The movie that’s been in the making for 10 years, that’s kept Marvel fans waiting on the edge of their seats with every film, is finally here. Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War is filled to the brim with great storytelling and non-stop action and it’s the perfect summation of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become, and where it will lead its heroes.

Infinity War is the 19th film in the MCU and shows all of our heroes (the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy) coming to together to stop the Mad Titan Thanos from killing half the universe. Sounds fun, right? Basically, the big purple grape man, Thanos, needs to retrieve all the Infinity Stones (which have been shown or teased throughout the previous Marvel films) to put in his fancy Infinity Gauntlet, which will allow him to change the universe as he sees fit. When the Avengers and Guardians get wind of this it becomes a race to stop Mr. Giant Eggplant from ruining everything.

The film immediately takes place after Thor: Ragnarok and the opening perfectly sets up our villain Thanos and his lackeys The Black Order, as well as the tone for the film because unlike previous Marvel movies, this one is NOT a lighthearted and positive trip, which is exactly what this movie needed. It’s dark and you get the feeling that something bad is always around the corner. The humor is still there of course but it’s well-placed and doesn’t feel forced. Some scenes will give you chills, other scenes will have you laughing in your seat.

Despite the darker tone, there’s no doubt it’s an amazing feeling as a Marvel fan seeing the Avengers and the Guardians coming together in what is possibly the biggest crossover event in film history. With a film this big and filled with a lot of superheroes some people thought the film may suffer from all the different personalities and stories to weave together, but it’s the complete opposite. Infinity War does a fantastic job of bringing together its heroes and telling the individual stories of certain characters without making it seem too crowded. The action is also amazing and are big spectacles of stunts and CGI, especially the last 30 minutes of the movie. For a blockbuster film this big and hectic, it’s nicely balanced. There’s a good amount of story and a good amount of action.

And while it’s nice seeing the our heroes again (some of which we haven’t seen in a few years), it was even better finally seeing Thanos after Marvel Studios has been teasing him for years. The Mad Titan was first teased as a cameo in the end credits of 2012’s The Avengers which was followed by a small appearance in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, then another cameo at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Since then it’s been a waiting game for the Ugly Grape to show up and show us just how powerful the MCU has been claiming he would be, and he definitely delivered. He’s the perfect villain and the best one the MCU has ever had. He’s raised the stakes far more than they’ve ever been, he’s smart and knows how to play with his victims, and he’s driven purely by his motivation to “balance the universe” which makes him such a captivating villain. Thanos is an enemy that makes you makes you question things and it’s possible to see where he’s coming from. But universal genocide is definitely NOT cool. His “children” the Black Order fell a bit flat, though.

Infinity War had a lot of hype to live up to, and it’s safe to say it certainly did. The story, the action, and the cgi is phenomenal, and the characters were great and each felt like they had a part to play in the story. Some quick honorable mentions go out to Thor, Spider-Man, Gamora, Drax, Captain America’s beard, and Dr. Strange who definitely shined through and delivered some great performances throughout the film.

Mainly because of its jaw-dropping ending the movie has received many good reviews with mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. Thankfully, however, Infinity War is a part one film and the untitled Avengers 4 comes out next year so we won’t have to wait that long to find out what happens after an ending like that.

It’s possible the film could move up it’s date like Infinity War did but at the moment Avengers 4 is set for release on May 3rd, 2019. Until then, Marvel fans will continue to use memes to hide their pain.