Director-siblings Anthony and Joe Russo do a deft balancing act, not just with their myriad of characters but also with tone: For a movie that is merging a handful of well-established worlds, Infinity War achieves astounding tonal consistency. Maybe that's because it leans heavily on a select few fan-favourite universes -- whichmakes it feel like the core Avengers are being dropped into Black Panther Thor , and Guardians of the Galaxy , rather than the other way around. It's also a film that has the benefit of past experience, and uses that to its advantage. The diversity that made Black Panther such a monumental success isn't tamped down, or tokenized (everyone knows that Wakanda is where it's at). And taking cues from Thor: Ragnarok , Iron Man 3, Spider-Man and Black Panther, Infinity War is far more self-aware than its predecessors, embracing its goofiest aspects with infectious zest. Yeah, Iron Man and Spider-Man trying to keep a "Squidward"-looking, Thanos-spawned alien from stealing Dr. Strange's stone sounds absurd. But they know it too. "He came to steal a necklace from a wizard," Stark explains to Parker as he whizzes past. (A surprise guest appearance later in the film, which we won't spoil here, is equally as harebrained and fantastic.)