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Ever since Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark created his first metal suit in 2008’s Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been growing and building to something huge. And that something huge is now here: the massive intergalactic ensemble action of Avengers: Infinity War.
Avengers: Infinity War finds the Avengers setting aside their differences and once again working together—and teaming up with some new allies—to battle intergalactic enemy Thanos (Josh Brolin), who’s determined to collect all six Infinity Stones, which will make him all-powerful. While some of the Avengers find themselves aboard Thanos’s ship in an attempt to save Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), keeper of the Time Stone, others travel to Wakanda to protect Vision (Paul Bettany), keeper of the Mind Stone. And Thor (Chris Hemsworth) travels through space with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Thanos and save the universe from destruction.
With each new ensemble film, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets a little bit bigger, adding new heroes and new villains—and Avengers: Infinity War is definitely the biggest and possibly the most complex film in the franchise. All but a few of the Marvel regulars are here—characters that we’ve spent the last decade gradually getting to know and (generally) love, all working toward the same goal in different places around the galaxy. It’s no surprise that it’s big and action-packed, with imaginative sets and eye-popping effects. Marvel wouldn’t have it any other way.
Throughout its bulked-up 150-minute runtime, it follows multiple ensembles of characters on multiple missions—and if you haven’t been paying close attention to all of the films in the Universe, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll find yourself getting lost in the tangle of storylines. There are plenty of ah-ha moments—but, unless you’ve rewatched the entire collection over the last month or so, there’s also a pretty good chance that you’ll also have a few moments when you’ll feel like you should know what’s going on, but you just can’t seem to figure it out.
Meanwhile, with so many characters in so many different places, playing out so many different storylines, none of them really get a chance to stand out. While the solo films have their own styles and personalities, this mash-up of characters and styles makes it all too clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is growing out of control. There are glimpses of the Guardians’ quirkiness, of Iron Man’s sarcasm, of Thor’s playful sense of humor, or Spider-Man’s boyish charm, and of Black Panther’s nobility. But, here, the tone is quickly shifting, until there’s not much personality to it at all.
And, unfortunately, the few who do get a little more of the focus aren’t especially compelling. Quite a bit of time is spent on the relationship between Thanos and Gamora (Zoe Saldana)—who, while a key member of the Guardians, isn’t one of the stronger characters in the Universe. The same is true of Doctor Strange, a relative newcomer who’s still finding his place in this massive ensemble. But with plenty of help from the franchise veterans, they build the action into yet another explosive start to another summer at the movies.
If you’ve been religiously following the Avengers movies for the last 10 years (and the comics for even longer), you’ll be treated to a huge payoff in Avengers: Infinity War—with the promise of even more to come. And, really, the thought that went into bringing all of these characters and storylines together is truly remarkable. But it’s also more than a little overwhelming.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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