Major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War ahead! You have been warned!
As is evident by the other blog posts we have done on the Avengers series (which you can read here, and here), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) was highly anticipated by us. With a budget of $322 million, the expectation for a mind-blowing film was high. And while the effects and the large star-studded cast certainly added to the glamour of the film, it inspired some dissatisfaction.
Aside from seeing the collaboration between all the characters in the different Marvel movies (with the sole exception of Ant-Man, curiously) and the intense understanding that Thanos is a foe unlike any other, the movie left a lot to be desired. While there were some great qualities in the film too, here’s why we thought it was evoked some conflicting feelings.
Was that really just a 149-minute-long fight scene?
Though built up by the eighteen other Marvel movies (a chronological list of which can be found here), the film provided very little to no story line other than Thanos’ ambition to gain all six Infinity Stones, something that had already been revealed in the trailer and through the post-credit scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) when Thanos gets his gauntlet. As well, his motive is fairly derivative, as a villain who wants to take over the world isn’t exactly a new concept. So, what did Infinity War truly offer the Marvel series?
It stepped (far) away from the traditional hero-always-wins mentality!
Beginning in media res we see Thanos’ crew of hooligans aboard the ship that acts as home to the last surviving Asgardians on their search for a new home. Thanos has killed all those aboard and in his attempt to gain the Space Stone from the Tesseract, he kills Loki. Not yet ten minutes into the film and the beloved and fan favourite Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, has been killed.
And to be frank, it was a great plot decision. It immediately set the tone for the movie and the conflict that would ensue, assuring that it was not your typical superhero movie were very few characters ever die. The closest we have ever gotten to that is when Bruce Banner a.k.a The Hulk disappeared into space during Age of Ultron. Even when Gamora was used as a literal sacrifice so Thanos could gain the Soul Stone, though heartbreaking since she and Quill had finally admitted their feelings for each other, it was another indication that this would be a difficult fight for the Avengers.
However, as the movie went on, and the death count continued to rise, it became increasingly obvious that this would all be reversed come part two of Infinity War (which comes out May 3, 2019), which diminished the effect the movie had been trying to provide.
Though a typical comic book theme, the reversal of death through time-travel or multiple universes does not always work as well on the big screen. Infinity War Part Two will be no exception and will need to be done with the utmost care in order to pull it off.
Other aspects of the film that made it successful includes . . . .
Thor’s storyline and interaction with the Guardians was wonderful!
As we have remarked on Thor: Ragnarok being the much-needed revival of Thor’s character, his newfound depth continued on in Infinity War. Chris Hemsworth arguably stole the show with some of the most profound emotional moments, such as discussing his perspective on life after the death of his family and friends to Rocket, or witnessing the death of his brother Loki. His comedic interactions with the Guardians, especially those between him and Quill, made for witty humour in an otherwise darkly themed film. That same type of humour is what we know so well of the Guardians movies, which is why it worked so cohesively in the space storyline. As well, knowing that Thor and his new battle-axe were the only plausible chance at stopping Thanos, his entrance into Wakanda was nothing short of phenomenal.
However, with some of the other characters, the use of jokes as a way of comedic relief sometimes felt a bit jarring. Aside from the quippy Tony Stark and youthful humour of Peter Parker, the jokes at times felt forced and perhaps too light given the often grave situations the characters were placed in. Speaking of where the characters were placed!
There simply was not enough of Wakanda!
Maybe this is more of a personal complaint, but after seeing the incredible Black Panther recently, the impression was that Wakanda and its people would be a larger presence in Infinity War. It was disappointing to see that the scenes in Wakanda were fairly condensed, though we can see why part of this can be owed to the fact that there were so many characters in the film to fit into less than three hours. However, Wakanda felt more like it was being used as a location that would avoid the disaster of civilian casualties that arose from The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
And while it is understandable that the space storyline was more pertinent to the narrative, it would have been nice to see more of T’Challa, Okoye, Shuri, and M’Baku. Especially Shuri, given that Black Panther showed us, and was reiterated in Infinity War when she came up with a solution for Vision almost instantly while Bruce could not, she is probably the smartest person in the world (perhaps, and arguably, even surpassing Tony Stark). Suffice to say, even the non-Wakandans such as Bucky, Steve, Natasha, and Falcon barely had any lines throughout the movie. It isn’t at all surprising that the criticism of it being too crowded a movie has arisen, but that was inevitable and ultimately, unavoidable.
And finally, our last comment, for while I’m all for sympathising with the enemy. . . .
Thanos was more dynamic than expected! Like… a lot more!
It’s no secret that Thanos is the main character of Infinity War. The entire plot-line is centred on his motivation to gain each Infinity Stone, and Thanos is given a considerable amount of screen time. However, the film works carefully to show the audience that while Thanos is a homicidal maniac that has deluded himself into a god-complex, we are given much more insight into his mind than the typical villain. Most importantly, we see his vulnerability in what appears to be a real, albeit twisted, love towards his adopted daughter Gamora. Moreover, we see Thanos’ experience of the destruction of his home planet Titan as a vital incentive for his plan. An incentive that almost makes one think that his intentions (barring the fact that he wants to kill billions of lives, alien and human alike) are simply to ensure the long term survival of all planets and the universe.
It’s a stretch to say that this humanises Thanos, but it does contribute to making him a more realistic villain, perhaps even a sympathetic villain (one who attempts to make the world a better place through antagonistic means). By doing this, the audience is able to participate in a more dynamic film, with a more complex framework than the predictable “good guy beats bad guy” one.
So where does this leave us in terms of the upcoming part-two? Does Thanos feel like the price for his success was too high and chooses to reverse time himself? Do the remaining Avengers defeat him and use the Time Stone to revert back to the past? How does Tony get off Titan all by himself?
There are so many questions that are left to consider and regardless of how we felt about Infinity War, you know that we are going to be sitting right here eagerly anticipating the day when we get answers.
~ S & Z ~
