*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
Since the release of Iron Man a decade ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has gone on to be one of the most successful franchises ever. Each film released in the MCU has received impressive box office results and received a lot of praise from both critics and audiences. Infinity War is the third film in the Avengers trilogy and is the nineteenth film in the MCU, however, does it live up to the expectations its previous films have set up for us?
There's a lot going on in Infinity War, however, the plot basically surrounds the main villain, Thanos (Josh Brolin), whose plan is to steal all six 'Infinity Stones' so he can become incredibly powerful and destroy half of humanity in order to restore balance to the universe. This leads to the majority of the characters returning from previous MCU films and teaming up in order to stop him.
Infinity War was a lot better than what I expected it to be. I wasn't a huge Marvel fan, mainly because when I was in high school, I studied the superhero genre and, after two years of watching and studying them, I'd grown a bit bored of them. However, I'm glad that I decided to start watching them as I understand what the hype is about now. After watching the majority of the films in the MCU (excluding Ant-Man), my excitement for Infinity War grew and, fortunately, it didn't disappoint. It tells a compelling story that features a lot of exhilarating action and a emotional climax that will leave viewers in shock. Most superhero films tend to follow the same path of having the main protagonist defeat the villain which makes it predictable, however, I had no idea Infinity War was going to end the way it did. Because it ended on a cliffhanger, viewers will be left in suspense until the release of the untitled Avengers sequel which is due to be released in May next year.
What I liked about Infinity War was its portrayal of the superheroes. In previous films, we've seen how strong and brave they are, however, with Thanos becoming increasingly powerful, the superheroes become weaker and more afraid. At first glance, you would expect that a team of almost 20 superheroes would easily be able to defeat Thanos, however, the film clearly shows that he is stronger than all of them, which is why he's easily the best villain. Brolin proves he's the best choice to portray the villain and uses both voice acting and motion-capture for his performance.
Fans of the MCU will be happy to see their favourite superheroes teaming up on the big screen, however, they may be a bit disappointed that some characters don't get as much screentime as others. For example, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) receives the most screentime and we see him team up with Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) to create a weapon that will hopefully defeat Thanos. I was also surprised by the lack of Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), considering he appears on the poster, however, despite in the first Avengers film where he says that he's 'always angry' before transforming into the green monster, Bruce Banner finds it difficult to become the Hulk. This leads to Banner fighting in Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) anti-Hulk armour. I liked this, as judging from its appearance in the trailer, I assumed it was Stark fighting in the armour so I was very surprised to see Banner fighting in it.
One of the main problems with films that feature a lot of characters is making sure they all get enough screentime. Fortunately, directors Joe and Anthony Russo make sure that every character makes a contribution to the story, rather than just making an appearance. All of the superheroes work well together and are divided into different groups across the universe. One of the most memorable fight sequences takes place on Wakanda and shows Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Banner, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) all fighting alongside the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and his tribe. Vision (Paul Bettany), an artificial intelligence being created by Ultron the villain of the previous Avengers film, has one of the Infinity Stones located in his head, leading to Thanos sending his army to try and steal it. This leads to an action-packed battle between the two armies.
As for the performances, they're all impressive. Brolin is the stand-out as he makes Thanos an intimidating villain and someone who is incredibly tough to defeat. While there's not a bad performance to be found, I found Hemsworth, Evans, Downey Jr. and Tom Holland to be the most memorable. They all handled the action and dramatic aspects of the film really well. Holland further proves why he's the perfect choice for Spider-Man as he captures his upbeat tone and bring comic relief with a few quips. I also thought that Zoe Saldana was great as Gamora, Thanos' adopted daughter. Since her first appearance in Guardians Of The Galaxy, she's been one of my favourite characters in the MCU. There's a scene involving her and Thanos that is heartbreaking. Elizabeth Olsen was very good as Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch. Since Age Of Ultron, she has bonded and formed a close relationship with Vision and, in one scene, we see her making a tough decision in order to save the universe.
It's not worth watching Infinity War if you haven't seen any of the previous films in the MCU as the story expects you to know who these characters are and what they've been through. I would suggest watching both of the Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Black Panther. In my opinion, they're the best films in the MCU and gives most of the characters that feature in Infinity War a backstory and sets the story up.
The films in the MCU are known for their post-credits scenes. Some of them hint at the next film. I do think that it's definitely worth waiting until the post-credits scene as it involves Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smaulders).
Overall, Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that realises its huge ambitions.
8/10
Infinity War was a lot better than what I expected it to be. I wasn't a huge Marvel fan, mainly because when I was in high school, I studied the superhero genre and, after two years of watching and studying them, I'd grown a bit bored of them. However, I'm glad that I decided to start watching them as I understand what the hype is about now. After watching the majority of the films in the MCU (excluding Ant-Man), my excitement for Infinity War grew and, fortunately, it didn't disappoint. It tells a compelling story that features a lot of exhilarating action and a emotional climax that will leave viewers in shock. Most superhero films tend to follow the same path of having the main protagonist defeat the villain which makes it predictable, however, I had no idea Infinity War was going to end the way it did. Because it ended on a cliffhanger, viewers will be left in suspense until the release of the untitled Avengers sequel which is due to be released in May next year.
What I liked about Infinity War was its portrayal of the superheroes. In previous films, we've seen how strong and brave they are, however, with Thanos becoming increasingly powerful, the superheroes become weaker and more afraid. At first glance, you would expect that a team of almost 20 superheroes would easily be able to defeat Thanos, however, the film clearly shows that he is stronger than all of them, which is why he's easily the best villain. Brolin proves he's the best choice to portray the villain and uses both voice acting and motion-capture for his performance.
Fans of the MCU will be happy to see their favourite superheroes teaming up on the big screen, however, they may be a bit disappointed that some characters don't get as much screentime as others. For example, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) receives the most screentime and we see him team up with Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) to create a weapon that will hopefully defeat Thanos. I was also surprised by the lack of Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), considering he appears on the poster, however, despite in the first Avengers film where he says that he's 'always angry' before transforming into the green monster, Bruce Banner finds it difficult to become the Hulk. This leads to Banner fighting in Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) anti-Hulk armour. I liked this, as judging from its appearance in the trailer, I assumed it was Stark fighting in the armour so I was very surprised to see Banner fighting in it.
One of the main problems with films that feature a lot of characters is making sure they all get enough screentime. Fortunately, directors Joe and Anthony Russo make sure that every character makes a contribution to the story, rather than just making an appearance. All of the superheroes work well together and are divided into different groups across the universe. One of the most memorable fight sequences takes place on Wakanda and shows Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Banner, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) all fighting alongside the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and his tribe. Vision (Paul Bettany), an artificial intelligence being created by Ultron the villain of the previous Avengers film, has one of the Infinity Stones located in his head, leading to Thanos sending his army to try and steal it. This leads to an action-packed battle between the two armies.
As for the performances, they're all impressive. Brolin is the stand-out as he makes Thanos an intimidating villain and someone who is incredibly tough to defeat. While there's not a bad performance to be found, I found Hemsworth, Evans, Downey Jr. and Tom Holland to be the most memorable. They all handled the action and dramatic aspects of the film really well. Holland further proves why he's the perfect choice for Spider-Man as he captures his upbeat tone and bring comic relief with a few quips. I also thought that Zoe Saldana was great as Gamora, Thanos' adopted daughter. Since her first appearance in Guardians Of The Galaxy, she's been one of my favourite characters in the MCU. There's a scene involving her and Thanos that is heartbreaking. Elizabeth Olsen was very good as Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch. Since Age Of Ultron, she has bonded and formed a close relationship with Vision and, in one scene, we see her making a tough decision in order to save the universe.
It's not worth watching Infinity War if you haven't seen any of the previous films in the MCU as the story expects you to know who these characters are and what they've been through. I would suggest watching both of the Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Black Panther. In my opinion, they're the best films in the MCU and gives most of the characters that feature in Infinity War a backstory and sets the story up.
The films in the MCU are known for their post-credits scenes. Some of them hint at the next film. I do think that it's definitely worth waiting until the post-credits scene as it involves Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smaulders).
Overall, Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that realises its huge ambitions.
8/10
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