‘Avengers: Infinity War’ features action packed thrills
Jacob Pitts
Staff Writer
“Avengers: Infinity War” is a worthy celebration of a decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, delivering a batch of its signature action, humor, twists and tears more intense than ever before.
Still divided after their falling out in “Captain America: Civil War,” the Avengers begin the film “broken up like The Beatles,” as Bruce Banner quips. When they receive word Thanos is headed to Earth to collect the remaining Infinity Stones, they rethink their split and assemble once again.
Believing that genocide is the answer to overpopulation, hunger and poverty, Thanos plans to wipe out half of the universe with the snap of his fingers once he obtains all six stones.
Infinity War is constant chaos for 2.5 hours straight, with no rising or falling action. Thankfully, not a single second is wasted on filler, but there’s just the right amount of stuff happening that it’s exhilarating without becoming overwhelming.
My biggest worry going into this film was the enormous cast. While I was excited to witness such an epic crossover 10 years in the making, I feared each character would only get a handful of lines in order to fit everyone in.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that almost everyone gets their time to shine, which is nearly impossible with such a large ensemble cast. The only missing players are Hawkeye and Ant-Man, and their absences are barely noticeable with so much else going on.
One of the film’s surprise standouts is Zoe Saldana as Gamora, daughter of Thanos. I’ve seen Saldana in “Avatar,” “Star Trek” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but I still didn’t expect her acting here at all. Gamora is in an interesting spot as the estranged daughter of the film’s titular villain, and Saldana channels years of gut-wrenching guilt, rage, and resentment into her performance.
Other memorable performances include Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. There’s an impressive spoiler-filled scene with Peter and Tony Stark that solidifies Tom Holland as the best Spider-Man.
Thor, following the destruction of his homeland, Asgard, in “Thor: Ragnarok,” has nothing left to lose and is fighting for vengeance. Scarlet Witch and Vision’s scenes used to be a slog to get through, but here they’re significantly more gripping and likable.
Also, it’s official: Marvel has fixed its villain problem for good. The studio previously faced criticism for its one-dimensional antagonists, but “Infinity War” confirms their recent streak of compelling foes, including Vulture, Hela and Killmonger won’t be broken anytime soon.
Josh Brolin’s Thanos, who debuted in the first Avengers film’s post-credits scene six years ago, is genuinely threatening and more than a formidable opponent for our team of heroes. Even with the nearly two dozen main protagonists against him, for once there’s sufficient doubt they’ll prevail.
“Infinity War’s” principal charm is easily the excitement of seeing favorite characters from different films side by side. This is what made the first Avengers an instant classic, and with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, their supporting casts and old enemies Loki and Nebula all joining since the last Avengers film, there are so many new relationships and team-ups to look forward to.
Seeing Bruce Banner and Shuri geeking out about science, Star-Lord trading barbs with Thor and Black Widow and Okoye having each other’s backs on the battlefield are some of the highlights.
The ending is beyond shocking and is definitely the biggest storytelling risk Marvel has taken in their films so far. Even though the consequences are unlikely to stick, given the existence of the Time Stone, which could potentially reverse them, they pack a huge emotional punch nevertheless.
Lastly, remember to stay seated for the post-credits scene. A couple of characters who were advertised as being in the film didn’t make it into the main feature, but they do appear afterward to tease an upcoming Marvel movie.