‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Reviews Beg The Question, Is Marvel The Real ‘Mad Titan’?

The last 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been building to this moment, the release of Avengers: Infinity War to theaters in a gigantic crossover event that serves as both a studio tent-pole and a staple of the comic book industry. The reviews are flooding out following the world premiere Monday and it appears Marvel has pulled off something so crazily massive in scope that it might just impress Thanos himself.

Avengers: Infinity War is currently enjoying an 87 percent score review score on Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregate site scores reviews that are higher than a 3 out 5 as ‘Fresh’ while those below are ‘Rotten’. Marvel’s ultimate crossover event has received 85 Fresh reviews to only 13 Rotten and the one commonality between all reviewers is the scale of bringing dozens of characters together will leave viewers either impressed, overwhelmed, or both.

Avengers: Infinity War Scores High Marks for Big Spectacle

“The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest entry is its biggest, most ambitious piece of storytelling in the studio’s 10 years of existence and the minute you exit the theatre, you’ll be lining up at the box office to buy another ticket. It’s that good.”

— Mark Daniell of the Toronto Sun

“It’s not perfect, but it goes to a place most tentpole movies wouldn’t dream of, while retaining the scale, excitement, and humour you’ve come to demand from an MCU movie.”

— Matt Maytum of Total Film

“What saves Infinity War from being just another bloated supergroup tour – and what will end up being the thing that blows fans’ minds to dust – is the film’s final stretch.”

— Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly

“If, for decades, the metaphor for propulsive blockbuster filmmaking was the “ride,” then watching “Avengers: Infinity War” is like going to a theme park and taking three spins on every ride there.”

— Owen Geliberman of Variety

Some Were Overwhelmed By Marvel’s Latest Avengers Installment

“A celebration of mediocrity on a scale the cinema has never seen before. Avengers: Infinity War isn’t a movie: it’s advertising and brand management.”

— Luke Buckmaster of The Daily Review

“It took us 19 movies over a span of 11 years to finally reach this destination. The end result? “Infinity War” is just too much of everything.”

— Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel

“It’s too much. Too many characters, too much action, too much everything. It’s a superhero surplus with too many heroes and not enough screen. It’s Infinity overload.”

— Adam Graham of Detroit News

“Sitting through its 2 hours and 30 minutes is like gorging on tapas: You wind up both overstuffed and unsatisfied.”

— Sam Adams of Slate

A common line of complaints from critics about Avengers: Infinity War is the assembly-line nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Films is churning out two to three movies a year, which has led to complaints of the films being formulaic blockbusters, despite Kevin Feige’s and other directors’ efforts to give each sub-franchise a different thematic viewpoint.

Thanos does appear to be a high point of the film, after so many years of being the Mad Titan, pulling the strings of conflict yet rarely seen. The Marvel films have been criticized over the years for underwhelming villains, but the Josh Brolin voiced baddie stands atop them all, as even the most jaded of critics recognize he is the most menacing and dangerous antagonist yet.

Avengers: Infinity War officially releases Friday, April 27, with many theaters already sold out for early Thursday screenings. The movie’s budget reportedly hit the $300 million mark and Deadline reports it is expected to earn box office revenue its opening weekend of $498 million worldwide.

And, it goes without saying that movie-goers will want to stick around for the post-credit scenes.