5/5 Star Rating
Avengers: Infinity War has been ten years in the making and has finally hit our cinema screens!
Plot
The Mad Titan, more commonly known as Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a mission to collect all of the six Infinity Stones in an attempt to bring order and balance to the universe by destroying half of humanity. Between them, The Avengers and The Guardians have already encountered five of the six stones and now have to work together using all of their efforts to put an end to Thanos and his murderous plans.
Official Film Trailer for Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War (2018) courtesy of YouTube
Film Review
This film review will remain spoiler free. Thanos has demanded silence and he shall get mine. #thanosdemandsyoursilence #spoilersarenotfun
Over the last ten years Marvel have created some amazing movies! All of them together make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). With each new release more spectacular than the last. Avengers: Infinity War had a lot of pressure resting on the shoulders of the film's directors Anthony and Joe Russo - also known as The Russo Brothers. The brothers aren't newcomers to the MCU, they had made their Marvel directorial debut back in 2014 when Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released. To this day, I still believe it is one of the strongest contenders within the MCU, along with Captain America: Civil War which was also directed by this amazing duo. So there was never any doubt in my mind that Avengers: Infinity War would be anything other than cinematic perfection. There's more good news too, The Russo Brothers are also directing Infinity War's sequel which is set for release in May next year (2019).
Pictured - Thanos (Josh Brolin) on Titan
Avengers: Infinity War will see phase three of the MCU come towards it's end, along with the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp (summer 2018), Captain Marvel (2019) and lastly the second half of the Infinity War story, to which the title of the movie is being kept as a highly guarded secret, as it will a reveal a huge spoiler for the current Infinity War film.
This film not only meets expectations, but be warned, it also delivers some pretty shocking moments too. You will be in for some huge (and I mean HUGE!) unexpected events during the film. In the words of Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker “This is not going to go the way you think.” Honestly, after seeing the film for the first time on the day of release (27th April 2018), I was left for hours trying to process what I had just seen. It left me questioning a lot about various characters and scenarios. I have since seen the film again and I am still trying to make sense of it all. Knowing what was to come, seeing the film a second time was much harder for me to watch as I could feel the anxiety and tension building up to some monumental scenes unfolding in front of me. I know it is just a film, but it really does get to you and is really a film like no other.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) aboard his Agardian ship in the film's opening scene.
In the recent weeks before the release of Avengers: Infinity War, I have watched some of the older films from the franchise and now after seeing Infinity War, I will never be able to watch any of the previous films in quite the same way again. You may find this too.
Let's discuss the film in some more depth.
As all of the previous MCU films, Infinity War begins with the montage of characters that are already in the famous films with some of the graphic novel images too. Although this time around it wasn't quite as grand of an opening that we have seen before with the strong intro music. The montage was almost silent while playing before then coming to an end and throwing you straight into the dramatic opening scene of the movie. If you have seen Thor: Ragnarok, you will remember the film ending with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the last of the Asgardians boarding a spaceship in search for a new home after the fall of Asgard.
Avengers: Infinity War opens with a distress call from Thor's ship as everyone on board had been taken captive or killed by Thanos and his children of The Black Order - Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon), Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw). The scene pretty much jolts you in order to show exactly how powerful these characters really are. The Black Order characters are instantly unlikable to the audience and their appearance closely resembles the eerie Orc or Elven like beings from the Lord Of The Rings films. They alone, without their 'leader' are quite a bunch that you would not want to tango with.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the children of Thanos - Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon), Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw)
It doesn't take long to reunite the audience with more familiar faces, including Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Also, the transition of introducing other MCU characters into the world of The Avengers happens very smoothly. This includes sorcerer supreme and protector of the time stone Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and fellow sorcerer, Wong (Benedict Wong) being abruptly interrupted mid conversation in their sanctum by The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) with a warning of Thanos' impending arrival.
Dr Strange (Cumberbatch), Tony Stark (Downey), Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) and Wong (Benedict Wong) take on their first challenge on the streets of New York.
The Guardians - Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (Bradley Cooper/Sean Gunn) and an adolescent Groot (Vin Diesel/Terry Notary) were given very simple and effective intro. They are seen zooming their way through space while in Quill's jet as vintage 80s music was partnered in the background. The only true way for The Guardians of the Galaxy to make their entrance.
Drax (Bautista), Thor (Hemsworth), Star-Lord (Pratt) and Gamora (Saldana) on Quill's Jet
Due to the addition of other MCU characters, the film sees confrontation, flirting, and a rather damaged ego for Peter Quill (Pratt) upon meeting Thor (Hemsworth) for the first time. Upon this meeting, The Guardians are memorised by the Asgardian, Gamora (Saldana) states "It's like his muscles are made of Chitauri metal fibers..." and rather amusingly Drax (Bautista) adds by delivering probably one of the best one liners within the film: "It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel." The team up of The Guardians and Thor work very well, especially as Thor: Ragnarok saw a huge increase of humour for the character.
An unlikely trio - Tony Stark/Ironman (Robert Downey Jr), Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland) and Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Speaking of egos, one pairing that cannot be ignored is that of Tony Stark (Downey Jr) and Dr Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch). The clash between the two is perfect. There's criticism, plenty of sarcastic remarks and the base of what looks to be a brilliant intellectual partnership. This is only made better by the naïve and kind hearted Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland) who is on top form in this film. It is clear to see why Tom Holland has been voted the best Spiderman of all time in multiple online polls.
Battle scene in Wakanda - The home of The Black Panther
Unfortunately the rest of the characters are fairly sparse. Some of them are very underused considering their importance within the MCU. As disappointed as I was about this, it did make sense.
James Rhodes / War Machine (Don Cheadle), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)
The first Avenger - Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), appears to have quietly dropped his famous superhero alter ego title, grown a beard and and no longer wields the famous circular, star spangled vibranium shield. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is now platinum blonde and has very little dialogue throughout the entire film, although she still kicks some serious butt! We also see very little of Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Black Panther/King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his tech savvy sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright). Although I must say that Team Cap had a pretty awesome entrance when we first see them in the film. Despite these characters having very little screen time they still held very important roles within the film's story.
Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robery Downey Jr), Drax (Dave Bautista), Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff)
Ultimately the story is centred around the mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). So he does indeed take centre stage. Thanos has briefly appeared in previous films within the MCU, but has not really been given significant time on screen. Due to this, many viewers know very little about the character. Avengers: Infinity War cleverly reveals the character's backstory, making us feel a little more of a connection to him. Even though he is, I don't feel it appropriate to use the term 'villain' when referring to Thanos. The film does show a more vulnerable side to him and to be honest, despite him going the wrong way about it, his plans for the universe and mankind do actually make a lot of sense. I won't go into it too much as I really don't want to spoil it for those who have not yet seen this incredible film.
Thanos (Josh Brolin)
Avengers: Infinity War is not at all what you may expect to see from an Avengers film. Each of the characters are tested beyond their limits in order to protect the universe. There are some recognisable faces and also some new ones, including Game Of Thrones actor, Peter Dinklage in the perfect role!
Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) defending himself against Thanos.
Brace yourself for an emotional journey when watching Avengers: Infinity War. There's an immense amount of expected action, spectacular new tech, competitive egos, self sacrifice, tragedy and murder. The film hits you hard and leaves you feeling breathless in some scenes, but it is equally balanced by natural flowing humour too. Avengers: Infinity War is a must see! Don't miss your chance to see this cinematic masterpiece from The Russo Brothers!
*All images are courtesy of Google Images