Avengers: Infinity War is finally here.
And before I begin reviewing it, here’s a little friendly warning: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Now, let’s begin the review:
My immediate reaction after watching the movie was just 3 words: OH. MY. GOD.
And I don’t say this due to the superhero movie fandom that I’ve developed over the years, but because of the exceptional handling of the ensemble cast by Russo brothers, Anthony and Joseph, who serve as the directors of this epic saga.
I’m going to divide my review into 2 halves, featuring things which I liked and things which I didn’t like (the latter being overshadowed by the former).
So, without further ado, here are the things I loved about Avengers: Infinity War:
#1. The Villain, Thanos:
Thanos is the center piece of Avengers: Infinity War and this is a villain that Marvel Cinematic Universe had desperately needed.
Marvel has had a certain image of not providing epic villains for their epic superheroes (duds like Ronan The Accuser or Malakeith The Accursed were just downright bland) but for the past couple of films, MCU has taken a huge leap with Hela and Erik Killmonger.
However, Thanos leaves them in the dust. He trumps over them, he stomps over them and he makes it LOOK GOOD.
The very fact that we get to see a side of Thanos which has an underlying emotional context to it is exceptionally handled in the scene where Thanos sacrifices his daughter Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, as part of a mandatory trade-off needed to get the said Infinity Stone by sacrificing the one thing which you truly love.
And he has a total dad moment when he cries while throwing his daughter off of a cliff. My heart sunk.
But he switches to his bad-ass best in the 2nd half as he literally snaps his fingers and kills half of the beloved MCU superheroes in the gigantic battle at Wakanda.
This is a villain with a story, a purpose and a genuine cause to his appetite for destruction. All hail the almighty Titan.
Josh Brolin seems like a perfect fit as Thanos and he plays his role with utmost conviction and a lot of badass-ery.
#2. The Emotional Depth Of The Storyline, Overall:
Avengers: Infinity War has plenty of moments where you genuinely relate with most of the superheroes, even though there are too many of them.
And that’s where the Russo brothers succeed exceptionally. Most of the characters are well fleshed out with plenty of highlights featuring the likes of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Star Lord, Gamora, Doctor Strange and Thor.
Robert Downey Jr. acts as the driving force of the storyline in the first half and especially during the final 3rd of the movie with his charismatic performance and his character serves as one of the stand-out aspects of the movie.
The storyline almost makes Thanos the central character rather than being JUST THE VILLAIN, which is something starkly different from the trend that MCU has developed over the years, with the focus being highly based on protagonists saving the day.
Here, the dynamic changes and features Thanos heavily and explores the grey shades in his character, too.
One particular highlight of the movie is Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff) as well, whose character has shown an enormous growth in terms of depth and development as compared to her previous appearances in Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.
#3. The Perfect Balance Of Humor And Some AMAZING Fan Moments Which Either Leave You In Awe Or Make You Shed A Tear:
There are plenty of moments which I’ll take from Avengers: Infinity War as worthy of remembering, just for the experience of it.
And since I watched it in IMAX, every moment amplifies in terms of the magnitude of its seriousness and gravitas, be it Thanos being his badass self and killing people left and right (he starts the movie by breaking Loki’s neck) or the moment when Spiderman and about 5-6 other major characters turn to ash when Thanos snaps his fingers.
And right before Spiderman is about to turn to dust, he looks at Tony and with tears in his eyes and fear in his heart, falls into his arms and says, “Mr. Stark, I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna die”.
Yes, I shed a tear. I did. It was heartbreaking. It was painful to watch Spiderman die, even though we all know that he will be making a comeback (because well, Spiderman 2 is being shot).
BUT YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO KILL HIM LIKE THIS, I MEAN HOLY SHIT WHO DAFUQ DOES THAT TO A YOUNG KID HE WAS SO SCARED AND EVEN TONY CRIED AFTER PETER’S DEATH. THIS WAS UNFAIR.
There is a superb cameo by Peter Dinklage as he helps Thor build his new weapon from the same forge where Mjolnir was built.
And another highlight for me: The ever-so-hilarious Mark Ruffalo for being a brilliant comic relief in the movie. Mark, you are amazing.
And last but not the least, Thor steals the show. He does. Thor is funny, emotional, badass, royal and absolutely spectacular in this movie. And boy, his entry in the final battle with his new weapon (Stormbreaker) is ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC.
Now, coming to the things I didn’t like, which weren’t a lot but hey, I have to be a little critical here:
While most of the characters were well fleshed out, I feel Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow (played by the beautiful and extremely talented Scarlet Johansson) could’ve been given more dialogues and screen time for her character development.
Especially considering how she was a vital part of Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, both directed by the Russo brothers.
Secondly, the fight scenes, though brilliantly directed, could’ve been slightly overlooked to focus a little more on the characters because the movie has too much to show in 2 different locations with 2 segregated superhero teams at given point of time.
But all in all, these are minor technicalities and won’t stop you from enjoying this brilliant movie.
So, my suggestion: Watch it. Just for the absolutely breathtaking experience of it, you should watch it.
Highly recommended to every superhero movie buff, out there.
And yes, the post credits scene is quite interesting and I’m super excited for Avengers 4.
WHAT. AN. EXPERIENCE.
Image Credits: Google Images
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