Saber Forum

PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE SHOW.

“I hope they remember you.”

Over the past 116 years of cinema there are certain movies, inventions and conventions that stand out and forever leave their mark on the landscape. Whether that be the introduction of sound to movies, so audiences could finally here actors speak, the creation on CGI that allows creators to put anything they can imagine one screen, or a movie like Jaws that is solely responsible for the definition “blockbuster” and also the summer movie season we are so used to.

In recent years, one could make a good case for the “cinematic universe”. Since it’s successful inception with Ironman in 2008, Marvel Studios has achieved something that traditional movie making commentators said was impossible. And while an argument can be made that not every MCU movie has been a runaway success, they have yet to make something wholly terrible. Meanwhile, other studios have tried (in some cases multiple times) to replicate the cinematic universe formula that Marvel introduced. However, Marvel seems to be the only studio to have the magic formula to ensure a combined cinematic universe works, engages fans, creates new fans and raises everyones anticipation for each new release time and time again.

From the time Nick Fury mentioned the Avengers Initiative in the Ironman post credit scene to Thanos smiling at the camera at the end of the first Avengers, all roads have been leading to this new movie.

Can Avengers Infinity War do the impossible and successfully combine every Marvel superhero in one film? Can the MCU produce a villain worthy of such heroic opposition? Will this movie be the one when Marvel Studios finally stumbles?
 
THE STORY
Two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Thanos, the mad Titan arrives on Earth to collect the infinity stones for a gauntlet that will allow him to bend reality to his will. The Avengers must join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop him before his onslaught of destruction puts an end to half the universe.

OVERALL OPINION
WOW! Just wow.

I tried going into this movie by tempering my expectations, just in case Marvel were unable to pull off the amazing feat of combining eighteen heroes in one film. I know the Russo’s did an amazing job with Captain America: Civil War, but this is something else. The culmination of 10 years worth of storytelling and set-up for supposedly the biggest badass bad guy any Marvel character has ever fought against. Despite my attempts, I was giddy with excitement sat in the cinema. And……I was not disappointed.

Having only come out of the movie an hour ago, its hard for me to say where this movie places in the MCU right now. However, I will say that it is a very different Marvel movie to any we’ve had so far. Yes there are still jokes (which land 9 times out of 10), but they do not in any way undercut any of the dramatic moments. The action is epic in scale and the interactions between characters (the audience) has seen before meeting new people brings up just as many exciting outcomes as one might have hoped for.

This movie is different, however, as it is essentially Thanos’ movie and is almost told from his point of view. I do not mean to say that the heroes are sidelined. Far from it. But throughout the movie the Russo brothers do an amazing job of fully fleshing out this character and his backstory, so you understand his motivations, while simultaneously fully understanding the threat he represents.

It is really hard talking about this movie without giving anything away. However, I will say that I was not disappointed with the story telling, character interaction or how the film ended. While we have seen several “team-up” movies already (two Avengers movies, Justice League), this is the first “event” comic book movie. As in, massive, galaxy spanning crossover event featuring multiple characters all fighting towards the same goal. Stop Thanos. There are some surprises along the way too that made me squee (in a manly way of course). And the ending……just WOW!

THE PERFORMANCES
DUE TO THE SHEER NUMBER OF ACTORS IN THIS MOVIE I SHALL NOT BE COMMENTING ON THEM ALL. Mainly because after 10 years, we all know how great these actors are in their roles as the heroes. Instead, I shall focus on the villains, as this is an area that Marvel has received consistent criticism for in the past (weak, throwaway villains).

Josh Brolin - Thanos
Between this, Deadpool 2 and the sequel to Sicario, Josh Brolin is having a hell of a year. Despite being a mo-cap character you truly believe that Thanos is real; in the same way Andy Serkis brought Gollum to life, Josh Brolin imbues this character with life, nuance and subtly. He is not the loud brash villain some may expect, which makes his all the more menacing.

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor - Ebony Maw
Part of the Black Order, he is the most talkative of the order and the one seen threatening Dr Strange in the trailer. Despite his thin demeanour he is a real threat and all his scenes are terrific. He also seems to be the most sycophantic of the group when Thanos is around.

Terry Notary - Cull Obsidian
Another part of the Black Order, he could be described as “the muscle”. He is a hulking presence (no pun intended) whose physical threat really manages to affect our heroes in battle.

Carrie Coon - Proxima Midnight
Part of the Black Order, the British actress gives this character a deadly air of superiority. Every time she’s on screen you worry for the safety of our heroes.

Michael James Shaw - Corvus Glaive
Final member of the Black Order, he is most often seen with Proxima Midnight and is just as deadly. Not many lines, but still a huge threat.

OTHER STUFF

The Action
As always, the action is great with some of the set-pieces managing to be different, unique, fun and thoroughly engaging.

The CGI
Marvel knows how to use their budget wisely and the three main locations (Wakanda and Space) look amazing. The CGI characters are totally believable and the suits for Ironman and Spiderman look particularly wonderful. One shot towards the end looked a little wonky, but otherwise everything was on point.
 
The Pacing
At 2h 40 mins, this is by far the longest MCU movie to date and it flies by. The movie wastes no time getting into the story and it does a good job of spending sufficient time within each location without you wanting to leave or wishing you were somewhere else.
 
Musical Score
I’m not someone who usually notices the score in films unless they are really epic and standout. For the most part, I would say it’s the standard rousing Marvel score. Not bad, but nothing that really stood out for me

Post Credit Scenes?
Of course. This is Marvel after all and they have trained audiences well to expect a little bit of a tease for the future. However, unlike the more recent MCU movies, there is only one post-credit scene. Is it a good one? You’ll have to watch and decide for yourself. (but I thought it was AMAZING)

Cameos
Apart from Stan the Man (of course), there is one MAJOR cameo and two minor ones. That’s all I’m saying.

FINAL VERDICT

If you have been following Marvel on this incredible journey over the past 10 years then this movie will not disappoint you. It is not a faithful adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet run in the comics, but is more akin to what Marvel has done with over movies; take certain elements from the comic book and weave a new story from it to fit the film medium. Comic book fans will love it. MCU fans will love. General public who have seen all or most of the MCU movies will definitely enjoy it. I just hate that I have to wait a full year for the story to continue.

If I did have one gripe, its that due to the sheer number of heroes and scope of the tale they are telling, some people get less to do than others. No-one is wasted, but I felt I wanted a little more time for some characters to shine. But then again, that’s what the individual movies are for.

My Score: 9.6/10    
Rotten Tomatoes rating - 87% (critics)  98% (audience)
(at time of writing)

Thank you  ;D !

I've read enough of your reviews to now know for sure that I have to find a way to see that movie in cinema.
Though considering my tight schedule I'm still pondering how I could pull that off ;)

Thank you Greywolf. It's nice to hear that you enjoy reading my reviews and place some value in them.

As I said in the review, if you're a fan of comic books, Marvel and the MCU then you simply HAVE to see this movie on the big screen. You will laugh and shout and gasp and be stunned come the end of it.

Agreed with Greywolf.  I always look foreword to your reviews Knox,  I have to wait till Sunday to see it since that is the only off day I share with my Wife.  So its a social media Blackout for me until then.

Thanks DT. Seriously, it really means a lot to know that people like my reviews that much. I only started doing them as a bit of fun and wasn't sure if people really liked them or not. Now that I know this I shall continue doing them.

Also, just saw this and couldn't help but laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ymBk6Vb04

It had everything in it that I look for in a well written story. It really was like reading through a big comic event and in that respect I felt they did an exemplary job of weaving together all of the threads into a beautiful cinematic tapestry.

 Thank you Darth Knox! I recently discovered your reviews. I came on today hoping you had seen Infinity war and done a review.
I'm giving your reviews an 11 out of 10. :)

Thank you Gar. I'm glad you enjoy reading my reviews.

Saw the movie today and going by your scale I would only give it a 5. I won't give my reasons why.

I enjoyed the new Deadpool 2 trailer before the movie better then I did the movie.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

The Deadpool 2 trailer is awesome (Peter is my new favourite character).

If you're willing, PM me as i'd be interested to know your reasons for giving it a 5. No judgement (as all movies are subjective) but you are the first person I have seen give it such a low score.

I am in the same mind as Knox.  Its certainly your choice to not share your opinion, but don't worry about judgement from those of us who liked it.  Dissenting opinions are always welcome as long as they are delivered in a respectful manner.

I PMed him. But really a way for me to explain without giving some of it away.

It's not a big deal, wasn't trying to high jack his thread.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

You didn't hijack the thread. This isn't the "Avengers: Infinity War appreciation thread". You are completely entitled and welcome to voice your opinion (even if I disagree with you). That's how interesting conversations start.

*Smacks head* of course!  Spoilers...I forget people care about that.   Well, lets remedy that...


http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=38763.0

EPIC! That is all. 😁😁

Finally went to see this, being a fan of the comic books, this was an awesome movie in my opinion.  Even though I knew what the ending should be, still didn't expect them to pull it off this well.  Excellent movie, really developed Thanos well and even as a stand alone, it was satisfying although can't wait for the sequel. 

From my experience, I never thought that they ever did any of the villains justice.  Loki failed time and time again, Whiplash was decent but his character arc left a lot to be desired.  Ronan was the most intriguing one to me, I would like to know more about his history.   Malekith was like a galactic Freddy Kruger to me, Darren Cross was just a pissed off intern, Dormammu didn't really have a lot of time for me to know if he was a good villain or not, Ultron could of been a pretty unbeatable foe like in the comics where he replicates himself so he would just have to download himself to other bodies that he's built but that obviously didn't happen.  I didn't care for Abomination much and Ego was a bastard so he was a decent villain but met his demise.  I want to see more of the Grandmaster though, the MCU shows his weirdness and all, Hela was wicked but was killed during Ragnarok and it was more so of her having daddy issues than wanting power or to rule.  Red Skull was a good villain so it was refreshing to see him again even though he's a completely different character at this point.  Erik Killmonger was more of an anti-hero who had valid ideologies but I don't think that we'll see the last of him if the MCU is following the comics for him.  Vulture, now, this guy was a bad ass.  He did the big things on his own and had his minions distribute his illegal arms to the streets.

Now to Thanos.  The baddest of the baddest.  From all of the teasers on Thanos, until Infinity Wars, one can only speculate how he's going to take down all the heroes in the MCU and did he!  His fight with the Hulk in the beginning shows the audience that he's no stranger to handling things on his own and from what Ebony Maw mentioned, he enjoys it.  If this guy can scare the Hulk into turning into Bruce after being the Hulk for over two years, then his a formidable foe indeed.  Guy even sacrificed the daughter that he truly loves given that he truly doesn't really care about anyone minus Lady Death in the comics. 

I'm going to agree 100% on Vulture.  I loved the character and Michael Keaton played him to perfection.  MCU has gotten a bit of a reputation for not doing good villains, so it was refreshing to see one that was a credible threat and just well done.

I have to disagree a bit on Loki.  I have enjoyed the character development of Loki over the several films he was appeared in, but I think the problem is that Loki walks the line between a villian and an anti-hero.  He's just ... unprincipled.  He is chaos.  Which, in the end, is the essence of Loki.  Like he says in the very first film: "I was just having a bit of fun, ruining my brother's big day."  No deep nefarious plot to take over, just ... misguided mischievousness.  Since then he's been a King - and a prisoner, and he feels like he was robbed of his birth-right (which he was) and deserves a throne (which he does not).  But he's always fun ... which makes him a great antagonist, if not a great villain.

And that's the MCU key, I think: They have great CHARACTERS.  They might not be what we expect or the true essence of what they are 'supposed' to be, but they're still excellent characters and watching them interact is always a lot of fun.

This dove-tails into one of my main problems with the last couple of SW films.  The SW characters are NOT great characters.  And without great characters you simply cannot sustain a good story.

I agree with you on Loki, Karmack.  I was just speaking on his "villain" side of things although he is an anti-hero like Killmonger is.    Loki's the character that you hated at first but have grown to love throughout the movies, he's definitely Thor's brother giving him a hard time and ruining his day.