Avengers: Infinity War [Blu-Ray]

Director(s): Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo

Release Date: August 14, 2018

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, MARVEL STUDIOS’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR brings to the screen the ultimate showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos.

Accumulating elements from the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe over the past decade, it all comes down to this; Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ intertwines the star characters of each and every property existing within the MCU and unites them in a war against the threat of cataclysmic genocide while pitting them against the seemingly unstoppable Mad Titan Thanos and his deadly minions. With this unspeakable threat to the galaxy bringing together heroes far and wide to try and combat it, it will take everything each of them has and some true teamwork if they’re to stand even a sliver of hope against this unimaginable threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.

Directed by the brother filmmaking duo of Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) from a screenplay by the writing duo of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who previously penned all three ‘Captain America’ films among others, the Russo brothers do a pretty solid job at the helm of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ guiding along this monumental movie event and its multitude of included characters. The film also owes some credit to the massive cast that includes individuals from the previous ten years of Marvel films and includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Josh Brolin, Tom Hiddleston, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Karen Gillan and Chris Pratt along with many, many more, the majority delivering quite capable performances in each of their respective roles for the most part, although the screen time for the majority of them is understandably limited.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is a truly epic event in the world of film to say the least, bringing together elements of eighteen previous films released over the last decade into one massive event that connects it all, and while such a monumental undertaking is bound to have some problems such as a jumpy, sometimes unfocused pace and a lack of character development with so many characters finally fighting for front and center, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ does rather well under the circumstances. It manages to find a suitable balance between focusing on our heroes and a relatively smooth story structure thanks to the wise choice of concentrating primarily on Thanos and his point of view which allows for a better focus and structure amidst the madness. In some ways the film almost plays like a two and a half hour trailer; picking up full speed from the get go and nary relenting throughout its course, jumping from one element and area to another and constructing one truly action-packed, visually remarkable and just insanely entertaining film that should leave fans with a grin plastered on their face for the majority of its duration. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe definitely won’t want to miss out on this massive event unlike anything the world has seen its first ten years. Although perhaps not entirely necessary, seeing all of the previous MCU titles prior to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is definitely beneficial considering at least one small element or another seems to carry over from each. For any fans of this continually expanding cinematic world, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ will be a definite must see, and it probably can’t hurt to do so sooner than later in order to try and avoid the plethora of spoilers floating around out there.

Overall, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ brings all of your favorite MCU characters together at long last for a wildly entertaining film event ten years and eighteen feature films in the making. Exploding with massive and visually spectacular action sequences around every turn, along with plenty of humor, heart and even a surprising amount of heartbreak, this is one impressive and remarkable cinematic event that doesn’t disappoint. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is highly recommended for the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans out there, although this is definitely not the place newcomers to the expansive world will want to jump in. For the diehard MCU fans on the other hand who missed it in theaters, you’ll probably want to go out of your way to check this one out as soon as possible. It’s a truly monumental film that delivers no shortage of tension and breathtaking action that is sure prove more than worthy of your time and the price of a rental at the absolute least.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing a 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular as a whole and delivers a sharp, detailed, clean and brightly colored presentation from start to finish, with no notable faults to be discovered throughout. It holds up impressively even during the numerous fast moving, heavily populated and darkly lit sequences, never causing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a pretty fantastic high definition video presentation that should easily satisfy the fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack makes a splendid compliment to the on-screen insanity and provides a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a plethora of audio effects throughout the various speakers with regularity, including people and vehicles zipping past, along with explosions, debris and a great deal more consistently immersing you in the action, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible in the process. Overall, this is a spectacular 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that sounds great from start to finish and contributes tons of additional fun to the experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ includes some solid extras that fans of the MCU should enjoy. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’, in addition to a few ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 10 minutes in length altogether) and a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing this massive film to life and featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are: ‘Strange Alchemy’ (running approximately 5 minutes), ‘The Mad Titan’ (approximately 7 minutes), ‘Beyond the Battle: Titan’ (10 minutes) and ‘Beyond the Battle: Wakanda’ (11 minutes). Also included are a ‘Gag Reel’ (approximately 2 minutes) and ‘An Introduction to the Film by Directors Joe and Anthony Russo (approximately 90 seconds).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD August 14, 2018 & is Now Available to Own on Digital from Disney & Marvel Studios

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