Wednesday 30 May 2018

Movie Review: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)



This is it. It's what several years of Marvel Universe movies have been building up to. The first part of a two-movie story. Infinity War! I'm sure the planet's plastic supply has been almost used up manufacturing new action figures for kids across the world, and the bosses at Disney are rolling in more money than every banker in the world combined!


In fairness, an unbelievable amount of creativity, calculated risks and hard work have led to this colossal achievement and milestone in both movie and comic book history. Warner / DC have thrown loads of money at their movies and they haven't been anywhere near as successful. I think the key is that Marvel have always got it right. They've had great scripts, perfect casting, amazing actors, and have treated the character and source material with the utmost respect. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Loki, Doctor Strange etc. Marvel have got their movie universe so right, everything feels definitive. They can even say the same for their TV series which are set in the same universe (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist). Having recently watched DC's Justice League recently (see my review here), it makes me appreciate what Marvel have achieved even more.

(Spoilers ahead)

I've always said that what makes a great super-hero is a great super-villain. To make this movie work, they needed a nemesis for pretty much everyone, and Thanos is perfect. Portrayed superbly by Josh Brolin, Thanos has a lot of depth and his reasoning for doing what he does makes the audience seriously question morality and consider the fact that he actually has a point! Thanos wants to end half of all life in the universe and needs all of the Infinity Stones to achieve this. Up to now, he simply invades planets and murders half of the population. He believes he's saving people from over-population which would lead to a reduction in natural resources, famine etc. With the topic of over-population being such a serious concern in the real world, this concept certainly resonated with me.

The movie is so well paced and visually stunning that the two and a half hour running time flew by. The interactions between the characters, some of whom hadn't met before the movie, was really entertaining, especially the exchanges between Iron Man and Star Lord, amongst others. There's plenty of humour in just the right balance with the serious side of the story telling, all mixed in with a wealth of action and super-hero related peril.

As has always been the way in comics, characters who die don't always stay dead. In this case, a few of the casualties have already had new movies anounced so we know things will change. Before watching the movie, I knew that there was a time stone, suggesting that anything that happens can be undone, so spoilers were never really a massive concern for me before going to the cinema.

One of the fun aspects is the speculation amongst fans as to how the next Avengers movie will pan out. There were certain characters who weren't present in this one, so will they have a major part to play next time or was their exclusion a red herring from the writers? The fact that I give a shit, show that the movie worked. So, in short, I absolutely loved Avengers Infinity War. Expectations were ludicrously high and it exceeded them with ease. I'm sure that the second part will 'Hulk smash' box office records into tiny pieces when it comes out in May next year!
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