After a decade of world-building and anticipation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been leading up to this: “Avengers: Infinity War.” A mashup containing nearly all heroes, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, this is perhaps the crowning achievement of producer Kevin Feige.
Helmed by “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War” directors Joe and Anthony Russo, “Avengers: Infinity War” finally brings forth the Titanian Eternal, Thanos. The villain works to assemble Infinity Stones, which would allow him to control the universe. To no surprise, it is up to the Avengers to stop him.
The cast of this ensemble is expansive. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Olsen all reprise their roles as superheroes. Josh Brolin is finally able to get his hands a little dirty as Thanos.
The film is primarily focused on character crossovers, such as the interactions between Iron Man and Doctor Strange. “Infinity War” felt similarly to “Game of Thrones” with many different interweaving events that somehow connect to one another. Each of the heroes are paired up into different groups, causing the film to cut to many different subplots that eventually come together. The MCU was able to do this thanks to the slow roll out of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and each Avenger.
Action is an extremely important element of “Avengers: Infinity War.” From beginning to end, the action was nonstop. It also helped introduce the characters in the film. The entire theater cheered when characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man hit the screen. The constant action sequences made the film that much more entertaining.
The Russo Brothers have proven themselves to be very good at presenting action with a very steady story. Previous MCU films have had good stories but very underwhelming fight scenes. An example of that is “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” It is very difficult to have it both ways, but the Russos somehow pull it off.
Josh Brolin plays Thanos, the alien antagonist fighting the heroes of “Avengers: Infinity War” after a decade of anticipation.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios
“Avengers: Infinity War” is the perfect example of taking the superhero genre in a completely different direction. Any average superhero film would normally focus on a certain hero, but this film has Thanos as its main character. This is especially impressive and daring considering he is the antagonist. He had the most screen time of any character in the film. Doing this made Thanos much more sympathetic as a villain, even though his goals are considered to be inhumane. The directors executed his backstory and ideology perfectly to help amplify the main story of the film.
It is almost like viewers are seeing the events of the film from the villain’s perspective rather than the heroes’. Normally there is some form of optimism in a film with a superhero as the main character. With Thanos taking control of the movie, that optimism is nowhere in sight. This third film in the “Avengers” series is much darker than its predecessors.
“Avengers: Infinity War” is definitely worth watching in Imax 3D. It is marked as the first Hollywood film to be shot entirely with Imax cameras. It certainly makes the 3D experience that much more immersive.
“Avengers: Infinity War” is the biggest game changer in the MCU and demands to be seen as soon as possible.
