Two notes, up top, before I really get into this: the review is spoiler-free, and there is only one post-credits scene, at the very end of the credits. You probably have enough time to pee and come back before it.
Avengers: Infinity War is an incredibly ambitious bit of film making from just about every angle. It connects ten years worth of films, from reasonably street-level fare to cosmic gods doing battle on various planes of existence. Its two and a half hour running time simultaneously feels like 5 minutes and 5 hours, and is one of the more nonstop and intense movie-going experiences I’ve ever had. And I’ve never, ever heard a crowd react to the last 3 minutes of a film the way I did last night.
Now, how do I review the rest without spoiling anything?
Let’s start with the basics: this is, absolutely, the film equivalent to an event comic. Every character has their moment to pose or deliver a witty quip or a stunning blow, motivations are somewhat jumbled, characters change dramatically to fit the overall machinations, and nothing quite adds up to the sum of its parts. There are amazing moments, but there are also really lazy bits of writing, or lack thereof. There are ramifications that can’t possibly be what they appear to be, and the air is rife with the scent of ‘retcon’ coming in the future.
But in the moment, while sitting in the theater, I challenge any fan of superhero comics to not be utterly amazed at what is on that screen. This is literally the stuff that 80 years of comic fans have dreamed of seeing on the big screen. From the standpoint of replicating the feel of a comic on screen, Infinity War absolutely succeeds.
But as a film, the seams show pretty quickly. The movie is actually made up of four contrasting stories that almost all line up at the end, but each have a totally unique tone and energy. The four stories are each built around a central character: Thanos, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America, and the transitions between them can be quite jarring. Not just from a ‘I was really invested in story A, but now we’re following story B’ way, but in a ‘one of these stories is built around humor and now we’re getting into some incredibly dark territory and oh wait here’s kind of a love story and oh snap it’s an sci-fi action flick.’ You can get whiplash from one segment to the next.
I recognize that this is the price we must pay for getting a film that is overstuffed with iconic characters and stakes that are, literally, half of creation. But there’s a palatable exhaustion from having to watch and keep up with all of these characters and their individual stories. Compounding that exhaustion is that each story is full of real stakes and, in all of them, real loss.
In trying to keep this both reasonably brief and spoiler free, I’ve decided to hammer out nineteen quick bullet points, as a nod to this being the nineteenth Marvel Cinematic Universe film. These are stray observations, things I enjoyed, things that bugged me, and hopefully, a few nuggets to entice you to see the film yourselves.
1. Thanos, or Philip Seymour Hoffman?
I can’t help but think that Thanos both looks and sounds a lot like Philip Seymour Hoffman in this film. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Hoffman is one of the finest actors of his generation, but it kept popping into my head whenever he was on screen, and then I had to remind myself that, no, he’s not Hoffman. Hoffman is dead, and this is Josh Brolin. Brolin does a fine job as Thanos, so much so that I actually feel bad that I keep thinking it isn’t him. Long live Scotty B.
2. Missing in Action
A few characters that you expect to see are missing, whereas there is at least one very surprising return. The return was so surprising that I had to do a little research to make sure that, yes, I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. At least, I still think I saw what I did. We’ll talk next week.
Continued below3. Thor is the star
More than any of the other characters, this film has a lot of Thor at the center of it. That may seem a little strange, as going into the film, he has very little tied up in the story. But the first few scenes of the film put him front and center, and he never relinquishes the position. Chris Hemsworth continues to surprise and impress with his performance as Odinson.
4. People love Black Panther
It can be a bit weird watching films in press screenings, as lots of the folks there are professionals who may not have attachment to the property, and so things may fall flat or not land with the intended weight that it would on a paying audience.
That said, people were hooting and hollering when anything related to Wakanda appeared on screen. The theater erupted when Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira first appeared on screen, and even more so when Shuri showed up a little while later. Marvel needs to realize just how invested people are in this world.
5. The best action scene in Marvel history
There is one sequence that involves Doctor Strange and a host of other heroes (again, no spoilers) that, for my money, is the best action sequence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the first time that every single character had a role to play, and didn’t feel superfluous. There wasn’t any of the Black Widow/Hawkeye futility from Avengers to be found. Every character worked in concert with the others around them, and it felt so much like a good comic action sequence.
6. Some of this cast got old
I’m not going to call anyone out in particular, but there was a cast member that looks to have aged a minimum of 25 years since their last MCU appearance. To quote Weird Al’s classic “Yoda,” ‘the long-term contract I had to sign said I’ll be making these movies ’til the end of time.’
7. Tom Holland is a delight
There needs to be infinitely more Spider-Man movies, because Tom Holland is so damn good in the role, and manages to light up the screen whenever he is on it. He has some of the most touching moments in the film because of just how he inhabits the character and makes everything feel absolutely lived in and real.
8. Cameos
Aside from the ubiquitous Stan Lee cameo, more phoned in than ever before, there are a few real quick appearances from MCU characters that may not have been expected, specifically from the supporting casts of a number of these films. One Spider-Man: Homecoming character in particular has a fun moment.
9. Don’t be late
More happens in the first 5 minutes of this film than in at least 2 MCU movies. Get to the theater on time, folks.
10. Reunions
There are a couple of really nice moments of characters who haven’t been in a film together in some time reconnecting. They are way more fun than the first time meetings, which are ok, but don’t pack the same weight.
11. Strange days, indeed
Doctor Strange gets a whole lot to do here, which is a little surprising given the other starpower in the film. I must admit, I’m a little annoyed at how proficient/self-important/understanding of the Time stone’s powers Strange is here. Sure, by the end of his own film, he knows how to wield his powers quite effectively, but by the time we see him here, he seems like he’s had an entire lifetime to master his skills.
12. Speaking of Strange…
Strange has a line about halfway through the film that, I think, essentially paints the roadmap for the way to Avengers 4, even though it isn’t really referenced after he said it, except in one sort of elliptical way. Similarly, if you pay too much attention to which stones Thanos has at any time, you can see some of the bigger twists/revelations coming before they happen. Try not to focus on that, let the narrative do its job.
13. Teen Groot
You’re going to love teenaged Groot. His screen time is somewhat limited, but he has three scenes where his actions steal them away from all the excellent actors he’s sharing the screen with.
Continued below14. Carrie Coon?
If you didn’t know that Coon was playing Proxima Midnight going in, there’s nothing about her performance that will give her away. She’s a fine character for what she is, but it seems like a waste to have a talent like Coon do such a one-dimensional role.
15. Motivations?
If you’ve ever read a comic staring Thanos, you know his whole deal is balance, and wanting to wipe out half of each planet’s civilizations, in order to benefit those who remain. While there is some attempt, late in the film, to flesh out that motivation a little bit, there really isn’t a lot there. Thanos never really gives an adequate reason for wanting so many people gone, nor why balance appears so important to him. It seems like he just got this idea once, and has dedicated his life to it. That’s fine if you’re going on Shark Tank to pitch your weird app or whatever, but for a villain nearly a decade in the works, it feels slight.
16. The score
Alan Silvestri continues to not do anything remotely memorable or exciting with his scores on the MCU films. These films should have themes that are dynamic and instantly memorable. I can’t hum you a single Marvel score, and don’t remember anything at all about the music from last night. That’s not good.
17. Ant-Man and the Wasp is going to be weird
Given the ending of Infinity War, I can’t reasonably see how Ant-Man and the Wasp could take place after this and not just be about the events of this film. My bet? The post-credits sequence of Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place in the last five minute of Infinity War.
18. Carol Danvers wouldn’t have fit here
Originally, Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, was going to be introduced in this film. I can’t see how that would’ve worked, if only for time reasons. That character would’ve appeared out of nowhere as a deus ex machina and wouldn’t have had the same impact that giving her a standalone film first will accomplish. It is also pretty clear just how she’ll fit into Avengers 4, just based on her powerset and origin.
19. Is it May 2019 yet?
Despite the Russo Bros. claiming that this is no longer ‘Part 1’ of a two part film, it absolutely is. There isn’t a cliffhanger in the traditional ‘damsel is tied to the train tracks, will they stop the train in time?’ way, but there are so many really important questions asked here, and so many truly breathtaking moments in the last few minutes, that it’s going to feel like a very, very long time until the next installment.
If you choose to comment on this post, please keep the spoiler-free path going.
