Video by Pierce Turner

Avengers: Infinity War sets out to do one thing: culminate the 18 movies that preceded it into one tremendous, climactic event. It does that handily, but its greatest success is bringing a comic book universe to life in a way fans only dreamed of until now.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always had one promise: everything is connected. Since Iron Man in 2008, these films have been building up towards realizing that goal more and more with every title. Though the first two Avengers and Civil War were quite the ensemble films, Infinity War is the first movie to feel like a living, breathing universe. It doesn’t waste the tremendous world that Marvel Studios has so carefully constructed, giving every character a story and and a moment to shine.

The most important of these characters is the villain, Thanos. He is Marvel’s best villain and perhaps one of the best villains to grace the screen of any movie. Thanos succeeds so well as a character not because he’s scary (though he is by far the most threatening villain in the MCU) but because he has a story, he has feelings, and he has deep and personal motivations for his actions. There are moments where Thanos is doing something truly horrific, but you kind of can’t help but root for him.

The threat Thanos brings to the beloved characters is the most palpable yet. For the first time in a Marvel movie, I felt like the heroes were in real danger. I had a pit in my stomach for the majority of the almost three hour run time, and I was sitting on the literal edge of my reclining theater seat (which probably looked ridiculous). Infinity War will make you uncomfortable, and that’s wonderful.

With such a threat, it takes just about everyone in the MCU to stand a chance. This is when the film really feels like a comic book crossover event come to life. There’s a scene where Iron Man is fighting in New York and Spider-Man swings in to help. And everything with Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy is terrific. The movie is filled with very comic book moments like this, but I won’t go into specifics. These characters interact and build relationships that feel earned from the past events of the other movies.

That’s what Infinity War does: it takes full advantage of the universe Marvel built. It takes 18 films and blends them together for a great cause. Though there’s so many characters, they all have a story, they all have a funny line, and they all have an applause-worthy moment. More than any Marvel movie, it’ll make you think. The credits give you barely any time to reflect on what you just saw before the post-credits scene plays. It’s because it allows the universe and characters from the books to come to life, that Infinity War is the best comic book movie ever.

5/5 Sails