Review of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) by Marshall W — 25 Oct 2018

Avengers infinity war had the daunting task of concluding an era of the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) that has been ten years in the making. Joe and Anthony Russo were given the keys to Marvels most ambitious project to date; they had to figure out how over 18 characters from various corners of the MCU would be given adequate screen time in a two an a half hour movie.

The Russo brothers delivered! Not only were they able to present these characters true to their solo films; they were able to create new dynamics between some of our favourites. The screen time was limited, but when on screen everyone's performances stood out.

Some of the stand outs were Chris Hemsworth (thor), Zoe Zeldana (Gamora), and Robert Downey junior (Tony Stark). Zeldana in particular was able to flesh out her character and provide some very emotional scenes that allowed us to understand her character as more then the most lethal assassin in the galaxy.

The film was able to juggle multiple storylines that came to a climactic finish; each story played a role in manipulating our emotions, whether it be a feeling of redemption with Thor, revenge with iron man, or passion with Peter quill.

This movie hits all the common beats that are expected in a marvel movies. Humour is used excellently throughout the film especially with Dave Bautista (Drax) although I felt he was over done in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 he was back to form for this outing.

Humour in marvel movies have been somewhat of an issue for me; but with only few gripes in this film I can't complain. With many Marvel movies It's difficult to believe in the stakes, Marvel has films slated for years and years which doesn't allow the viewer to believe in a self contained story.

The next phase of films have been kept under wraps by Marvel, so the viewer is left blind and the emotional weight of character deaths can be felt in this film. Marvel has to make some of the important character deaths permanent or those loose stakes will forever be gone.

Finally, the most outstanding performance was by the protagonist of the film Thanos (Josh Brolin). Of course I don't believe Thanos is the hero of this film but the Russo's do an incredible job of finding balance (haha) in the complex character that is Thanos.

Every great villain believes that they are the good guy, Thanos is the prime example and it's executed perfectly. There are hints that the motives of Thanos may not be as well intentioned as he convinces himself they are.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) before he is gruesomely killed by Thanos states "you will never be a god" which could infer more to what Thanos truly wants compared to balancing the universe. Ultimately, there isn't a lot of negative criticisms that can be said about Avengers infinity war.

The stakes were high, and the Russo's were expected to deliver impossible and they did. The film is steadily becoming one of my favourite MCU films, but hasn't made the jump to one of my favourite films in general.

cannot wait until May 2019.