For 10 years the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to one thing: “Avengers: Infinity War,” which debuted worldwide on April 27 to the monumental acclaim fans have come to expect from Marvel Studios. As the culmination of the entirety of the MCU, “Infinity War” features almost every character ever introduced over the course of 18 movies.

The former team of Avengers, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), join forces with King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel), as well as Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), in order to stop the mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) from wiping out half the universe.

As far as movie franchises go, the MCU has usually been a franchise known for its light-hearted and humorous movies. “Infinity War” takes all of that, all 10 years worth of franchise building, and throws it out the window. From the first minute to the last, “Infinity War” raises the stakes higher than ever before, and by the time the dust settles, the MCU has been changed forever.

The story of “Infinity War,” as most Marvel fans are aware, is based off of the 1991 comic book known as “The Infinity Gauntlet.” “Infinity War” serves as a near-perfect adaptation of the comic, despite few key differences. Potentially the most shocking plot point carried over from “Infinity War” is Thanos’s goal of wiping out half of the universe. Despite seeming silly to only eliminate half of the Universe, “Infinity War” manages to flawlessly put reason behind Thanos’s goal, to the point where fans might begin to see that Thanos is right in his goal and painfully correct in his execution. When directors Joe and Anthony Russo said in an interview they wanted Thanos to be like Darth Vader for a new generation, a good number of skeptical fans assumed they were exaggerating. A single viewing of “Infinity War” manages to prove they were not.

When it comes to villains, Thanos is easily Marvel’s best yet. While the worse half of the MCU villain’s gallery tend to have incredibly poor backstories or bland and uninteresting portrayals (*cough Malekith cough*), Thanos is portrayed brilliantly. He is calm, cold, and menacing. All of his actions are direct, and every move he makes has been fully thought out. His motives are logical, and his execution, while seemingly insane, is actually quite humane. It is almost enough to make fans side with Thanos over the Avengers.

Few flaws exist in “Infinity War.” The only one that could possibly be worth mentioning is calling Thanos a villain. In the grand scheme of things, Thanos is saving the universe, the Avengers interfering is ending it. Thanos is at most a deuteragonist, one who is neither hero nor villain, but is the second most important character in a medium of entertainment.

“Infinity War” has perfect special effects, as is common for the MCU. All set pieces are spectacular and have immense variety. What it lacks is unique use of its camera angles. While other movies and TV shows speak through the placement and the movement of the camera, “Infinity War” forgoes this strategy completely and instead uses the camera as a window into the action, fully immersing the viewers in each and every shot.

The latest installment in the ever-widening MCU faces a massive challenge. With nearly 60 characters among the main cast and nearly 40 more in the supporting crew, giving each character the screen time they deserved was going to be a challenge to say the least. Fortunately, Marvel and the Russo Brothers did everything in their power to give nearly everyone their rightful time on the screen.

“Infinity War” holds one final flaw that could not be avoided. The score for the movie is spectacular, and is sadly overshadowed by the fast moving plot and intense action sequences. While this fails to detract anything from the movie, it stands a testament to how engaging each and every moment of “Infinity War” is.

With almost any other movie a viewer can listen to the plot with one ear and listen to the soundtrack with the other ear, watch the movie with one eye and look for references and easter eggs with the other eye, whereas with “Infinity War,” one has to put all four sensors into viewing each shot.

When a franchise has been running for 10 years with no stopping, fatigue is one of the biggest fears a company can have. Fortunately, the brilliantly crafted plot of “Infinity War” makes sure that no one could ever anticipate what will happen in the years to come.

Described as one of the most ambitious crossover events in history, it is safe to say that “Infinity War” was not oversold by its marketing team. More than 60 characters from 18 movies culminate in 149 minutes of pure, gut-wrenching tear-jerking action-packed amazingness that will leave anyone, fan of Marvel or not, absolutely speechless. A feat this impressive demolishes any rating system, and in the spirit of puns, “Infinity War” earns itself an ∞/10.