(Fear not, my fellow MCU fans who have yet to see this film, as this review will not (I repeat… NOT) be addressing any major spoilers from it. I mean, heck, who do I think I am? That guy from Forbes who spoiled the ENTIRE FILM before it even came out?)
(Seriously, though, what the hell, Forbes?)
In just a few days, Marvel Studios’ 2008 blockbuster Iron Man will celebrate its 10th anniversary… and thinking about that is truly surreal as I still remember going to see that film in the theaters. And like many others at the time, I had no idea of what was about to unfold before our eyes. Back then, the live-action film side of the superhero genre almost entirely consisted of films based on a single character or a small group of heroes. At the time, no one had ever really attempted a massive crossover-centric franchise between multiple big-name comic icons aside from various animated films and TV shows. But after Marvel’s film division made a $525 million financing deal with Merrill Lynch in 2005 to distribute their own films instead of licensing them to other studios, a plan was put into motion to attempt a ‘cinematic universe’ featuring all the major superheroes whose film rights were still owned by Marvel at the time. In other words, they couldn’t immediately work with some of their biggest properties, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, as the former’s film rights were owned by Sony and the latter two’s rights were owned by Fox. Thus, they had to go with some of their lesser-known heroes to start off this new franchise of theirs… and yes, as crazy as it may seem, Iron Man was, technically speaking, a ‘lesser-known’ Marvel superhero prior to 2008. But, of course, that all changed when the character’s first feature film adaptation became one of the most critically/commercially successful films of the year. And it all concluded with a game-changing post-credits scene in which main protagonist Tony Stark was approached by Nick Fury, the head of the government organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. who came to talk to him about the ‘Avenger Initiative’. Thus, a cinematic universe was born…
Since then, Marvel Studios has continued to deliver top quality superhero flicks year in and year out. And while not all their films have been runaway hits, they haven’t necessarily made a downright ‘horrible’ MCU film no matter what directorial conflict or issue with the studio’s now-defunct ‘creative committee’ has ever occurred. And really, the main reason why this franchise has worked as well as it has is that studio president Kevin Feige and his team have made a considerable effort to ensure that the franchise takes its time to develop the universe and its characters before bringing them all together in one film. That was the case with Phase 1 of the franchise, which culminated in the genre’s then-latest landmark installment, 2012’s The Avengers. The heroes of the MCU were then subjected to some darker storylines in Phase 2 before reuniting again for the equally darker Avengers follow-up, 2015’s Age of Ultron. And now, as we near the end of Phase 3, the Avengers are back for Marvel Studios’ biggest endeavor yet, Avengers: Infinity War. A true cinematic epic that has been a full decade in the making, this film sees the Avengers taking on their greatest threat yet, Thanos, who has been continuously built up ever since he first appeared in the first post-credits scene of the original Avengers. And while Joss Whedon isn’t behind the camera for this installment, a suitable pair of successors are in Joe and Anthony Russo, who have already given us two of the MCU’s greatest installments to date in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sure enough, they once again deliver with a truly jaw-dropping cinematic spectacle that pulls off some of the gutsiest moves that the superhero genre has ever seen.
Over the course of the past 18 installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its various superheroes have come across a variety of powerful objects that were spawned from a series of gems known as Infinity Stones, which were formed in the wake of the Big Bang. And it is these six stones that attract the attention of one figure, Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin), an alien warlord from the planet Titan who embarks on a mission to retrieve them all so that he can achieve his lifelong ambition of wiping out half the universe. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, all the world’s heroes unite to prevent the Mad Titan from getting his hands on the stones. In New York, ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) teams up with his teenaged protégé Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man (Tom Holland), sorcerers Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong), and scientist Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to safeguard the Time Stone housed within Strange’s special artifact, the Eye of Agamotto. In the African nation of Wakanda, fugitives Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and Sam Wilson AKA Falcon (Anthony Mackie) ally with Wakanda’s king T’Challa AKA Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) to protect the artificial being Vision (Paul Bettany), who’s powered by the Mind Stone. And in the far reaches of space, the Guardians of the Galaxy, consisting of thief Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Thanos’ adopted daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana), warrior Drax (Dave Bautista), weapons expert Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), tree creature Groot (Vin Diesel), and empath Mantis (Pom Klementieff) end up running into Thor the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), who managed to survive an attack by the Mad Titan himself.
Now at this point in the MCU’s run, I will fully admit that I’m just becoming a broken record at this point when it comes to listing all the great things that one can expect in an MCU film. And sure enough, that’s once again the case with Infinity War. You have your amazing action sequences that are bolstered by outstanding visual effects while also showcasing the Russo brothers’ growing strengths as action directors after they originally got their start in comedy. You have the franchise’s great sense of humor that produces an endless array of classic moments that never once take away from the dramatic context of the plot. And in the case of these Avengers films, this great humor is then further fortified by all the terrific character interactions between all the franchise’s great heroes, from Iron Man and Doctor Strange to the trio of Thor, Rocket, and Groot… and yes, that’s only naming a few of this film’s noteworthy combinations. But then the Russo brothers take things one step further by pulling off one of the gutsiest endings that the superhero genre has ever seen. Now, obviously, I won’t reveal anything about what happens in it for those who haven’t seen the film yet, but you could say that it’s possibly a response to the long-standing (and rather questionable) argument that Marvel films don’t have any real stakes in them. And with that in mind, while I know that this ending will probably get reversed somehow in next year’s fourth Avengers film, it is handled perfectly in this film with such a strong sense of emotional poignancy that it rivals any major ‘awards season favorite’.
Given that most of this film’s ensemble cast has already been in at least three or more previous MCU films, there’s really no need to talk about their performances because they’re all just as great as they’ve always been. From the original Avengers squad to the Guardians of the Galaxy to more recently introduced heroes like Black Panther and the MCU’s rendition of Spider-Man, Marvel Studios has managed to create one of the most legendary ensemble casts in film history. Now, admittedly, despite all that, it should be noted that you shouldn’t go into this film expecting a lot of new bits of character development for these heroes as it’s more about the battle against Thanos. And because Infinity War does boast the largest cast of heroes that has ever been seen in a superhero film, some characters do get a little more attention than others, like Thor (who was confirmed by the Russos themselves as having the most screen-time of any main protagonist in the film), Gamora (given her connection to Thanos), and Star-Lord (due to the romance between him and Gamora). This, in turn, could very much perpetuate the ever-growing argument that the MCU is getting too overcrowded. However, just like in Age of Ultron, this ultimately isn’t that much of an issue in the long run because of one simple reason, and it’s the one that I’ve been referring to time and time again. Because all these characters have been given great bits of character development in previous MCU films, there’s not that much of a need for a lot of that in this film as it’d just bog down its proceedings to the point where it ruins the pacing. And just like the previous two Avengers films, at the very least every major superhero gets to have his or her standout moment whether it’s via a hilarious joke or a badass action sequence.
And then there’s the big bad of this film AKA the one that the MCU has been teasing for years, Thanos. Given all that build-up, along with all the jokes that were made about the character’s initial inactivity during his cameo appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and Age of Ultron, clearly expectations were high for the Mad Titan to truly leave a lasting impression on viewers. This was especially a matter of the utmost importance for many people after several past MCU villains have been heavily scrutinized by critics and audiences for not being as well-developed as the franchise’s protagonists. Thankfully, that’s not an issue here as Thanos does, indeed, live up to the hype as one of the MCU’s greatest villains. First off, the motion-capture effects used to turn Josh Brolin into the character are outstanding, truly showcasing how far the art form has evolved over the years especially when compared to Brolin’s previous appearances in the role. At the same time, Brolin himself is also phenomenal as one of the most emotionally-driven villains that the franchise has ever seen. Yes, there is quite a lot of emotional heft to Thanos’ arc in this film. Despite all the terrible things that he and his followers, the Children of Thanos (a rather underutilized but still all-around serviceable group of imposing subordinates), does to our heroes, much like Erik Killmonger in Black Panther you’re able to get a sense of how truly committed Thanos is to his goals. And as we soon find out, he ends up going to some incredibly dark places to achieve those goals. In other words, in a film that is full of so many great characters, Thanos might arguably be the most compelling figure of them all.
Anyone who knows me probably guessed beforehand that I was going to love this film seeing how I’ve never given any of the previous MCU films a negative review. But in this instance, I want to truly emphasize why this entry in the franchise is something special. Because for most of this film’s two and a half hour runtime, it gives us everything that fans of the MCU have come to love about the franchise. It has the great action sequences, the wonderful interactions between all its main characters, and an endless array of quotable lines. But then comes this film’s ending, which takes so many daunting risks for an MCU film and yet all of which end up paying off because of how well-handled it is. And even though it’ll probably get fixed somehow in the fourth Avengers film, and even though it comes in a film where character development for its well-established heroes is admittedly not its primary focus, it will still leave one hell of a lasting impact regardless of one’s overall views of the MCU. That is a testament to the phenomenal job that Kevin Feige and his team have done in creating a franchise that has taken its time when it comes to world-building. It is a testament to the amazing direction from the Russo brothers, who have given us three of the MCU’s greatest outings in just the past five years. And it is a testament to the sterling performances of the franchise’s top-notch cast of endearing main protagonists along with one of the best villains in the history of both the superhero genre and film in general. Simply put, for long-time fans of the MCU, Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of all-time.
Rating: 5/5!
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