The Avengers: Infinity War - Review Thread

They've really hit on something with Holland. Him and Downey were my favorite performances. Brolin did very good as well.

It's becoming a staple for Marvel to make scenes for and edits to their trailers that don't actually exist in the movies. I think it's clever, but yes, maybe slightly annoying.

Some of the older set photos would seem to imply as much, but I really hope there's not too much time travel / time reverting. It just feels too easy. Too simple. Having them just rewind and Banner is all good now, etc. But it would also line up and explain why

It might take someone with more of a comic background to explain but doesn't Hulk get stronger the angrier he gets, theoretically making him invincible? Does him getting leveled like that fit within the realm of Hulk's abilities?

I was convinced Aiden Gillen voiced The Red Skull in this one but the internet says otherwise. The likeness was uncanny.

Also, giant dwarf Tyrion was excellent.

Wish they woulda shown more rapture type shit with regular folk. Woulda been more affecting on the larger scale.

No matter how one views the Marvel films, seeing them as either spectacular examples of what big budget filmmaking is supposed to do or overblown pieces of entertainment that have contributed to the "death" of small films, it's amazing to look back over the last ten years and trace the incredible success that the MCU has enjoyed since releasing Iron Man back in 2008. Every film has opened number one at the box office that weekend, every film has a "positive" overall score on Rotten Tomatoes, and every film has been able to stand on its own while still funneling into larger implications for the overarching universe that all of these heroes comprise. It's a level of success that few studios have ever experienced. In fact other than maybe Pixar (though their recent output has actually fallen off in comparison to that of the MCU's), these achievements have never been felt by another studio, large or small. It's been quite the wave of fruitfulness that Marvel and Disney have been gleefully riding on, and what's impressed me most is their ability to adapt and change the formulas of these films when things aren't working. What I mean by that is most apparent in the Captain America and Thor franchises, where they were able to shake off so-so first installments to later deliver The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Ragnarok as among the best entries of any of the Marvel films. Sure, all of these films are formulaic, and despite changes and interspersing new characters, Marvel films aren't exactly rewriting the three act structure. Nor are they trying to, settling in nicely at the forefront of how to take big intellectual properties and turning them into massive critical and financial success stories. While it can be easy to pick on the films, we also need to step back and appreciate what we've gotten for ten years. When in direct comparison to other big name franchises that have come and gone during Marvel's reign of terror, like Transformers or Pirates of the Caribbean or Warner Bros.' disastrous run with DC's characters, we should be pretty thankful for the MCU after all. No Marvel film will ever be a shining example of the less is more theory, but they do have a genuine heart and affinity for the source material that other cash grab franchises completely lack. You don't have to love what the MCU represents, but this has been an incredible run over ten years that the cinematic world really hasn't seen anything like before, and we should bask in this and appreciate the entertainment that's been offered to people of all ages and all around the world.

Marvel comes out with so many films each year that it's difficult at times to keep up with where all of the characters currently are in their respective timelines, but for the most part the events here are following the fallout from Captain America: Civil War where we met new characters like Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). While the Avengers deal with their inner turmoil on Earth, Thanos (Josh Brolin) has been acquiring the Infinity Stones. This is not only the bread and butter of the plot for Avengers: Infinity War but far and away its most appealing aspect. For the most part, Thanos is directly intervened by Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's their interactions that give the film its dramatic weight in displaying what's at stake if Thanos gets all of the stones. My biggest issue with Marvel films is how little they supply their villains with compelling backstories, reasons for doing what they're doing besides generic "rule the universe" plot lines, and really just a lack of narrative prowess outside of them waiting to be dispatched by the heroes. But it seems like the MCU is taking notice of this issue, as Black Panther's Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and Thanos here, buck that trend. Both villains, despite their thirst for genocide and world conquering tendencies, are oddly empathetic characters despite how misguided their ambitions are. Not to suggest that we're rooting for these sociopaths to achieve their goals, but we've come a long way from the stock villains that litter the majority of the Marvel films. Thanos is a force to be reckoned with to be sure, but what makes him even more terrifying and such a commanding screen presence is our understanding of why he's on this crusade, and that through this understanding we come to feel the large stakes at play. Josh Brolin has rightly been applauded for his work as Thanos, and in a movie overstuffed with too many good guys it's nice that Marvel went all in on making him a formidable and surprisingly layered foe.

Admittedly, I'm not nearly as much a fan of the Avengers films as I am most of the standalone entries in the MCU. In fact I feel Civil War is still superior to all three Avengers movies. You lose character development and dramatic tension building throughout when you're constantly juggling between several characters and can't establish firm footing with any of them. Civil War at least had all of these characters mostly contained within the same story or joining things later without diverting too much time to their own plots, aside from Black Panther and Spider-Man. The latest Avengers film simply suffers from trying to cram everyone into this thing and getting uneven results in doing so. While I found that the events pertaining to Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Spider-Man were directly correlating with Thanos and his hunt for the stones, nothing on Earth felt nearly as relevant or exciting, nor did it contain the humorous banter and gags that the encounters between those I just mentioned had. It's hard to compete with a pissing contest between Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and Thor with the doom and gloom of Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). And when Captain America (Chris Evans) does appear, it feels predictable and too late in the game for us to really care. Speaking of Captain America, it's blatantly obvious that he takes a major backseat here, especially when compared to the bigger names involved in the film. He arguably has less of an impact in this film than Vision does, and it's the most glaring example of Avengers: Infinity War, despite all of the fun and spectacle onscreen, being too much of a good thing. In addition to this, Black Panther and the setting of Wakanda feel shoe horned into these affairs as well. It simply serves as a battleground for the climactic clash with Thanos and his forces, and none of it truly feels like it's organically woven into the storyline. Yes, with a film as big and ambitious as this you're going to have to make some sacrifices in the story and character departments, but if that ambition only partly succeeds it becomes an issue. It feels like our comedic relief was all placed together, leaving us on Earth with a lot of mostly straight shooters like Black Panther and Captain America, and it's a major step back from the fun we're having in space chasing around Thanos. One of the biggest reasons why I feel like these big ensemble films don't work nearly as well as the standalone ones is that these films don't bring anything new to the table in terms of these characters, so instead of growth or revelations about the characters we just are subjected to one action scene after another with all of our characters staying the exact same. No one changes in this film, and while the second part does set itself up for some good, unfinished dramatic business (such as Iron Man and Captain America hugging it out), this film leaves a lot to be desired on that front.

Though I have issues with the film for the same reasons I did for The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron (though I like this one more than either of those), there's obviously a lot to admire here. No, they did not succeed in bringing together all of these characters and providing them with compelling enough reasons to be together in the first place, but you still have to admire the attempt at doing so. This is one of the most impressive casts assembled in film history, not just because of the prowess of its biggest stars but the large scope in which they're being placed into. Though this film doesn't do them justice on a narrative level, in regards to filling their spectacular set pieces with its talented cast the film succeeds immensely. Watching Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Star Lord zip around on a barren planet while attempting to take down Thanos is a lot of fun, and as usual this production is brimming with energy and the intensely crafted action sequences that Marvel films have become known for. Everyone plays off of one another really well, and I imagine that this was a blast to work on and take part in. All of this culminates in easily the boldest ending that these Marvel films have dared venture into, and when we look back and reflect on how these films have developed over the last ten years, it's really exhilarating to see Avengers: Infinity War end the way that it does. It doesn't pull any punches, doesn't cop out, and despite being a part one packs enough of an emotional wallop to affect even the most profound moviegoing cynic. Avengers: Infinity War has issues in the storytelling department and certainly doesn't balance out the sprawling amount of characters that it attempts to, most notably Captain America being reduced to a secondary character, but I can forgive the film for being as ambitious as it is and delivering a seemingly impossible blend of humor, big action pieces, and a completely uncompromising ending. Add to that Marvel's best villain to date in Thanos, and the result is another impressive entry into the MCU canon.

7/10

Well they had been safely in the custody of various super villain who were keeping them safe, but then some assholes went and stole them all and did dumb shit with them like giving them to flamboyant collectors and putting them in robots heads...

Well when nebula was caught after gotg 2 trying to kill him he found out gomorra knew where the soul stone was. Also needed that gauntlet made by tyrion.