A Grand and Thrilling Culmination of Marvel Cinematic Universe Superhero Adventures.
In the universe’s nascent stages, six magical Infinity Stones emerged. Each possesses immense power, and together, they grant absolute control over space and time. For years, the cosmic villain Thanos has been gathering information about the Stones and amassing power to acquire them. Now, he’s putting his plan into action, and the superheroes of Earth and the Galaxy, who possess the coveted artifacts, find themselves in the crosshairs of his armies.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead!
A decade ago, in 2008, Marvel Studios released the blockbuster “Iron Man,” ushering in a new era – an era of a grand cinematic comic universe that now includes two dozen feature films and numerous related projects. How does the studio celebrate its anniversary? With its most epic blockbuster yet, bringing together almost all of its on-screen superheroes against an enemy of transcendent, cosmic power.
It’s important to note from the outset that “Avengers: Infinity War” doesn’t conclude the war with Thanos. We’ve already seen this villain in previous films in the cycle, and we’ll encounter him again in at least the sequel to “Infinity War,” which will be released exactly one year later. So, don’t expect to see a big, fat period at the end. “Infinity War” ends with a big, fat ellipsis, and it would have been more honest if the studio, as originally planned, had titled the film “Avengers: Infinity War. Part 1” and mentally prepared viewers for the fact that they would eventually have to buy a second ticket or wait for the sequel on video.
Fortunately, “Infinity War” has more than enough content to compensate for the fact that the film ends at the most interesting point. The new Marvel film is an amazing juggling act with two dozen superheroes, serving as the culmination of everything that has happened in the Marvel world since its first films. It would seem that the film should have turned out to be vague and overloaded, but the writers so masterfully toss and catch superhero skittles that the film is mesmerizing from the first to the last minute. “Infinity War” connects those who didn’t know of each other’s existence, separates teams that formed in the past, throws characters from one end of the Galaxy to the other, depicts grandiose battles… And the narrative remains clear and captivating. Of course, provided that you’ve watched the previous Marvel blockbusters. This is by no means a film for those who want to get acquainted with Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and other famous characters. The film is made for devoted fans, and the better you know the Marvel films, the more enjoyment you’ll get.
This is the longest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The previous record belonged to “Captain America: Civil War.”
Almost every key figure in the cycle gets their heroic action moment in the film, and for some of them, “Infinity War” becomes a turning point in their lives. There are plenty of action-packed and bombastic episodes in the film, but the Marvel team hasn’t forgotten about their signature witty jokes, many of which are born in the interaction of newly acquainted heroes like Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy or Iron Man and Doctor Strange. The Marvel recipe for blockbusters has long been established, and in “Infinity War,” it’s perfected.
The more superheroes in the film, the more important the role of the supervillain, and Marvel, for the first time since Loki’s debut, doesn’t disappoint in this regard. When you look at images of Thanos, they seem a bit comical, but you quickly forget about that in the movie theater. Thanos turns out to be not just super-powerful but also an interesting character – a tragic figure reminiscent of the first Russian terrorists. He’s not a banal megalomaniac who craves absolute power to revel in it. Like the Narodniks, Thanos is a fanatic who has dedicated himself to a simple and inhuman solution to a complex problem. But he’s by no means exhausted by his fanaticism, and “Infinity War” devotes enough time to the supervillain for viewers to understand him and perhaps even sympathize with him. Although, of course, it’s impossible to root for Thanos and wish him victory – his plans are too terrible. For Marvel connoisseurs, we emphasize that this is not the Thanos that can be seen, for example, in the animated series “Guardians of the Galaxy” and in other works of the studio. This is a new and more engaging interpretation of the classic supervillain.
In the film, Thanos comes from the distant planet Titan, while in the comics, he’s a native of Saturn’s largest moon, which is also called Titan.
The only “false step” the film takes is when it starts getting rid of leading characters. Their death in theory should make a strong impression, but we all know that for comic book heroes, death is only a temporary inconvenience and that studios revive characters faster than ambulance doctors. So, instead of an emotional reaction, viewers begin to cynically speculate about who will definitely be brought back into the frame and who will be stuck in oblivion due to a lack of public interest. This isn’t what you want to think about in a movie theater, and it’s not what you want to feel when you watch a grand fantasy film.
But such is the karma of comic book films. By allowing themselves to arbitrarily resurrect characters, Marvel and other mainstream studios have “broken” the audience’s переживания about the death of heroes. This фарш cannot be turned back. However, there’s a plus to this attitude to drama – the film doesn’t upset, although it has sad and tragic moments. A blockbuster should primarily delight and amaze, and “Infinity War” does this perfectly.