Avengers: Infinity War review

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR:

CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE WITH AN AMBITIOUS YET CONSISTENTLY THRILLING EPIC…WITH SUPERHEROES!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

MARVEL STUDIOS

The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy prepping for battle against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War

            Marvel Studios celebrates ten years of moviemaking history that all started with the release of Iron Man back in 2008, with the hugely anticipated, Avengers: Infinity War. Hard to believe it’s been that long ago and here we are finally watching what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to.

            Much like the anticipation for the first Avengers movie in 2012, Marvel continues its ambition with another genre redefining superhero film that brings the characters who won our hearts over the past ten years all together in an action-packed extravaganza that’s big on thrills but heavier on emotion. This is truly the Return of the King of superhero movies mixed with the emotional depth of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.

            After the events of Captain America: Civil War, the Avengers have parted ways with each other, billionaire, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes) is mentoring and keeping a watchful eye on web-slinging teenager, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland-The Impossible, In the Heart of the Sea, The Lost City of Z), and scientist, Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo-You Can Count on Me, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Spotlight) has returned to Earth after helping Thor (Chris Hemsworth-Star Trek (2009), The Cabin in the Woods, Rush) defeat Hela in Asgard. Suddenly a mysterious new villain appears known as Thanos (Josh Brolin-True Grit (2010), Men in Black 3, Deadpool 2) who seeks out all the six Infinity Stones to give him the power to wipe out half the galaxy.

            To battle Thanos’ army, the Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America (Chris Evans-Fantastic 4 (2005), Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Snowpiercer), Thor, Spider-Man, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson-Lost in Translation, Her, The Jungle Book (2016), Vision (Paul Bettany-Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Margin Call, Solo: A Star Wars Story), Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen-Martha Marcy May Marlene, Godzilla (2014), Wind River), and their allies, James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle-Hotel Rwanda, Crash, Flight), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie-The Hurt Locker, The Night Before, Detroit), T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman-42, Get on Up, Marshall), and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan-Black Swan, Logan Lucky, I, Tonya) must form a partnership with Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch-Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy, Star Trek into Darkness) and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt-Parks and Recreation, The Lego Movie, Jurassic World), Gamora (Zoe Saldana-Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Star Trek (2009 trilogy), Avatar), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper-The Hangover trilogy, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista-Riddick, Spectre, Blade Runner 2049), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel-The Iron Giant, Fast & Furious franchise, XXX), Mantis (Pom Klementieff-Delicacy, Oldboy, Ingrid Goes West), and Nebula (Karen Gillan-Doctor Who, Oculus, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) if they want to stand a chance and fight for the universe or die trying.

            The film also stars Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Crimson Peak, Kong: Skull Island) as Loki, Idris Elba (28 Weeks Later, Pacific Rim, Star Trek Beyond) as Heimdall, Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Eitri the Dwarf King, Benedict Wong (Sunshine, The Martian, Annihilation) as Wong, Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Contagion) as Pepper Potts, and Benicio del Toro (Traffic, Sin City, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Tanteleer Tivan/The Collector.

            Overall, Avengers: Infinity War delivers both on a spectacle level and from an emotional standpoint, something I was not expecting an Avengers movie to do. Don’t get me wrong, I was invested in these characters long before the first Avengers movie thanks to their solo films, but at least with The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, they were mostly flashy special-effects driven popcorn fun with amusing chemistry between the characters.

            This one feels like all hell is breaking loose and what was once a light, goofy cinematic universe has been transformed into a dark, gritty, war zone. The universe is on the brink of disaster, characters we’ve grown attached to are dying (Without giving anything away), and the only thing that can stop it is an army of people with unique powers and abilities, Gods, monsters, and aliens battling…the Marvel equivalent of the Devil, I don’t think I’ve been this emotionally invested in a superhero movie since The Dark Knight or maybe Logan.

            Let’s talk about Brolin as Thanos, at first glance I thought he was just going to be another bland, power-hungry comic book villain like Malekith from Thor: The Dark World or Dormammu from Doctor Strange. Much to my surprise, he was much more fleshed-out and three-dimensional than I was expecting, and he does show a softer side when he’s on-screen with Gamora, Josh Brolin really sells it and I’m hoping he can do Cable justice in Deadpool 2 next month.

            Aside from the action and drama, the best aspect of Infinity War, at least in my opinion, is the chemistry between all the characters and seeing them work off of each other. Similar to the first Avengers movie and seeing Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and company interact with each other for the first time, watching Thor interacting with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man working off of Star-Lord and Doctor Strange while acting like a father figure to Spider-Man is undeniably charming and humorous.

            Originally Avengers: Infinity War was supposed to be a 2-parter similar to the final Harry Potter and Hunger Games movies, and it definitely feels like that. Clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, most of the movie consisting of a long epic battle, and the film ends on a huge cliffhanger for the next Avengers movie coming out next year, this is pretty much a big appetizer before the main course.

            Avengers: Infinity War celebrates ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and brings the franchise into darker, more emotional territory while still delivering all the flashy, superhero action and fun you would expect from a Marvel movie. Here’s to ten successful years Marvel Studios and to ten more in the future, I’ll be back for Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers 4.