There are reasons why DC Fans
don’t look too kindly at Marvel. Too non serious for their liking. But even the
most ardent of DC fans have to acknowledge the fact that this Marvel’s
Superhero extravaganza is a true masterpiece in how to contextualize what has
been an enthralling first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers –
Infinity War is the best directed Marvel movie till date behind Captain America
Civil War and it is not a surprise that both are directed by Joe and Anthony
Russo.
Staying true to its title,
Infinity war is quite literally the war for the 6 infinity gems that which put
in an Infinity Gauntlet can destroy the Universe and one of select few who can
wield it, Thanos is in procession of it and on his way to earth along with his
black order to retrieve the remaining gems. Standing in his way are the
Avengers, fresh from feuding with themselves and scattered with no trace of
each other. Will the Mad Titan succeed or will the heroes put aside their
differences and stand together against the man hell bent on destroying half the
universe.
It is not every day that a
performance review begins with a movie’s villain. But such was Thanos’ belligerence
that there is no other place he goes but to the top. What an inspired casting.
The first time his name was revealed as the actor playing the mad titan a lot
of fans went “Meh”. No disrespects to the academy award nominee but the news
didn’t exactly set the internet on fire. But the way he has managed to
understand the depth of the character giving it layers for us fans to explore
is just magical. His quest does not come across as simply madness but a method
behind it and an unassailable belief in what he is trying to do. It is clear
that every other actor has grown into their roles so effectively that it is
just a treat to see them play off each other so well. The clusters of Iron
Man-Dr Strange-Spiderman, Thor and the Guardians and finally the rest of them
in Wakanda is worked out to perfection. In a ensemble as large as this, it
would have been forgiven if someone was forgotten in the shuffle but everybody
feel important and that’s largely possible because of how well its written.
What is impressive about the
Russo brothers is they kept their belief on the fans’ knowledge of the MCU and
by refusing to spoon feed they have really gone for the kill in exploiting the
depth of each character arcs and infusing a much needed darkness to the series.
The comedy is well blend in and does not take out the seriousness of the plot
unlike Thor Ragnarok which completely lost it in my opinion. The movie also
gloriously stays away from being forced into it for the sake of it (Cue: Game
of Thrones Season 7) There may be a lot of confused casual fans but I think it
is ultimately a good thing because the thickness of the plot would only make
them watch the previous movies more.
There aren’t really much to pick
with what they could have done better but certainly Peter Dinklage’s Eitri is
certainly one of them. The guy is so versatile that he feels a bit wasted. Also
Red Skull’s role as the guardian of the soul stone feels more like a moment to
make us excited for that second. Also, why waste Vision? I get it that they wanted
to extract the mind stone without destroying him but it felt out of place to
see one of the most powerful avenger there is not a part of the great war
especially with how it all transpires for him in the end. Perhaps the biggest of
them all is the climax and what happens with Thanos’ purpose. If they wanted us
to believe in it a little more they really shouldn’t have gone with the way
they did with which avengers they picked as victims. Even a casual fan knows
that all of them has a sequel coming up and it is really not rocket science to
know the plot of Avengers 4. Where have they all gone is a more mysterious one
but in my opinion most likely in the space within the soul gem where Thanos
meets a young Gamora just before the snap. Tell me Avengers 4 is not about the
original Avengers with the help of Eitri re-forging the infinity gauntlet which
now looks destroyed in Thanos’ hand to recreate the events and reclaim their
younger mates in an epic battle where Captain Marvel, Thanos’ arch nemesis destroys
him and restores the Universe to its rightful place. I dare you!
But where Avengers Infinity War
stands out is how well the character arch’s of almost all of their central
characters has been utilized, the rightful reliance of audience knowledge
thereby making the plot more intriguing and proving a platform for how to
finish a journey on a high.
