Avengers: Infinity War delivers a big finish to a tale 10 years in the making
The culmination of 10 years of anticipation, Avengers: Infinity War is a once-in-a-lifetime event you should not miss. Marvel set forth an unprecedented task with its May 2008 release of Iron Man, creating a shared and connected universe of films that build upon one another.
This cinematic universe was the first of its kind; we had never before seen anything similar attempted. The nearest thing to it were franchises such as Star Trek and Star Wars, but those stories followed a continuum; Marvel conceived of a tapestry of tales that were intertwined, yet balanced and self-contained at the same time.
This was probably one of the greatest risks in the history of the film industry. There was no reason to believe it would be successful. Yet, over the span of 10 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has defied the odds making success after success, both critically and commercially. Despite all the risks Marvel took along the way, the biggest was yet to come.
By kicking off an ongoing cinematic series in the style of a television series, with each film installation the equivalent of an episode, Marvel consequentially promised a conclusion. And it had to be done with a flourish to live up to the lofty expectations the studio had created along the way.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo delivered the goods, bringing a satisfying conclusion to a 10-year-long story with Avengers: Infinity War. Although it is apparent the universe will go on and more movies will be made, this specific movie brings an end to the ride we have been on until this point. It ties up many storylines and character’s arcs that were previously plotted. Though the film is by no means perfect because it is a movie and all movies will have their problems, it is amazing what the Russo brothers were able to achieve while keeping the film in a timespan of fewer than three hours.
With the desire of bringing peace and balance to the universe, the mad titan Thanos decides to embark on a mission to locate six immensely powerful gems called the infinity stones with which he plans to eliminate half of all life in the universe.
Alliances are formed by heroes from all over the universe with the intent of stopping Thanos from achieving his doomsday scenario. This is the endgame; Thanos will stop at absolutely nothing to establish his balance, which leaves the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Dr. Strange and others no choice but to guard and protect the stones with their lives if necessary.
It is a very simple premise: Bad guy wants an object, and the good guys need to keep that from happening. But this was the perfect decision, because by making a simple, straightforward plot the filmmakers can focus on the other hundreds of things they needed to juggle in this film.
Though the story is simple, through characters and structure it is given depth and becomes immensely engaging and immersive. However, because there is so much ground to cover, it sometimes does resort to straight exposition which was not too appealing.
Watching this movie was like witnessing a great balancing act because there were many things taking place all at once, and there is a very limited amount of time to expand upon all of these.
One of the things that suffered because of this was the development of the characters. There were so many characters and plot points going on at once there wasn’t time left to develop the characters, to bring them to a point different from where they began this story. There are a few exceptions, maybe one or two characters were given some development and advancement, but the vast majority of them were not. This, however, is understandable because of the limitations of time, and it does not hurt the movie much because this is a very plot-driven film.
Though the characters may not have much of an evolution, they are not the focal point. The main part of the movie was its plot, getting from point A to point B and so on with the characters even if they don’t necessarily change.
One of the exceptions to this was, very fortunately, Thanos. The villain of the universe has the most character development, and it is great. He has an understandable motivation. He acts out of what he believes is compassion for others. He is not simply a “villain.” He is complex, interesting and even sympathetic.
Thanos has most significant and emotional arc over the course of the movie, and this is expressed magnificently by Josh Brolin who plays the titan.
Everybody in the cast was on their A-game, though they don’t all have much screen time. The moments you do see Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, or Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, or Chris Evans as Captain America or anyone else, you immediately feel their character.
The acting of the cast helped with giving each character their personality, but the job by the Russos of giving at least a bit of spotlight to every single one of them is unbelievable. The way in which the film is structured not only aided in giving each character their due, but also in making this film what it ended up being.
Whether you have seen all of the Marvel movies before this one or you haven’t seen any, you should go to a theater and watch the finale to this overarching tale. The movie holds up on its own. Though you will be more invested if you are up to speed with the MCU, it is not a requirement at all; the narrative explains itself.
This is one of the biggest cinematic achievements yet and an event that will surely claim its place in pop culture history.