Avengers: Infinity War
Cinematography:
Trent OpalochComposer:
Alan SilvestriCast:
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman (more)VOD (4)
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The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe. (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
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Reviews (16)
Infinity War combines within itself several excellent (Thor’s main storyline) and a few average aspects of Marvel movies: achievement of the objective is delayed due to the fact that the protagonists repeat the same “mistake” again and again, by means of which the filmmakers incessantly and semi-pathetically tell us what the film’s central idea is, the most robust action happens basically just to cut something epic into the trailer when the directors switch to melodramatic mode (which they do much more frequently than before), some of the dialogue is pretty “cheesy”, the plot becomes more predictable over time, the postponement of the inevitable more tiresome and the narrative more monotonous ... It holds together thanks mainly to the emotionally dense revealing of negative motives, to which the turning points and the division of the narrative into three large plot segments are tied. ___ The movie strives for an uncompromising climax, but the story is not pervaded with a serious approach to nearly the same extent as in Logan’s or Nolan’s Batman films. Priority is still given to entertaining the viewers and not forcing them to think about the sense of violence or the cost of heroism/humanity. I still consider the best Marvel movie to be the second Captain America, whose stylistic purity and narrative compactness that the rather episodic Infinity War can only dream about, given how it leaves some of the characters out of the story for so long that you almost forget they are in the movie and alternates between too many styles (while quite logically not having its own distinctive style like Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther). ___ This time, Feige and co., like Singer in the markedly more ponderous X-Men: Apocalypse, go to the limit of how many prominent characters can be crammed into a single feature film without it falling apart, while making sure that viewers who are unfamiliar with the previous eighteen films do not get completely lost and that viewers who are well acquainted with the MCU get what they want without their heads exploding. It’s hard for me to imagine where they can go next and it can b probably be considered a great success that the result is not much less consistent and that it generally has a balanced rhythm (due in large part to the rapid and humorous verbal exchanges). ___ Infinity War is not revolutionary and it contains nothing so stimulating (in terms of style, content or narrative) that I want to see it again anytime soon, but for all the money, it is unambiguously a superbly calculated blockbuster that cleverly serves the fans (starting with the entrances of the individual heroes on the scene), making its production circumstances reminiscent of the golden age of the large-scale Hollywood system (a regular stable of stars + an unchanging circle of collaborators). Furthermore, it can be unsettling for the more sensitive viewers who have become a bit attached to the Marvel superheroes over the years (I myself had a rather unpleasant feeling of helplessness and anxiety during the credits and for a moment afterwards). 80%
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Unexpected enthusiasm and a spectacular conclusion to ten years of building the Universe. It couldn't have gone better. Everything works here. Superb visuals rather than CGI mess, the best villain Marvel has ever had, thanks to the great Josh Brolin, plus his unpleasant cronies, the Black Order, where Ebony Maw in particular excels. There’s less humour, but it mostly worked (Drax was the most entertaining), and I really liked the entrance of each hero into the action (whether it's Captain America or Thor, who absolutely blew me away with his arrival in Wakanda), and the gradual introduction and meeting of the heroes is very enjoyable especially for fans. I'm also very intrigued by the alien planets (especially with the dwarves where Tyrion appeared), I would love to see a Marvel movie from that planet. The bleak finale is slightly annoying as we have to wait a year for an explanation, but there's nothing we can do about that tribute. Solid entertainment that didn't spear me with me goosebumps or emotions. 100%.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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