2018’s The Avengers:
Infinity War, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.
Starring Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Chris
Hemsworth, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Chris
Evans, Tom Holland, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Karen
Gillan, Scarlett Johansson, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Sebastian Stan, Tom
Hiddleston, and Vin Diesel.
What is it about?
The Avengers: Infinity
War is a story about the inter dimensional villain, Thanos (Josh Brolin), who
is intent on murdering a large part of the universe. Needing to secure 6
Infinity Stones scattered throughout the universe, the only thing standing in
Thanos’ way is The Avengers. Comprised of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, The Guardians of the Galaxy,
Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Spiderman,
along with other stand outs such as Black Widow, Falcon, The Winter Soldier,
Scarlet Witch, Vision, and many others, they’re a formidable defence mechanism.
But Thanos is no shrinking eggplant- will the
Avengers be able to defend the universe from yet another powerful
interstellar being bent on destruction?
Why is it worth seeing?
The Avengers: Infinity
War is the 7th film in the Phase 3 stage of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe (MCU), which is parent company Disney’s cash printing machine, ahem,
marvel. The hype involved is breath taking: it’s Marvel’s 19th film
in the MCU, and has been a decade in the making. All of the stand alone origin
stories, combined with team up films, have been leading to this film (with the
2nd installment set to be released a year later)- it demands to be
seen by those who at least marginally enjoy comic book movies. But with this
much success, hype, circumstance, and sheer franchise obligation, is it
possible for Infinity War to be even
be coherent?
Infinity War brings
back writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus (of the Captain America trilogy and Thor: Dark World). With the sheer amount of characters to cover, they
successfully manage to balance the obligations of jumping around the universe
to re-introduce characters as they bounce off one another, and (usually) keep
the rapport going that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for. In
particular, The Guardians of the Galaxy’s
cast keep their potent mocking powers, and Tom Holland’s movie reference
slinging web crawler have some of the best lines of the film. But with so many
characters to cover, other iconic superheroes and villains alike barely have
time to register (and continue arcs already introduced and progressed)-
before they’re fighting for their lives.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have the impossible task of assembling
all of the raw fable material work, a (rich) fool’s errand if there ever was
one. After deftly directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, they again perform an impressive job of multi tasking,
with them blending the sheer amount of universe hopping with inspired PG-13
combat. They keep their spy movie styled geography hopping intact, while
expertly blending the sheer amount of CGI and live action effects the
extravaganza calls for. It’s too much of a good thing, as the relentless pace
has one wishing for the gargantuan machine to just take a breath, and let the
MCU, so good in its downtime, resolve their family (extended and otherwise)
issues.
And what of Thanos, the antagonist who the series has been
mentioning (and hyping) since The
Avengers? Dangerously close to being physically generic like other villains (and infinitely
meme-able), Josh Brolin proves an inspired choice for his voice (and somewhat
similar physical similarities). Behind his steely ruthlessness, McFeely and
Markus bring some touches to give Thanos (somewhat of) a back story to explain
his weighty motivations, but it’s hardly enough to make us feel for his plight.
The dude is trying to wipe out half the universe (with a gauntlet of multi
coloured gems), and we’re not really sure why his followers (with generic
instant coffee powers) follow either. It makes you wonder what kind of pathos
could have been generated had they skipped an origin story for the Avengers- and
had one for Thanos instead?
With all of the talent assembled, and a (momentous) track
record established, consistencies give way to necessary plot devices. Accents,
powers, and personalities at times arbitrarily buckle and dissolve- cheapening
the experience. With such a checklist to go through (even for 2 movies that
will rival Lord of the Rings’ for
their run time), it can be disorientating watching a character known for flying
crawl around impotently. But even more disingenuous, is the cynicism of the
casualties. While the film features a great deal of death (some of us aren’t going
to walk away from this one), the Infinity Wars title suggests the sheer amount
of recycling favoured in any franchise machine. With the Infinity Stones macguffins
capable of reconfiguring time and life, is there actual consequence to the
stakes involved? With that reality present in the background, it robs the
foreground of some poetically final moments that would have been unusually
brazen for a corporate blockbuster machine.
With an epic amount of expectations and hype (but not as
much as the sequel), Avengers: Infinity
War does a great deal of work in creating a breathless ride. Its
multitasking is impressive, comic banter amusing, and the stakes are high. It
promises to break box office records. One wishes that with the running time, we
could meet more of the antagonist, and (similar to Age of Ultron) have more downtime with our heroes. But when you
have corporate expectations, some irregularities are chartered in. In line with
a trailer (see below) that is dishonest, one has to wonder if Doctor Strange is
pulling his cape over our eyes.
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