Avengers: Infinity War Movie Review

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

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Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay by), Stan Lee (based on the Marvel comics by) anJack Kirby (based on the comics by), Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Captain America created by), Steve Englehart and Steve Gan (Star-Lord created by), Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen (Rocket Raccoon created by), Jim Starlin (Thanos, Gamora and Drax created by), Stan Lee and Larry Lieber andJack Kirby (Groot created by), Steve Englehart and Don Heck (Mantis created by)
Directed by:  Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring:  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbath, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Idris Elba, Danai Gurira, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Wong, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Gwyneth Paltrow, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt, William Hurt, Letitia Wright, Carrie Coon
Rated: PG-13

Plot
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Verdict
This crams a lot of characters into the movie, but it didn't feel like two and a half hours long. We get the usual big Marvel action sequences and a lot of cameos with twenty two super heroes in one movie, but this also has a lot of funny lines. The stakes are big, and throughout the movie my criticism was that super hero movies don't have any consequences. We know everyone will be okay and there will be future sequels, but this movie ends with definite upheaval in the Marvel universe. Maybe it gets undone in a future movie, but as a self contained story this ending made the movie better because I got what so many movies of this genre lack, defeat. That's refreshing.
Watch it.

Review
There's a lot of action and a lot of characters, moving quickly between the various groups. You need a cheat sheet to keep up with the teams, locations, and their plights. I figured the movie would split everyone up, and it does.

This opens with Thor, Loki, the Hulk, and Thanos. After that encounter the Hulk finds Dr. Strange, he in turn contacts Iron Man, Spider-Man shows up, and eventually Captain America enters the fray. Everyone is trying to stop Thanos from eradicating half of the world's population. Thanos sees that as the only way to protect finite resources and end suffering. He's got various minions hunting for the infinity stones, six powerful stones that if acquired will give him ultimate power.

I was surprised at the humor. There are some very funny, laugh out loud lines. Peter Quill from the Guardians of the Galaxy feels inadequate compared to Thor, his crew describing Thor as a pirate angel. Quill tries to compensate and is immediately called out. Drax at one point claims to have mastered becoming invisible. There's even a Kevin Bacon joke.

If you've seen Thor: Ragnarok (2017) (read my review), I wondered how this movie would deal with Thor's altered appearance, but that's handled rather easily and quickly. Banking on the humor from Ragnarok, Thor is involved in a lot of the one liners. He's also part of one of the big moments as he, Groot, and Rocket search for a suitable weapon to wield against Thanos. It's a beacon of hope in a story that from the beginning seems unwinnable. Groot is in the teenage phase, playing video games for most of the movie.

My complaint throughout was that super hero movies never have real stakes or consequences. You know everyone will be alive at the end because there are sequels to be made. That's not the case at the end of this movie. I expect they'll undo some of that in future movies, but as a self contained movie the ending made this all the better. It makes the entire movie more impressive because there are devastating results unlike anything we've seen. The villain didn't lose. It's especially poignant after the fake out we got early on in the movie.

 

There is speculation that somehow time will be reversed as the undo, and I hope that's not the case as it would feel particularly cheap due to a scene in this movie where a similar method is utilized.

The conclusion, Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 will release on May 3, 2019. Until then we get Ant-man and the Wasp in July 2018 and Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019.