A Dark yet Glorious moment, or Infinity War review

Marvel's Cinematic universe started in 2008 with the first ever Iron Man film, and later on Incredible Hulk. While both films were great on their own, it was there that the universe we have grown to love had begun to develop. It started out with minor clues that the most eagle-eyed of viewers and comic-fans would notice, alongside the after credit stingers that has since become synonymous with the MCU. Piece by piece the films would hint at a larger universe beyond any single movie, building itself up with an Iron Man sequel, Thor, and then with Captain America, all of which were building up to the legendary crossover team-up that has been celebrated in comics for decades: The Avengers. That film, debuting in 2012, was the pinnacle of Marve's efforts and grandiose risks, and a chance to show that such cinematic build-up was worth it by the end, with Avengers towering over other films in the box office with monumental praise to boot. However, that wasn't the end to Marvel's work, for its success not only meant more films down the line, but a villain that would be heralded as the universe's greatest threat: Thanos. Making his debut appearance in after credit scenes and later on with incrementally larger appearances as the universe built up, the Mad Titan Thanos was making his way to combat Earth's mightiest heroes for over 8 years, slowly approaching the earth on his quest to obtain the Infinity Stones. Of course he wouldn't make appearances in every film, as throughout those 8 years there have been several sequels and first appearances for the many heroes that would widen the MCU's universe ever further.

What had occurred since the Titan grinned at audiences in the first Avenger's film? A considerable amount even by a larger scope. Many heroes have sprung up across the globe and beyond, many working outside the team. The morally confused Winter Soldier crossed Captain America and the newly joined Falcon twice over; the Guardians of the Galaxy, a far departure from the mainstream comic consciousness, soured through space; Ultron and his event shook the world, leading not only to the Vision and the Scarlet Witch joining the Avengers, but international consequences that eventually broke up the team and force Captain America into hiding; a thief took on sizes both great and small, under the name of Ant-Man; the mystical Doctor Strange brought more magic to the world; Spider-man made his debut to the Marvel Universe proper, far younger than his cinematic predecessors; Ragnarok destroyed Thor's home but brought with him the mighty Hulk and Valkyrie; and an entire city of great technological advancement was discovered, led by its leader who has donned the title of Black Panther. In 8 years the world of the MCU has known greatness, tragedy, and epic events that had brought dangers into the world domestically, internationally, and beyond both space and time. However, in the back of both the minds of audiences and even some characters of the MCU, there was something far greater and menacing coming over the horizon. In comes 2018's third Avenger's film: Infinity War. An event that brings a vast majority of characters in the MCU, who until then have fought smaller threats and each other, but now must come together to beat back a tyrant who many say can be stopped.
This is a film that was 10 years in the making. Beginning with a billionaire playboy creating a suit of armor to fighter small-time terrorists and rival CEO's, and is now putting the very universe at the brink of danger. Was the build up worth it? After all this time, with 18 films to precede it, did an event with so much time and hype building around it deliver on its promises?
To answer all there, here is my review. As well minor spoilers for films leading up to this one, in particular: "Thor: Ragnarok", "Thor: Dark World", "Captain America: Civil War", "Guardians of the Galaxy 1&2", "Spiderman: Homecoming", "Doctor Strange", and "Black Panther"



STORY SUMMARY:

The Avengers have broken up, with Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Black Widow having gone into hiding; meanwhile Iron Man, War Machine and Vision becoming reluctant agents under the Sokovia accords after the events of Civil War. Unbeknownst to them, and immediately after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, the space ship containing the surviving Asgardians led by Thor and Loki are attacked by a massive cruiser under the rule of Thanos, who are accompanied by his "Children", agents who are loyal to him: the intellectual Ebony Maw; the powerful brute Black Dwarf; and his agents Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive. Having already acquired the Power Stone (Guardians of the Galaxy), the Mad Titan has now come for the Space Stone currently within Loki's possession, and has now begun his conquest for the others. He plans to obtain the other Infinity Stones: the Reality Stone, currently with the Collector in Knowhere (Thor: Dark World); the Mind Stone, currently embedded in the Vision's head (Avengers: Age of Ultron); the Time Stone, utilized and protected by Doctor Strange; and the Soul Stone, completely hidden away and unknown to seemingly everyone. With these stones he plans to enact his grand plan of wiping out half of all life in the Universe, thereby saving it in his own twisted vision. With his loyal followers sent to Earth to claim the stones there, he sets out for the ones beyond it.
Meanwhile Iron Man is contacted by Doctor Strange, who quickly discovered the whereabouts of Bruce Banner, after having been beaten by Thanos himself. He brings warning that he is coming for Earth, and that even with his Hulk form he couldn't put up a challenge to the titan. With Thanos' generals already reaching the planet, it's up to him and many of Earths heroes to fight back. Iron Man teams up with Strange and Spider-man to protect the Time Stone; Captain America and his group of outlaws try to remove and hopefully destroy the Mind Stone in Vision's head; and the Guardians of the Galaxy are soon forced into the conflict when Gamora learns of her father Thanos' plans, and vows to stop him before he gains the Reality Stone. Are the heroes able to stop this man before he brings destruction and death throughout the universe? Will this war lean on the side of the Avengers, and all the heroes who won't stop at nothing to prevent a genocide of universal proportions?



PLOT (MASSIVE SPOILERS):

This is certainly the darkest inclusion in the MCU's long filmography, and certainly the one with the largest scope. Throughout the film we're following three major groups that each deal with a piece of the whole story.
On Earth there are the many attempts to take both the Time and Mind Stones, but ultimately it follows the latter with Captain America, Vision and Scarlet Witch as the central characters. The three, alongside Falcon, Hulk and Black Widow, race for the nation of Wakanda to recruit Winter Soldier and gain the help of Black Panther, so they can use his people's advanced technology to remove Vision's stone, so that they may destroy it without killing him. However they are soon attacked by an army of beasts under the command of Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Black Dwarf.
The second group includes Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Iron Man who work to protect the Time Stone from Ebony Maw, who hopes to take it to Titan, a moon over Saturn. While they're taken out of the Earth conflict, the team attempts to understand who Thanos is and what they can do to fight him.
Meanwhile with the Guardians of the Galaxy the team are joined by Thor, who brings warning of Thanos and his attack on his people. By his suggestion, he and the group separate: with Quill, Drax, Mantis, and Gamora heading for Knowhere to get the Reality Stone before Thanos can get it; meanwhile Thor alongside Rocket Raccoon and Groot head for the star forge of Nidavellir, home of the dwarves and where his hammer was created, as well potentially where a weapon to kill Thanos can be made.
All of this while the film follows Thanos himself, building up on the reasoning behind his plans for universal genocide, which makes for an interesting length of character development that ultimately makes for a well-explored antagonist. All these plots are jumped from one to the other, doing so with very minimal issues and only becoming more rapid in its exchange as the drama heightens. Although certainly no character is truly focused on, every single one gets at least one good scene to justify their inclusion, as well enough time to follow them so as to form a close bond over their conflict (in addition to the development already brought before-hand in previous films leading up to the event). However, there are characters that do get more of a focus, and for good reason. Iron Man gets a bit of a focus with his relationship to Spider-Man, which was not only already build up in Homecoming, but adds a deeper connection between the two up until its end. Thor has an arc of his own where he promises to avenge his people, giving him a strong motivation and build up even while he's largely out of the story compared to everyone else. Quill has a lot of drama in his arc, especially in connection with Gamora, and while he does some things that many would consider to be extremely unwise, it's understandable considering what he's going through. Speaking of Gamora, it's her and the relationship she has with Thanos that is the greatest arc in the film. We look into the origins of how she became Thanos' daughter, having been taken while her people were slaughtered; there's an exploration of the hatred she feels for Thanos, and remarkably (albeit sadly) the twisted yet genuine sense of love he has for her. All of that leads to a scene where he has to ultimately sacrifice her for the sake of his mission, despite how much it hurts him.

Ending spoilers (STARTING HERE)

However, this talk of sadness and sacrifice does lead up to what I know a lot of people are talking about when it comes to Infinity War: the deaths. There's a lot of death in the film, but a majority of it comes at the very end. In the lead up to that end, we see many longtime characters die: Heimdall gets killed shortly into the film's beginning, with the status of Valkyrie, Korg and Meik being unknown though not so promising; Loki is choked after an attempt at Thanos' life, though knowing his character his may or may not be permanent; the aforementioned Gamora is sacrificed by being thrown by her father. However what ultimately is worth noting are the deaths at the very end. In short: Thanos wins.

Thanos is the victor, and with a snap of his fingers he ends half of all life in the universe. After which, and in a sequence that makes the finale of the film, we see one by one characters we've known and loved disintegrate into nothingness. It's not just side-characters either, but big name characters who are then killed on-screen by Thanos' actions. It's a gut-wrenching, emotional scene that is effective in hurting you and getting you to feel for the characters in the movie. I absolutely applaud the film-makers for this, not only because of it being such a dark turn in the series, but one that succeeds in drawing the desired reactions from its viewers. Although I know that because of this being a comic film (and of the future, announced sequels already made) that this is not as permanent as presented, it nevertheless is a powerful moment in the MCU.

Ending spoilers (ENDS HERE)

Overall the film does a great job in presenting a massive event with stakes and tensions that get higher and higher as the film goes on. The drama is effective, and the comedy (which is thankfully presented at moderate amounts) is still top-notch. While there can be some points in the plot that can be caught by the more skeptical of viewers, and moments that do slow to a crawl because of the comedy (as is with these films), it's still a great story that's exceptionally told from beginning to end.



EFFECTS AND MUSIC:

The special effects are still great, especially when it comes to fight scenes. From the larger battle scenes to the more close and personal fights, these moments are well captured and effective in their presentation. It is also very colorful, with all manner of reds, greens, blues, and other such colors leaping off the screen in glorious saturation. The CGI is largely fantastic, with creatures, suits, and characters being the highlights of the film. Thanos' "Children" are amazing, with Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight being the best. Far more effective, and obviously the most important to the film, is Thanos, who is absolutely incredible in his presentation. His emotions are amazing, capable of effectively showing sadness, anger, and delight where appropriate. His actions and fighting is just as great, and overall the work put on to his model is of the best quality. Opposite to that, however, are some moments of green-screening when it comes to heads over armor, such as the case with War Machine and Banner in the Hulk-Buster armor. For some reason the green screening for character heads in their armor is really poor, to the point that it's very noticeable. I don't know why this is, though I can probably point to it as an issue with timing and maybe work scheduling. Still, when it comes to everything else, the CGI is fantastic, and the points where practical effects is present is also great.

The musical score is great too, with epic instrumentals in the fight scenes and the dramatic moments. The Avengers theme makes a return, and it's still as memorable as always. However the scores are largely a companion to the scenes, with maybe Thanos' theme standing out as its own score capable of being separated from the film. This isn't to mean that the music isn't great, just that they work best in the film itself as opposed to a score you can listen outside of it. However this is just a minor complaint, since the music is still strong and uplifts scenes with an additional boom in their presentation.



ACTING:

Everyone does a fine job, with some doing better than others. Since there are so many characters, I'll only give notes to those worth mentioning. Outside of that, my overall grading of the performances is high, with plenty of well spoken lines and acting done by everyone involved, with extremely minor issues that come with the occasional bits of forced comedy.
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is good, with a lot of drama involving him and a father-son-like relationship with Spider-Man. He's one of the first heroes we join along in the film, and through him is some of the character development involving Thanos.
Gamora is where the drama is most centralized, with her scenes involving Thanos being the strongest in the film.
Bruce Banner has an interesting relationship with the Hulk after their defeat in the initial fight against Thanos. While most of it is played for laughs, the idea that the Hulk persona is scared off or aggressively reluctant to come out and fight is very intriguing and hopefully something they'll explore in later films.
Thor's development is nicely handled, with him also providing much of the comedy in the film (with his insistence of referring to Rocket Raccoon as "Rabbit"). Although it's a bit of a step back from the more modernized and self-aware character he had become in Ragnarok, it's still a great performance. His mission to kill Thanos pays off excellently, though not so successfully as hoped.
In the end though it's Thanos who takes the spotlight, with great lines and a fantastic performance. We get enough time to understand his quest, why he wants to accomplish it, and the history that led into it. We almost sympathize with why he comes to conclusions he reached, yet at the same time understanding how horrific and terrible it is, especially with how committed he is and so convinced that it's all for the better good.

Overall, a ton of great performances with little issues to note.


NEGATIVE POINTS:

Well, here's some negatives. I've praised the film greatly so far, so it's only fair I bring any problems I have to the forefront.

• The typical forced comedy bits that has unfortunately become synonymous with Marvel films
• Weak green-screening involving characters in armor
• Quill's character taking a bad turn in his fight against Thanos, which I know many have voiced their displeasure of
• The opening which unfortunately ruins the events of Ragnarok that Thor fought so hard for

CONCLUSION

Avengers: Infinity War successfully lives up to the hype, and to the 10 years of build up that had came before it. It's an incredibly dark and effective event within the MCU, and one I hope will have effects in the films down the line. Although I know that much of the plot points taken can be reversed  (as is the nature of comic books), it is still effective in getting you to care despite all that.
I highly recommend seeing it. See it before any spoilers come your way.