Movie Info
Movie Name: Avengers: Infinity War
Studio: Marvel Studios
Genre(s): Comic Book/Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): April 23, 2018 (Premiere)/April 27, 2018 (US)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Thanos is here!!!
Thanos (Josh Brolin) has arrived…and he wants the remaining Infinity Gems. With Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Vision (Paul Bettany) housing stones on Earth, Thanos has sent emissaries to the planet to claim the stones while Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds the stone housed in the Tesseract could bring death to himself, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and the Asgardians. The Guardians of the Galaxy could hold the key to another stone as the time ticks down to save the universe. Meanwhile, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finds himself and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) headed to space in a desperate rescue attempt and a last ditch effort to stop Thanos. As alien forces amass with Earth in their sights, Wakanda and the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) could be Earth’s best change to save the universe…but Thanos is strong and his power is unparalleled.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Infinity War is the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and concludes their “Phase Three” films which began with Captain America: Civil War (2016). The movie adapts portions of 1991’s The Infinity Gauntlet and 2013’s Infinity. The movie follows Black Panther (2018) and was released to massive box office returns and positive reviews. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Special Effects.
My favorite fight in all of the MCU movies
Of the MCU, the Avengers films aren’t very high on my list. The first film was bloated and dull and the second film just wasn’t very good in general. As a lifelong comic book reader (30+ years), the comic book boom is something I dreamed of as a kid. In that sense, Avengers: Infinity War didn’t fail me. As a safety measure, a ******spoiler alert****** is in effect for the rest of the review.
The movie above all things is a spectacle. Visually, it is pretty compelling and really nails down the look of a comic book. This wasn’t the most difficult thing in reality, they have had eighteen movies to warm up to it and not all hit the mark…but Infinity War does. It is big, brash, and visual. The characters really work well together and moments like the throwdown with Thanos on Titan with Mantis, Star-Lord, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Drax, and Doctor Strange present visual high points. Likewise the battle in Wakanda blended space adventures with something like Braveheart in a way that works…I was really over the over-the-top Avengers music soaring in every time that some character showed up though.
Seriously…you couldn’t have just made a scale model to put his head through instead of this abomination (the later shot is even worse)
The cast also has fallen into the roles. There are surprisingly few character Easter eggs in a movie that I thought would try to introduce more and more characters (Ross Marquand replaces Hugo Weaving as a fun Red Skull cameo). With such a big cast, the movie does a strong job balancing it (for the most part). There is a lot less time for jokes and one lines from characters who can’t deliver one liners (which is a good thing to me), and I wasn’t sure how all the sarcastic characters like Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord would play together, but they are actually a team…and the meeting of egos works. The surprising and strongest performances come from Josh Brolin as Thanos himself (though he was originally mocked in early trailers) and his play off of his adopted daughter Gamora played by Zoe Saldana in some of the movie’s only slow moments.
Wakanda Forever! (or at least another 20 minutes or so)
What will work for some and not work for others is that it is a comic book movie at its core. The action jumps all over the place in a fashion like the Lord of the Rings films and it is a lot of fighting. It isn’t necessarily a cohesive story as a standalone, and if you haven’t seen a majority of the films, it might make little sense. This all culminates in an ending that is more set-up for future movies (and could ruin some of the franchises that others like depending what is done in the follow-up Phase 4 movies). If you loved the Black Panther, you might be a bit disappointed in Avengers: Infinity War since it takes so long for the characters to show up and Wakanda doesn’t stand much of a chance against Thanos’ forces. Characters like Hawkeye and Ant-Man were oddly absent (and written off weakly) while the Asgardians were unceremoniously slaughtered off camera after the fun Thor: Ragnarok…running the risk of being an Alien3 situation (but not quite that bad). It is this weird balance in the storytelling that could be off-putting to some.
Avenger: Infinity War is a lot of things. If nothing else it is a spectacle and amazing as a long time comic book reader. I know how the story pans out (in comics) and I am already imagining how the MCU will write its way out of the problems of the actors’ contracts running up for the Avengers sequel (scheduled for 2019)…reality can literally be warped so I guess I shouldn’t worry about sequels to the films I like. Avengers: Infinity War is followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 as well.
Related Links:
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
