Short Summary is an original series in which I write brief reviews of movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more. Spoiler alert, just in case!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has reached its culmination, and it’s absolutely spectacular.

I was in high school when Iron Man first came out, and 10 years later, Avengers: Infinity War has made my dreams come true, dashed my hopes, and taken me on a roller coaster ride of emotion. When you’ve spent a decade watching these movies and becoming invested in all of these characters and events, it’s hard not to feel both elation and incredible pain.

It’s a lot for one movie. With as many story developments and characters, old and new, coming together once again and also being introduced for the first time, Infinity War is a bit overwhelming. But this isn’t shocking, given the number of actors involved and the marketing of the movie, to name just a couple of factors.  It was rather obvious ever since the movie was announced.

However, Thanos is the best thing to happen to the MCU, even though he’s only been teased a handful of times. His cruelty, insanity, and intimidation are all bigger and badder than expected as well as any MCU villain before him. Because all of the other characters have been built up in their own solo and other group movies, Infinity War is Thanos’ movie, and it’s all the better for it.

Meanwhile, in a different Marvel production, Wade Wilson gets a surprising amount of emotional depth that fans of the first movie might not be expecting. Deadpool 2 has been advertised as a “family film,” and man, uh, that has more meaning that I gave it credit for.

Don’t get me wrong: this is still very much a Deadpool film. The humor, violence, references, and characters from the first film are wonderfully brought back. There’s even an extremely similar revenge plot. Yet Wade goes through a pretty significant character arc in one movie, and quite a few important themes are brought to light. Also, the soundtrack for Deadpool 2, particularly two songs, broke my heart, which was totally unanticipated.

Josh Brolin has had a busy summer, playing Thanos as well as Cable, and he basically did no wrong in either role. I’d say that I favor Cable as a character, since, well, it’s probably no spoiler: he’s WAY easier to empathize with. I wasn’t sure what I would think about Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, but she was really badass, and of course, Ryan Reynolds continues to kill it.

Deadpool 2 does something that few, modern-day sequels do; it keeps the spirit of the character and the first film while being unafraid of further world-building, going deeper and being a little more serious and, almost, more grounded. It’s far from a superfluous sequel. However, it’s still so much fun and enjoyable to watch. I feel like this movie balanced on a fine line and did so successfully!