The unquestionably biggest film of the year has arrived; 18 films and 10 years have led to this spectacle – but does it live up to the hype? ‘Infinity War’ unites the mightiest heroes of the cinematic universe to stand before Thanos – the death titan, as he seeks the powerful infinity stones.
The Russo Brothers were ambitious to say the least. With 30+ main characters, the mountainous task to cram everyone into the production seemed impossible – yet, this only emphasises the phenomenon’s greatest aspect. Each character had their respected highlight and a deserving screen-time, meaning that the much-loved
Avengers and Friends were compiled with strictly memorable performances.
The highlights were surprisingly Drax with his unrivalled humour, and Thanos – the greatest villain in MCU history; again, unrivalled. Josh Brolin represented everything I had wanted from a Marvel film; a villain who arrives with consequences – severe ones. Often, the MCU has been far too playful and glittery with their villains as with
each new foe, came no real impact. Don’t @ me about ‘Quicksilver’, cause no-one gave a shit about him. To not step into the feared spoiler-territory, I won’t name those who don’t have the best of times with the purple giant. But I will say, the Russo Brothers finally illustrate how expendable the Avengers are, despite their popularity with the comic-wielding fans.
Though Drax was the leading deliverable of all-things comedy, ‘Infinity War’ was genuinely hilarious even with its shadowing tones. Deliberately corny at times, each cast-member played superbly off one another with their well-timed quips and digs resulting in collective hysterics from the audience. However, it still begrudgingly irritates me when the heroes can have a giggle in the middle of a corpse-filled battlefield.
The action sequences combined with the flawless sound and visuals were unsurprisingly phenomenal – something which is always expected from a film carrying a rumoured $300 million budget. The exceptional CGI was clearly essential in designing the 9ft-tall Thanos, as well as his serving Black Order – all of which looked immaculate.
Speaking of, the Black Order unfortunately did not live up to my high expectations. Looks really aren’t everything, as this powerful and sinister foursome held no real impact to them. Luckily, Brolin’s Thanos held no punches. Ebony Maw was the stand-out amongst the four newcomers; the voice-acting and design was nailed, yet the sinister alien’s screen-time was not enough to show his capabilities.
Another disappointment was the missing shots that were glorified in the trailers. For one, the sequence where Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther, etc. are seemingly charging to battle in Wakanda – a sequence used in almost every promo, doesn’t happen. When a film is a near 3-hours long, you often wonder why it’s filled with a
mediocre side-quest rather than these seemingly eye-opening scenes. By ‘mediocre side-quest’, I am of course referring to Thor, Groot, and Rocket’s sub-plot which felt way too long, especially considering that it interrupts better paced sequences.
With only some minor hiccups, ‘Infinity War’ represents one of the greatest films within the MCU. The Russo Brothers were exceptional in bringing together the long list of heroes, with each having their own memorable moment. Albeit, I was disappointed with the minimal use of the once-promising Black Order, the
introduction of Thanos was undeniably enough to give the Avengers a worthy opponent. With the universe now blown wide open, it’s going to be a long wait until April 26th 2019 where we will witness the next chapter in this Thanos-takeover.
Author: Rohan Angus
Aberdeen Student trying to be a part of the film industry.
