(Note: I’ll try to keep this review as brief and
spoiler-free as possible.)
The
term “epic” gets thrown around a lot in Hollywood, but if any film deserves to
be called epic, it’s Avengers: Infinity
War. It’s a sprawling tale following
over sixty characters on several different planets and sometimes on multiple
planes of reality. For ten years, The
Marvel Cinematic Universe has been leaving breadcrumbs across nearly twenty
movies to get to this moment and for the most part, it works as well as anyone
could’ve hoped.
It’s
overlong, sometimes unwieldy, and the seams threaten to come apart at any given
moment. There are a LOT of narrative
balls to juggle. YOU try to cram nine
different franchises into a single movie.
Despite the massive length (which simultaneously feels too long and curiously
rushed at the same time), the goodwill the characters have built up over the
past decade and the sheer spectacle of the never-ending battle sequences and
special effects set pieces glue everything together.
Infinity
War really belongs to Thanos (Josh Brolin).
His presence dominates the film as the various Avengers, Guardians, and
SHIELD agents splinter off and team up for their own side missions. For an Avengers movie, I was surprised by how
much the Guardians of the Galaxy were in it.
They are crucial to the narrative and help to bring much of the
earthbound Marvel characters into the cosmos.
My favorite moments were the interactions between Thor (Chris Hemsworth)
and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper).
(Thor calls him “rabbit”.) The
relationship between Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)
continues to impress, and the addition of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)
into their dynamic was a nice touch. I
did feel like Captain America (Chris Evans) kind of got the short end of the
stick from a narrative standpoint, as did Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), although
the Wakanda-set finale is a real showstopper.
For
sheer entertainment, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. It’s as close to a big comic book crossover
as we’re likely ever to get. I also
liked seeing some familiar faces that we haven’t seen in a while popping up in cameos.
Some
of the deaths of beloved characters seem like… well… overkill at times,
especially near the end. (I guess they
were trying to make up for the lack of stakes in Civil War.) That said, there was at least one moment that
will probably get Marvel fans choked up.
Even then, I’m sure the filmmakers won’t have much trouble bringing most
(or all) of them back at some point. We
won’t know for sure till the next one.
Spider-Man
gets the best line of the movie when he gets to try on his Iron Spider suit for
the first time and says, “It smells like a new car in here!”
Marvel Cinematic Universe Scorecard:
The Incredible Hulk: ****
Iron Man: ****
Thor: Ragnarok: ****
Spider-Man: Homecoming: ****
Iron Man 3: ****
Captain America: Civil War: *** ½
Ant-Man: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: *** ½
Avengers: Infinity War: *** ½
Black Panther: *** ½
The Avengers: ***
Captain America: The First Avenger: ***
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: ***
Thor: ***
Thor: The Dark World: ***
Iron Man 2: ***
Doctor Strange: ** ½
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