'Avengers: Infinity War' is the most expensive trailer ever made

Robert Downey, Jr. in Avengers Infinity War

It's fitting that the box office behemoth Avengers: Infinity War is marking the ten-year anniversary of the seemingly unstoppable Marvel Cinematic Universe because it is features both the most exhilarating and the most maddening aspects of films like these.

And I don't necessarily mean that as an insult.

For instance, narrative storytelling-wise, this movie is a mess. It jumps around from universe to universe far too frequently. Unlike say Black Panther, or even Ant-Man, it never established a consistent tone. The humor often feels forced with characters simply standing and trading quips between fistfights. And yet, when it ended there was a enough awe-inspiring sequences and winning performances for the movie to earn some of my admiration.

And, unlike most Marvel movies, it manages to stick the landing with a third act that is much more interesting than its prior ones. Without spoiling it, I will say that this film features one the most visually striking and daringly downbeat endings that I've ever seen in a blockbuster like this -- and it deserves major kudos for being willing to risk turning off infamously finicky comic book fans.

That being said, I can't blame some viewers for feeling cheated. Because of the nature of the Marvel assembly line we already know there will be more Spider-Man movies and almost certainly Black Panther movies, so the stakes for many characters in this Avengers film are instantly lowered. And there is already a part two to this story coming out next summer -- so although this movie runs almost three hours (and you feel its length) it offers little in the way of resolution or coherence.

I've enjoyed the Russo brothers' Marvel films to date. They tend to have a good balance of gravitas and humor with at least a kernel of a grander idea in the background. This movie has some interesting ideas too, particularly buried within the motivations of the villain Thanos, but it gets very overwhelmed by the required need to shoehorn in the dozens (literally dozens) of lead and supporting characters even if they don't necessarily serve the story.

Josh Brolin as Thanos

Some succeed more than others -- it's fun seeing Doctor Strange and Iron Man butt heads, Spider-Man is welcome comic relief and there are some nice little nods to the emerging girl power of this franchise. However, Black Panther, Captain America and many more characters feel wasted.

And I have never been as taken with the Guardians of the Galaxy as a lot of fans are. It's also a pretty dour film. It's weird walking into a movie where the broader conversation centers around who is going to live or die in it.

Ironically, the most striking performance of the movie -- for me -- was Josh Brolin's motion capture Thanos. At times, his almost Shakespearean intonations get lost in the sturm and drang of the CGI set-pieces, but when he and his backstory are given time to breathe, Infinity War tiptoes into more compelling territory.

While not as sympathetic as Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, he is a formidable and insidious figure, and the film does a great job of establishing how fearsome he is early on with a fast and furious brawl with the Hulk. This may be the first Marvel movie I've seen where I genuinely felt like the bad guy couldn't be beaten.

I appreciate that the filmmakers decided to take the time to give Thanos a soul because so much of this film can feel soulless. After ten years and 18 movies, we've grown numb to seeing New York City in flames or massive spaceships blowing to pieces. And while a return to Wakanda is a welcome one, it feels more perfunctory here than it did in Ryan Coogler's more profound film.

There's a fatigue that has set in -- the one liners are fun and these actors are all incredibly likable -- but I can understand why this movie won't work for a lot of more discerning moviegoers who don't lap up ever iteration of these. And frankly, if it weren't for this movie's striking, satisfying ending -- it might not have worked for me.