Movie Review: "Avengers: Infinity War" Is Here to Break Hearts

Infinity War is a dark and satisfying superhero flick, full of death, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Avengers: Infinity War is 10 years and 19 films in the making (though I’m sure Marvel wishes they could use Doctor Strange’s Time Stone to spin back the clock on their second effort, The Incredible Hulk).

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (the latter-day Captain America helmers, taking over Avengers from Joss Whedon), it’s the culmination of an experiment never attempted in cinema until now, with more than 30 heroes from the past decade of blockbusters sharing—and sometimes fighting for—screen time.

It also has another, dubious honour: In the lead-up to release, it got us obsessed with the nasty business of guessing which heroes are most likely to be killed off. (Even my 12-year-old nephew knew Chris Evans’ contract was up when we were making our Infinity War dead pool.) The latest Avengers, for all intents and purposes, is a death march. And I thought Marvel movies were meant to be the fun ones?

Of course, Infinity War is fun, and it is a supremely satisfying almost-conclusion to the first three 'Phases' of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (no, they’re not done yet), with emotional depth and earned pathos.

But this strange sequel lacks the 'back to school' joy of the previous Avengers, which were hangout flicks that resolved with a giant brawl against aliens and/or robots. Age of Ultron at least had the scene in which everyone got wasted and competed to lift Thor’s hammer. Here, they're too busy grieving their dead friends to goof around. Which, I suppose, is fair enough.

Infinity War, written by Marvel regulars Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, pivots on the dimension-hopping Thanos (Josh Brolin, in purple CGI, burdened with a giant butt-chin), an intergalactic despot who wants to restore balance to the galaxy by committing genocide on overpopulated planets. He’s been doing it the old-fashioned way for eons, but, as has been teased throughout these last 19 Marvel entries, he’s trying to collect six 'Infinity Stones' that will fit his 'Infinity Gauntlet' and allow him to eradicate entire populations with the literal snapping of his fingers. (Don’t think about it too much.)

It’s up to the Avengers to stop him, in small working groups of four to six. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) teams up with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Peter Parker (Tom Holland), making you wish young Spidey had grown a bad goatee to fit in better with his smug new dads. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), having witnessed the slaughter of his Asgardians at Thanos’ oversized hands, is rescued in space by the Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, and the tree and the raccoon). And Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), suffering from Hulk-impotence, joins fugitives Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) also pledges his army to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), to keep Thanos from stealing an Infinity Stone from her boyfriend Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head.

Got it, everyone? Okay, break.

Infinity War is an epic on a grand scale unseen before in theatres, yet the shape of it will be familiar to watchers of Game of Thrones, Westworld and any other TV series with multiple locations, timelines and enough characters to claim a small nation unto themselves. By scattering its many stars across several storylines, it feels like one of Star Lord’s mixtapes rather than a cohesive whole, especially in the wake of the superb, standalone Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther. Still, whatta mixtape.

Over 149 minutes, you get flashes of the group-hang dynamics that have made the MCU stand-out from its DC contemporaries. These moments of humour are appreciated in contrast to the standard-issue fight sequences, which usually just involve punching, no matter how mystical the heroes and villains are.

Guardians of the Galaxy fans will be glad to know Infinity War plays like a direct-sequel to that franchise—with a lot of Thor and a final battle on Wakanda—thanks to its gorgeous space settings. Fittingly, the funny-now Thor and deadpan Drax (Bautista), deliver the biggest laughs. I would like to order a Dwayne Johnson/Jason Statham-style spin-off, please.

Then again, there really are no weak links in the main cast (except maybe Peter Dinklage, in an unfortunate supporting role), meaning the real champion of Infinity War is longtime Marvel casting director Sarah Finn, not to mention the line producers, who fixed this impossible shooting schedule. Elsewhere behind the scenes, the Russos fail to put their own personal stamp on the picture, tying multiple sagas into one mega-movie, but they do get marks for consistency, and for not overcooking the finale.

There’s no denying that much of Infinity War is a grim pageant to a highly disturbing ending, punctuated with murder throughout. At my screening, you could hear the gnashing of teeth and yelps of grief from the young audience, as the eyes of their beloved icons rolled back into their heads. It’s bold, and I appreciated its gravity and execution. However, the MCU’s (ironically) fatal flaw has always been its willingness to reset deaths. What I’m saying is, you should save your official mourning until the sequel, due out in 2019, before you start putting coins on the eyes of your figurines at home.

4/5

In cinemas now. Rated M for fantasy themes and violence.

Photo: Disney