor’s father, met their adversaries. The feet belonged to one of Thanos’ minions and sure enough, Thanos, the Avengers’ main adversary, appeared on screen shortly after. The Titan warlord explained his master plan to acquire all six Infinity Stones and decimate half of the universe’s population. These six, extraordinarily powerful stones possess unique capabilities that manipulate and harness power from certain aspects of the universe.  The movie, based on the premise of Thanos acquiring the stones, follows Thanos in his journey to achieve his plan and the Avengers in their attempt to prevent it.

This scene also introduced Heimdall (Idris Elba) and the Hulk. The Hulk launched an unsuccessful sneak attack on Thanos, who ended up knocking the enormous green Avenger unconscious. Thanos stabbed Heimdall through the chest after he successfully portalled an unconscious Hulk to Earth. The brothers continued to fight and barter with Thanos, an interaction that ended with a deceased Loki, a grief stricken Thor, and a triumphant Thanos. This altercation began the bloodshed seen throughout Infinity War, of which there truly existed no shortage.

The plot of the movie entirely revolved around the importance of six Infinity Stones. Thanos already possessed the Power Stone when the movie began, and rapidly acquired each of the other five stones over the course of the movie. The Mind Stone from Loki and Thor; the Reality Stone from the Collector (Benicio del Toro); the Soul Stone through sacrificing his daughter Gamora; the Time Stone from Dr. Strange, as a barter for Iron Man’s life; and in the midst of a grand finale, the Mind Stone, pried from Vision’s forehead. Thanos, with his master plan of eradicating half of the universe’s life in mind, brought death and destruction to every place he acquired a stone from.

Comic relief employed itself in each character and in most scenes to combat the major bloodshed. Directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo assisted already excellent actors in keeping their scenes true to their characters. The movie, although a lengthy two hours and forty-five minutes, moved quickly, and demanded the audience’s full attention.

The excellent cinematography during fight scenes made viewers feel they existed within the scenes, as they also felt the stress, fear, and excitement of the characters: the audience laughed, applauded, gasped, and cried. The death of integral characters like Spiderman (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Dr. Strange, and various others staple MCU characters came as a true surprise to audiences. The unexpected death toll shocked and devastated nearly all who viewed the movie.

“I’ve waited for Infinity War for a very long time. It’s been interesting seeing all the different Marvel movies building up to this, and Infinity War did an amazing job of bringing them all together. At the end of the movie, I felt emotionally drained but mentally stimulated thinking about all of the possible future outcomes because they definitely can’t leave things like this,” junior Rola Goke-Pariola said.

Theatres across the country consistently filled to the brim with fans on opening night, with latecomers struggling to pack themselves in like sardines in a can. The film set worldwide box office records for reaching $1 billion faster than any other movie ever made. Infinity War left viewers breathless, shocked, and ready for more.

MCU, once again, proved themselves capable of captivating an audience of both long-term and new lovers of the Marvel Universe.

The Chant’s Grade: A+