Story by Grant Dillard, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
For over 10 years now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to provide entertaining and action-packed superhero movies to hardcore comic book fans and casual moviegoers alike. From “Iron Man” to “Doctor Strange” to “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the MCU has managed to make surprisingly good movies revolving around characters who did not seem fiflmable at the time. In celebration of the occasion comes “Avengers: Infinity War,” which is the culmination of everything that has happened in the MCU since the very first “Iron Man.” Basically, everything has led to this, and the buildup was seriously worth it.
In the mid-credits scene of “The Avengers,” the villainous character known as Thanos (Josh Brolin) was introduced. Throughout a series of teases and small appearances in the MCU, it was foretold that Thanos would track down and collect all of the Infinity Stones, allowing him to wipe out half the universe with just the snap of his fingers. Now that the time has come, the Avengers as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy will have to come together in order to stop Thanos and his quest for worldwide destruction.
The best way to describe “Infinity War” is simply one word: epic. Everything revolving around the film is simply epic, whether it is the huge roster of characters, the narrative structure, the different locations where some of the film’s events take place or the action scenes. Really, this is the “Avengers” sequel that most audiences were hoping “Age of Ultron” would be; they just had to wait another movie later to get it.
Given the huge cast of characters, it is wondered how the film manages to give them as much relevance and screen time as possible. “Infinity War” does this by splitting the heroes into separate groups: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) teaming with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff.) Some of the teams also end up meeting together or coming across other groups of characters altogether, which was a smart and clever way to showcase all the characters. Much like other “Avengers” films, it is such a delight to see these characters interact and banter together.
All the credit in the world should go to the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, who previously directed both “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War.” With those films, the Russo brothers had already proved that not only are they incredibly good at directing exciting action scenes, but they can also be given numerous characters and still find a way to make all of them relevant or stand out. With “Infinity War,” they were given that responsibility again, only on a more massive scale. Despite handling characters that had been introduced and shaped by other directors and writers, the Russo brothers still made those characters feel and act like their personas in previous film appearances. Because of this, nobody on-screen feels out of character. While there were a couple of heroes who were not given as much screen time as some people might have preferred, specifically characters like Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), they were at least given one impressive moment that helped them stand out more.
After a few brief appearances throughout the MCU, Thanos finally arrived on the scene, and he is, without a doubt, the greatest enemy the Avengers have ever faced. Based on his previous appearances, it may be easy to expect Thanos to simply be a one-note baddie who only wants to destroy the world just because he feels like it. That is far from the case here, as the Mad Titan had a surprisingly compelling motivation for his plans. Mainly due to a tragedy from his past, Thanos believes that wiping out half the universe is for the good of everyone, as it would perfectly balance the universe. While he was dead set on completing his mission, there were a few moments in which Thanos did feel a sense of regret and sorrow. Thanks to the good writing, a blend of impressive facial animations and motion capture and Brolin’s fantastic performance, Thanos made for quite an amazing antagonist that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
The great action scenes, fun character interactions and the menacing villain were all good additions, but what really made “Infinity War” a great film is the overall bleakness, as well as the big surprises and bold choices the film makes. One could say this about any movie in general, but it is downright essential to go into this film completely spoiler-free, as the plot goes into some unexpected directions that one might not expect for a film in the MCU. “Infinity War” just might be the darkest film in the MCU, as the sense of danger and potential death has never felt more apparent until now.
The biggest example of bleakness and unexpected directions has to be the ending. Without giving anything away, the film ended in a way that other films in the MCU have not. In fact, some audiences may not be happy with the way that this film concluded. Either way, all viewers will feel the heavy weight of what happens even long after they walk out of the theater, and they will immediately want more. Where the MCU will go after this is unknown, at least until the fourth “Avengers” film comes out next year.
Overall, “Infinity War” was an engaging, bold and impactful film, as well as a satisfying 10-year anniversary of the MCU. Whether or not it was the best “Avengers” film is likely up for debate, but it is certainly the one that will leave the most impact and weight on audiences.