A fun caper, but where’s the plot?
As franchises become cinema’s future, many genres lose out
It is an expectation, not quite universally acknowledged, that a successful franchise — 18 films old — must be in want of a new tale. The easiest way to make money in films these days is to continue to expand a successful fictional universe such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While it provides a fan base to make money from, it also usually has some scope for different kinds of stories to be told. The newest of the MCU franchise, Avengers: Infinity War, did not take up that second challenge at all. With a straightforward plot, story was never going to be the movie’s strong suit; but given it’s a first in a twopart story, it could have used some depth in that department.
Good science fiction/fantasy stories are interesting because they are capable of holding up a mirror to the “real” world, and pushing the limits of the possible. Even in simple good versus evil stories, a fun caper, some witty lines, and some moral ambiguity have made for excellent storytelling — even within the MCU. The first Iron Man, for instance, was about weapons manufacturer Tony Stark’s unease with the idea of war. Guardians of the Galaxy maximised superhero hijinks. Infinity War had some wit and some major superhero hijinks; and for those who are into that kind of thing, the thrill of seeing two Sherlock Holmeses in one frame. But that aside, even the emotional beats of the ending rang false, because of the knowledge of more movies of these heroes (Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman) coming up before the concluding part of this story.
This wasn’t really a film in the traditional sense of the word. It was a barrage of CGI fighting. Many, including Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Black Panther’s brilliant Okoye (Danai Gurira), barely managed to get a word in edgewise. In attempting to make it bigger than ever before, Avengers became instead a victim of its own brand image. Serialised cinema, such as in Lord of the Rings, has a lot to offer, both in terms of emotional engagement and the anticipation of what is yet to come. But instead of having plot, acting, and story, Avengers: Infinity War was about fan service through nods to favourite moments. As brands and franchises become the future of cinema, it will be a big loss to the world of fantasy and sci-fi if the complications and convictions of the “real” world that can be dealt with in this genre lose out to the razzmatazz of big-budget CGI and plotless extravagance. Perhaps there is such a thing as too many superheroes.