A spoiler-free review of a triumphant cap-stone to the first decade of Marvel studio super hero films...
Avengers: Infinity War Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo 2 hours 29 minutes
Avengers: Infinity War picks up exactly where Thor: Ragnarok left us - traveling through space on a ship populated by the remaining survivors of Asgard, including Thor, Loki, and the always out-of-his -element, Incredible Hulk. It seems that there’s some hope yet for the Thunder God and his mates but before you can say Mjolnir (if you can say Mjolnir) a huge ship dwarfing the considerable refugee vessel from Asgard darkens the screen as an ominous music-cue hints at dire things to come - in the next movie. Like in the next Avengers movie...
After much anxious waiting by fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the ten year journey to Avengers: Infinity War culminates in a film that is dire indeed, but mixed with the MCU’s careful balance of comic relief, action, drama, emotion, and pop-mythology. The brilliant folks at Marvel Studios have certainly brought to life the stories that enthralled a generation of comic book readers (including the one writing this review) more faithfully than we ‘original’ fans could have ever thought possible. The fantastic dreams of artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee brought new energy into the then-stale comic book medium, bringing larger than life Gods and Monsters (with real personality quirks) into familiar environs like Manhattan, Queens and Westchester, while the establishment rivals performed predictable heroics in the generic 'Metropolis' and 'Gotham'. Avengers: Infinity War continues that tradition of telling fantastic, cosmic stories while portraying the almost mythic heroes as noble (but fallible) warriors.
Well-deserved praise goes to the Russo brothers - Anthony and Joe - for managing to tell the sprawling story, which spans several locations in space as well as on Earth - and includes every heavy-hitter in the Marvel universe, without losing the viewer. The Russos balance the superbly-choreographed action with the essential intimate scenes, fleshing out character, plot, and spectacle with pacing that’s so perfect that the hefty running time (149 minutes) is hardly noticed. The editing is wonderful and the look of the film is colorful and stunning, with some of the most ‘invisible CGI work of any film in this genre. The dialog is snappy (especially from Downey/Stark), witty, pop culture-savvy, and often hilarious. Alan Silvestri’s score is the definition of cinematic - sweeping, bold, dramatic, and lushly orchestrated. It would be hard to find any technical flaws in the film, right down to sound design - as a matter of fact, even the arcane gaffer might be in line for a gold statue...
Without giving away any key moments, the story is about the mad Titon, Thanos; a God-like being who’s searching for the powerful Infinity Stones, almost-sentient elements that have been scattered through the storylines of Marvel’s first nineteen films. Thanos’ quest is to combine all six of the stones to possess an almost infinite amount of power with the ultimate goal of destroying half of all human life to ‘restore balance’ to the universe. What makes Thanos a fascinating villain (as so many Marvel villains are) is that he sees his motives as pure, right, and even noble. This is his ‘ultimate solution.’ The efforts of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spiderman, and the rest of the assembled heroes is to find a way to stop Thanos’ plan from happening. Therein lies the film, and it’s a film to be watched carefully, with dialog that you should take note of if you want to play the ‘where can we go from here’ game after the end...
Of course no film is perfect, and my own take-away along those lines is that there are some very shocking, dramatic moments in the film and there might be a time or two when the comic relief, or a bit of flippant dialog, might follow a bit too closely. Of course the other way of looking at that would be to say that those moments were necessary to offset the heaviness of a given scene. Your mileage may vary...
There’s one bit of semi-comic dialog, though, that really resonated with me. Explaining what’s been happening on Earth to a distraught Bruce (Hulk) Banner, Tony Stark tells him not to count on The Avengers because they broke up. “They broke up?” asks a downcast Banner, “like a band? Like The Beatles?” Let me explain why this struck a chord with me.... At the tail-end of the 60s two high schoolers got on their bicycles and took a chance - they rode to Jack Kirby’s house, right up to the front door, and rang the bell. The eventual end result was an afternoon with the visionary artist that created the look and feel of so many of the characters that now inhabit the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Toward the end of the visit, Jack Kirby expressed his disappointment with the way he was being treated at the company and said that he was leaving the fabled ‘bullpen’ for California and their main rival, DC Comics. I was devastated (you knew I was one of those two kids, right?) - just as much as Bruce Banner, I think, because my exact thought was “Oh no. First Lennon and McCartney and now Lee and Kirby!”
Nearly half a century later and Marvel still knows how we feel. If you remember how it felt waiting for the day each week when the new comic books would be put out on that rotating wire rack, you’ll have a great time at Avengers: Infinity War. The main difference is that instead of waiting a month to find out what happens next (yes, it’s a ‘part one’) it will be more like a year. But you’ll have lots of fun talking about it meanwhile..... – Bert Saraco
