A superhero movie 10 years in the making, but can it possibly live up to the hype? Well of course it can, it’s a marvel movie, even the bad ones are still amazing.
The original plan was to review Avengers Infinity War as soon as I’d seen it, but that was before I was bombarded with emotions. Having seen it twice since then, I now feel like I can write a review without bursting into tears at the thought of having to wait a whole fucking year for the sequel!
Avengers Infinity War is set not long after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, and it would appear that intergalactic purple space Hitler has gotten bored of waiting on his minions to bring the infinity stones to him. And like all good hands on bosses he knows when to pitch in and lend a gauntlet encased hand, it’s when all your employees have been killed by superheroes. Thanos’ master plan is to unite the six all-powerful infinity stones and indiscriminately wipe out 50% of the universe because it’s running out of space/resources. Thanos being apparently oblivious to the fact he could easily create an endless supply of food/shelter and, oh yeah planets! The Avengers, being the do-gooders that they are, decide that they’d prefer if trillions of lives weren’t extinguished by Barney the genocidal dinosaur and vow to stop him. Given that the movie has only just come out and it is something most of us have been eagerly anticipating for a decade, I won’t reveal any more about the plot.
When it comes to crossover movies I always worry about characters being over looked or over relied upon. And given the sheer size of this project, not to mention the number of actors, all of whom are stars in their own movies, it would have been easy for it to become a confusing mess. Luckily, that isn’t the case, each character gets just enough screen time to make their presence felt, but never at the expense of another character.
While I would love to gush endlessly about each character individually, I’d risk wandering into spoiler territory, not to mention doubling my word count. Rest assured they were all fantastic, each bringing the same amazing performances we’ve come to expect from them.
I would like to single out Tom Holland however as I feel he stole the show, every scene he was in was pure gold. His youthful energy and flawless comedic timing always added a sense of levity to even the most serious scenes making him (in my opinion) the perfect Spider-Man.
That’s not to say he’s all jokes and jumping around, like his superhero counterpart he knows when to get serious. Without spoiling, there is one scene in particular where Holland delivers a wonderfully heartfelt and emotional performance that showcases his immense talent as an actor.
But, heroes are only as good as their villains and as a 30-year-old nerd I know all the greats. I’ve fought them in video games, watched them in movies, and read about them in comic books. But in all my years I have never truly hated a villain the way I hated Thanos, and I mean that as a compliment. He is such a well written villain, steadfast and uncompromising, filled with an unshakable belief that he is right, and the rest of the universe is wrong.
Of course, good writing can only take you so far and it was Josh Brolin’s commanding presence and unmistakable voice that truly brought the Mad Titan to life. His voice in particular was remarkable, it had this air to it, always so calm yet unmistakably malevolent, never failing to make me feel uneasy.
(Slap on a comb over, paint him orange and America would elect him president.)
I will admit to having concerns when it came to the aesthetics of Infinity War, as each of the worlds they intended to bring together are so visually distinct from one another. You have the grounded realism found in the Iron Man/Captain America movies, then there is the beautiful Afrofuturism from Black Panther and finally the colourful, vibrant Sci-Fi feel of Guardians/Thor Ragnarok. But it turns out that fear was unfounded as they go together like peanut butter, chocolate and a……. third thing, this analogy kind of fell apart on me but you get my point! They managed to merge all of these worlds together seamlessly without sacrificing what made any of them unique.
Opinion
Marvel prove, once again, that nothing is beyond them as Avengers: Infinity War manages to bring together a ridiculous number of superheroes to the delight of inner 12-year olds everywhere. With the final product being an exhilarating adventure filled with humour and emotion.
