After nearly a decade of buildup, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally completing its overarching story line, a fight between Thanos and most of the Marvel heroes over the six Infinity Stones and control of the universe. This battle is known from the comics as the Infinity War. A lot of fans have been waiting to see this final battle after many hints from the original Avengers films and more details filled in through later films in the series that included Thanos and the stones. As more and more hype has built up, the appearances and mentions came more often, eventually building up to the penultimate film of the franchise, “Avengers: Infinity War.”

So, what did I think about “Avengers: Infinity War”? It was really just another Marvel film, although it did step above the usual story of the superhero vs villain in ways that were refreshing for the franchise.

This film is a visual treat, with fight scenes that included strange editing and interesting choreography between the heroes that hasn’t been seen in the other films as much. This is punctuated with a wonderful score that works in ways that some of the other films’ scores have not. This adds important impact during scenes where the odds are against our heroes, and the fight is more of an uphill battle.

It can’t be understated that Thanos is an excellent villain. Although his appearance has changed between “The Avengers” and “Avengers: Infinity War”, his motives have continued in much the same way, pulling strings in the background to get the stones, manipulating certain events in the story and all around acting pretty evil. Writers were able to create some nuance and reasoning behind his actions in “Infinity War”, giving him layers that the other film had previously ignored.  Even if his reasoning is not sound, you can tell the character has conviction and sees his actions as the right way of bringing peace to the universe. He is still a villain, but, by the end, you are able to realize why he has chosen the path he has and why he would see the superheroes as a threat to his benevolent goal.

The roster of heroes is not anything to laugh at either. Bringing together, minus Hawkeye and Ant-Man, every hero the series has introduced so far. And to great effect. Interactions between them in the beginning are a little awkward, not always knowing one another, but they have been built up into a really decent team that is developed over the course of the whole film. More than that, you end up learning more of the heroes’ background. Not just weak tidbits of information, but the kind that kept me actively engaged.

The humor is one of the weaker things about the film, however. As much as the dialogue helps further develop your favorite characters, a lot of the humor is hit or miss, and honestly, a little jarring compared to the overall themes of the film. I would not demand a gritty film to cap off the series, of course, but whenever there was humor it was never really subtle and tended to slow down the film’s pace. As much as I enjoy it in films like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and its sequel, those films are meant to pull from the sillier side of the MCU, making the constant jokes and quips from the Guardians characters all the more difficult to stomach.

This is really all I can complain about, however. All in all, I give the film an 85 percent. While the humor rubbed me the wrong way, the film never really stays put, always bringing you an interesting storyline or plot point to chew on as it moves onto the next thing. When the second half releases, sometime in 2019, I will definitely be purchasing a ticket to see how they handle the consequences of “Infinity War’s” ending.