THE MARVEL GANG TEAMS UP AGAIN
Avengers: Infinity War is an often-overstuffed extravaganza
What does it cost to be a superhero — the sacrificial, compassionate and good? And what does it cost, also, to be the bad guy? Does evil really have no soul? Or love? In the end, what can we eventually give up for the sake of the greater good? Combine these questions into a non-stop rollercoaster of an adventure that requires no pause for breath and you get Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, which is now taking the world by storm. The film hit Thai cinemas on Wednesday with round-the-clock showtimes of a frequency never seen in the country.
Funny, dark and breathtaking, Infinity War is the epitome of “epic”, as we follow Earth’s mightiest jet-setters from one city and gorgeous planet to another to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) from gathering Infinity Stones and wiping half the galaxy out in a decided genocide. The heroes team up, separate and re-team, crossing over from different franchises to lay it all down to end the intergalactic destruction.
At 149 minutes, the film sure has a lot to take in as it shifts from one breathless sequence to another — all with a staggering cast in tow from the studio’s previous 18 movies, made during the past decade. It’s gigantic and exhausting in proportion — in both characters and settings — and many things are going on at once.
Minor spoilers here, if you will. We have Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) reluctantly teaming up with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) as they seek to take on Thanos. Elsewhere, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) crosses paths with the Guardians of the Galaxy (Christ Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, with Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket and Vin Diesel voicing Groot) before he is off searching for a weapon to defeat the galaxy’s mad titan. On Earth, Captain America (Chris Evans) and crew converge on Black Panther’s (Chadwick Boseman) African nation of Wakanda to hold off Thanos’s minions.
Packing an ensemble cast as big as that found in Infinity War could make or break a film. In a movie of this scale, it’s a given that not everyone will receive equal spotlight for their characters to develop strikingly onscreen. They remain memorable, yes, though in a witty one-liner fashion that leaves us wanting more. Some are relying on old tricks, reminding us that they’re still around without really providing anything new. On the other hand, it is clear that others are destined to blow everything out of the water, and blow audiences away.
Big or small, their chemistry is super-fun to witness as they banter and fight alongside one another. The dynamic of their relationships and interactions keeps the film entertaining. And we can appreciate screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, as well as directors Anthony and Joe Russo, for distributing time and story to the characters in a way that leaves no one forgotten, though a little bit behind. While the joke hits home every time, Infinity War didn’t adopt the light-hearted tone of previous Marvel instalments like Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. The emotional gravity of the story lies here on both sides of the spectrum, from lovers in hiding like Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), to Thanos’s own relationship with his adopted daughters Gamora (Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan).
With an origin story and time to explore his background, Thanos manifests as far more than just a vague CGI villain seeking world dominance, but rather a complex character determined to succeed by what he believes to be right, despite what it may cost him. Perhaps this is what makes him the heroes’ biggest threat, and why the heroes are so desperate to win — because there really are things at stake here for both the good guys and bad.
Where does Infinity War rank in the long list of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? That’s debatable. The film is undoubtedly the studio’s most ambitious project to date, and the Russo brothers’ knowing hands did work magic on this latest instalment. It’s very f un to watch, though at the same time the crammed-up storyline is close to bursting. Less-ismore is not the path taken, apparently. There seems to be no pacing when every sequence is l arge-scale, with no room for us to soak in and contemplate what we’ve just witnessed, what sacrifice was being made or what impact each event will have on the characters.
The heroes are stuck in close calls, one after another, with seemingly no end. They save, get saved, and when the dust settles at the end in a massive cliffhanger, we’re left exhausted, excited and frustrated at the same time, with more questions than we had walking in.