Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Directed by: Anthony & Joe Russo
Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo

The opening scene of Infinity War sets Thanos up as a threat. Not only does he smack The Hulk around, but he kills both Heimdall and Loki before destroying the Asguardian ship. And this is before he starts collecting the Infinity Stones. One question I had is why it's taken him so long to start searching for them. Thanos has been a looming threat since the first Avengers, and all of a sudden he proactively hunts down the stones. He's always been a threat, and he's always been formidable, but it seems that this accelerated timeline is just for the sake of Thanos finally getting off his throne and showing us what these films have been building him up to be. I think it only half works.

The draw of Infinity War is seeing all of the Marvel characters finally come together and play off one another. To see the Guardians of the Galaxy trade quips with Thor and Tony Stark, to see Dr. Strange trade quips with Tony Stark. Stark is kind of the centerpiece of the movie. I don't know if I'm projecting my own lack of enjoyment but it feels that the characters don't seem like themselves. There's so much of James Gunn in the Guardians, and after Taiki Watiti leading Thor in a new direction, the characterization feels flat. Mind you, there's a lot going on in this film so the characters aren't given the time they need to be themselves, but even their base motivations and one-liners, seem off.

Let's discuss Thanos' motivation. Seeing that he ends this first of a two part movie victorious, it would make sense for the audience to understand where he's coming from. The prime conflict of the movie is one life verses the lives of the many. It's illustrated through Dr. Strange telling Tony Stark and Peter Parker that if it comes to it, he will sacrifice their lives to protect the time stone, for no single life is as important as half the lives of the universe. Later he sacrifices the time stone to save Tony's life. Before he disappears himself, Dr. Strange mentions that it had to be this way. Earlier he used the time stone to see all the permutations of the future to find a way through. This suggests to me that he found out that not only was saving Tony Stark's life important, but letting Thanos enact his plan as well. This is a comic book movie after all. It wouldn't be too difficult to bring back everyone killed through the power of the stones.

Thanos believes that only by destroying half the life in the universe can it be saved. He saw his own planet destroyed through over population and decided that he had the will to enact genocide on a grand scale to stop this happening to others. It's kind of a silly plan because it only prolongs that which he's trying to prevent. Given enough time, the populations will reach breaking point again, and such an act would need to be repeated. Because Thanos believes that no life is ultimately important, he is able to sacrifice his daughter Gamora to retrieve the soulstone. It hurts him, but he continues on his quest. I thought perhaps that great a sacrifice might lead him to have doubts on inflicting the pain he feels on so many others, but that is not explored. In the end he wipes out half the life in the universe, including many of the heroes before the movie ends.

I wonder if my dislike of the film will be changed once part 2 comes out. Viewed as a whole, Infinity War might resonate more, but after that first sequence it was all downhill for me. I was engaged superficially as the plot kept moving forward but sadly the film wasn't able to make me care. I wasn't emotionally invested.

Personal enjoyment: ★★★