THE MOST OUTLANDISH-LOOKING MARVEL VILLAIN IS ALSO ITS MOST COMPLEX AND LAYERED ONE
Even with all of that, this film belongs to Josh Brolin’s Thanos. The prospect of a giant purple computer-generated bad guy hasbly capture the nuances of Brolin’s facial tics and mannerisms, allowing the actor to shine through all the CGI wizardry. It’s a good thing that it works so well, because Thanos is not the cardboard cutout villain that some previous Marvel bad guys have been. His master plan involves destroying half the universe, but in his own mind, his motivations are noble. He thinks he’s the hero of his story, and while nobody is going to agree with his tactics, his backstory does give his overall reasoning a perverse sort of logic. At several key moments in the film, Thanos nearly becomes a sympathetic character — even while he is doing truly horrific, unforgivable things. The biggest surprise of all may be that the most outlandish-looking Marvel villain is also its most complex and layered one, which simply wouldn’t be possible without the film’s synthesis of script, direction, performance, and visual effects.
The film’s sparkling sense of humor balances the weight of Thanos’ actions. Marvel’s films have always had a flair for comedy, but Infinity War turns the dial up further, maximizing the levity found in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy. Pitting Star-Lord’s hyper-insecurity against Thor’s arrogant hyper-masculinity provides for some of the funniest moments in the entire MCU.
Doctor Strange and Tony Stark also play as comedic foils for each other, sparring over what might as well be the title for Most Arrogant Superhero On Earth. In a film that mixes so many different elements, it would be easy for many of these characters’ essential traits to fall by the wayside. But the Russo brothers don’t just preserve the characters’ innate sensibility. They’re actually able to incorporate the filmmaking sensibilities of the different franchises into their own tapestry. Sequences with Star-Lord, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) feel like they’re from one of James Gunn’s Guardians films; Thor seems like he’s walked right off the set of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. The movie is a Marvel mixtape, combining the very best of everything that’s come before, but recontextualizing the individual parts to tell its own unique story.
The massive scale of the undertaking does have periodic downsides. The action sequences are mostly effective, but at times, there are so many characters being flung around like CG rag dolls that it can be hard to gauge what is happening to whom, in which order. And while every character does get a laugh, a heroic choice, or some other moment to shine, fans will no doubt be frustrated if their particular favorite hero isn’t foregrounded as much as other characters are. That’s simply the nature of the beast, however — it was inevitably going to happen with a project of this size. The fact that those concerns are fleeting, however, is a testament to what a massive storytelling achievement Infinity War is.
AUDIENCES WILL BE AGHAST AT JUST HOW FAR THE AVENGERS HAVE FALLEN
The film can’t spread around its camera time in equal measure, but it does give all the characters an equal shot at despair. A decade of films have led up to Thanos, and Avengers: Infinity War delivers on that threat with a film that upends the entire fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No character is safe from the far-reaching implications of his actions, and it’s impressive to see just how dark Marvel is willing to go for this story. Even the biggest fan favorites are truly vulnerable, and the movie reinforces that idea — relentlessly, at times — as it sprints toward its final stunning moments. By the time the credits roll, audiences will no doubt be aghast at just how far the Avengers have fallen.
One problem, though, is that Infinity War leans so excessively toward darkness that it’s impossible to believe the studio won’t take back many of the things that happen onscreen. This is still the Disney-run Marvel universe, after all, and the popularity of some of its flagship characters all but guarantees that, no matter what happens during Avengers: Infinity War, much of it won’t be permanent. (In fact, in its final act, the film seems to tip its hand toward a Hail Mary solution that’s likely to come into play in the still-untitled Infinity War sequel.) But that’s the most minor of complaints. This is a comic book universe, after all, and the fact that Infinity War is able to embrace this darkness in the first place is a wonder. The only real crime is that audiences will have to wait until 2019 to see the conclusion.
This Is The Story. And The End.