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'Avengers: Infinity War' Is a Pending Miracle

Watch the Russo brothers turn a potential mess into the MCU's most entertaining adventure.

By Mike CharestPublished 6 years ago 9 min read
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Avengers: Infinity War has arrived! And it’s the most hyped movie since…the one Marvel released two months ago. But we’re back in Wakanda (for a bit) and, from way back to 2008’s Iron Man, all of the MCU’s tirelessly impressive work has led to this very moment in cinematic history. It’s a fun legacy, but how was the movie? How many fragile childhoods did Disney ruin this time? Is Infinity War a fitting season finale for this franchise?

Still a 'Part 1'

Ant-Man's sequel better have room for Clint because, after this, I couldn't care less about that movie

That’s certainly how this movie was presented: a season finale for the MCU’s first ten years. But don’t be fooled; it’s ultimately a to-be-continued for 2019’s proper finale. Marvel rebranded the Part 1/Part 2 idea for this showdown with Thanos, due to the worldwide and justified disdain for “Part 1” movies. But their scripts and overall gameplan seem to have gone unchanged, as this is very clearly Part 1 and it’s best if you know that going into the experience.

A Modern Miracle

Fair warning: this shot isn't in the movie

There are certain limitations and caveats that come with Part 1 storytelling, which we’ll address later alongside the spoiler-heavy details. These factors lower the film’s proverbial ceiling. But Avengers: Infinity War is nothing short of a modern miracle when you consider the juggling act assigned to the Russo brothers. Faced with a cinematically impossible task, these two continue to raise their own bar of MCU ambition. The immediate fear for a movie like this is being an absolute mess. Yet Infinity War is astoundingly coherent throughout its many perspectives. It’s even clearer than the previous, smaller Avengers movies. With that hurdle clear, and a sensible narrative that features half a hundred named characters, we can focus on having fun.

Fun: An MCU Speciality

Don't worry, the Guardians don't feel any less Guardians when they're Avengers

Fortunately for Infinity War, fun isn’t something that Marvel struggles with. And the fun factor is greater than it’s ever been with so many available characters and possibilities on the table. The Russo movies in particular find the most creative ways to apply each character’s specific talents to intricate action sequences. And Infinity War’s action is the best the MCU has seen yet. Whether you prefer contained and skilled combat, godlike displays of ridiculous powers, or massive scale war brawling, there’s a memorable exchange for you. The conflict on Titan might be the best superhero choreography I’ve ever seen. On the humor front, almost every quip is a winner and the jokes wisely taper off as the plot takes a darker turn. From a studio that relies on laughs more than the Monsters Inc. economy, that’s the best balance we can ask for.

Marvel Breaks Their Villain Curse...Again

When your most emotionally captivating villain can also throw moons at people

Most of the film’s miraculous sense of structure comes down to its sense of perspective. The first Avengers adventure made the bold decision to present the team’s origin through the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D. As a result, lead characters flow in and out of focus at the perfect pace. Age of Ultron saddled a couple of heroes with this primary point of view, and the sequel fell into more of a misguided mess. A charming, enjoyable mess, but it was a shame to see so many missed opportunities. This time around, Marvel finds an ultimate solution within their best villain yet. Thanos is the film’s lead, and the Avengers lineup serves as a rotating series of formidable antagonists on his psychopathic quest. Three of the last four MCU adversaries have been excellent. But let’s keep saying Marvel “finally” broke the villains curse.

The Mad Titan

Let's be thankful for that CGI upgrade between Guardians and Infinity War

I can’t say I expected a halfway decent Thanos when this interpretation took his fun and wacky motivation, being hopelessly in love with a literal manifestation of death, and turned it into the fairly generic “save the world from itself” speech that we’ve heard so many times. God complex bad guys love a good cleanse, so I wasn’t thrilled by the concept of this universe’s Mad Titan. But execution overshadows concept, and Thanos was brought to life with a depth and charisma that carried this movie. His mindset, familiar as it may be, is vastly superior to the trope’s predecessors. By the end, you can’t help but understand a villain that aims to wipe out half the universe. He even forms a weird sense of respect for the super team, and the best villains are able to forge that sort of relationship with their enemies. Without a great Thanos, Infinity War doesn’t work. But Josh Brolin’s performance takes all pressure off of our heroes. As a result, our heroes shine at every turn.

MCU Heroes Were Great Again...Water Still Wet

Doctor Strange has done some serious training since his solo adventure

It’s almost redundant to again praise the performances of Marvel protagonists, so we’ll keep it short. Chris Hemsworth and Benedict Cumberbatch brought Thor and Doctor Strange to the forefront of a roster that held several bigger names from a character standpoint. Our last MCU bonanza put Captain America and Iron Man head-to-head, and these two of course come to play. But seeing others rise to that level of development and screen presence is exactly what this evolving universe needs. Strange feels like Stark’s spiritual successor, as does T’Challa for Rogers. Since the latter just had his day in the spotlight, Wakanda’s relatively small part in the story makes some sense. The crew heading to Titan was the most entertaining perspective in a handful of great choices, closely followed by the adventures of Thor and Sweet Rabbit. Something about Rocket clearly brings out the best in people. Chris Pratt was a star after the two buddied up in Guardians, Yondu was the fan favorite after Volume 2, and now Thor is Infinity War’s standout. The fact that all three shared meaningful time and friendly exchanges with a little CGI raccoon is worth mentioning. As always, the protagonist praise could go on for ages, but these are some of the highlights you can expect from Marvel’s latest project.

Spoiler-Free Verdict

The Iron Spider is a massive upgrade...but does it still have Karen?

So to summarize the spoiler-free review, Infinity War uses an excellent villain to enable a multifaceted adventure. Each group of heroes has their own goals that funnel back into the greater conflict for these Infinity Stones. There’s one historically memorable action scene after another, plenty of laughs, and the MCU’s patented character interactions that fuel this entire franchise. Beyond this point, we’ll talk spoilers. These include how Infinity War reaches that next level of excellent, but also why said excellence has to be taken with a grain of cinematic salt. Proceed with caution!

The Greatest Twist of All: The MCU Has Stakes

We almost lost Tony, before realizing what this film was going for

Infinity War was Marvel’s big chance to prove this universe actually has stakes. For years, the series has fended off criticism regarding how invincible most characters feel. And that criticism is mostly fair. They couldn’t even kill that doctor in Age of Ultron. Remember Dr. Cho? Don’t worry, neither does anyone else. So Infinity War listened and responded accordingly. Not only does the film kill somewhat major characters throughout the runtime, but it also goes the extra mile and gives our new favorite villain the victory. He collects the Infinity Stones, snaps his fingers (despite some mightily impressive work from Thor that left audiences dying to witness that duel), and does, in fact, annihilate half the universe. Feast your eyes on that, naysayers. Peter Parker begged for his life while clinging to a helplessly bewildered Tony Stark before evaporating, terrified beyond all belief, into nothingness. There’s something you didn’t expect to take your children to.

Ending With a Bang

Sam must've gotten a 25 kill-streak here and summoned Thor

As an isolated experience, this grand finale is brilliant beyond words. It’s genuinely shocking in a way that feels earned. Even fans familiar with the source material, in which Thanos similarly snaps away the world to get things started, must’ve questioned whether or not this Disney movie would go that far. They certainly didn’t expect it to happen the way it did, in such vivid and haunting detail. It’s a great move that places an exclamation point at the end of a great movie. Infinity War broke all kinds of rules, formulas, and conventional wisdom. Why not end with a universe-bending bang? The finale leaves much to celebrate but, as mentioned earlier, some fairly obvious caveats dampen these great emotions.

Infinity War's Greatest Enemy: Common Sense

Wow I can't believe we lost Black Panther two months after he made a billion dollars...

Going into Infinity War, I wanted the infamous snap to happen. It's a legendary moment in superhero history. Then, the characters with expiring contracts and no more movies would magically disappear. We’d lose Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, War Machine, and just about anyone who no longer has a place in this franchise. But every single character I just listed managed to survive the randomly generated genocide. In fact, the gauntlet’s victims seem to have been calculated to set up a swan song for Marvel’s “Generation One” heroes. So yes, it was a hugely emotional sequence. But everyone in my theater knew the whole thing was a sham the second T’Challa faded into dust. The guy makes a billion dollars two months ago, is the second coming of this universe’s Steve Rogers, and we’re supposed to believe he’s dead on arrival? Tom Holland is going to spend the next two decades of his life in this franchise. I can only cry surface level tears as he suffers a very transparent tragedy.

A Transparent Tragedy's Happy Medium

Even Thanos had to respect Cap, whether this was a full-power attempt or not

The nature of these would-be deaths does weigh on you as you’re trying to fully absorb and process the story’s twists and turns. The exceptionally cynical could even call it cheap and discredit the entire film. To be fair, my preferred deaths would’ve been expected. People with Avenger death pools would’ve called it well before Marvel filmed it. As mentioned earlier, the Russo brothers fielded an impossible task with this movie. So they did everything in their power to surprise people despite working for a studio that announces their movies a decade in advance. I can’t blame them for the decision-making, but much of Infinity War’s lasting impact will be determined by how they handle the situation moving forward. In a perfect world, I at least hope the pre-snap deaths (Vision, Gamora, Loki) are permanent. It’d be a fastball for Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. But they can manage. Let Thor join the gang since his movies are apparently finished. That’s a respectable death total once the dematerialized Avengers inevitably return. Then next year, slaughter some of that original roster as some sort of heroic sacrifice. There’s a happy medium between creatively hungry directors and a studio that’ll skin you if you don’t revive Spider-Man.

The Verdict

Remember the quaint old days of these small crossover projects?

I would describe Avengers: Infinity War’s impact and significance in this universe as pending. Its place in MCU history can either skyrocket or plummet. But Infinity War’s entertainment value is unprecedented. The film is Marvel’s most ambitious project in a series that continues to redefine what ambition is. It's the most pure fun the series has ever offered. Infinity War has the best action in this MCU decade, some of the best emotion and the least intrusive humor. We can only hope Marvel undoes this great deed in a way that feels smart and earned. For now, we can at least confirm that Thanos’ proper introduction was a massive success.

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Mike Charest

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