'Infinity War' packs nonstop action

So, I was waiting in line to see “I Feel Pretty,” and all these people were talking about some big superhero movie, so I switched lines and, boy, am I glad I did.

Every penny of the rumored $1 billion spent on this film and 2019’s untitled sequel will pay off hand over fist as box office records brace themselves to be shattered. Sorry, James Cameron, you’ll have to wait until “Avatar 2” to return to the throne of all-time record holder.

You can buy a lot of talent with $500 million, but it also creates cause for concern that maybe the films are a bit bloated. The simple solution is to begin the culling process. Nothing lasts forever, and although superhero sequels, spin-offs and reboots are the Hollywood fountain of youth, there comes a time to put all heroes to rest. “Infinity War” marks the beginning of the end for more than a few of our beloved characters.

The mad titan, Thanos (voiced tremendously by Josh Brolin) is on a mission to collect the six infinity stones scattered throughout the universe and destroy half of all living things to mercifully help those who survive. When assembled, the stones give the owner absolute control over time, space, power, soul, reality and mind. It’s a bit cheesy, but the last 10 years have all been building to this eventuality, so just go with it.

Thanos and his four henchmen, the Black Order, are unlike any villains we’ve seen in the MCEU before. They step over the boundaries of traditional fair play, and lay waste to everything in their paths, as punctuated by the opening sequence. Suffice to say, it falls on the collective strength and numbers of the Avengers to stop them, as before unacquainted heroes collaborate and venture on high-stakes missions to stop the Mad Titan before he collects the stones.

At a bloated 2 1/2 hours, there isn’t nearly enough time to showcase the talent, and you won’t be satisfied in the end. I’ll say that now. It’s packed tighter than a can of sardines with nonstop action, and leaves the viewer hanging in one of the more abrupt intermissions in recent memory.

You will find yourself eagerly anticipating next summer’s previously titled “Infinity War: Part 2.” That’s right, it’s simply the first half of a five-hour opus that would make even Peter Jackson envious. Therein lies the problem and the beauty. It’s Avengers overload, which might seem great on the surface, but it’s simply exhausting. And exhilarating. The bar keeps getting raised higher and higher, and I simply can’t imagine what this universe will look like in another decade.

Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (“Captain America: Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War”) and written by the team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (frequent Russo collaborators), there is a sense of pressure for a project this massive, but they all take it in stride. Sure, interactions and conversations are hurried to make room for everyone, and some of the sequences are a bit farfetched to give everyone something important to do, but none are quite done at the expense of the ambitious plot of universal domination by Thanos.

The film is astounding. The stuff movie theaters were made for. If you thought the original “Avengers” was good, you’ll love “Infinity War.”

You might (will) be surprised by the final act, which is just one of the things that makes this film great. It is a dark, stark turning point in the MCEU, but you may need to second-guess what you thought you saw and heard, and once you figure it out, you’ll be blown away. The film captures the emotional movie-going experience you’re looking for and delivers it smoothly, just make sure you see it before the spoilers leak. It was what I was hoping for, and then some. 9/10.