I’m going to say it outright --- Avengers: Infinity War is the worst Marvel film I’ve seen yet.
Given
all the positive reviews revolving around AIW,
this seems like a pretty harsh statement. Hear me out before you whip out the
torches and pitch forks.
There are many reasons to love Avengers: Infinity War. I damn lost my mind when I saw the cast
line-up. Robert Downey Jr., Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson,
Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans and a slew of incredibly
talented cast members I do not have enough room to mention in one paragraph.
All in one film? A tab for that many A- and B-list actors and actresses in one
film would sink any indie film company, regardless of agreed pay cuts.
But EB Guy, this is freakin’ Disney!
Yeah, I know Disney has a pretty hefty budget. However, very few companies, regardless
of insanely, massive budgets, are willing to reach that deep into their pockets
to fund such an ambitious project. That’s how company’s seemingly too big to
fail go out of business, after all.
Granted, Disney
made much of that money back (a little over $2 billion, according to The Numbers).
That said, the move speaks volumes to the crew and masterminds behind the
pitching, making and advertising of this film. This leads me to the second
reason to love AIW. The talent and professionalism
of the women and men behind the curtains, who animate and make all the Infinity War characters relatable to the
average movie-goer, is immense. The costumes, music and graphics were precise
and harmoniously strewn together like a well-made sweater. Thanos, one of the
main cast of characters heavily dependent on CG-manipulation to exist as the
twisted, focused and overzealous antagonist, left little room for movie-goers
to question his very existence. He laughed, cried and interacted with minimally
CG-enhanced characters like Captain America and Gamora. As far as interactions
between the CG characters and the non-CG characters goes, the miscues or holes
in animation were absent, if not minimal at best. No hands went through an arm
or rested a little too deeply into (not ‘on’, ‘into’) someone’s shoulder to
snap the viewer out of the trance, ruining the overall experience. A true
testament of the high-caliber mastery and minute attention to detail from
everyone involved in the movie.
Wait? So, what’s your
deal, EB Guy? If everything was perfect, why make such an outlandish
declaration? What has your nickers in a twist?
The same thing that kills any incredible production. It killed my
experience with the first Cloverfield
film. It killed Green Lantern. It’s the
plot. My grievance is with the Infinity
War decided plotline. From the very beginning to the very end (including
the post-credits), characters were dying like fish in a polluted pond. Heindall
and Loki died within the first ten minutes. Loki, especially, met one of the
most pitiable ends next to Vision’s forced resurrection and subsequent death by
Thanos, and Spiderman’s heartbreaking plea for reassurance before turning into
dust. I was particularly displeased by Loki’s vain, final act. I expected the god
of mischief, who staged many of his own fake deaths, to put up more of a smart
fight. He fought more like Thor --- headfirst with no escape plan.
Don’t get me wrong. It was not like the movie had no happy or “feel
good” moments. When the Avengers
worked to subdue Thanos and try to take the Gauntlet off him, I was at the
height of satisfaction. At least, the Avengers
would have a fighting chance to reverse the damage already done by Thanos and
his army of followers. However, the satisfaction never lasted long. Like a fish
racing towards a hooked bait, when I thought a satisfactory ending was possible
near the surface, something happened that would pull me above the waters into
unfamiliar territory. As far as I remember, until Avengers: Infinity War, every Marvel
film concluded with the protagonist overcoming some external/internal
issue, bringing him/her back --- stronger and more resolute than ever. In AIW, there was no overcoming issue. Not
for the protagonists, anyway. This left me doubtful and incredibly frustrated,
to say the least.
This decision by the Marvel
masterminds to give the antagonist exactly what he wants, has a wide-reaching impact
on other Marvel films, Antman and the Wasp to name a few. Firstly,
plotlines will be left half done seeing how half of all life in the universe no
longer exists. Secondly, as a movie-goer, I cannot trust the Marvel crew to not kill key players in any
future films.
The only positive takeaway of AIW,
as far as I’m concerned, is that characters like Shuri, Okoye, Captain America
and Tony Stark, are still allowed to draw breath for another installment.
However, too many key characters are absent. Every Guardians of the Galaxy member, outside of one, has met their bitter
end thanks to Thanos. Even Nick Fury did not survive the aftermath of Thanos’
ambition.
Sure, the anticipation solidifies an already dedicated fanbase,
hungry for a better conclusion, than what the cold shoulder called Avenger’s: Infinity War left behind.
Sure, we can hope that the writers and director are merciful enough
to keep key characters, in future upcoming Marvel films, going. However, we can
no longer expect future Marvel films
to follow the long-tested Marvel
recipe of build, challenge and overcome.
Maybe this is the ultimate plan of the heads of Marvel? Maybe they don’t want us, the
movie-goers, to expect the happy endings we have been so use to for all these
years. Maybe they have a bigger plan for the fate of the Marvel universe. Maybe,
in truth, all the characters who have died are not really dead but transported to another alternate universe. Without
the release of the second installment of Infinity
War, all these ideas are nothing more than conspiracy theories. Until the
drop of the next film, I can only go off what I have. What I have is the worst
Marvel film yet.
Movie Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (6.2/10)
Alan Silvestri - Infinity War (From "Avengers:
Infinity War"/Audio Only)
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