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| Courtesy of Marvel |
It’s safe to read from top to bottom without worrying that I’m going to reveal crucial plot points or give away fun surprises. Granted, that means large chunks of praise and criticism (yes, there’s both) will be more vague than usual, but I figure that’s a trade-off most of you fine readers will accept.
Now that we’ve got the housekeeping out of the way, I’m sure there’s one big question on everyone’s mind: does “Infinity War,” the culmination of 18 previous films – an astonishing long-term vision that unfolded over the course of a decade – live up to everyone’s massive expectations? That depends on what you’re looking for in a Marvel movie.
Those looking for jaw-dropping action scenes, funny banter and entertaining combinations of characters we’ve come to love will be in heaven. However, those looking for complex characterization and story arcs lasting longer than a few minutes are going to come away disappointed.
That’s partly because Infinity War is only half a movie. This is the Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ending with our heroes scattered across the universe at the bleakest point we’ve ever seen them.
Co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo, along with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, spend the last act repeatedly punching viewers in the stomach, then cut to black at the most despondent moment imaginable. It’s a feeling that will resonate for a year until the untitled second part hits theaters.
Infinity War is one of the most ambitious movies I’ve ever seen. It spans dozens of locations, including several countries on Earth, as well as so many planets and galaxies that I lost count after a while. Of course, a narrative this momentous demands a huge canvas on which to unfold.
Which leads me to a warning that should be obvious, but I’ll state it anyway: if you’ve somehow never seen any other entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is a terrible place to start. You’ll be like the annoying, chatty women who sat behind me during the press screening, asking “who’s that guy?,” “what’s that thing?” and “why are people clapping?” every few minutes. The film doesn’t waste any time recapping previous entries – it drops you right into the action and expects you to keep up.
The plot is relatively simple considering the scope and the stakes. Longtime viewers already know about Thanos (Josh Brolin), the godlike villain at the heart of the story. He’s been a threat lurking in the background since the end of 2012’s The Avengers and he became even more pivotal once we learned he’s the father of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the green-skinned member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Another reason newbies should stay away: to them, he probably just comes across as a grouchy purple alien with an unfortunately shaped chin.)
Over the course of several films, Thanos has been looking for six Infinity Stones. When combined, they will allow him to wipe out half the universe’s population with a snap of his fingers. Obviously, everyone else in the film has a personal stake in making sure that doesn’t happen. To defeat him, heroes must set aside old conflicts and band together to save the universe.
When I say “heroes,” I mean almost all of them – heck, it might be easier to name the major characters who aren’t in the movie. Unless I miscounted, only Hawkeye and Ant-Man were conspicuously absent, although I imagine we’ll see them join the fight in the second installment next May. (Actually, we’ll see Ant-Man in a couple of months, although I’m curious how his sequel fits in this universe’s chronology.)
As you can imagine, that makes Infinity War an insanely busy movie with dozens of plot threads weaving together over the course of two and a half hours. That means there’s a ton of characters and it’s exhilarating to see the various combinations interact with one another for the first time.
Surprisingly, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gets the most to do and his exchanges with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are a delight. He’s also got a terrific sequence with a character played by Peter Dinklage (in an extended cameo) that might be some of the shrewdest casting I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it elicited shouts of delight from the folks in my screening.
Subscribing to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy of subplots, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) gets to spend more time with Spider-Man (Tom Holland) since they exhibited such strong chemistry in Captain America: Civil War and last summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. This time around, however, the script teams them with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) as well as a few other fun characters, which leads to a delightfully acerbic battle of egos.
However, because Infinity War is so packed, other characters barely get any screen time at all. Captain America (Chris Evans), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) deliver solid performances, but they’re absent so frequently that it’s easy to forget they’re in the movie.
Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) fare even worse, which is a shame considering how incredible they were in their own record-breaking flick. They get less screen time than Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who are far less compelling characters.
Still, what bugs me most about Infinity War is how Thanos is further proof that Marvel hasn’t solved their problem with lackluster villains. Don’t get me wrong, Brolin delivers a solid vocal and the character (achieved through motion capture) is visually impressive. The screenplay also tries to give him a compelling motive and backstory. But, at the end of the day, what’s interesting about an unstoppable god? Because there’s almost no inkling that our heroes can emerge victorious (at least not until the next chapter), the film quickly becomes a long, slow trudge toward inevitability.
What’s more, something Thanos does in the final moments of the film gives away the whole game. Don’t worry – I promised there won’t be any spoilers and I meant it. But once he performs this action, what comes after doesn’t hit as hard as the filmmakers want it to because we know – based on the rules of the movie – it can be undone. Not to mention Marvel has several sequels in the works involving many of these characters. By that logic, we have a good idea which ones are likely safe.
I’ll be honest, I left the theater feeling kind of underwhelmed with Infinity War. It’s a downer (despite plenty of tension-breaking humor), and I’ve always been a sucker for Marvel’s more comedic entries, like Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok. However, after dwelling on it for several hours afterward, I realized that I should probably reserve judgment until I can view it as the first half of larger whole, as it will eventually play for future viewers who will probably marathon all of it at once.
Regardless, this movie’s as critic proof as they come. It’s going to make roughly $12 gazillion despite my mixed reaction. Besides, now that the table-setting is out of the way, I can’t wait to see how the creative team writes its way out of the tight corner they’ve painted themselves into.
Now that we’ve got the housekeeping out of the way, I’m sure there’s one big question on everyone’s mind: does “Infinity War,” the culmination of 18 previous films – an astonishing long-term vision that unfolded over the course of a decade – live up to everyone’s massive expectations? That depends on what you’re looking for in a Marvel movie.
Those looking for jaw-dropping action scenes, funny banter and entertaining combinations of characters we’ve come to love will be in heaven. However, those looking for complex characterization and story arcs lasting longer than a few minutes are going to come away disappointed.
That’s partly because Infinity War is only half a movie. This is the Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ending with our heroes scattered across the universe at the bleakest point we’ve ever seen them.
Co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo, along with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, spend the last act repeatedly punching viewers in the stomach, then cut to black at the most despondent moment imaginable. It’s a feeling that will resonate for a year until the untitled second part hits theaters.
Infinity War is one of the most ambitious movies I’ve ever seen. It spans dozens of locations, including several countries on Earth, as well as so many planets and galaxies that I lost count after a while. Of course, a narrative this momentous demands a huge canvas on which to unfold.
Which leads me to a warning that should be obvious, but I’ll state it anyway: if you’ve somehow never seen any other entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is a terrible place to start. You’ll be like the annoying, chatty women who sat behind me during the press screening, asking “who’s that guy?,” “what’s that thing?” and “why are people clapping?” every few minutes. The film doesn’t waste any time recapping previous entries – it drops you right into the action and expects you to keep up.
The plot is relatively simple considering the scope and the stakes. Longtime viewers already know about Thanos (Josh Brolin), the godlike villain at the heart of the story. He’s been a threat lurking in the background since the end of 2012’s The Avengers and he became even more pivotal once we learned he’s the father of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the green-skinned member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Another reason newbies should stay away: to them, he probably just comes across as a grouchy purple alien with an unfortunately shaped chin.)
Over the course of several films, Thanos has been looking for six Infinity Stones. When combined, they will allow him to wipe out half the universe’s population with a snap of his fingers. Obviously, everyone else in the film has a personal stake in making sure that doesn’t happen. To defeat him, heroes must set aside old conflicts and band together to save the universe.
When I say “heroes,” I mean almost all of them – heck, it might be easier to name the major characters who aren’t in the movie. Unless I miscounted, only Hawkeye and Ant-Man were conspicuously absent, although I imagine we’ll see them join the fight in the second installment next May. (Actually, we’ll see Ant-Man in a couple of months, although I’m curious how his sequel fits in this universe’s chronology.)
As you can imagine, that makes Infinity War an insanely busy movie with dozens of plot threads weaving together over the course of two and a half hours. That means there’s a ton of characters and it’s exhilarating to see the various combinations interact with one another for the first time.
Surprisingly, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gets the most to do and his exchanges with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are a delight. He’s also got a terrific sequence with a character played by Peter Dinklage (in an extended cameo) that might be some of the shrewdest casting I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it elicited shouts of delight from the folks in my screening.
Subscribing to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy of subplots, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) gets to spend more time with Spider-Man (Tom Holland) since they exhibited such strong chemistry in Captain America: Civil War and last summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. This time around, however, the script teams them with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) as well as a few other fun characters, which leads to a delightfully acerbic battle of egos.
However, because Infinity War is so packed, other characters barely get any screen time at all. Captain America (Chris Evans), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) deliver solid performances, but they’re absent so frequently that it’s easy to forget they’re in the movie.
Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) fare even worse, which is a shame considering how incredible they were in their own record-breaking flick. They get less screen time than Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who are far less compelling characters.
Still, what bugs me most about Infinity War is how Thanos is further proof that Marvel hasn’t solved their problem with lackluster villains. Don’t get me wrong, Brolin delivers a solid vocal and the character (achieved through motion capture) is visually impressive. The screenplay also tries to give him a compelling motive and backstory. But, at the end of the day, what’s interesting about an unstoppable god? Because there’s almost no inkling that our heroes can emerge victorious (at least not until the next chapter), the film quickly becomes a long, slow trudge toward inevitability.
What’s more, something Thanos does in the final moments of the film gives away the whole game. Don’t worry – I promised there won’t be any spoilers and I meant it. But once he performs this action, what comes after doesn’t hit as hard as the filmmakers want it to because we know – based on the rules of the movie – it can be undone. Not to mention Marvel has several sequels in the works involving many of these characters. By that logic, we have a good idea which ones are likely safe.
I’ll be honest, I left the theater feeling kind of underwhelmed with Infinity War. It’s a downer (despite plenty of tension-breaking humor), and I’ve always been a sucker for Marvel’s more comedic entries, like Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok. However, after dwelling on it for several hours afterward, I realized that I should probably reserve judgment until I can view it as the first half of larger whole, as it will eventually play for future viewers who will probably marathon all of it at once.
Regardless, this movie’s as critic proof as they come. It’s going to make roughly $12 gazillion despite my mixed reaction. Besides, now that the table-setting is out of the way, I can’t wait to see how the creative team writes its way out of the tight corner they’ve painted themselves into.
Avengers: Infinity War is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.
Grade: Incomplete
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