Big Marvel fan boy here and although I may have been
critical of some of the films in the past, this review will no doubt be full of
bias but most importantly: it will be SPOILER FREE. We’re just going to jump
straight into things, if you’re a fan you already know the basic premise, if
you’re not then a bad space guy is coming and it’s going to take all the
superheroes to stop him. It’s 10 years and 18 films in the making… So, what did
I think of Avengers: Infinity War?
This is not a film. It is a comic book come to life on the
big screen. Everything about it, the tone, the structure and the fantastical
mythology made me feel like a child again. It reminded me of the first time I
saw Iron Man in the cinemas - the awe
of seeing the Nick Fury even tease The
Avengers - I never expected this would happen ten years later. I was so
blown away by it all, it makes me a tad emotional just thinking about it.
And breathe…
It’s important to recognise that, just because this film
blew my little nerd mind, does not mean that it will for everyone else. It’s
very long and if you’re not invested by the time the Marvel logo rolls then you’re
going to find it exhausting. It breaks so many of the ‘usual’ parameters of
what a film should be, it’s pure entertainment made for the one audience that Marvel
has spent ten years building. This is not like The Avengers where you could jump in fresh and still understand
everything going on, this is a film with 18 prequels, some more essential than
others but all hold something that rewards us fanboys in the endgame.
This film is an epic, its story sprawls through the galaxy; the
Marvel universe has never felt so big and comic-book-y. And boy does it feel
like a comic book. Our heroes are split into different groupings across the
galaxy and each group has quite a lot of time at once given to them, to the
point where one group may not be seen again for another thirty minutes. To some
this may be jarring. To me it felt like each segment was an issue of a comic
book, each book bringing the characters closer and closer together until they
are all impacting the story at once. The glue of this particular story; Thanos.
Marvel have had their problems with villains before but here
they give more time to him than most of our villains. His plan may be typically
evil sounding but you really get the sense that he has to do this, rather than
just wanting to. Thanos takes his mission as a burden but ultimately sees
himself as the good guy. And unlike most fully CG villains, you believe it. This
was helped by the fact that he looks incredible, he’s imposing and you really
feel like he’s a threat to your heroes whenever he appears on screen. He may
not be as charismatic or make us feel as empathetic as others but he truly is
one of Marvels best villains. The stakes feel pretty real in this one.
This the first film by Marvel to be fully filmed on IMAX cameras
and it shows. IMAX cameras are super high quality and the end result in Infinity War is a really crisp and clear
picture, where the colours pop and the CG work (for the most part) is very
photorealistic. Added with iconic Avengers score from Alan Silvestri, the sense
of scale is truly represented and really makes this film feel like the event it
is.
Unless this is the first time reading you’re reading this
blog, you know I’m a massive Spider-Man fan; so I’d thought I’d say something
about his presence in the film. Marvel continues to make decisions with
Spider-Man that don’t always sit well with me. He should have been my favourite
character in this film by default but he was not. I enjoyed his part to play
but he is still not ‘my’ Spider-Man and yes that Iron Spider suit is still
ugly. He has his moments, there’s some great action beats with him and few
lines that definitely felt like Peter Parker but the characters I enjoyed most
in this film were probably Thanos, Thor, Rocket, Bruce Banner, Gamora and
Doctor Strange. That being said, every character gets a moment - even if it’s
one action beat or a cool line of dialogue - your favourite character gets something
cool to do. The character interactions are great and the unlikely pairings are
amazing to behold, even if there aren’t as many quiet moments where we can just
see our characters relaxing together like in previous team up films.
As you can tell I was very blown away by this film, not just
at the characters coming together but for the sheer scale, scope and
awesomeness of the story. I recognise it’s not for everyone but it wasn’t made
for a general audience. It was made for people like me and it is not ashamed to
be that; a big nerdy comic book movie. This felt like the first time a comic
book had been properly visually represented on the big screen and I could not
have been happier with the results. I had high expectations and they were
exceeded. Marvel have made a film I never thought I would see and it made me so
happy, I cannot stop thinking about it. It’s pure enjoyment and I’m rating Avengers: Infinity War a 5/5.
Make mine Marvel.
Let me know what you thought of this film in the comments
below.
Thanks for reading!
