The third Avengers film and the 19th (yeah…NINETEENTH!) installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a triumph of undertaking in scale and tenacity. It’s among the best comic books films ever made and the epitome of ten years of films that changed the foundations of blockbuster movies. It avoids the mistakes of the earlier Avengers films by establishing a genuine threat that invites audiences to empathize and share in the emotional whirlwinds which drive Avengers Infinity War down paths filled with dark patches, loss and death — even if our Internet-saviness informs us that many of the repercussions are likely to be undone in the next installment.
The cast from pretty much every single Marvel film returns. I won’t bore you with listing all of the main players (since the list would exceed 40 and I don’t have the will-power and patience to type Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemworth, etc and all of their respective character names), including the original Avenger cast, the new generation of Earth’s greatest superheroes, Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But I will spend time lauding the amazing amount of time afforded to each character — even with a running time of 160 minutes, directors Anthony and Joe Russo find opportunities to let most of the heroes shine and give our main baddie, Thanos, the screen-time to finally explain why he was so important and scary in all of those post-credit sequences.
Thanos (portrayed in CGI form by Josh Brolin) is Marvel’s best film villain! Hellbent on acquiring all six Infinity Stones, which would allow Thanos to kill half of the universe so the other half can live without fear of finite space, food and resources, Brolin injects Thanos with an incredible amount of humanity and conviction.
The characters that seem lost in the mix are the Earth-bound Avengers including Chris Evans as Captain America who’s basically relegated to exchanging punches and issuing commands to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle) and his bromantic partner, The Winter Solider (Sebastian Stan) while they defend Wakanda (including Marvel’s new darling, Black Panther portrayed again from Chadwick Boseman) from Thanos’s army of monsters, who are hellbent on acquiring Vision’s (Paul Bettany) Infinity Stone.
Fairing much better is Tony Stark’s Iron Man, Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and Holland’s Spider-Man who travel through space in a desperate attempt to stop Thanos in his tracks. But, the most fun comes from the most unlikeliest of teams: the Guardians of the Galaxy and…Thor!
If there is one character who suffers from schizophrenia it’s Chris Pratt’s Starlord whose goofballish antics are taken to ’11’ when Thor’s unconscious body is brought onboard the Guardian’s ship. Pratt’s overacting comes as across as he nervously and jeolously attempts to subdue Thor as he impresses Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) who has two of the film’s best laugh-out-loud moments.
But Pratt’s weird character stray is forgivable since most of the humor works incredibly well and helps the film’s incredible length feel like a gift rather than a chore. Even Thor’s incredibly long quest to craft a new hammer that can defeat Thanos feels gratifying rather than anchored to plot-service because of all interplay that exists because characters from disparate universes. If you ever wanted to know what Rocket would have to say to the Winter Soldier, then you are in luck!
The Russos have proven to best the auters for the material. After three films, they continue to find ways of installing a sense of verisimilitude into a universe that is one Rocket-hair from being utterly ridiculous. Despite the levity, the Russos maintain a sense of danger and legitimacy even during the most outlandish scenes, which jump between one incredible world and universe from another.
I watched Avengers 3 with the kind of awe I have not experienced since, perhaps, the first Lord of the Rings film from 2001 when I routinely was wowed by the scope and organic combination of so many elements. The Russos have mastered the art of transferring the intricate details of the comics and splashing them onto the big screen. There’s a moment when Thanos fights various heroes in which I marveled (no pun intended) at the sheer magnitude and ingenuity. It’s clear that thousands of CGI artists were courted here and the creative juices which make Doctor Strange’s bout with our main villain can not be justly represented in this review. It simply has to be witnessed and experienced first hand.
I watched Avengers 3 within a week after re-viewing Justice League and the comparison only illuminates how incredible one film achieved so much despite the pressures of a Hollywood system and the limits of budget and time. Avengers 3 is a Hollywood blockbuster made with passion and detail. The battles alone are worth the price of admission and dance circles around anything in the latter film. But the sense of scope and attention to character, motivation and plot are better here than in most Marvel films from the past.
The elephant in the room — and the only major flaw to be found here — is Infinity War’s ending (which I won’t dare spoil here). But I will say that Infinity War is the darkest film in the franchise, which involves loss, sacrifice and death. The dour note of the film’s conclusion (which sets up events for part 4 coming next year) is undermined by the fact that studio influence and agendas simply won’t allow certain events to remain in play indefinitely. I exited the theater knowing very well that various damages will be repaired within the year. And it’s a shame that I didn’t have the same inquisitive worry that I felt after watching Empire Strikes Back for the first time. Now, we live in a world consumed by Internet and corporate film culture that predicates future events. I remember walking into Star Wars: The Last Jedi and telling my friends that Rey and Luke won’t turn to the Dark Side because corporate Disney would never, ever allow it! I was right, of course, but I also know what changes await in Marvel and what plots and characters will remain in play for the next phase. In other words, I know the world of Marvel will be just fine — thanks in part to the great minds that have kept their ship riding true for ten years!
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