The Avengers: Infinity Wars (2018), directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

The action is fast and furious right from the start in the 18th Marvel outing. The film is well structured to cope with all the superheroes in it, with most getting ample screen time for a satisfying story arc and some unusual groupings pulling the various strands together. There is a lot of love and self-sacrifice, all to no avail so the message is a little unclear. Two hours forty is an awfully long film and although the story doesn’t flag it is difficult to remain fully engaged for the whole running time. It is easy to miss important cues, such as those that explain the bizarre choices of Dr Strange, who appears to just give up the fight and trigger disaster. In the end there is so much death and destruction it is hard to keep track of exactly who is lost, but its is safe to assume a figure of half. Largely entertaining, the film nevertheless finishes with more questions than answers, quite deliberately as it is part one of two. Stand by the sequel next year.