Avengers: Infinity War: Not Quite “Marvelous”

If you are an "Avengers" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" fan, you should definitely see this movie.  As you can see by the picture, it has just about every Marvel Movie Super-Hero in it!  However, with so many characters, very few of them get much air time. Thanos (Josh Brolin) is trying to take over the universe – wreaking mayhem, genocide, and destruction in his wake!  Thanos is convinced that life throughout the universe will inevitably drive itself to its end, since all the planets are over-populated.  Eventually, all the universe's valuable resources will be exhausted and life everywhere will perish.  (He's sure right about Southern California!  Just try driving on the 5 sometime.) Thanos, however, has a radical solution to the problem.  He just goes to each planet and kills half the population.  To be fair, he kills in the "politically correct" way – without regard to race, sex, gender, political affiliation, favorite basketball team, etc.  He just kills the planet's life forms randomly.  He thinks this approach is necessary to restore "balance" and he is the only one in the Universe with the vision and courage necessary to do what must be done.  (Thanos is a great villain, so I've just inducted him into my "Movie Villain Hall of Fame," which includes, among others, "Darth Vader" and "Captain Hook.")  Thanos is ruthless, diabolical, and has terrible table manners, but he still possesses enough humanity to make one, at times, even feel empathy for him.  He means well, but he's just psychotic!  In order to ensure his mission's success, Thanos is trying to capture all six "Infinity Stones," each with a special and unique power.  Once he gets all six, he will control the universe and be invincible.  The only thing standing in Thanos' way are the Avengers, our "Guardians of the Galaxy " heroes, and some other Marvel Super-Heroes. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is Thanos' adopted daughter.  She hates Thanos and wants to kill him more than any of the other characters could.  Their complex father/daughter relationship serves as the emotional core of this film, even though the movie has many sub-plots. Thanos is a formidable adversary and even gets the drop on some of our beloved super-heroes.  (You will need to see the film to learn which ones.  I wouldn't be surprised, however, if they reappear in the next film, since there's way too much money to be made with them around.) Bottom Line: It's an exciting movie, although at 2 hours and 40 minutes, it's too long.  There are terrific special effects and CGI, with a liberal sprinkling of comic banter.  It's already sold $450 million in box office receipts!  Be forewarned, however, that it might even make you cry.