"Avengers: Infinity War" Movie Review - One Team, One Universe, One Destiny

It seems almost implausible that the original Iron Man came out 10 years ago now in 2008. I don't think even at that point that the head honchos of Marvel, even executive producer and mastermind Kevin Fiege, could have foreseen the success that this franchise has had. From the moment Nick Fury appeared in Tony Stark's house to talk to him about the Avengers Initiative, it has always felt like there was a bigger game afoot. It was this that effectively saw the introduction to the medium of cinema of the cinematic universe. What was once recognised as a gamble more than unlikely to succeed is now considered to be one of the biggest money-making tools available to studios. It feels like every year we see another studio try their hand at replicating the success of this formula. Ultimately, it has always been Marvel's commitment to the characters and bringing them to life on screen over time that has set them apart from the crowd. The original and still best execution of this format works because it made us fall in love with these characters. We have seen them grow, seen them evolve, seen them climb to great heights and then fall so much further. And yet at the end of the day the story was always going to have its ending, however bitter sweet it may be, with the path clearly set from the moment Thanos reared his purple chin in the post-credits scene of 2012's Avengers Assemble. It seems like that story is finally coming to its end now, with the first part of the story now released in Avengers: Infinity War, as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the forces of Wakanda, and the sorcerers of Earth finally unite in a desperate bid to prevent the aforementioned Mad Titan from gathering all six of the mystical Infinity Stones and using their seemingly limitless power to wipe out half of all life in the universe. The stakes don't get much higher than this, both for the movie and the expectations built over 10 years. Thankfully, directors the Russo Brothers have more than delivered with this epic, sprawling story. As I just said, the stakes have never been higher and the mood of the film feels appropriate to that. There is an air of true threat - something Marvel movies have often been criticised for lacking - throughout, a feel that finally nobody is safe. Thanos, played wonderfully by Josh Brolin, brings that atmosphere even when he is not on screen. Remarkably, however, the film for the most part manages to balance this, and the naturally incredibly emotional moments scattered throughout that you'll expect from a finale, and the trademark Marvel humour, inserted tactfully into the film and tending not to draw too much attention or undercut serious moments. This isn't always case, particularly at the beginning of the film when the Guardians are introduced into the fray to the jazz of the Swingers "Rubberband Man". There is a clear disconnect between the New York sequences of the Avengers and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), which carry a dour tone but still fun moments; and the unfortunately naturally goofy tone of the Guardians movies - even the location card that pops up to herald their arrival feels somewhat out of place. Thankfully, this is a short term issue rectified immediately by the threat of Thanos. The Guardians still have their fun, particularly once they unite with the rest of the Avengers, but it is once the fear arrives that you feel like you are watching one film, rather than two spliced together. This should not, however, take away from the skill involved in making sure the movie retain the characters and their feels from their individual flicks; this was a natural issue that was never going to be easy to handle, but the Russos certainly handled this as well as possibly could have been done.

The bread and butter of all Marvel movies have always been the character dynamics on show, especially in the team-up movies such as this. Of course, this is still the case here, and there is a real delight in seeing all of these characters (over 30 in fact) unite and bounce off of each other. Whether it is seeing their individual abilities and powers work together in the midst of the action sequences (which we'll come onto shorty, don't worry) or simply see their personalities clash. Linked quite closely to the point of solo movie tones discussed already, it really is remarkable how writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely, despite having not written the original movies and characters' personalities, have managed to make the array of superheroes feel exactly as they did in their previous flicks and, in turn, make the interactions between them feel incredibly natural. There's a great deal of satisfaction to be found for fans, and regardless a great deal of fun to be had for people who are relatively new to this franchise (which I can confirm having seen the movie the first time with someone who had not seen all of these movies and had not seen a lot of the individual movies but enjoyed it all the same). These are backed up by great performances throughout the movie. There is some truly great comic timing - notable mentions of course go to the ever reliable Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man as well as Chris Pratt's Peter Quill/Star-Lord - but also some excellent dramatic moments. Downey Jr. deserves a special mention here as well, as he perfectly sells the desperation of Stark, finally facing the threat that he and his team have known was coming since the Battle of New York. The Guardians all have their usual fun and goofy moments, but Pratt also gets some impactful moments in the second half to work with. Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is a somewhat stoic presence, working well as a straight man to Stark, Spider-Man (played brilliantly by Tom Holland once again), and the Guardians. The two main performances I want to mention with regards the heroes are Zoe Saldana and Chris Hemsworth. The latter carries on with the development that his character went through in last years Ragnarok, and here becomes a more tragic presence, with Hemsworth giving the part his all. Saldana's Gamora receives significantly more development here than she did in the other Guardians' movies and she certainly makes the most of it, making sure to wring every drop of emotion out of her scenes. Other characters get less to do than one might expect. For example, Chris Evans' Captain America feels somewhat sidelined, while Scarlett Johansson and Chadwick Boseman also feel slightly underused. Don't be mistaken, however, there's only so much you can fit into a 2 and a half hour movie and this should not detract from the success of the movie. To have so many performances and characters, and to balance it all as well as it does, with every main character having a strong individual moment and a good performance behind it is something quite remarkable.

The Magic Science Bros unite at last

That said, even with its frankly jaw-dropping array of superheroes on display, the best character in the movie by quite some distance is the villain himself: Thanos. Perhaps the biggest challenge the movie faced was ensuring that a villain who had been built up for 6 years and had to this point done little but sit in a chair and command underlings to do his dirty work for him could now be shown to be the most feared intergalactic tyrant/warlord in the cosmos, and they succeeded in spades. Owed in equal parts to Josh Brolin's committed and intense motion capture performance and to the fantastic script. It's almost baffling to be able to type that Marvel's most human villain and one of the most sympathetic characters throughout their entire catalogue of movies is a giant purple alien wielding a golden gauntlet designed to hold six mythical stones, and yet here we are. Thanos is brilliantly developed throughout the film to ensure that we understand his point of view. We are given glimpses into his backstory, and when he explains his reasoning, it doesn't feel like exposition or plot explanations, it feels like we as an audience are being given an insight into the psyche of this character - it allows us in turn to comprehend his reasoning. We might not agree with it in any shape or form (at least I sincerely hope that someone out there doesn't agree with wiping out half of all life in the universe), but we completely understand why he believes he is right. It is on that basis that Thanos in turn becomes not only the best Marvel villain, but one of the best on-screen villain in recent memory. His conviction and determination to carry out what is ultimately a heinous and villainous act is driven by a fundamental belief that he is truly doing the right thing. You'll be disgusted at the amount of times you accidentally catch yourself understanding him, especially as he commits to his actions in truly tragic manners. But it is that the villain feels the tragedy and you feel it through them that drives the success of these moments. Yes, I can't emphasise it enough how strong a character Thanos becomes and he more than meets the galactic hopes and expectations fans around the world had for this character. Noteworthy also are his Black Order, described as his "children" but effectively his generals who appear throughout the film. These characters are also interesting in their own rights, and some at times even felt capable of carrying their own films. The most memorable presences are the warrior Proxima Midnight, played by TV's Carrie Coon (although perhaps memorable by virtue of screen time and a strong vocal performance as opposed to development), and Ebony Maw, the most successful member of the group due to the fantastically creepy vocal performance of Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. The other two members of the group, Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw) work for their purposes but don't always stand out as much as the other two members. However, that said, they all of course still play second fiddle to Thanos, who has certainly for the most part been regarded quite correctly as the movie's main event and its great triumph. As a movie acting as a crossover event 10 years in the making, that's really saying something.

Nothing to worry about, just a villain throwing a MOON

I might have talked about character dynamics and the emotion beats earlier, but at the end of the day this is a superhero movie and that means one thing: action sequences. Lots and lots of action sequences. Like the rest of the movie, these are executed fantastically. There is a constant excitement throughout the movie, with the scenes feeling perfectly paced out so that they never feel too brief or underwhelming, but not so long to the point that the sequence becomes boring. Of course, the character dynamics also work their work into these sequences, and it is because of this that the movie is prevented from becoming essentially an animation, just a barrage of colourful flashing images on screen. The characters are what bring the humanity to these scenes, which may sound obvious but it is still a crucial point to make. The Russos also execute what is quite possibly the most stunning blend of action to act as the finale to the movie, perfectly merging not one, not two, but three action beats. Cutting back and forth between the three locations, you become completely immersed in the perfect visuals of the movie and wholly engaged in the epic set piece on show, as the fates of your favourite characters hang in the balance. On that note, the special effects of the movie are also particularly noteworthy. The budget of the movie is astronomical, there is no doubt in that, but we've seen quite a few movies in recent years with large budgets that have failed to convincingly render even a fire. That is why then it still is worth mentioning how well done the effects work is, especially on Thanos, who Josh Brolin also performed the motion capture for. For a villain completely rendered in CGI, it is an incredible feat that you will completely forget that Thanos is not really there throughout. The same can be said for the locations - this is all a key part in ensuring the movie is as immersive as it is. The cinematography in the movie is also excellent, as is Alan Silvestri's sweeping score. Having also composed the original Avengers score, Silvestri is often the key counter argument to the debate about whether Marvel movies have memorable music. While I don't agree that this is always the case, the theme is certainly the most, for want of a better word, "hummable" of the universe. Silvestri here adopts that theme, as well as those of the solo flicks, and twists them to match the darker tone of the movie. While there is still some uplifting hopeful motifs throughout, these are mixed throughout with a haunting piano riff, with this going a long way to building the tense atmosphere.

The Guardians bring some much needed levity to the proceedings, but don't undercut the drama

What is there left to say really about Avengers: Infinity War? You've heard it all since the release of the movie a few weeks ago, and it's likely that I haven't said anything new here...but that is quite simply because there is nothing left to say. The movie truly is as fantastic as you've heard and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's not perfect, but no superhero movie really is at the end of the day. The issue of tone does noticeably stand out near the start of the movie. It is a testament to the Russo Brothers that they managed to capture the feel of each of the characters' and teams' individual movies and franchises and it's a natural problem which virtually no director is going to be able to get past. It's all but rectified by the blend achieved later by the Russos between the usual humour you've come to expect from Marvel movies, with the emotional beats that you'll likely be expecting, given that this is the endgame we've been building to for 10 years. It may seem like I'm contradicting myself, but the fact is when the characters are united by the threat of Thanos, rather doing separate things, because at that point it feels like one movie...and thankfully that's not too long a wait. Everything else in the film is carried out to a masterful standard. The character dynamics are exactly what you'll be hoping for, the action impeccable, the visuals beautiful, the score equal parts intense and emotional, and the story one that is able to be engaging for fans and non-fans alike. Most impressively though is the execution of its villain Thanos. It seemed virtually impossible (like this entire movie is we're being completely honest) that a villain with over 6 years of build-up could hope to be not only as frightening and intimidating as he is, but also that he would somewhat ironically become Marvel's most sympathetic and humanised antagonist to date. The movie is a remarkable feat, and I'll be honest that my score for this movie was originally one point lower. I am such a big fan of these movies that I tried to be harsh with this one. That said, it was when I saw this movie with different people on two different occasions, and the reactions everyone had at what we had watched, that made me realise that, even without bias, the movie really was as good as I thought it was. Marvel is now at the top of their game, and it seems impossible that they can keep building movie upon movie. Building a whole universe of great performances and a story unlike any we've ever seen on film before, Avengers: Infinity War is an incredible first part to the conclusion of this story, and one which all but guarantees enjoyment for all audiences. You won't want to blink.

Pros

• Thanos
• A satisfying beginning to the end of this 10-year story
• Great performances
• Fun character dynamics
• For the most part balances humour and emotional beats very well
• Incredible action sequences
• Stunning visuals
• Alan Silvestri's sweeping score

Cons

• A few tonal issues near the start of the movie (but even these aren't persistent)

Rating: 10/10

Original Release Date: 26th of April, 2018

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Benedict Wong, Gwyneth Paltrow, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin