(Photo from IMDb.com)

The bad guy comes out in the latest edition from the Marvel Universe, and it’s all-hands-on-deck.

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo work the patch-quilt of franchises built in this studio kingdom, and for the 2 hours, 29 minutes of the screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley, the battles are many, deep, interwoven and fraught with significance as everything stands brittle.

New fights side-by-side with old in Avengers: Infinity War.

Doctor Strange and Tony Stark and Spider-Man work spells on one planet while Black Panther, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers and more fight side-by-side with an Army. Peter Quill, Rocket and Quill Guard the Galaxy back and forth. Thor travels where he’s most needed. The Scarlet Witch stays true to Vision. Thanos proves to be one heck of a villain as he thunders and plunders for the remaining precious gems that will complete his bedazzling glove and give him ultimate power. I do appreciate how the heroes can go by their regular and super names, both.

A half-house at the Regal Cinemas’ big theater at Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA for the 12:40 matinée on the opening day of this much-anticipated release seemed quite mesmerized by it all, kids on spring break with parents and caregivers staring up at the from-comics-wonder.

I did think that this PG-13 fare was too much for some of the young’un present, so violent it was.

I sort-of dozed, though, midway through.

Too many and too much put me in a semi-stupor as the superheroes stacked up and the attempts to thwart Thanos became this and that, that and this. And, yikes, so much of it was so dark.

Eventually I shook my way out of it. Maybe it was me, not you, I apologized to the screen.

Bring them on. (Photo from IMDb.com)

The good side had to conquer this dastardly foe, a guy surrounded with helpers who could release flying attackers who made me think of the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz.

The star power came through, all of these top-shelters making the most of their screen time. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Hemsworth. Josh Brolin, in all that makeup as the bad guy; Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as the voices of the Galaxy crew. Gwyneth Paltrow. Benedict Cumberbatch. Dom Cheadle. Zoe Saldana. Anthony Mackie. Mark Ruffalo. Karen Gillan. Now we’re just name-dropping, no? No. Somehow, they all work their ways to make their characters important in their time in the story.

As every superhero move was met in the chess match with matching or more power or wits, it was time to squirm.

Which in the Marvel Universe would go?

How will Marvel Studios work its way out of this one?

Yes, there is a teaser waaaaaaay at the end of the credits.