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Update: April 25, 2018
Dragonlord’s Review of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: An epic crossover event that starts off on shaky ground but finds its footing when Cap shows up and the focus shifts to Thanos midway and finally finishes strong with a spectacular third act. This is MCU's Empire Strikes Back.
[Note: For this non-spoiler Infinity War review, I will be as vague as possible with the details to make it as safe for everyone to read.]
If you’re a comic book fan, there was something special when you read a crossover event for the first time. Whether it was Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths or Infinity Gauntlet, it felt like a momentous occasion seeing the various iconic characters and teams gather together in one comic book series. That is how it must feel like for the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans watching Avengers: Infinity War.
A 10-year culmination steadily built over the past 18 movies, Avengers: Infinity War exceeds the hype and anticipation to deliver arguably one of the greatest superhero movies ever. Unlike The Last Jedi where it spits in the eyes of their fanbase, Infinity War subverts expectations but in an extremely positive fashion. The plot twists are so staggering and affecting that it demands that you watch it as soon as possible to avoid being spoiled by your friends or the media.
Despite the overall awesomeness of the film, it has its small share of flaws. Clearly meant for those that have faithfully followed the MCU, Infinity War does away with introductions or plot explanations on previous movies and dives straight after the events of Thor: Ragnarok. The first thing that stood out was Alan Silvestri’s bland, phoned-in orchestral score. The music didn’t fit, it felt intrusive and cheesy which diminished the gravitas of the scene a bit. Just to be clear, the scene is fine but the right score (or no score at all) would have made it better.
From there, the story shifts to Earth where the film bombards you with action scene after action scene, bordering on exhausting. Marvel Studios normally does a good job of pacing its action but they might have overplayed it a little this time. They could also have developed a proper build-up and greater tension for Thanos and the Black Order’s arrival. The fight scenes are superbly done but a few times it’s too rapid and hard to follow, especially the night scenes.
One of the enjoyable aspects of the film is seeing the different MCU characters meet for the first time, which they milk for maximum humor effect. The banter does get a bit tiresome and feels forced though when some of the more egotistical characters squabble amongst themselves to see who has the bigger dick. Though lot of the jokes are funny, the comedy goes a bit overboard for my taste and should have been reeled in.
The first act had an uneven pacing where scene-to-scene transition didn't flow naturally. The turning point when the film starts to find its right footing is when Captain America shows up. It’s no coincidence that the film starts to flow smoother and moving in the right direction as Cap is one of the MCU’s major leader characters that doesn’t rely on quips and one-liners compared to some of his peers.
Another inflection point for the better is when the perspective shifts to Thanos and his pursuit for the Infinity Stones at the film’s midpoint. Slightly reminiscent of Jim Starlin’s The Thanos Quest, not only does the audience get to know the Mad Titan better and his motivations, they’ll even be inexplicably compelled to root for him to get the Stones. Aside from Thanos being magnificently rendered on the screen as well as being a bad ass powerhouse, Josh Brolin gives a wonderful nuanced performance that shines through all the fantastic CGI effects. Not only is Thanos one of MCU's best villains, he joins the ranks of Gollum and Caesar as one of filmdom’s most memorable talking CGI characters ever.
Skillfully balancing the different Marvel characters and giving every one of their portrayals justice, directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have done an exemplary job creating an extraordinary crossover event that not only is ambitious in its scale and massive in its scope as it is emotional and haunting at its core. The two monumentally epic climactic battles is simply mind-blowing and worth the price of admission, multiple times. This is the MCU’s Empire Strikes Back.
Rating: 9/10
Dragonlord’s Review of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: An epic crossover event that starts off on shaky ground but finds its footing when Cap shows up and the focus shifts to Thanos midway and finally finishes strong with a spectacular third act. This is MCU's Empire Strikes Back.
[Note: For this non-spoiler Infinity War review, I will be as vague as possible with the details to make it as safe for everyone to read.]
If you’re a comic book fan, there was something special when you read a crossover event for the first time. Whether it was Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths or Infinity Gauntlet, it felt like a momentous occasion seeing the various iconic characters and teams gather together in one comic book series. That is how it must feel like for the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans watching Avengers: Infinity War.
A 10-year culmination steadily built over the past 18 movies, Avengers: Infinity War exceeds the hype and anticipation to deliver arguably one of the greatest superhero movies ever. Unlike The Last Jedi where it spits in the eyes of their fanbase, Infinity War subverts expectations but in an extremely positive fashion. The plot twists are so staggering and affecting that it demands that you watch it as soon as possible to avoid being spoiled by your friends or the media.
Despite the overall awesomeness of the film, it has its small share of flaws. Clearly meant for those that have faithfully followed the MCU, Infinity War does away with introductions or plot explanations on previous movies and dives straight after the events of Thor: Ragnarok. The first thing that stood out was Alan Silvestri’s bland, phoned-in orchestral score. The music didn’t fit, it felt intrusive and cheesy which diminished the gravitas of the scene a bit. Just to be clear, the scene is fine but the right score (or no score at all) would have made it better.
From there, the story shifts to Earth where the film bombards you with action scene after action scene, bordering on exhausting. Marvel Studios normally does a good job of pacing its action but they might have overplayed it a little this time. They could also have developed a proper build-up and greater tension for Thanos and the Black Order’s arrival. The fight scenes are superbly done but a few times it’s too rapid and hard to follow, especially the night scenes.
One of the enjoyable aspects of the film is seeing the different MCU characters meet for the first time, which they milk for maximum humor effect. The banter does get a bit tiresome and feels forced though when some of the more egotistical characters squabble amongst themselves to see who has the bigger dick. Though lot of the jokes are funny, the comedy goes a bit overboard for my taste and should have been reeled in.
The first act had an uneven pacing where scene-to-scene transition didn't flow naturally. The turning point when the film starts to find its right footing is when Captain America shows up. It’s no coincidence that the film starts to flow smoother and moving in the right direction as Cap is one of the MCU’s major leader characters that doesn’t rely on quips and one-liners compared to some of his peers.
Another inflection point for the better is when the perspective shifts to Thanos and his pursuit for the Infinity Stones at the film’s midpoint. Slightly reminiscent of Jim Starlin’s The Thanos Quest, not only does the audience get to know the Mad Titan better and his motivations, they’ll even be inexplicably compelled to root for him to get the Stones. Aside from Thanos being magnificently rendered on the screen as well as being a bad ass powerhouse, Josh Brolin gives a wonderful nuanced performance that shines through all the fantastic CGI effects. Not only is Thanos one of MCU's best villains, he joins the ranks of Gollum and Caesar as one of filmdom’s most memorable talking CGI characters ever.
Skillfully balancing the different Marvel characters and giving every one of their portrayals justice, directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have done an exemplary job creating an extraordinary crossover event that not only is ambitious in its scale and massive in its scope as it is emotional and haunting at its core. The two monumentally epic climactic battles is simply mind-blowing and worth the price of admission, multiple times. This is the MCU’s Empire Strikes Back.
Rating: 9/10
Spoiler Thoughts and Musings for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Kinda felt bad for the Asgardians. Half of their race was probably killed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. The refugees escaped Asgard’s destruction but only to die by the hands of Thanos and the Black Order.
With Heimdall killed by Thanos at the beginning, there goes one of the popular theories out of the window that Heimdall has the Soul Stone.
As expected, Loki died. At least he went out with honor trying to kill Thanos. Also debunked is the theory that Loki was the one who summoned Thanos at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.
Sif not part of Thor: Ragnarok turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to her. She would have been killed by Hela alongside the Warriors Three in Thor: Ragnarok. If by some chance she survived, she would have met her demise alongside the Asgardians by the hands of Thanos.
They didn’t show Valkyrie, Korg and Meek among the casualties. Hopefully they survived somehow.
Hulk versus Thanos was good but it wasn’t the epic brawl I was expecting. The actual fight was limited to a confined space and was all too brief. These two MCU behemoths deserved to duke it out in an open field where they can cut loose and all kinds of cool destructive moves take place.
Why didn’t Heimdall send Thor to Earth instead of the Hulk?
Hulk/Banner became the harbinger of doom in the film. In the Infinity Gauntlet comic book series, it was the Silver Surfer who was the messenger.
Wished they spent at least 5 minutes building up the arrival of the Black Order to Earth. There was no proper build-up. Banner shows up and warns the heroes, then a few minutes later the Black Order showed up.
Tony Stark and Dr. Strange bickering like children was a bit irksome because their conflict felt forced.
I got a laugh when Peter Parker asked Ned for a distraction and Ned shouts “We’re all going to die!” (which in the end is kinda true)
I inherently don’t like the concept of nanotech suits popping up out of thin air but damn, Iron Man’s Bleeding Edge suit is bad-ass. It’s so powerful that it could go toe-to-toe with Thanos for a short while.
Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian fighting the heroes in New York was fun. I liked Ebony. His evangelical speeches didn’t do anything for me but I liked the way he talked – calm, refined and articulate. But the way he uses his telekinesis was very cool and highly effective.
Cull Obsidian was pretty good. I liked that he wasn’t just like brawler-type and that they gave him some tech to work with especially his hammer which gave him ranged attacks.
Cull Obsidian’s fight with Iron Man and Spider-Man was good but the action was a bit too fast and would have liked it if they slowed it a bit down to better digest and savor the battle.
What’s interesting (and funny) is Banner cannot transform into the Hulk because Hulk refuses to go out, even saying out loud “no!” in mid-transformation. With Hulk being more intelligent now, he seems to have acquired the notion of fear after being brutally beaten by Thanos.
Tony summoning the Iron Spider suit and saving Spider-Man was pretty cool. I wasn’t really enamored with the Iron Spider suit in the trailers but it has won me over especially seeing the spider-arms in action.
Strange’s Cloak of Levitation was once again very funny. It has its own personality like the magic carpet in Disney’s Aladdin.
It was mentioned that Ant-Man and Hawkeye are under house arrest. Both did not appear in this movie.
Cap’s entrance was very cool. It also felt like the film finally had a clear direction and purpose.
I liked Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. They were solid and formidable opponents.
The Guardians bit where the team, except for Quill, would fawn over Thor and Quill’s insecurities were funny. I just found it unnatural for Thor to be so cheerful when his people and stepbrother were just massacred.
Unlike in Age of Ultron, Thor’s side quest to forge a new weapon was both meaningful and entertaining. Peter Dinklage’s role is also revealed as an ironic giant dwarf who is the master forger.
With Groot giving part of his body as the ax handle, Thor gets a brand new weapon – Stormbreaker. I heartily approve. I’ve said in the past that Mjolnir looks a bit awkward when Thor swings it into action and that Thor needed a Stormbreaker-like weapon that has a very long handle.
Gamora plays a major part in the story as it is revealed that Thanos does love her. It was heartbreaking to see Thanos sacrificing her to get the Soul Stone.
The biggest surprise of the movie was the return of the Red Skull. After he was banished by the Tesseract, he sort of became the keeper for the Soul Stone. It’s still unclear if that was Hugo Weaving portraying the Skull or was it his voice.
The battle at Titan was epic. Star-Lord really impressed me with his fighting and tactical prowess. The Bleeding Armor was amazing. Also impressed with Tony's battle skills.
When they were in the middle of getting the glove off Thanos and Star-Lord was about to jeopardize the plan, if I were Tony, I would have zapped Star-Lord unconscious.
Dr. Strange also gave a good showing against Thanos. His shadow clone jutsu was very cool. And even though they tried to rationalize it, I still believe that Dr. Strange with the Eye of Agamotto/Time Stone would have been enough to defeat Thanos.
The battle at Wakanda was another epic moment. It’s a bit stupid the Wakandans didn’t employ ranged weapons against the Outriders but the battle is so spectacular you just go with it.
Thor arriving at Wakanda was goosebump-inducing and a great fantastic moment. Banner yelling to the enemy “you’re all screwed!” was also great.
Loved how Banner defeated Cull Obsidian without the Hulk’s help, who still had performance anxiety issues.
Thanos was clearly toying with Cap and the team as he could have easily overpowered all of them. He also knew he had the Time Stone to undo events if necessary.
So in the end, Thanos wins and kills half of the universe. My eyes got a bit teary-eyed when Peter Parker was dying. His pleas of “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go” hit me in the feels. (I know I know they're not really dead and will come back in Avengers 4)
I loved that the trailers used the "Cap and gang running hero shot" to fake us out. Hulk didn't even show up in Wakanda.
I think Shuri will revive the Vision. I think she had enough of his memory to put him back together. The question now is the new Vision going to be cold and robotic. And will Vision's new form be the white (or grey) version.
One of my daughters made an astute comment that if Thanos is omnipotent, why not just expand the universe or expand the resources so that no one goes hungry. I agree. Thanos’ imagination is so limited. Instead of killing half of the universe, he could magically cure most of its problems with the Gauntlet. She also had several theories and one of them is what if Thanos just created an alternate reality/universe where the other half of the population didn't die but just lived there.
In the post-credits scene, Nick Fury and Maria Hill turn to Ash. Before dying, Fury managed to activate his overgrown pager which showed the symbol for Captain Marvel. My brain is filled with so many questions. Is Captain Marvel confined in the quantum realm? How does she fit inside the Infinity War storyline.
I predict that at the end (or near the end) of the Captain Marvel movie that Carol Danvers will either fly off into space (or go in the Quantum Realm) and she will have a pager with her and she'll tell Nick Fury that if he/they need her, just page her.
They say Carol Danvers is going to be one of the most powerful beings in the MCU. So that's good news because they're going to need that extra firepower going up against Thanos in Avengers 4.
Kinda felt bad for the Asgardians. Half of their race was probably killed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. The refugees escaped Asgard’s destruction but only to die by the hands of Thanos and the Black Order.
With Heimdall killed by Thanos at the beginning, there goes one of the popular theories out of the window that Heimdall has the Soul Stone.
As expected, Loki died. At least he went out with honor trying to kill Thanos. Also debunked is the theory that Loki was the one who summoned Thanos at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.
Sif not part of Thor: Ragnarok turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to her. She would have been killed by Hela alongside the Warriors Three in Thor: Ragnarok. If by some chance she survived, she would have met her demise alongside the Asgardians by the hands of Thanos.
They didn’t show Valkyrie, Korg and Meek among the casualties. Hopefully they survived somehow.
Hulk versus Thanos was good but it wasn’t the epic brawl I was expecting. The actual fight was limited to a confined space and was all too brief. These two MCU behemoths deserved to duke it out in an open field where they can cut loose and all kinds of cool destructive moves take place.
Why didn’t Heimdall send Thor to Earth instead of the Hulk?
Hulk/Banner became the harbinger of doom in the film. In the Infinity Gauntlet comic book series, it was the Silver Surfer who was the messenger.
Wished they spent at least 5 minutes building up the arrival of the Black Order to Earth. There was no proper build-up. Banner shows up and warns the heroes, then a few minutes later the Black Order showed up.
Tony Stark and Dr. Strange bickering like children was a bit irksome because their conflict felt forced.
I got a laugh when Peter Parker asked Ned for a distraction and Ned shouts “We’re all going to die!” (which in the end is kinda true)
I inherently don’t like the concept of nanotech suits popping up out of thin air but damn, Iron Man’s Bleeding Edge suit is bad-ass. It’s so powerful that it could go toe-to-toe with Thanos for a short while.
Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian fighting the heroes in New York was fun. I liked Ebony. His evangelical speeches didn’t do anything for me but I liked the way he talked – calm, refined and articulate. But the way he uses his telekinesis was very cool and highly effective.
Cull Obsidian was pretty good. I liked that he wasn’t just like brawler-type and that they gave him some tech to work with especially his hammer which gave him ranged attacks.
Cull Obsidian’s fight with Iron Man and Spider-Man was good but the action was a bit too fast and would have liked it if they slowed it a bit down to better digest and savor the battle.
What’s interesting (and funny) is Banner cannot transform into the Hulk because Hulk refuses to go out, even saying out loud “no!” in mid-transformation. With Hulk being more intelligent now, he seems to have acquired the notion of fear after being brutally beaten by Thanos.
Tony summoning the Iron Spider suit and saving Spider-Man was pretty cool. I wasn’t really enamored with the Iron Spider suit in the trailers but it has won me over especially seeing the spider-arms in action.
Strange’s Cloak of Levitation was once again very funny. It has its own personality like the magic carpet in Disney’s Aladdin.
It was mentioned that Ant-Man and Hawkeye are under house arrest. Both did not appear in this movie.
Cap’s entrance was very cool. It also felt like the film finally had a clear direction and purpose.
I liked Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. They were solid and formidable opponents.
The Guardians bit where the team, except for Quill, would fawn over Thor and Quill’s insecurities were funny. I just found it unnatural for Thor to be so cheerful when his people and stepbrother were just massacred.
Unlike in Age of Ultron, Thor’s side quest to forge a new weapon was both meaningful and entertaining. Peter Dinklage’s role is also revealed as an ironic giant dwarf who is the master forger.
With Groot giving part of his body as the ax handle, Thor gets a brand new weapon – Stormbreaker. I heartily approve. I’ve said in the past that Mjolnir looks a bit awkward when Thor swings it into action and that Thor needed a Stormbreaker-like weapon that has a very long handle.
Gamora plays a major part in the story as it is revealed that Thanos does love her. It was heartbreaking to see Thanos sacrificing her to get the Soul Stone.
The biggest surprise of the movie was the return of the Red Skull. After he was banished by the Tesseract, he sort of became the keeper for the Soul Stone. It’s still unclear if that was Hugo Weaving portraying the Skull or was it his voice.
The battle at Titan was epic. Star-Lord really impressed me with his fighting and tactical prowess. The Bleeding Armor was amazing. Also impressed with Tony's battle skills.
When they were in the middle of getting the glove off Thanos and Star-Lord was about to jeopardize the plan, if I were Tony, I would have zapped Star-Lord unconscious.
Dr. Strange also gave a good showing against Thanos. His shadow clone jutsu was very cool. And even though they tried to rationalize it, I still believe that Dr. Strange with the Eye of Agamotto/Time Stone would have been enough to defeat Thanos.
The battle at Wakanda was another epic moment. It’s a bit stupid the Wakandans didn’t employ ranged weapons against the Outriders but the battle is so spectacular you just go with it.
Thor arriving at Wakanda was goosebump-inducing and a great fantastic moment. Banner yelling to the enemy “you’re all screwed!” was also great.
Loved how Banner defeated Cull Obsidian without the Hulk’s help, who still had performance anxiety issues.
Thanos was clearly toying with Cap and the team as he could have easily overpowered all of them. He also knew he had the Time Stone to undo events if necessary.
So in the end, Thanos wins and kills half of the universe. My eyes got a bit teary-eyed when Peter Parker was dying. His pleas of “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go” hit me in the feels. (I know I know they're not really dead and will come back in Avengers 4)
I loved that the trailers used the "Cap and gang running hero shot" to fake us out. Hulk didn't even show up in Wakanda.
I think Shuri will revive the Vision. I think she had enough of his memory to put him back together. The question now is the new Vision going to be cold and robotic. And will Vision's new form be the white (or grey) version.
One of my daughters made an astute comment that if Thanos is omnipotent, why not just expand the universe or expand the resources so that no one goes hungry. I agree. Thanos’ imagination is so limited. Instead of killing half of the universe, he could magically cure most of its problems with the Gauntlet. She also had several theories and one of them is what if Thanos just created an alternate reality/universe where the other half of the population didn't die but just lived there.
In the post-credits scene, Nick Fury and Maria Hill turn to Ash. Before dying, Fury managed to activate his overgrown pager which showed the symbol for Captain Marvel. My brain is filled with so many questions. Is Captain Marvel confined in the quantum realm? How does she fit inside the Infinity War storyline.
I predict that at the end (or near the end) of the Captain Marvel movie that Carol Danvers will either fly off into space (or go in the Quantum Realm) and she will have a pager with her and she'll tell Nick Fury that if he/they need her, just page her.
They say Carol Danvers is going to be one of the most powerful beings in the MCU. So that's good news because they're going to need that extra firepower going up against Thanos in Avengers 4.
