Call me jaded – but the thought of another two-and-a-half hour film filled with superheroic antics did not have me excited. As I mused a long time ago in our Thor: The Dark World review, it’s difficult to create compelling drama when franchise deals guarantee characters’ survival to appear in future films. Do you hear that sound? It’s the sound of all the drama escaping as the film deflates.
This problem is still present in Avengers: Infinity War, directed by duo Anthony and Joe Russo (the Brothers Russo as I shall refer to them): we know that Spiderman will be appearing in an unnamed Spiderman sequel, and we know that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be getting a part 3. So what could really happen?
A lot, as it turns out.
The Brothers Russo seem to be aware of the dramatic pitfalls of serialized adventures and have taken steps to heighten the stakes. Which isn’t to say this film is perfect; but boy, does it deliver on the expectations built up over 10 years, all the way back from the first post-credits scene in Ironman, when Nick Fury tells Tony about the Avengers Initiative.
Well, the Avengers have grown up, and if Infinity War’s principal villain, Thanos (played by Josh Brolin), gets his way and manages to destroy half the population of the universe, the Avengers might have quite a lot to avenge by the time this 2 part movie arc reaches its conclusion.
*** Mild Spoilers Ahead ***
Infinity War kicks off at the bitter conclusion of a battle between Thanos, aided by his children, and the Asgardians – Thor, Heimdall, Loki, and the rest. The Asgardian ship is half-destroyed, and most everyone dead. In a last-ditch effort, Heimdall teleports the Hulk off the ship, back to earth to warn the Avengers of Thanos’s impending arrival.
This film builds compellingly towards its climax; more the story of Thanos, the destroyer of worlds, than any one other one hero, the film also manages to fit in some interesting character arcs for Star Lord and Scarlet Witch; while there’s only time for minimal development of most of the cast, none of the characters feel shallow or weak as a result. Maybe that’s a result of all the previous films; we only get one scene with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, but that’s all that the film needs – the audience knows the characters.
The film’s ending is the most surprising part of this superheroic outing, and for me the best part of the film: bold, kinetic, unexpected, utterly devastating while also supremely hopeful. It’s the ultimate cliffhanger, where the filmmakers not only take the heroes to the cliff, but actually throw them off the cliff as well.
The Brothers Russo have rustled up something fresh from the superhero milieu that has been suffocating itself. For this, I applaud them. Is the superhero genre getting long in the tooth? Sure. Might it soon go the way of the Westerns? Probably. But for now, Marvel Studios has once again proved that they still know what makes a good story, and how to tell it in an unexpected way.
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