Review 453: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War is a miracle. Never has their been a superhero film so ambitious, so heartbreaking and one that culminates 10 years of Marvel Madness. It's, quite simply, the superhero film to end all superhero films.

Drawing inspiration from the 1991 comic book storyline The Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin and the crossover storyline Infinity by Jonathan Hickman. Set two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War, The Avengers, still divided following the Avengers Civil War, are forced to resemble and team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to go to War with Thanos (Josh Brolin) who is on a quest to amass the Infinity Stones for a Gauntlet that will allow him to inflict his will on all of reality.

The plot is just remarkable. So many corners of the MCU collide together in one ginormous fireworks display.
At the beginning of the film, we're presented with a version of the Avengers who are still divided following the events of Captain America: Civil War. The Avengers are now a name with nobody attached to them, they've been inactive for 2 whole years, the world is vulnerable to an alien attack. The fallout of the Avengers Civil War weighs heavily in this film and has a profound impact on the events moving forward.
Because the Avengers are divided at the start of the film, this means they are completely unprepared for what happens when Thanos comes to town to collect the Infinity Stones.
The world is vulnerable to an alien attack.

Tonely, this film is darker and more somber than the previous two Avengers films or almost any MCU film in general. There's still a good deal of humour to be found in this film, most of it curtesy of Bruce Banner, Spider-Man and the Guardians. But the overall tone is much heavier than previous MCU films, especially the first two Avengers films in particular. The whole universe is at stake, the Avengers are still reeling from their Civil War so it's understandable why things seem bleak at the moment.

The primary theme of Infinity War seems to be Sacrifice/What it means to be a Hero: What sacrifices will you make to protect what you love or for what you may see as the greater good? Almost every single one of the characters, including Thanos, must make a sacrifice to achieve said good.
Vision wanting to sacrifice his life with Wanda to stop Thanos from collecting all the Infinity Stones.

One of the many challengers this film faces is handling a tone of information, we as an audience may or may not be aware of after 10 years of build up and momentum but the great thing is it doesn't spoon-feed you all this information. It presents it in a very coherent, cohesive and constructive way.

Even with a running time of 149 minutes this film moves at a rip-roaring pace. The film starts and it literally never stops. Pure unadulterated spectacle from start to finish. Movies like Infinity War help explain why bloated DCEU films like Batman v Superman & Josstice League leave me empty and unsatisfied.

Returning Directors Anthony and Joe Russo's direction is unobtrusive and operatic, deftly blending together fast-paced story telling along with an abundance of characters and a batch of visually ambitious action scenes to create a stunny spectacle. There's a great use of  The cinematography is beautiful - there's particularly good use of lighting and shadow in Steve's intro scene. The scenery is breathtaking, the production design is outstanding, the costumes are fabulous, the score by Alan Silvestri is monumental, the special effects are gorgeous, the locations are magnificent, the make up is rich, the action scenes are blood pumping, pulse pounding, intense, gripping and hard hitting and the ending was shattering and emotionally draining.
The looks of Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon are particularly striking, their costumes and make up are a lot more rugged and dirty than previous outings and what we're used to seeing.
Since opposing the Accords and having gone on the run and become fugitives so they're had it rough and had to keep a low profile and try to help as much as they can albeit without receiving any credit for it. So it's no surprise that they appear less than glamorous.

The acting is spectacular across the board. The Russo Brothers are presented with all the toys at their finger tips: An huge amount of heroes played but a bunch of terrific actors and all of them bring their A-Game to this film with such passion and dedication.
Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin.

Robert Downey, Jr. has rightly cemented himself as the Godfather of the MCU. Tony senses Thanos' threat slowly approaching so he's been doing everything he can to keep the Earth safe.
Loads of snakes come back to bite Tony in this film. Every decision he’s made these past 3 phases come pretty much full circle in this film. In a lot of ways this is a continuation of his arc that began in the first Avengers film, his issues with PTSD and anxiety and his choices from sacrificing himself in The Avengers to signing the Accords come back again in a desperate attempt to stop Thanos at any cost. His obsession with heroism begins to lead him down a very dark, very interesting path.

Chris Evans is once again marvellous as Steve Rogers/Captain America. By this point in the MCU, he's gone from being a superhero, a leader and the Sentinal of Liberty to becoming a vigilante, someone who no longer has a country to serve. He has given up the mantle of Captain America following the Avengers Civil War, he's let go of his identity and is now in a much darker place than we've seen him in prior films. He's recognises that his responsibilities as Captain America and leader of the Avengers was in conflict with the very personal choices he was making.
His responsibility to himself is not in conflict with his responsibility to others and he struggles to resolve that along the way. He's also still trying to find out who he is without the shield.

Chris Hemsworth once again shines brightly as Thor. In the aftermath of Thor: Ragnarok and being away from the Avengers for three years, we find Thor in a very profound, very interesting place that gives him real emotional motivation to fight Thanos. Also his interactions with the Guardians of the Galaxy are hilarious. In particular, his interactions with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) were a delightful group that you can only get away with in a film like this.

Mark Ruffalo once again shines as Bruce Banner/Hulk. Becuase the Hulk is scared to come out and face Thanos, we get plenty of Bruce Banner at play, but this time he gets a chance to properly get his hands dirty and show that he’s more than capable of fighting without the hulk, showcased by his bravery, his valor, his intelligence and brains which prove to be invaluable against Thanos and his forces leading to the point where I was cheering when he first pilots the Hulkbuster from Age of Ultron.

Once again, Paul Bettany is superb in this film as the Vision. In the years since the Avengers Civil War, his relationship with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) has grown tremendously and they're now living together which brings out his human side more than ever before.
That relationship is complicated by how in this film he's a living MacGuffin. Obviously, because of this, the stakes are raised because his life is in danger and his life (especially what he's built with Wanda) is in conflict with Thanos's goals. That dilemma of removing the Mind Stone which is the source of his powers to stop Thanos from getting his hands on it and his love for Wanda is deeply compelling and one of the many highlights of the film and a true testament to Bettany's talents.

Benedict Cumberbatch continues to impress as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange.
In this film, Strange is the reasonable adult in the film, given the film and characters predicaments amd given his experience and training with the Masters of the Mystic Arts has the widest perspective due to the films stakes.

Don Cheadle is also solid again as James Rhodes/War Machine. Following his paralysis during the events of Captain America: Civil War, he's somewhat reluctant to don the War Machine armor again and rejoin the Avengers and has become embittered towards the Accords due to the damage done to the Avengers and their bullheaded perception of Rogers' faction.
But ultimately he's the one who negotiates the Avengers reunion as well as his rejoining of the team so they can battle Thanos.
As a military man, he understands duty and sacrifice. He’s also a very noble character and understands that the priority of the threat posed by Thanos far outweighs the Avengers squabble over the Accords.    

Sebastian Stan is also effective as Bucky Barnes. He's gone from being essentially a brainwashed killing machine for Hydra to being a badass warrior and fellow protector of Wakanda which helps Stan to make his own mark on the film.

Without giving too much away, Tom Hiddleston has little more than a cameo in the opening of the film as Loki, but it's a very powerful moment that beautifully culminates his arc over the preceeding films with him where was see him fully accept both of his heritages and that, despite living in fear of the Mad Titan, he won't go down without a fight.

With this film we're presented with a version of Guardians of the Galaxy that are more seasoned and have been about a bit compared to their own solo films where they were in their prime. So for them to bring their tunes and brand of humour to the Avengers mix is a joy and a great opportunity for some brilliant and unique character interactions and allows them to be more vibrant, irreverent and colorful if you want it to be.

After 6 years of hype, Josh Brolin finally makes his full appearance as Thanos - and it is a Marvel to behold; Josh Brolin is amazing as Thanos. Beautifully and convincingly playing the character's megalomania, his ambition, his ruthlessness, his cruelty as well as, surprisingly, his humanity...  He is given a surprising amount of depth in this film, in his own twisted way, there is some method and reasoning to his madness.
Thanos shows us why he is biggest, baddest, meanest, most dangerous Marvel Villain of them all.
He has the advantage of collecting the Infinity Stones as the Avengers as disbanded and completely unprepared for his arrival and for all intents and purposes can’t band together to stop him.

Tom Vaughn-Lawlor, Carrie Coon, Michael James Shaw & Terry Notary also appear in the film playing Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive & Cull Obsidian, members of Thanos's Black Order and they prove themselves to be formidable and quite intimidating as well as being quite a challenge for Earth's Mightiest.

We even get some nice cameos from Gwyneth Paltrow, William Hurt, Idris Elba & Benedict Wong as Pepper Potts, Thaddeus Ross, Heimdall & Wong respectively.

Oh and some of Panther's gang such as Winston Duke, Danai Gurira & Letitia Wright show up to lend a helping hand against Thanos' invasion army as M'Baku, Okoye & Shuri respectively.

Guria is once again, fabulous as Okoye, specifically, gets some real meat in this film to sink her acting teeth into. Okoye is initially very reluctant to welcome the Avengers and the Guardians to Wakanda. She's cautious about letting them in. As the general of Wakanda's army it's her job to keep the country safe. So letting superheroes and aliens in means a lot can go wrong. But Thanos has come to town so its in her best interest to land a helping hand and kick some alien ass - of which she gets to do plenty.

And Peter “Tyrion Lannister” Dinklage has a fun appearance as Eitri, the Dwarf King of Nidavellir. He has a rather tragic connection to Thanos that cost him his people that fuels his desire to help Thor defeat him greatly. He also gets some hilarious moments amid the construction on Nidavellir.

I'd say the one flaw I have, and I know this is a nitpick, but four certain characters don't really make an appearance their which was a bit of a bummer but no matter.
Also after two official appearances, Benicio del Toro's The Collector ends up feeling like an unfullfiled character, appearing in this film what is mearly a cameo.

Avengers Assemble! 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.