And so, “Infinity War” comes to us with 30 lead roles. No wonder this daunting and almost impossible task has been given to Joe and Anthony Russo whom, after having directed two of the very best Marvel movies of the MCU, “Civil War” and “The Winter Soldier,” attempt to cram in as much as they can into this ambitious film. Another near-impossible task must have been writing the screenplay, which credited here to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and, despite some inspiring stretches,  meanders a little too much in its back-and-fortness. The lack of settling down in their script dulls the senses and makes you wonder if a three-parter would have been better than this restrictive two-parter. It’s in the way the Russos have to split their heroes into more than a half a dozen storylines that gives the film an exhaustive feel. Are you ready? Tony Stark/Iron Man, as played by Robert Downey Jr. meets up with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his protege Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) joins the Guardians of the Galaxy, led by Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Groot (Vin Diesel) and, as usual, a scene-stealing Dave Bautista as the dim-wittedbut good-hearted Drax. On the other side of the continent, we have a bearded, but well-groomed Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) doing battle alongside King T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Okeye (Danai Gurira), with Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) added in for impressionable measure. Also, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), jumping through storylines, relentlessly tries to turn into the Hulk but just can’t muster up the anger needed to transform into the green giant. The sense of humor that was infectious in the two “Guardians” films and “Thor: Ragnarok” is back here, but to a smaller degree. After all, the end of the world is at stake, but not without a few chuckles being snuck in here and there. Steve Rogers responds to Groot’s usual line with a “My name is Steve Rogers,” Tony Stark, the ever clever one, refers to Drax as Mr. Clean, and Bruce Banner has the time to tell his alter-ego to go “fuck off.” People already knew, this being the end of an era for the MCU, that heads would surely roll and characters we’ve come to love would be killed off. If you’re looking to be shocked by the death of a mainstay name then think again. Yes, a few side characters do bite the dust in “Infinity War” (I counted four) but even those deaths feel forced and rather uneventful. You’ll have to wait until next year’s second chapter to know if Cap, Iron Man, Thor and Hulk survive the wrath of Thanos. Marvel wants maximal box-office performance and killing off characters that can sell toys and lunchboxes would be a terrible marketing decision. Suffice to say, I’m afraid, the In Memoriams will have to wait. Contribute Hire me

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