“There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if we could become something more so when they needed us, we could fight the battles that they never could.” —Avengers: Infinity War

Over the course of 10 years and 18 movies, Marvel has been preparing us for this film. Every single movie, character, and story arc have all been leading up to this. Because of this, fans had extremely high expectations for this movie, expectations that many people, including myself, thought would be impossible to meet. But I say with great honor that Avengers: Infinity War didn’t only meet my hopes, it shattered them beyond belief.

Taking place across literally the entire universe, Avengers: Infinity War follows the story of Thanos, a mad titan from another world, who is bent on committing mass genocide and killing of half the universe’s population. He plans to achieve this goal by collecting the six Infinity Stones. The only thing standing in his way are actually not the Avengers themselves, who were disbanded in a previous movie, but a collective group of over 20 heroes. Every single one of these characters has made their debut in a previous movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), many in movies dedicated solely to them.

This film is everything a Marvel fan could ever ask for, and so much more. Putting aside the fact that Marvel created a multi-billion dollar universe around these characters and their stories is an incredible feat on its own, the film knows exactly what it wants to accomplish, and executes it flawlessly. Never once does this movie start to feel stale or slow; you are always on the edge of your seat with action, comedy, and emotional moments.

While Avengers: Infinity War does have all of these moment, what makes it truly spectacular is that everything flows very naturally and nothing feels forced. There were never any jokes that felt shoved in there, never once a death scene that just felt put there because it was obligatory. Anthony and Joe Russo, the two brothers who worked together on directing the film, knew exactly what to give and when to deliver it. But not only did they give me what I wanted, they gave me things I didn’t even know I wanted, and the surprise was immensely pleasing.

One of the biggest complaints people have had with Marvel in recent years in a lack of stakes in their movies. Aside from an occasional death tossed in here and there, everyone knows exactly what will happen — the characters will get their happy ending. Avengers: Infinity War takes these complaints and shoots them down with full force. Never once have I been so unsure of what was going to happen in a movie, from what the characters were going to do in order to achieve their goals, to whether or not they would even live to see their goals achieved. This movie will make you constantly second guess yourself, and I can’t even count on both fingers how many unexpected plot twists and reveals were thrown at me. However, none of these turning points were predictable, and many defied what we think of as basic storytelling expectations.

Avengers: Infinity War is a golden masterpiece of a film, the sort that only comes around once or twice a decade. This movie had me second guessing my prediction capabilities until the very end, and my mind is still having trouble comprehending what happened in some parts. It is the cinematic treasure that every Marvel fan was hoping for, and even casual fans will be able to quickly catch on and enjoy it immensely, although they may want to study up a bit, or bring a friend who can explain a few things to them. The only type of person I can imagine who wouldn’t enjoy this film are those who hate violence and death because this movie has quite a bit of both. The amount of audacity the Russo brothers had when making this film is what truly makes this a marvelous piece, one that I will be revisiting again in theaters and on DVD countless times. Having already set the record for the biggest global box office opening of all time, Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in theaters worldwide.