The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been delighting fans of the comics and thrilling moviegoers since 2008 when Iron Man steamrolled itself onto the big screen in an epic fashion. From the special effects to the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, it was the complete package.
Since then Marvel hasn’t really had a blip, ignoring Thor: The Dark World and to a lesser extent, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Each film has been well worth of a rating of at least 7/10 here on The Lincolnite.
The culmination of all those films through Phase One, Phase Two and Three has come to a head in this, Avengers: Infinity War. It promises to be the biggest, baddest and most epic Marvel movie to date, but is it actually any good?
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet – the evil and monstrous Thanos (Josh Brolin). On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artefacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.
Directed by Antony and Joe Russo, the masterminds behind the fantastic Captain America sequels, Infinity War picks up just after the end of Thor: Ragnarok. This starting place seems fitting and not jumping too far ahead of the finale of that film is perfect to reintroduce our beloved heroes.
And it’s befitting of mentioning Captain America: Civil War in particular as if you enjoyed the airport scene of that film, Avengers: Infinity War is definitely the movie for you. Filled to the brim with stunning action scenes, Infinity War plays out like a highlights reel of some of Marvel’s best bits.
The cast form one of the best ensembles ever put to screen, though from each of their solo outings, this is really no surprise. Seeing Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America et al come back together is frankly, a joy and the film works best when there are as many heroes on-screen together as possible.
A highlight in this instance is Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange – prepare to jump on the Steven Strange bandwagon. After a relatively lacklustre solo outing, his character pops on the screen and really benefits from the Russo brothers zingy direction.
As is the case with many films involving such a large cast, much of the 149 minute runtime is spent following a few of them at once, each going about their own mission in relation to stopping Thanos and his possession of the Infinity stones. If I count correctly, there are 3 quests going on at once, but only two are really successful.
The third, which I’m not going to spoil here involves Thor and despite Chris Hemsworth’s usual charisma, it’s a disappointing side quest that has a whiff of the Casino planet saga in Star Wars: The Last Jedi about it.
Special effects wise, this is a $400 million movie, so you know what to expect. For the most part, the CGI from Industrial Light & Magic is seamless and really rather beautiful. The motion capture work done on Josh Brolin to turn him into Thanos is exquisite and the end result is a truly menacing villain. Elsewhere however, there are a few corners cut if you look closely enough, but I’ll leave it down to you to try to spot them.
Focusing on Thanos himself, he proves to be a fitting villain for a film this gargantuan in scale. His towering presence and almost demonic sense of entitlement completely does away with the stereotypical Marvel bad-guy problem that the MCU has been suffering with. Obviously helped massively by Brolin’s incredible performance, Thanos is up there with Loki in terms of sheer entertainment value.
Nevertheless, Avengers: Infinity War is not a perfect film and it would be wrong of me to pretend it was. Despite its massive length, elements do feel rushed from time-to-time and cramming 20+ characters into a film was never going to be a slam dunk. Some moments that should have deep resonance really don’t reach the emotion they were clearly intended to do, and that’s because of the film’s need to tie up as much of the plot as possible. Thankfully, from a tonal perspective, the Russo brothers manage to keep the balance almost perfect and it’s a vast improvement over Joss Whedon’s disjointed Age of Ultron.
My biggest issue with the film however, is the ending. Avengers: Infinity War is not a film you come to the end of and applaud. In fact, the main response from the entire screening of the film I was watching was a collective groan as the end credits begin to roll. Despite the promise that Infinity War would work as a standalone movie; it just doesn’t. It’s very much a starting chapter for what comes next in Avengers 4. But we need to wait just over a year for the concluding chapter to arrive in UK cinemas, and that is incredibly infuriating.
Overall, Avengers: Infinity War is a culmination of everything Marvel has been working towards for a decade. In its favour are an incredible cast, that trademark MCU humour and some stunning action sequences, but these are offset by an infuriating ending and a lack of emotional heft to the film’s inevitable darker moments.
This may definitely be the biggest movie in the MCU and it’s definitely the 2nd best Avengers movie, but it’s not quite up there with the very best.
Avengers: Infinity War rating: 7.5/10
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An avid lover of all things film, Adam Brannon has grown up with a huge passion for cinema that can be traced right back to his favourite childhood movie, Steven Spielberg's smash hit, Jurassic Park.
After graduating from the University of Lincoln with a degree in journalism, he now writes film reviews for his own website, Movie Metropolis and for the Press Association.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
It’s nearly time for entrants to pull out their running shoes as the ASDA Foundation City of Lincoln 10k returns this Sunday, but there will be some disruption due to road closures in place for the event.
The race starting on Riseholme Road attracts thousands of runners every year. This year’s race begins at 10am on October 31 for both seasoned runners and also fancy-dressed fundraisers and beginners looking for fun.
Run For All is working in partnership with city of Lincoln Council to deliver the event. The event will require the closure of roads and road junctions, as well as the suspension of a number of Traffic Regulation Orders between 4pm on October 30 and the same time on the day of the event.
Road closures for the ASDA Foundation City of Lincoln 10k.
The route map for the ASDA Foundation City of Lincoln 10k.
Event timings
7am – Event car parks open
9am – Race office opens
9.45am – Baggage store truck leaves and relocates to event village. The race warm up is also at this time
10am – City of Lincoln 10k begins
10.30am – The winner is expected to finish by this time
There will also be a team of pacers on the day. They will be pacing at five-minute intervals between 40 minutes and 1.5 hours.
Event facilities
The Race office is located in Yarborough Leisure Centre car park and will be open between 12pm-3pm on Saturday and from 9am on Sunday
Baggage store – You can drop your baggage here at the Yarborough Leisure Centre car park before 10.40am. After the run, you can collect your baggage from the store in Westgate car park opposite the event village
Drink stations – bottled water is available on the course and at the finish. Competitors are advised to ensure that they consider the effects of dehydration
Support & entertainment – a variety of performers will be on hand to keep you motivated around the course
Charity village – The Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10k is partnered to several local and national charities. The painter charities will be on hand to meet and greet the runners, as well as raising awareness of their work
First aid – personnel will be on hand to help at regular intervals on the course with fixed first aid stations located near to the water stations. In addition, there will be a first aid unit and recovery area located near to the finish
Food and drink – there are a number of bars and cafes in the area that will be sure to welcome spectators and participants
Parking – information regarding parking can be found here
A former tourist information office at Lincoln Bus Station – used to serve takeaway from the coffee shop next door during the pandemic – will become a watch repair shop.
Instead, he will be looking to reopen in the now-defunct information office at the bus station as The Watchman, supplying watch batteries, straps and other accessories.
Mr Redfearn said he had “come to terms” with having to leave the market, but said about the move: “I’m looking forward to it.”
It was originally staffed by members of the council’s customer services team. A spokesman for the authority, however, said it was only ever intended to be a short-term introduction to the bus station.
How the booth looked when the bus station first opened. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The council spokesman said: “The reception desk was something we incorporated into the bus station when it first opened.
“It was intended to be used for a limited time period to issue bus passes, answer queries and deal with customer enquiries about council services.
“The desk closed at the beginning of 2020 and we are delighted to have found a tenant who we believe will provide a useful service and prove to be a positive addition to the bus station.”
There have been new 563 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, as more than six million booster jabs have been given in the UK and pharmaceutical giants say one vaccine is showing good results in six to 11-year-olds.
The Greater Lincolnshire case figure is almost 30% down on the 801 cases on last Monday.
Meanwhile, the latest national vaccination data shows that one-in-eight eligible adults in the UK have received a booster jab.
The latest COVID stats for Lincolnshire are:
563 new cases of coronavirus in Greater Lincolnshire with 428 in Lincolnshire, 64 in North East Lincolnshire and 71 in North Lincolnshire
No further deaths were recorded in the government figures
However, five further deaths were recorded in Greater Lincolnshire Hospitals since Friday with all of them at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.
New NHS figures have shown that at least 6.1 million booster doses have been delivered as of October 24 – including 5.2 million in England.
As of Friday, NHS Lincolnshire said more than 60,000 covid booster vaccinations have been given to-date in Lincolnshire
People who are eligible, including all health and care staff, care home residents, people at risk, carers and people over the age of 50, will be invited by their GP or by the NHS as six months elapses after their second vaccine, and everyone is encouraged to book their appointment as soon as they receive their invitation.
The latest figures also show more than nine in 10 staff in care homes have had at least one dose and more than eight in 10 have had two as the government looks to make it compulsory for front line health workers.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Meanwhile, the makers of the Moderna vaccine said they had “good results” from trials on six-11-year-olds.
Tests on 4,753 children have suggested two doses creates a strong immune response and that most side effects were mild.
Labour leader Kier Starmer has said schools should have exclusion zones to stop protesters “intimidating” children and parents.
He said there was “growing evidence” of anti-vaxxers outside schools and said there needed to be “fast-track exclusion orders”.
He said it was “important action is taken”.
It comes as Downing Street said local directors of public health should “balance the risk of COVID along with the potentially longer-term harm of any disruption to education” before bringing in tougher restrictions.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “These are powers that directors of public health have had for some time, which the government introduced, to allow them to take local action when they felt necessary.
“We would expect the directors of public health to work closely with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care in making any decisions in that regard.”
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, October 25
133,831 cases (up 563)
89,073 in Lincolnshire (up 428)
21,858 in North Lincolnshire (up 71)
22,900 in North East Lincolnshire (up 64)
2,390 deaths (no change)
1,746 from Lincolnshire (no change)
328 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
316 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,439 hospital deaths (up five)
885 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up five)
44 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
509 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF THE LATEST UPDATE. POSTCODE DATA INCLUDES DEATHS NOT IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OR IN HOSPITALS OUTSIDE AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES.
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