QR Film Reviews: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War is the latest cosmic superhero blockbuster rom Marvel. The 19th film released under the Marvel Studios banner in their tenth year, Infinity War is the culmination of a decade’s worth of world building and storytelling.

Avengers: Infinity War hits the ground running and save a few key moments never really stops. The film depicts the banding together of the different heroes of the marvel universe, from Avengers to guardians of the Galaxy to combat the mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin). Thanos who has been resigned to post credits and cameos prior to this seeks to unite the infinity stones with the Infinity Gauntlet to grant himself omnipotent power which he intends to use to wipe out half the population of the universe.

The cast of this film is a star studded roll call of the heavy hitters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Cumberbatch’s Dr Strange, Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Evans’ Captain America and Tom Holland’s Spider-man are some of the more prominent players in this story but they do not even account for half of this film’s featured cast. Given the mammoth plot and gargantuan cast it would be easy to assume this film would buckle under its own weight much like Raimi’s Spider-man 3 did. 

In reality the film easily juggles up to 5 different inter-woven plot threads each featuring a handful of featured characters. The film establishes a number of core teams of our favourite characters, each fighting Thanos on different fronts. As the film jumps across the galaxy and the globe it never feels jarring or hectic. Each scene and its characters are given ample time to breath. The film runs at 2 Hours and 36 Minutes long and this never drags or feels like a chore. The film hits the ground running and never really slows down.

This is in large part due to the villain of the piece. Thanos played by a CG-assisted Josh Brolin provides the film with a clear focus and goal. He wants the infinity stones and the heroes seek to stop him. As a character he is more powerful and deadly than any previous MCU villain, something set out in a chilling opening scene. This opening sequence sets the stakes for this film, Thanos is a legitimate threat and no character is safe. Throughout the film he comes across as force of nature thanks to a combination of Brolins’ booming delivery, an excellent script and some truly physical special effects. 

On the other hand as the film progresses we learn about his motivations and history, we begin to see Thanos as a sympathetic, if somewhat misguided character. A scene toward the final third of the film perfects sums up how far he will go to achieve his aims and just how much this affects him. 

Throughout the film Thanos speaks of balancing the universe it is notable then just how much of a well-balanced character he is. Without the focus of such a nuanced Villain a film of this scale would certainly struggle.

While not a direct adaptation of any one story the film draws heavily on aspects of 1985’s The Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin & Johnathon Hickman’s 2013 Infinity. From this 2013 story comes the Black order. Disciples of Thanos who act as the story’s secondary antagonists. They all come across as legitimate threats, although the conclusion of some of their stories may leave some viewers wanting. The Ebony Maw in particular is a character the film presents as all powerful and extremely interesting but never does much to further explore this character.

In a cast this big it is to be expected that not all of the most prominent avengers will get their moment in the spotlight, Black Panther never truly has any stand out moments for example. There are still highlights in the cast and script. The banter between Spiderman, Strange, Star-Lord (Pratt) and Iron Man throughout the film is a constant highlight and provides great comedic relief in light of such a grave story. Moments like these speak to why the film works so well, all of the heroes are likable and relatable in some way or another as such when they are put at risk in this film, we feel for these characters.

The effects throughout the film are astonishing, bar a few minor hiccups here and there everything is convincing and suitably fantastical, especially in relation to Thanos. You never believe he is anything other than a real physical force. Similarly the fight choreography especially in the heavily publicised Wakanda battle is intricate and intense. The Russo brothers have retained the smash-mouth physical style they exhibited din their MCU debut – The Winter Soldier- but have scaled it up to a level rarely seen on film.

As a whole the film succeeds, naturally given the sheer scope and size of the story and the cast there are flaws with different characters getting screen time and how certain characters don’t interact. Leading up to the release of the first avengers in 2012 much was made of how the different characters would interact with each other. Now there are too many to even entertain the idea of everyone having a moment together. 

The film is fantastic and well worthy of its colossal opening weekend. I would recommend anyone who comes out of a screening disheartened or dissatisfied to bear in mind this is only the first part of one larger story. As its own film I would recommend it to everyone fans of the Marvel films will relish the decade built pay off while non-fans will enjoy one of the most finely crafted modern action films entirely deserving of the mammoth returns being seen at the box office.

4.5/5 Stars

Run Time: 2 Hours 36 Minutes

By Sean Hughes