SHORT TAKE
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR directed by Joe & Anthony Russo
Just as the Twilight and Harry Potter movies did, the grand finale of the Avengers films – being the 19th movie in the decade-long Marvel Cinematic Universe – has been split in two. Yes, Infinity War, all 160 special-effectsladen minutes of it, is just the beginning of the end. Or an end.
It’s quite a first curtain call. It stars, give or take a sidekick or two, around two dozen superheroes – most of them played by guys named Chris. Given that crowd, it kind of makes sense that its villain, a large mauve magic gem-collecting intergalactic Genghis Khan named Thanos, has made it his evil mission to reduce overpopulation across the universe. It would be tempting to say here “but nothing else makes sense”. Except Infinity War largely does, even when its battles are being fought on multiple fronts, including Black Panther’s Wakanda and a planet where it appears prog-rock album covers go to die.
It outstrips the previous Avengers get-togethers for surprises, peril, humour (Thor is still high on the laughing gas of last year’s Ragnarok) and outbreaks of acting (Zoe Saldana’s green gal Gamora gets the MVP). Thanos (a motion-captured Josh Brolin) makes this a rare Marvel flick in that it has a truly memorable villain.
Yes, it’s congested, exhausting and finishes up bamboozling. But it also has the feel of a bumper-issue comic book and the way it keeps those pages turning makes Infinity War a special edition.
IN CINEMAS NOW
Russell Baillie