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Avengers: Infinity War

6/10

Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Benicio Del Toro, Dave Bautista, Carrie Coon, Letitia Wright, Karen Gillan, Peter Dinklage, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Benedict Wong, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Pom Klementieff, Idris Elba, Jeremy Renner, William Hurt. Voices: Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel

Director: Joe and Anthony Russo

All the Avengers, and one or two more, do battle with the mighty Thanos as he strives to collect the six infinity stones that will make him master of the universe, and perhaps restore his home planet to its former beauty.

And this time it looks as if 'Earth's mightiest heroes', as the script has it, may have bitten off more than they can chew.

To the unbiased eye, it appears that the series is pretty much played out. Where can it go from here? But no doubt fans and box-office receipts will demand more and more, in spite of a cliffhanger ending (the most startling thing in the film) that seems to put that in doubt.

Every Marvel superhero is here - though I must have blinked and missed Ant-Man - and they've even roped in the Guardians of the Galaxy. And each gets his or her fair share of the dialogue and action, trotting out hand-tooled lines that fit their characters but are merely variations on what we've heard before. But alien landscapes are suitably unearthly, and the film brings off something of a coup by casting Game of Thrones's Dinklage as a giant. Ho ho.

Action is familiar but lightning fast, and there's a thrilling if CGI-enhanced battle between the massed Avengers (well, some of them) and Thanos' slavering soldier-animals.

Brolin is unrecognisable as the huge-headed but intriguingly conflicted Thanos, and Hemsworth is allowed a few amusing quips as Thor. All the same, a certain monotony does sometimes creep into the proceedings.

Fans may be shocked by the ending, but do not despair: more mayhem can only be around the next planet. For me, though, it seems high time that Marvel broke some new ground.

David Quinlan

USA 2018. UK Distributor: Walt Disney. Technicolor.
148 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 25 Apr 2018