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Review: Avengers Infinity War Is Flawed But Full Of Great Moments

  • Apr 25, 2018
  • 3 min read

It's finally here, and what a fitting culmination of 10 years of movies it is. Marvel Studios' strengths are at their strongest, and the film's flaws are the same ones we've seen before. The ambition has paid off, though, making Avengers: Infinity War one of the best talking points I've ever seen in a cinema.

The Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) is going from planet to planet, hunting down the six Infinity Stones. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) arrives on Earth to warn Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who team up along with Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to face one of Thanos' Black Order. Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) teams up with Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) while the other Guardians (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff) chase Thanos. The rest of the Avengers prepare to defend the planet, and head to Wakanda to figure out how to keep the Infinity Stone in Vision's (Paul Bettany) head away from Thanos.

One of the problems that haunts the Marvel films is their inconsistent tone. So often it's the case that any dramatic, emotional, or otherwise important plot point that occurs, is immediately punctuated with a joke or cheap quip that ruins the moment slightly. Avengers: Infinity War certainly has this to some degree, but the humour is reserved far more for appropriate moments in the second half of the film. And as always, appropriate or not, every joke lands nicely.

Leading up to the film, the directors Joe and Anthony Russo were frequently asked in interviews about the challenges in balancing an entire universe full of characters coming together in one movie. Now that it's out, we can see how masterfully it was put together, using multiple different teams of heroes in different locations. The scenes jump between each other like a sitcom's A, B, and C plots, which works well most of the time and gives everyone plenty of screen time. But sometimes cuts are made at vital moments, which doesn't add the desired suspense as much as it just breaks immersion.

There's also something strange happening with the Hulk in this movie. I understand that this is the second in a trilogy of films telling a story about the Hulk, but not everyone else does, leaving the audience with a lack of explanation or payoff.

Speaking of a lack of pay-off, let's talk about Wakanda. The film was almost completely marketed using Wakandan scenes and characters, and yet, the climactic battle was one of the least interesting of the film. Most of the characters are overwhelmingly underutilised, especially Scarlet Witch, Groot, and Bucky. On top of this, there's very little that actually happens there before said battle - Chadwick Boseman is there to give inspirational quotes in his distracting accent, as always, but none of the Wakandan characters seem to have any of the depth or character that they had in Black Panther.

As usual for the MCU, the action is something to behold. Thor and Doctor Strange both became complete bad-asses, with some of the coolest fights in the film. Star-Lord and Drax also had some great combat, but the winner of Best Fight is definitely Iron Man's confrontation with Thanos. Glimmers of desperation that we saw in the climax of Captain America: Civil War had me on the edge of my seat, as I feared for Iron Man's life for the first time in the entire franchise.

Other character moments featuring Star-Lord, Spider-Man, Gamora, Scarlet Witch, and Thor will be talked about for years to come, and were deeply heart-wrenching. Another first for the franchise: I seriously felt the struggles of these characters.

Despite a strange ending and some predictably underutilised characters, I don't hesitate to call this movie fantastic. It hit the ground running, following Thor Ragnarok's story instantly before bringing the action straight back to Earth with no mucking around. The pacing was pretty fantastic for a film so dense, and surprises throughout were genuinely exciting and moving. And the film's expert use of silence throughout makes it a far more impactful and meaningful film than the MCU has had. But I really struggle to love the ending.

 
 
 

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