The biggest superhero team-up of all time — for now — has finally dropped.
Avengers: Infinity War is the payoff of ten years of storytelling done over the course
of nearly 20 films.
The movie follows the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a smattering of other superheroes
as they take on the Mad Titan, Thanos, who seeks to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet with
the intent of wiping out half of all life in existence.
That obviously doesn't bode well for, uh, existence — so heroes from all across the
Marvel Cinematic Universe have to step up and do everything they can to stop him.
The film is a funny, action-packed, and ultimately bittersweet romp that somehow pulls off the
ambitious balancing act it sets out to accomplish.
By the time it ends, our heroes and the universe they inhabit have been forever changed.
It isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn near close.
Obviously, watch out for some heavy duty spoilers, because we're going to ruin this movie's plot
twists like Thanos ruined — well, you'll see.
These are the five best and five worst things about Avengers: Infinity War.
Best: Hulk meets his match
You've got to start a movie like Infinity War off with a bang — and this one starts
off with one heck of a wallop.
We open on the aftermath of Thanos' assault on the Asgardian refugee ship, with bodies
littering the floor — but the tides seem to turn when Loki informs Thanos that his
team has a Hulk.
Longtime fans obviously caught this line as an echo of this famous exchange:
"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk!"
For once, Loki is on the side of the big green guy — not that it ends up helping this time
around.The slugfest of the century follows, albeit one that doesn't quite go the way you'd
think.
Even ambushing Thanos from a blind spot, the big green dude meets his match with the Mad
Titan.
We've seen Hulk wreck every hero in the MCU, but in this fight it becomes clear that it's
only because nobody can match his strength.
Because he has that to fall back on, he's never had to actually learn to fight — just
smash.
With the help of the purple power stone, Thanos is just as strong as Hulk, with the added
bonus of his own actual combat skills.
He dismantles Hulk quickly, and it's a genuinely shocking moment, setting the tone for bigger,
even more depressing surprises to come.
Worst: A bad perspective
Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage appears in Infinity War as Eitri, the giant dwarf
who forged Thor's hammer.
Marvel has a pretty good track record with CGI transformations, be it shrinking Chris
Evans down to 90 pounds or turning Mark Ruffalo's motion-captured Hulk performance into a believable
CGI character.
Unfortunately, Dinklage's character doesn't quite get that sort of detail-oriented treatment.
It all comes down to perspective.
In order for an audience to properly gauge size differences between characters, we need
to see them standing in the frame with one another.
It allows for the eyes to assess the proportions of the characters onscreen, and it's especially
crucial when dealing with characters who are intentionally enlarged or shrunk.
Unfortunately, while we can see that Dinklage's character is a giant from looking at his surroundings,
we don't see him standing next to Rocket or Thor nearly long enough to fully understand
his size.
As a result, he feels kind of isolated, and there's no perspective for the character's
build.
The eye can't help but notice something is off about him because of the lack of perspective.
Lord of the Rings this is not.
Best: The brightest light
Chris Hemsworth is a standout performer in the MCU, and Infinity War might be a better
spotlight for him than any of his solo movies.
Thor is easily the standout character of Infinity War, with a winning performance from Hemsworth
and an odd-couple pairing with Rocket Raccoon.
The two head off into space with Teenage Groot in order to find a new weapon for Thor.
Their pairing is funny and heartfelt, but rather than being played for nonstop laughs,
it pulls back and reminds viewers just how much Thor has lost over the course of these
movies.
While the character of Thor has only gotten funnier, his life has gotten so much worse
at the same time.
Everyone he loves is dead, and he feels much of the blame.
The Rocket we met in Guardians of the Galaxy would have joked about this, but this more
mature Rocket is actually a nice companion.
But nothing compares to Thor's triumphant return to Earth with his new weapon, Stormbreaker.
Even without the Led Zeppelin soundtrack from his last movie, the god of thunder has never
looked more godly.
Worst: A fatal fit of mischief
There was a time when you could argue that Loki was the most dangerous character in the
entire MCU, but the frequent co-star and occasional villain ultimately becomes more of a pest
than a major threat.
Nonetheless, Loki's arc has still been a compelling one, despite getting something of an unceremonious
ending in Infinity War.
The God of Mischief bites the dust in the film's opening scene after attempting to double-cross
Thanos.
It's quick and it's dirty, with his demise ultimately just serving to fuel Thor's arc
in the film.
It's not the most satisfying conclusion to the story of one of the MCU's most compelling
characters.
If Loki really is a goner, we can't help but wish he'd gone out a little differently.
Best: Anti-hero
Villains have never been the MCU's strong suit, but with this movie, they not only made
a great one — they actually made him the film's protagonist.
Obviously Thanos isn't the film's "good guy" or anything, but Infinity War's story is structured
entirely around him and his quest.
He's the character we learn the most about, and the one whose story most closely sticks
to traditional three-act structure.
We see him struggle, make difficult choices, and then move forward with the ramifications
of those choices.
It's Thanos we see in the film's closing shot, looking out on a universe he now believes
to be at peace.
And obviously everyone loves a good Antihero when he's this good at being bad.
"We're just getting started.
Nothing stops this train, nothing."
Worst: They'll be back
The same actors can't play these characters forever, so we all knew some bad things were
coming in this team-up.
When the film opens with Loki and Heimdall getting taken out by Thanos, it sets a precedent.
From there, the movie doesn't let up, as hero after hero gets battered, bruised, and beaten.
But while the film's devastating ending features half of the life in the universe crumbling
into dust, it doesn't quite hold the weight it should.
Let's be real for a second: does anybody actually think all of these characters are gone for
good?
Of course not.
That's the tricky thing about erasing the bulk of your cast from existence — most
of the audience can probably call your bluff.
Gamora, Loki, and Heimdall's deaths feel more permanent right now because all these Marvel
movies can theoretically continue on without them, even with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
3 having already been announced.
But once the rest of the cast starts to drop — namely all of the members of the next
incarnation of the Avengers — it resonates more in the moment due to how shocking it
is.
The ultimate goal of this move is likely to focus Avengers 4 on the original core cast,
all of whom survived.
As much as we hate to admit it, knowing that kind of makes the film's shocking finale feel
a little less weighty after some thought.
Best: Let it breathe
Marvel has had its comedic tone on lock since day one with Tony Stark's quips in Iron Man
— but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Marvel's movies have been known to occasionally lean into the laughs at the wrong moments,
using humor to stifle emotional beats rather than let them play out.
"Ow!
My Nipples!
Agghhhhh!"
Fortunately, that doesn't happen so much here.
There's plenty of humor throughout the film, but rarely does it come at an inappropriate
time.
Thor's therapy session with Rocket goes uninterrupted.
Star-Lord's realization that Gamora is dead plays out to its fullest extent.
Most importantly, the tragic ending is never interrupted with a goofy quip.
This is probably the single most important film in the MCU, and the fact that they managed
to balance the tone perfectly in it makes for a much more satisfying viewing experience.
Worst: Cap it off
With dozens of different characters and plot threads to balance, it's only natural that
some characters are going to get more screentime and character development than others.
Nonetheless, there's a weird bit of disparity in this regard when it comes to Captain America
and his crew — Black Widow, Falcon, and Winter Soldier.
Cap's Secret Avengers are onscreen for a very solid chunk of the film's running time, but
it's strange how empty their time feels compared to the Thor and Iron Man parties, who get
plenty to do emotionally.
It's not for a lack of material, either.
Steve Rogers is in a very difficult, very interesting spot in the wake of Captain America:
Civil War, lacking his signature shield and his stars-and-stripes identity.
But in Infinity War, Cap and his gang are pretty much just there to throw punches.
When they do, it's awesome.
But we seriously wish Team Cap got a bit more of an engaging, emotional arc.
Best: Sticking the landing
Balancing ten years, 19 movies, and dozens of characters and plot threads makes Infinity
War without exaggeration one of the most ambitious blockbusters of all time.
There's so much going against the movie that it shouldn't work.
Amazingly, it does.
The film as a whole is a triumph in spite of itself.
It lacks traditional structure.
There's very little time for real character development - unless you count getting cosmically
turned to ash as character development.
It also relies entirely on the viewer having seen all 18 movies leading up to it, yet somehow
it never feels hindered by its ambitions.
It knows that what viewers want is a big, bombastic rollercoaster ride, and it delivers
- all while giving almost everyone in its cast a great moment or two.
Avengers: Infinity War should crumble under the weight of its own ambitions.
That it stands tall instead and makes almost three hours fly by is a… marvelous accomplishment.
"Alright, hey!"
"Alright, good job, guys."
"Let's just not come in tomorrow.
Let's just…take a day."
"You ever try shawarma?"
Worst: Accent amnesia
Marvel Studios' movies are consistent.
They're consistently good, they're consistent in tone, they're consistent in quality of
casting decisions and performances.
But you know what isn't consistent at all in Avengers: Infinity War?
Scarlet Witch's accent.
Throughout her debut turn in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda speaks with a thick accent.
She mostly keeps it throughout Civil War, too.
But Elizabeth Olsen seems to have had trouble committing to Wanda's accent in Infinity War.
One scene it's there; the next, she sounds like, well, Elizabeth Olsen.
Of course, exactly nobody would particularly care if she just got rid of the accent altogether.
But constantly switching in and out of it — sometimes multiple times in the same scene
— just makes it stand out.
Fortunately, in a movie featuring a talking raccoon, magic stones, and a giant purple
warlord, it's easy enough to just ignore Scarlet Witch's magical, disappearing accent.
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