I have a quick confession to make. Yesterday, I saw Infinity War at around noon and I've waited to start typing my review until the day after for a myriad of reasons. For starters, I've been burned on the Avengers films before. The first one is fine and I'll give it credit for it's importance in blockbuster history; however, I do feel like hailing it as some sort of masterpiece is silly. Age of Ultron ended up amplifying everything that worked and didn't work in it's predecessor, leading to a film that I still can't entirely say I'm for or against. Naturally, I wanted some time to ruminate on the film to give an honest opinion divorced from waves upon waves of hype. Then comes the challenge of finding a way to provide an articulate critique of the film without giving away the major surprises it has in store. Thankfully, I've been able to overcome both and can say that this film rocks!
Speaking of surprises, I was delighted to see that The Russo Brothers nailed it with this film. Sure, Winter Soldier was great; but, I'll still be in the minority of people who think that Civil War a complete letdown. Thankfully, they seemed to have made an anti-Civil War here. Instead of a soulless machine that ends up having zero consequences on the overall story and actively avoids taking risks, we get the exact opposite here. From the first ten minutes, they establish that there isn't a punch they're willing to pull. Anything that can happen pretty much does happen. I'd also like to give the Russos credit for doing a decent job of balancing the focus on the various players. The transitions back and forth between the Earthbound heroes and the more cosmic territories are admittedly a very impressive juggling act (even if it feels a little clunky at times). On the subject of subverting typical Marvel problems, composer extraordinaire Alan Silvestri returns with an appropriately epic score (a perfect sound to match such wondrous visions). Triumphant themes are used to their fullest potential and I was elated to see that a film with such a grim ending opted for the opposite of what we usually get with these movies. Instead of an end credits sequence with pounding melodies and tons of eye candy, we get slow, simple credits with a subdued, quiet rendition of the main themes (allowing an appropriate amount of breathing room from the epic tragedy that just wrapped up).
The cast isn't really worth discussing, seeing how familiar we are with all the major characters as well as the actors and how they each get enough time in the spotlight for maximum satisfaction. Besides, the big question on all of our minds is how well Josh Brolin does as Thanos. Rest assured, he's pretty great. Granted, his motivation from the comics has been heavily altered from the comics; but, I think the changes that were made were for the better and what's here fits better with the thematic core of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anyone familiar with Watchmen (be it the original graphic novel or the film adaptation) is going to be picking up very familiar signals here with Thanos. Again, I really can't delve into that too much without spoiling things; but, suffice it to say, our antagonist gets enough pathos to make him more than some big purple guy with a dictator complex.
Ever since it came out back in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back has been the go-to comparison for darker, narrative-rich sequels and (in my humble opinion, at least) has been grotesquely misapplied. You've been hearing it from everyone else and I'll be no exception. Comparisons to Empire fit it like a glove. We all know there's a another chapter coming that'll probably serve as a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak; however, I say we should take a moment to appreciate the grand-scale tragedy that's unfolding into multiplexes on the unsuspecting masses. Sure, it's still a great time at the movies and has a few moments to make audiences chuckle; but, that doesn't detract from stakes that feel genuine and emotional beats that are well-earned. Overall, I'd say that Infinity War and it's upcoming sequel are probably going to be the superhero genre's equivalent to the Kill Bill saga (in that part one is almost pure action and part two slows down for richer character/narrative beats). If that ends up being the case, the wait until next summer is going to be absolute torture because what we have here may be the comic book movie to end all comic book movies. How they'll follow this up is anyone's guess.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR gets a...
CATACLYSMIC AWESOMENESS out of TEN
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