Avengers: Infinity War

I must say that building up a film for ten years, although rocky at the start and arguably “just get the job done” quality throughout, was not only a profitable investment, but one that left me dumbfounded. For the first two hours and ten minutes I was filled with joyous adrenaline with no hint for where the story would take me next. I heard rumors of theaters crying for some scenes and bursting with laughter minutes later, and I ignored them thinking, why would this film be any different from the rest? I am so glad I was wrong.

There were too many characters to dissect every one, but personally I thought Thor, the relationship between Vision and Scarlett Witch, and the Guardians of the Galaxy characters were stellar. Thor’s journey oozed with power as he turned his loss into strength to be better than ever; Vision and Scarlett Witch felt real when they had to sacrifice for each other; and the sense of Peter Quill still being a child shined in every scene when he burst with uncontrollable emotion. Chris Pratt acts his heart out for this purpose, and when the spotlight was on him, I knew the situation was going to veer off from the plan. Although I found a more human touch with Peter Quill’s development, the relationship between Thanos and Gamora was the best part of the story. Not only did it flesh out the antagonist’s perspective and character, but it also gave an organic stage for their backstory. The interactions between Doctor Strange and Tony Stark were very well done, especially when Spider Man came in for a childish perspective against the witty banter. The best part of all of these characters were the mistakes they made every step of the way. This is how a film should be: the characters constantly make mistakes, and they pay for it with something that changes them forever. Each story bounced between mistake after mistake, and it was breathtaking how well it was executed. Impressively, the character with the most mistakes and sacrifices was the one we knew the least about.

Josh Brolin as Thanos… was amazing. The first scene he was in made me want the actor to be a UFC or WWE fighter turned actor— not someone like the Rock, but maybe someone like John Cena— because every punch he throws was felt in the cushions of my seat. His power exploded off the screen, and his emotions, aspirations, and speeches all flowed through the CGI muscles for a fantastic performance of a memorable antagonist. The choices he made through his development outweighed the choices of every individual character he was beating into the ground, and the struggle he endured was real from opening logo to the credits. The build up almost seemed like a red herring, my image of what his character would be was dissolved after the large purple freak began talking, and when he showed the audience the reason why he was doing these unspeakable things, I did not doubt it for a second.

The ending may seem abrupt to most people in the audience, in my theater it definitely did, but it was the perfect wrap up for the two-and-a-half runtime that offers up the accumulated energy for the sequel. The one fault that pulled me away from the film was sadly, and understandably, in the last twenty minutes. The uncountable number of writers showed everything behind every curtain with expert splendor, but now I know everything. “What happens next?” was not a question bouncing through my brain when I walked out of the theater. I may not know every decision for each scene, but I have a clear enough outline that is holding me back from buying the tickets for the next show.

Overall, you need to watch this film in theaters. The screen exploded with new colors, and with each note, the score resonated with your emotions. Not only was the film itself better with the theater set up, the audience also added so much through their energy. Some characters came in, take Thor for an example, and all the girls screamed because it was Chris Hemsworth, and then the writers went with that reaction for the jokes, stating that he is the son of a space pirate and an angel; the jokes were ten times their worth when fifty people were reacting to them around me. I knew the hype surrounding this film, but this time it actually held true. For me, it was neither the most ground breaking film nor the most spectacular film I saw this year—Annihilation was— but it was a sight to behold and, to put it simply, marvel.

P.S. There was a fight scene in this film with only women, just four female actresses giving everything they have into the choreography and performance, and the film reveals it like it was common place. It did not shove it down my throat screaming “This is important!”; it let me see it with my own eyes and revel in its uniqueness. Also, it was one of the better fight scenes because most of it was live action (one of the female characters was CGI.)

Story Rating: 9/10

Character Rating: 9/10