Avengers: Infinity War Review (Spoiler Review)
The
Weeping Hero Movie
I
could have started this off by deciding not to spoil any of the movie, but then
I figured those of you who want to see it will see it no matter what kind of
review you happen to read, and most of you won’t even bother with reviews. That’s fair enough, reviews should only be
an educated suggestion on the quality of a movie. The artistic critic should never walk into a
popcorn flick at the start of the summer season and bemoan that the quality of
what their seeing is not on par with a Citizen
Kane. Even if popular entertainment
is given its credit – I’m looking at you Inception
– I feel there is still a general resistance for crowning it as art. I digress though, I suppose that’s a
discussion for another day.
The
Avengers was a pipe dream, an eventual nirvana for the comic/blockbuster crowd
who had wet dreams that there favorite heroes might one day join forces in a
circling dolly shot back to back and waiting until their cinematic flourish was
through before jumping out there and saving New York City. When the first Iron Man came out I was as impressed as anybody, but that same year
we got The Dark Knight (arguably a
better film, but that doesn’t mean the other is bad, at all.) In it we got a second-hand hero who spends
most of his time as a glib and dickish playboy and only truly dawning his “real”
suit in the last half hour of the film.
I honest think Iron Man must
look rather tame and slow compared to the action littered sequels it sprouted –
and not just the Iron Man films. I say that with love. I am not a detractor of the superhero genre,
nor do I (as this film kind of proves with its record-breaking grosses) believe
in “Superhero fatigue.” Although, I do
believe eventually there will be fizzling out of the run, and more subpar films
before it’s just another trend of movies, I for one am loving this ride while
it lasts.
As Infinity War opens we are left with
utter devastation. It wastes not one
second and the Russo brothers have been given high-praise – justifiable – for getting
right into the nitty gritty of our chief protagonist, the villain, Thanos. I loved that throughout the interviews the
Russo brothers made clear that this was going to Thanos’ film, it is his goal
we are watching, his backstory that we are getting the most of, and whether we
like it or not we want that finger snap to happen. Sure, in those last agonizing minutes you
think well, maybe he won’t make it, maybe the Vision will survive and his
darling Wanda will save the day (a character given her due this time around)
and if you’re like me you were ready to be tricked back into that wrapped up
world-saved ending. Then that turn of
the wrist, and if you’re like me, you smile big because holy crap, they went
there.
Our protagonist
wins. Of course, for only one movie, but
what a movie it is. That first
devastating moment of witnessing the survivors off Asgard butchered after a
rip-roaring good time in Thor: Ragnarok (a
movie I fear probably isn’t as funny after this movie). My favorite moment happens here: Hulk
attacking Thanos occurs and in one of the most brutally filmed fights in the
MCU, it has weight, and it has consequence and you can just feel it – sadly the
rest of the action doesn’t carry that same brutal weight, but in a way, I’m
glad they don’t, I don’t think I could stand it (though it does reach that
moment with the stabbing of Stark near the end). That isn’t to say the rest of the action
doesn’t have any narrative weight, I was all in for every scene, and it was
filmed so that we could for the most part, at least 85% of the time, know what
was happening at any given time, but that first scene was grounded. And Thanos was immediately terrifying.
But
then what does this movie do. It goes
and makes us sympathize with him. It
turns a maniac into a level-headed psychopath (if that is possible). He’s got an agenda, it makes sense, its
brutal, but it makes sense in his warped mind.
Who else gets a ton of sympathy from us, Thor, for once. He’s definitely had a story we could follow,
and understand, and feel for but he’s never been the emotional glue of the MCU. I must give credit to Chris Hemsworth who was
phenomenal in this film, his speech with the verbal-sparring of Chris Pratt’s
Star Lord where they compare tragedies was epically written, as most of this
film, both comedic and tragic. It is
probably one of the best pieces of writing (that entire scene with Star Lord
and Thor) in the entire MCU.
My
first gripe comes in. The
re-introduction with Tony Stark and Pepper Pots was sloppy by comparison with
the rest. Is that a nit-picking gripe,
you bet it is, but if all I can do with a film is nit-pick you know it’s damned
good. The only other nit-pick is that
there were just so many storylines.
Before I get the usual response to that, no I wasn’t lost, and yes, I
still felt the emotional satisfaction in each, but like it or not this film is
bloated. It doesn’t take away from
anything gargantuan it’s just the nature of the beast, and my personal
preference for smaller scale (which is probably why Winter Soldier is still the
best film in the MCU). For what it does,
with how much it has going on, is a miracle, and testament to the knowledge of
the writers, and directors of the entire MCU that they can make such full
characters that can translate so well.
Speaking
of translations, the Guardians move into the Avengers fold was one of the most
satisfyingly perfect moves I’ve ever seen.
James Gunn’s version of these character was not lost in one story beat,
these are his Guardians with even the satisfying awkward moment for Drax to
truly bring it home. That was my
favorite part of this film, and the biggest surprise for me. Which makes the death of Gamora that much
more brutal.
Other
highlights for me are the planet Titan fight where our gang of mismatched
heroes creatively and amusingly pretty much take down Thanos. Mantis’ fall on the top of his head through
a Strange portal was the icing on the cake.
It was that nice payoff that everyone got a chance to be useful in some
important way. The reaction of Quill to
the news of Gamora’s death seemed a little false to me to be honest, not that
he wouldn’t react, and its function was fine, and I knew where the scene was
going but it seemed a little to “the plot needs this to happen” for me. Again, a nit-pick, I loved it, I just think
it could have been done a little better.
One
of the most disappointing things for me, and the writers have already said that
Captain America will have a bigger part in Avengers
4. I am looking forward to seeing
the soul of MCU have his hero moment because as this phase of the MCU wraps up
I feel our original avenger’s members, namely Steve Rogers and Tony Stark (the
soul and heart of this universe) are ready for their dramatic end. (I was banking on Stark biting the big one,
but he must see Cap again first.) I
hope the promise of the next film as even bigger and better than this one is
true, because I am ready for the MCU’s Dark
Knight, because they are inching closer and closer to the iconic elevation.
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