Avengers: Infinity War

“Mother f ...!” The same sh*t for the third time, just longer, bigger, with more characters (actually with all of them) and especially the best villain and an interesting ending. Just like with all Marvel movies, this opus failed to hold my attention throughout (sometimes my thoughts wandered elsewhere), but from the Avengers series, I enjoyed this one the most. This movie stands out for the sparks between the serious bunch and the Guardians (who work much better as a diversion than as protagonists), more room for a serious Thor (whose infantile comedy acting in Ragnarok didn’t sit well with me), and the variety and abundance of the actors that you just have to like. To maintain such a level of professional craftsmanship and the ability to constantly increase the satisfaction and enthusiasm of fans over an entire decade is admirable. I bow down before the phenomenon that is Marvel. (25/04/2018)

It flowed nicely, you kind of fall into it at the beginning and let the story take you where it takes you. I'll admit that, for me, it's probably the best movie in the whole dubious Marvel universe. So I'm curious to see what's in store for us next year. You can think about it a lot and spin wild theories with friends (without the internet, without knowing the source material to enjoy it more). Sad scenes, funny, predatory, emotionally blackmailing, artificial, natural, awkward, uber stilted ... it's got it all. It's really good to watch in the theaters. (09/05/2018)

A showcase. Slight differences of opinion above/below are irrelevant. This film is a great success, while so much could have gone wrong. In the lead role, Thanos is absolutely readable, willing to make a personal sacrifice and Brolin’s charisma gives the purple heavyweight a very human dimension. All of the characters have their moment, even though they are given very limited room to shine. Marvel movies answer the dreams of fans of Iron Spider who we were robbed of in the Civil War now comes back at full strength. Wanda and Vision go off down entertaining storylines and Wakanda longs for Starbucks. A first class finale closes the movie with a happy ending (at least in the context of the characters) and tempts you to watch the next part. (30/04/2018)

I can't imagine how it could have been done better. The third Avengers isn't a perfect movie, of course, but with this many characters, it was clear that it couldn't be done without compromise. Fortunately, the Russos didn't make too many of them. The first half, when the film is just getting its breath for the epic mayhem, pushes a little too hard on the humour, but given that there wasn't much room for character development and some more complicated plot, it doesn't really matter that much. Something had to be going on. And then it starts to get more intense and it's something to watch, whether it's the battles between confused heroes who don't know each other, the efforts to take down Thanos, or the epic battle in Wakanda. At Disney, though, they knew that a bunch of characters with no room to properly show off and rush towards an epic finale probably wouldn't be enough, so here's Thanos. The MCU's best and most interesting villain is given more space than most heroes, and you'll be glad for it, because he's not a one-dimensional villain, and Josh Brolin as the purple titan lives up to the reputation build across several movies as a total annihilator, but he can also sell the more emotionally-charged scenes. I could have asked for more room for the characters, their relationships with each other, or some more significant emotional development, but there just wasn't room for it here. So, good for me. I don't really know what I could criticize about it in any significant way. In the context of the "make the greatest comic book film ever" brief, it couldn't have been much better. (27/07/2018)

Apart from some minor tweaking, it's still the same Marvel space soap opera. What makes it so special this time is the extreme number of main characters, which is an interesting ploy, because it's clear that everyone will find something to like, apart from the absence of Hawkeye, everyone will have their favourite on screen. Another positive is Josh Brolin, whose digital face and voice conveys more emotion than most normal characters put together. An actor who has the advantage that he doesn't have to do much, just look and say something here and there – that's how charismatic he is. The other good thing is the dramatic weighing of the characters of Captain America and Stark – both in good ways. The negatives are still the same. Again, the destruction of the world (and the relatively solid motivation doesn't excuse it), digital monsters, unimaginative heavy-handed action scenes, pathos, bumbling around unknown planets, finding unknown things at unknown blacksmiths, and aside for a few more adrenaline-filled moments like Thanos vs Hulk, Thanos vs Stark, etc. then it's a downright cheesy action finale with a few cool catchphrases, usually provided by the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (03/05/2018)