The Marvel Cinematic Universe culminating in Avengers: Infinity War. 18 Films, 10 Years, was it worth the wait? No, it wasn’t. But not for what you think.
Marvel seemingly acknowledges its lack of villainy with the mad titan, Thanos, FINALLY stepping into the fight against the Avengers in his goal of collecting all the infinity stones to kill half of the universe. But the problem is they throw Thanos at us like that boulder Indiana Jones is running from in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
And that’s a problem with you have a two and a half hour story with 38 characters as well as Thanos. A lot of these characters don’t get the time on screen and it feels more like their on-screen time is there partly because this is the first part of the end and partly a hardcore nostalgia trip.
And this is never more evident than it is with Captain America. The fact that Chris Evans is such a God damned good actor makes it even more frustrating as Cap comes out of hiding after two years since the events of Civil War. Cap comes across as hollow, his belief, his patriotism is gone and any moments of legitimate interesting character work is virtually ignored in favor of splashy action scenes.
Saying, Josh Brolin, is a damned good actor is like saying Donald Trump has a bit of an ego. While, the Russo’s, the directing duo behind Captain America: Winter Solider & Civil War, really shoves Thanos in our faces, “Hey, we actually have a decent villain for you!!” at some points. It’s Brolin that makes you want it more. And you do want it more. Combined with utterly brilliant design, motion capture, and CGI. Brolin creates a character that is every bit a threat for 10 years worth of heroes.
Chris Hemsworth yet again proves he’s more than an epic set of arms as Thor takes a dark turn driven by the events of the after credit scene in Thor: Ragnarok and is every bit capable of giving back to Josh Brolin at his best. It’s unexpected and risky for the safe Marvel space. But Infinity War is the kind of story that needs that kind of weight a dark character turn can give. The ending of Infinity War is a tour-de-force to the talents of Brolin against Hemsworth.
And the Russo’s give this story a lot of weight with paying off the seeds planted long ago especially with Zoe Saldena’s Gamora. Infinity War pays off the seeds set out with Gamora rebelling against her adoptive father Thanos in the first Guardians of the Galaxy.
You come for the action (more on that later) and you stay for the great performances. Robert Downey Jr. as always is Tony Stark and it’s starting to get frustrating because he doesn’t get a lot outside of just being Tony Stark and Infinity War literally takes him away from anything interesting for Downey Jr. to play with forcing him to be just Stark. And it gets repetitive really fast. Stark meets Dr. Strange and they butt heads. Thor meets the Guardians and he butts heads with Star Lord. And it gets to the point where these heroes are bickering when it’s the literal end of the world around you… priorities… just saying…
But despite the repetition and truly impressive character count, the story moves fast and when it slows, the Russo’s eye for character and their great use of the frame plays off well and you’re drawn into the story. And as the Russo’s have shown extremely well across the Captain American films, they know action. And if you wanted action, if you want superheroes working together at the head of a thousands-strong army charging an equally large army, Infinity War just might be what you’re looking for.
Marvel’s history of films defines style over substance. But what they do, they do well… even better when your backed by Disney and have all the money in the world. Thanos hits earth in search of those infinity stones with about as much subtlety as that boulder from Indiana Jones I mentioned. His personal guard, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of Thanos’s orders to collect those stones.
The action in this film is intense and for the first time in a long time of Marvel films, you actually felt the risk. The entire third act of this film is a battle and it does not once let up and it lives up to every bit the hype that the trailers give you.
I can go into intricate details but the fact of the matter is Avengers Infinity War is one of the most entertaining films Marvel has put out despite the flaws. I had a damn good time watching it and I will honestly go back to see it in theatres at least one more time. Avengers Infinity War is well worth 4.5 stars out of 5 because it delivers a final curtain to the first ten years in every epic way possible and every way possible to respect these actors and characters that have lived them for the past ten years.
But the main reason it gets such a high rating is for the ending. Avengers Infinity War, original a part 1 & 2, part 2 now being a sequel, ended on such a great note that you genuinely want to see how Marvel will finish this last curtain call for its original heroes, Thor, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark. However they do it, after Infinity War, you know it’s going to be marvelous.