The 19th MCU film finally brings Thanos (Josh Brolin) front and center. The Mad Titan sets out to collect the six infinity stonesāthe most powerful items in the universeāwhich will allow him to carry out his fiendish plan. Five of those gems have appeared in previous MCU films and two still remain on Earth, which is going to bring him into conflict with The Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and just about everyone in those previous 18 films (which is way too many actors to list here).
I consider myself a fan of the MCU movies and think each one is good. ButĀ Avengers: Infinity War is not a movie. It is half a movie. And I donāt mean it is incomplete the way Star Wars flicks are, but the way Lord of the Rings films are. Watching Infinity War is like watching The Two Towers without knowing anything about The Return of the King. The audience audibly moaned when the credits popped up.
Except it is worse.
Why? Because Infinity War is about gathering six magic stones, one of which can rewrite reality, and another can rewind time. That means until we are done, absolutely nothing is determined, and we are not done. Did a battle happen? Maybe. Maybe not. Did a character die? Maybe. Maybe not. No decision, no action, and no result are permanent. Nothing that happened in 149 minutes is set, and more than that, you will know for certain that at least part of this film will be undone. So nothing means anything and nothing has weight.
So, is Avengers: Infinity War good? I donā know. And I wonāt know until the untitled Infinity War Part 2 comes out next year. The best that I can say is that it is generally a lot of fun while watching. The action is well choreographed and thereās a lot of it. There are many funny moments (particularly with Thor), and the character interactions are enjoyable. So as a theme park ride, I recommend it. As an artistic creation, Iāll tell you later.
This is the most ācomic bookā of the MCU films: everything is bright and shiny and fast. Thereās no time spent on slow development or movement or anything that isnāt part of the larger racing story. Characters say they should go to Place-B; next time they pop up on screen they are in Place-B. Multiple romantic relationships are presented as fait accompli. There is easily six hours more of this movie that we donāt see, containing what happened between the scenes. Iād have liked some of that, but I admit this way, it isnāt boring. A couple characters make some silly decisions clearly just to move along the plotāfar too clearly as they aren’t hidden under explosions and punchesābut those are minor problems (for now, until I find out what is real). The only thing that took me out of the film was a lack of nudity. Yes, I can accept super magic rocks but I cannot accept that Thorās clothing doesn’t burn.
I felt cheated at the end. I rushed out to see Infinity War to avoid spoilers without knowing that it couldnāt be spoiled as nothing really happens. It would have been far better to wait a year and watch it all together.
[Update after Avengers: Endgame] Well, that was no help. Endgame did not correct any of the flaws of Infinity War, except it did finish the story. Generally, it made things worse. Multiple previous MCU movies were twisted around, having their character development or message reversed or ignored in Infinity War, and Endgame doubled down on that. The combined two part movie is lackluster and a weak finale to the original Avengers. The uncertain moments in Infinity War led to nothing of interest in Endgame. Finally, this franchise looks less like refreshing, exciting, fantasy pop art, and more like the giant ticking machine run by a mega-corporation that it is. Endgame, and thus, Infinity War, cannot even masquerade as being made for art or to tell a story. They were made to make money. Sure, movies generally are, but it’s nice if that’s a little less obvious, or at least if there is some secondary motivation visible.
Now with both finished, I rate Infinity War at 2Ā½-Reels, and only that high because it is a film that loses too much when taken to a smaller screen. If you haven’t seen it, chances are you won’t be able to in a theater, in which case, think of it more of a 2-Reel film, i.e. good enough for free TV, but not something worth buying.