AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Half: the battle
Wait, what’s this? We’re turning to creepy death-dust? Too late! There goes our typing finger…
released OUT NOW! 2018 | 12 | Blu-ray (4K/3d/standard)/ dVd/download Directors Joe russo, anthony russo Cast Josh Brolin, robert downey Jr, Chris evans, Chris Hemsworth, scarlett Johansson, Mark ruffalo
Like their fierce rivals at DC, Marvel’s comics division has long been obsessed with creating high profile entry points to woo readers who might be intimidated by many years of continuity. Infinity War suggests that the cinematic branch of the operation shares few of those concerns.
Because 10 years and 19 movies into a saga that began when Robert Downey Jr told the world he was Iron Man, the third Avengers outing makes zero concessions to anyone who isn’t entirely up to speed with recent MCU predecessors Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2. Even so, the feeling that it’s the culmination of a 40-hour-plus saga is arguably its greatest strength. That it became the fourth movie in history to pass the $2 billion barrier at the box office suggests the public didn’t mind doing their homework.
Previously limited to brief cameos in Avengers Assemble and Guardians Of The Galaxy, Thanos is promoted to Most Valuable Player here, as his quest to unite cosmic McGuffins the Infinity Stones reaches its culmination. He’s the MCU’s first genuinely great villain, a true Titan of cinema who immediately punches his way into the pantheon of great Hollywood Big Bads. That’s down to a perfect mix of cutting-edge CG, Josh Brolin’s menacing, wonderfully nuanced performance, and plausible (if not justifiable) motivations for his megalomaniac proclivities.
Despite the movie’s stakes being, well, the existence of half the life in the galaxy, Infinity War doesn’t forget about the intimate, personal moments – at times it’s as funny and touching as any of its MCU predecessors. While it’s inevitable that a cast containing 20-plus familiar faces will short-change some of them – Captain America, Black Widow and Black Panther have little to do – a surprising number get genuinely memorable moments. That’s often via unlikely but inspired pairings: Tony Stark spars with Doctor Strange, Thor forms an unlikely bromance with Rocket and Star-Lord gets picked on by most beings he meets… They’re characters who shouldn’t usually fit together, but thanks to the genius of the MCU’s interweaving masterplan, they all bounce off each other brilliantly. And, as previously proved by Civil War, you actually care when they come into peril. As they do. Frequently. And with fatal consequences.
Wrapped up by a cliffhanger that’s in the same league as The Empire Strikes Back’s – both for impact and the amount of debate it’s generated about the future of the MCU – it’s the perfect culmination of a decade-long story arc. As a logistical and artistic endeavour it ranks as one of the great achievements of modern cinema, though it has just created an impossible challenge of its own:
Doesn’t forget about the intimate, personal moments
somehow next year’s as-yetuntitled Avengers 4 has to live up to the infinite hype.
Extras The Russo brothers team up with the screenwriters for a boisterous commentary. Otherwise it’s disappointingly slim pickings. At just over 10 minutes, “Beyond The Battle: Wakanda” is the best of the four featurettes on the Blu-ray. After revealing how Atlanta stood in for the Black Panther’s kingdom – requiring the creation of an artificial river and the planting of many African plants – Joe Russo explains that the order of the eradicated characters was down to storytelling choices. “Strange Alchemy” (five minutes) explores how the Russos succeeded in bringing together so many MCU heroes. “The Mad Titan” (seven minutes) charts Thanos’s evolution from background character to full-on antagonist, with executive producer Louis D’Esposito intriguingly comparing him to an eco-terrorist. Thanos’s evolution is expanded upon in “Beyond The Battle: Titan” (10 minutes), which takes in behind-the-scenes footage of Benedict Cumberbatch and Josh Brolin fighting in mo-cap suits.
Of the four deleted scenes (ten minutes), “The Guardians Get Their Groove Back” is the most rewarding; like a throwaway moment from one of the Guardians’ own films, it sees Quill and Drax too busy arguing over Ace Frehley track “New York Groove” to notice Mantis’s distress call. It’s easy to see why “Happy Knows Best”’s toilet humour didn’t make the cut. “Hunt For The Mind Stone” features more of Wanda and Vision clashing with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Finally, “A Father’s Choice” further expands upon Thanos’s relationship with Gamora, but like the other cut sequences, doesn’t really add much to the plot. There’s also a two-minute gag reel. Buy the DVD and you get nothing.
The Russos achieved the hair on Spidey’s arm standing up via “a very gentle blowing on Tom [Holland]’s ear”.