Welcome, movie fans, to the start of another summer of blockbusters.
With “Avengers: Infinity War,” we enter the beginning of the end of a story Marvel has been building towards for a decade. No, that’s not a spoiler, that’s just a fact. Part two of “Infinity War” (and its TBD title) will conclude this arc and start the next.
There are few things I can say about this movie without spoiling some truly spectacular cinematic moments, so instead I’m going to take the opportunity to applaud Marvel for what they’ve built.
Marvel has built a literal empire and I think it’s okay for us all to take a moment and acknowledge how impressive it really is, which to be fair is what I spent most of the movie doing.
Hold on to that feeling. No, they didn’t destroy it. They just made it so good, you’re eyes are going to leak, and you’re going to want to remember this moment of pride.
Since “Avengers: Civil War,” where team Cap’ stared down team Tony, we’ve found our heroes in a very divided Marvel universe and in some ways “Infinity War” continues that trend with our characters scattered across a slew of locations. However, while in previous Avenger films, Marvel has successfully brought together its characters, in “Infinity War,” they bring entire worlds (or what’s left of them) together and it is something to behold.
Visually, “Infinity War,” is stunning in every way. Thanos, in particular, is ridiculous. And of course, credit must be given to both the digital artists and Josh Brolin who (even though he has grossly violated the rule of playing two villains in the same universe) gives Thanos a depth that I did not see coming.
I admit, when Thanos was just a mysterious purple being hanging out on a moon, I was worried about how much he really had to contribute to this arc. In “Infinity War,” we see who he really is, and he is bad news to be certain, but he’s also complex in a way that is so ridiculously compelling (in a way that I can’t explain without spoiling everything).
If you don’t already appreciate the depth of talent this universe has collected, just wait until the credits start rolling. It’s an almost unbelievable list of talent and all of them (except for the ones that are apparently off killing time elsewhere…Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Wasp, and Valkyrie) get to shine. The balance in storytelling that is required to make that work is mind-blowing. And I’d like to thank the writers for giving us the bromance triangle we never knew we needed — Stark, Strange, and Starlord.
As marvelous as they all are, the magic of Marvel goes well beyond great casting. This franchise has built entire worlds that have translated so seamlessly to the screen it’s easy to forget what a feat it truly is. Just something to think about while we spend the next year hypothesizing about part two and think about what we’ve just seen.
Is “Infinity War,” as many are saying, the best Marvel movie? Probably not (although it is the best Avengers movie hands down). What’s impressive about it is all the pieces that needed to be put into place over the last decade in order for it to work. And it most definitely works.
Now excuse me while I give into the current meme and return to my state of post- “Infinity War” reflection…
…while remembering that “Ant-Man and Wasp” and “Captain Marvel” come out in the next year too…
…bi-daily smile…
Advertisements
