What a ride it turns out to be!
Conventional wisdom will tell you that roller-coaster and popcorn don’t mix, and you’re courting disaster when you mix the two. But Marvel and its MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) have never played by the rules; and its latest magnum opus, Avengers: Infinity War, dares to give us a cracking popcorn flick, while unsettling us with a roller-coaster storyline that flies by at such a breakneck pace, we best just stay strapped and enjoy the ride — and what a ride it turns out to be!
I must admit that after the debacle of Justice League, I harbored second thoughts about how Marvel and Infinity War were going to meet the high bar of expectations they were fostering via the film’s extensive marketing campaign. More than Justice League even aimed for, the Infinity War looked it was the ultimate melting pot, with everyone and the proverbial kitchen sink thrown in. With the Russo Brothers directing (they megged Captain America’s Winter Soldier and Civil War), we knew they could handle blending the action and comedy (on TV, they had worked on episodes of
Arrested Development and Community), but was this high stakes concept too big a juggling act?
In a nutshell, the movie is about Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his confederates amassing the Infinity Stones; and to stop him, the Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy. One doesn’t really need more than that to know what’s going on; but unlike other films which made the effort for exposition and establishment of storyline, the Russos make this very much a fan film. If you have no clue what’s going on or who the established characters are, you find that out on your own time. Despite the hefty running time of two hours and 40 minutes, there’s a ton of stuff to put on the table, and laggers beware. Other than the briefest of explanations regarding the stones, it’s more the Thanos story that hogs what minimal exposition there is in the film.
Propelling the film in a most satisfactory manner are two major elements: One, would be the very strong and brisk storytelling. It’s like pulling rabbits out of a hat in succession, and creating sheer magic. More than rabbits, the film also constantly pulls the rug out from under you, defying expectations, and handling the juggling of so many main characters rather deftly.
The second great thing is the chemistry that’s strategically utilized pitting one character against another, to create both comedy and dramatic tension. The Russos take the personas that have been developed and established over the past Marvel films and produce alchemical reactions that we savor and enjoy. Such is the case between Iron Man and Dr. Strange, who, we know, both possess massive egos and would naturally clash. Or there’s Thor and Quill, and how there would inevitably be unintentional superiority on the part of Thor, and how Quill would overcompensate in response.
I’d rather not mention any other thing about the story to avoid spoilers. Enough to mention here that Infinity War is the Marvel film we didn’t know we were waiting for all this time. That it even leaves us hanging at the film’s end and wanting more, is testimony to how Marvel has truly grabbed our attention with this one.