Was anyone else scrolling through Twitter and came across the thread of Robert Downey Jr. talking with Marvel? Well, that conversation occurred on Robert Downey Jr.'s birthday; and, as a gift, he asked Marvel for an earlier release date for Infinity War. Now, was that really all that went into the decision to release it on April 27th instead of May 4th? Very doubtful. Even so, I have two reactions to that decision. Firstly, I think Marvel should know that releasing a movie the weekend before finals week is quite cruel. It delayed my review post by a solid week. However, after seeing it twice, it just seems wrong to complain that I didn't have to wait an extra week to see it.
There's so much that goes into this movie, so let's just dive right in. I've seen all of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)--all 19--and there is a seemingly unanimous decision among fans that Infinity War is the best MCU movie to date. That seemed like a pretty bold statement to me, even after seeing it. That said, after a second viewing, further exploration of older MCU movies, and a whole lot of compare-and-contrast mental battles, I'd say it's an accurate statement. But before you accuse me of following the herd, hear me out.
A common criticism (that I happen to agree with) of Marvel movies is the lack of a memorable villain. Come to think of it, that's a fixable issue in several Hero's Journey movies. Think about it. Even Voldemort isn't very smart. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Infinity War's arguably best achievement is that it demonstrates that the MCU has finally featured Thanos. He is a villain that is complex, exciting, and actually intelligent. Furthermore, his motivation and character is sufficiently explored, allowing him to separate himself from the pack of shallow space villains Marvel so frequently presents. In some ways, you can't help but sympathize with him. They say the best villains are the ones who believe they are in the right, which is a characteristic of which Thanos expertly taps into. Lastly, even though he is entirely CGI, the excellence of Josh Brolin is not overlooked. It's not a role meant to please critics, but his acting ability is far from unrepresented. In some ways, you could say he's portraying an anti-hero, which is something super hero movies rarely accomplish successfully.
Infinity War ventures into far more emotional and dramatic territory than any of its predecessors. Granted, it is still a super hero movie, so don't set your expectations too high. I'm simply making an "in comparison" comment rather than a blanket one. That said, it was really interesting to see a super hero movie that represents a certain level of depth and philosophical question.
On the same note, I can finally say that we finally have a Marvel movie that does what nobody thought it would do. For the sake of remaining spoiler-free (if you're one of the five people that still hasn't seen this movie), I'll simply say that Infinity War has an ending that you'd never see coming. Unless you're one of the avid readers of the comics, that is. I can't personally say how close it is to the comics, but if you've only seen the movies, you have definitely not seen an ending like this. Although, for those of you who have seen it, simple research will reveal that some of the final events will not be permanent. Some, but not all.
Even though it's a Marvel movie that breaches into new territory, it still uses their formula. I can't be too upset about that, though; because, frankly, their formula works quite well for them. I don't know how many billions of dollars this franchise has made, but they nobody personifies, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" like Marvel does.
There's one aspect of Infinity War that I love and hate. My concern walking into it was that it would simply be just too much. I mean, there are over 20 protagonists in this movie, and that's not counting the characters that were introduced for the first time. There are a bunch of characters in this movie, and I thought there was going to be no way they could provide ample screen time for all of them. Well, I was both correct and incorrect. There were several characters that were rarely seen, and others who were integral. In some ways, I felt like there were too many characters, but they couldn't have made this movie without all of them. I liked that most of the screen time was spent with the best characters, so that predicament was handled well.
I'm willing to grant validity to the claim that there was arguably too much going on; but, considering how much the studio had to work with, Infinity War was probably the best that it could have been. It is over two-and-a-half hours; but, all things considered, it doesn't feel as long as it is. Additionally, those of you who aren't particularly familiar with most of the MCU characters, you're not going to enjoy this movie as much as those who have followed the MCU from the beginning.
In all honesty, I can't think of a Marvel movie that's better than Infinity War. Initially, I thought I might have liked a couple movies more than it, but I'm stumped. That said, there are a couple that are pretty dang close.
I have to give Infinity War what it deserves; which is a 91%, and a spot in the realm of being
Theater Worthy.
But come on. You know you would have seen it regardless of it's rating.
P.S. For your consideration, here are all the MCU movies, ranked from worst to best, by yours truly:
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The First Avenger
Thor
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Iron Man 3
Ant-Man
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Doctor Strange
Guardians of the Galaxy
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Iron Man
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Avengers
Thor: Ragnarok
Black Panther
Captain America: Civil War
Avengers: Infinity War
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