"The hardest choices require the strongest will" - Thanos.
So after years of build-up, Marvel finally unleash their most ambitious project yet. Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of several sequels and crossovers, featuring every major player from the MCU film series. Already smashing several box-office records, fans have been near unanimous in praise for the film. But did the film truly live up to the enormous expectations, or is it a case of "less is more"?
The plot revolves around the six Infinity Stones, a recurring motif throughout the MCU films. Rarely seen antagonist Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a quest to acquire all six, as their combined power will enable him to achieve his goal of "balancing" the universe. With countless lives at stake, the Avengers must come together again, this time with the aid of the Guardians of the Galaxy in order to defend their world. But with Thanos' relentless pursuit gaining momentum, how many lives will it cost for the heroes to obtain victory?
I won't go too much into major plot details, as this is one of those films you're supposed to keep really quiet about after you've seen it. So I'll only look at the basic outline of the plot and whether the film works as the mega-crossover it intends to be. It may come as no surprise that the plot itself is very similar to a lot of the other MCU films, especially the other two Avengers films. There's a big villain and a threat on a world-threatening scale, and everybody needs to learn to work together if they're to have any chance of winning. Infinity War's answer to this is that this is the most epic angle they've gone for yet: bringing together all of the heroes from each film series into one. So what we have is a long list of mega-stars and colourful characters, and I'm happy to say all of them get their own moments to shine. I personally was looking forward to seeing how the Guardians of the Galaxy team would play off the other heroes, and they are the highlight of the film for me. Chris Pratt's unwavering charisma and Dave Bautista's comic timing are by far the times that made me laugh the most, and Bradley Cooper's fast-mouthed Rocket is also makes for a great partner to Chris Hemsworth's straight portrayal of Thor. Benedtict Cumberbatch is also fantastic as Doctor Strange, exuding great confidence and wisdom, and is a more than worthy leading character in this particular story. In the other Avengers films, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) are looked on as the two leading figures, so it's nice that Strange is just as much a leading character as those two.
But the heroes can only be as good as their villain, and Thanos has been teased as the Avenger's ultimate adversary ever since the first crossover back in 2012. Physically imposing, enough to take on the Hulk in a fight and comfortably win, Thanos' one desire is to balance the universe by means of genocide. Performed through motion-capture, Josh Brolin had a tough task in not only making the character intimidating, but also a tragic figure in some ways. There is particular focus on Thanos's relationship with his daughters Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), which we see through flashbacks as well as through their inevitable physical conflict. I really appreciate the time dedicated to this, as the MCU have a fairly weak record of presenting villains with great depth. In many ways, Thanos is the lead character of the film, with him stealing every scene he's in as well as having the most development. Whilst this character development isn't ground-breaking by any means, we do at least see him as more than just a cliche "bad guy who wants to destroy the world". Like all great comic book characters, it's not his powers or intellect that make Thanos a great figure, it's his personal struggles and how he deals with them.
Despite the film's well balanced group of characters, there are some pacing issues with the film. The first 45 minutes or so play out like a beat-em-up video game, with characters meeting the villains and having a fight. There is so little time to register everything because as soon as one fight is over, we immediately go to the next one. This means that the middle portion of the film then takes us through all the backstories and slower moments, and the third act comprises almost entirely of two simultaneous battles. With the other Avengers films, I've found the pacing to be a bit easier to get through as they are more evenly spaced, whereas Infinity War throws everything at you at the start and and the end, making some of the second act feel a little empty. Whilst there are significant events that happen in the second act, not all of them hit the mark in terms of depth or emotion. The action scenes are a lot of fun though, particularly the final battle with Thanos, which I felt was more character driven than some of the earlier battles.
Lastly, without giving anything away, I'd like to mention the ending. Infinity War aims to have everyone talking about where the story could go after it's final moments. For me, the ending didn't have the same impact others felt as I don't think the filmmakers will stick to their guns. There is already enough within the lore of the series and the production plan for more sequels to suggest that the ending won't stay exactly this way. Infinity War has a lot going for it character wise, but it's attempt at having this grand ending involving so many of them wasn't convincing in my opinion.
To conclude, and to avoid delving further into spoiler territory, my feelings on Infinity War is that it achieves its goals of being the biggest crossover in history by allowing each of its characters to shine and creating a compelling villain in Thanos. Whilst I felt there were some slow moments and may have benefited from a slightly shorter run-time, the film is still a lot of fun. The ending may not have been my favourite, but I am still excited about which direction the story may go, and the sequel will no doubt aim to be just as epic. If this particular era of the MCU is coming to an end with the next Avengers film, Infinity War has nicely set up a suitably massive farewell.
But the heroes can only be as good as their villain, and Thanos has been teased as the Avenger's ultimate adversary ever since the first crossover back in 2012. Physically imposing, enough to take on the Hulk in a fight and comfortably win, Thanos' one desire is to balance the universe by means of genocide. Performed through motion-capture, Josh Brolin had a tough task in not only making the character intimidating, but also a tragic figure in some ways. There is particular focus on Thanos's relationship with his daughters Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), which we see through flashbacks as well as through their inevitable physical conflict. I really appreciate the time dedicated to this, as the MCU have a fairly weak record of presenting villains with great depth. In many ways, Thanos is the lead character of the film, with him stealing every scene he's in as well as having the most development. Whilst this character development isn't ground-breaking by any means, we do at least see him as more than just a cliche "bad guy who wants to destroy the world". Like all great comic book characters, it's not his powers or intellect that make Thanos a great figure, it's his personal struggles and how he deals with them.Despite the film's well balanced group of characters, there are some pacing issues with the film. The first 45 minutes or so play out like a beat-em-up video game, with characters meeting the villains and having a fight. There is so little time to register everything because as soon as one fight is over, we immediately go to the next one. This means that the middle portion of the film then takes us through all the backstories and slower moments, and the third act comprises almost entirely of two simultaneous battles. With the other Avengers films, I've found the pacing to be a bit easier to get through as they are more evenly spaced, whereas Infinity War throws everything at you at the start and and the end, making some of the second act feel a little empty. Whilst there are significant events that happen in the second act, not all of them hit the mark in terms of depth or emotion. The action scenes are a lot of fun though, particularly the final battle with Thanos, which I felt was more character driven than some of the earlier battles.
Lastly, without giving anything away, I'd like to mention the ending. Infinity War aims to have everyone talking about where the story could go after it's final moments. For me, the ending didn't have the same impact others felt as I don't think the filmmakers will stick to their guns. There is already enough within the lore of the series and the production plan for more sequels to suggest that the ending won't stay exactly this way. Infinity War has a lot going for it character wise, but it's attempt at having this grand ending involving so many of them wasn't convincing in my opinion.
To conclude, and to avoid delving further into spoiler territory, my feelings on Infinity War is that it achieves its goals of being the biggest crossover in history by allowing each of its characters to shine and creating a compelling villain in Thanos. Whilst I felt there were some slow moments and may have benefited from a slightly shorter run-time, the film is still a lot of fun. The ending may not have been my favourite, but I am still excited about which direction the story may go, and the sequel will no doubt aim to be just as epic. If this particular era of the MCU is coming to an end with the next Avengers film, Infinity War has nicely set up a suitably massive farewell.
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