Avengers: Infinity War

Super disappointing.  

(No spoilers.) I never expected The Avengers (2012) to be a good superhero film. Usually when one or more heroes or too many villains joined a series, it ended up like the dreadful Batman and Robin (1997), a franchise-ender filled with superstars, multiple plots and lots of reasons to look at my watch.

I was wrong. That first one, with a smart script and a balance of humor and action with characters we care about, raised the bar for the genre. It's the best one, period.

That talented team has their work cut out for them with Avengers: Infinity War, for all the reasons I thought the first one would fail. With too many heroes, each with about 10 minutes of screen time each, there is no soul to this film. Clearly, this is a film that intentionally culminates in hero-gathering chaos, to end a 10-year chapter in the Marvel Universe, but what does that leave the viewer? 

There are moments to enjoy. Seeing Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange interact with Downy Jr.'s Iron Man is delightful. I had the same reaction watching Pratt's Star Lord's inferiority complex when paired with Hemworth's Thor, and  it was riveting when they all assembled for battle. And the crowd in my cinema roared with applause when two characters just showed up. However, this does not make a movie.
 
My usual critique of the superhero films is that the crap ones always end with the bad guy growing large and someone throwing a special thing at it. 

The good news is — that does not happen. The bad news is that this two-parter ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm guessing that next summer, time travel is going to force us to see this whole bluh battle again, watch you-know-who die as sacrifice, and big baddie Thanos will get large just in time to have something thrown at him. 

Those Marvel geniuses have met their match. Although I know you're gonna see it anyway, the smart move is to watch this for free on cable next summer and shorten the cliffhanger time. It's a long film that puts the Infinity in Infinity War, so skip the credit closer and just read about it online.
 
In a nutshell: If you think the celebrity-stuffed We Are The World is a quality song, this movie is for you.

Award potential: Iron Man (2012) was nominated for Best Sound Editing. The Avengers (2012) was nominated for Best Visual Effects. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) got a nom for Best Makeup. And Logan (2017) was nominated for Best Screenplay. But there will be no Oscar nominations for Infinity Mess.
 
The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks.