Samuel Brace with three reasons why he was surprisingly impressed by Avengers: Infinity War…
For someone who has fallen out of love with superhero films in the last few years, for someone who has grown tired of the genre, the formula, the interconnected nature of shared universes, I am more than a little surprised by how much I enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War. There was a time where I was certainly a holder of the consensus opinion, where I was of the belief that the shared cinematic universe adopted by Marvel Studios to string all of their myriad superhero properties together, was a wondrous thing. That adoration I felt for this now commonly adopted storytelling device lasted a good while, until it suddenly dissipated and I was left longing for something simpler, something I suppose, you might now call a little quainter.
With Infinity War set to be the culmination of all that the MCU has strived to achieve over 10 years and endless films, that it was set to feature all the components of what has provoked in me feelings of umbrage regarding Marvel and their films, one might expect someone in my particular position to not enjoy what was on offer. I certainly expected as much, but mirabile dictu what I found at my local cinema was a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience, quite obviously the best Avengers movie to date, a cinematic offering that was vastly impressive, and a film that surprised me in ways that I never expected it capable of doing. For me, there are three main reasons why this film has stirred me so.
Presentation
While the cosmic leaning stories in the MCU have infused some much-needed colour and energy into the franchise’s visuals, for the most part, Marvel’s films have been rather dull to look at. When thinking back on the first two Avengers movies, Captain America: Civil War, and the lion’s share of the rest, they all look rather much alike, with very little adventure embarked upon with the camera. These films aren’t exactly interesting to observe and it seems to me that this was an unfruitful exchange if all one was to get in return for visual homogeny was the ability to emphasise a shared universe. Therefore, what delighted me immensely during Infinity War was the choice of shot found throughout the picture, mostly when the film’s thunderous villain Thanos was dominating the screen.
Certain shots that come to mind include the image of the Titan, his eyes still wet with tears, floating in a lake after sacrificing the one thing he loved; or the surreal final vision of his daughter towards the film’s end, or the quiet serenity captured and framed for the audience as Thanos looks out at a sunset after achieving his life’s ambition. These are interesting choices, some that you would expect to find a more natural home for in such past ambitiously visual small screen offerings as Hannibal and The Leftovers. However, this was more than a pleasant surprise to find and helped elevate the film above much of its contemporaries.
Structure and Restraint
For a film that is so systemically ambitious, the act of restraint and its concomitant virtues are not what I expected to find within the movie. But find restraint I did and Infinity War’s directors should be applauded for their achievement. With so many characters set to be featured and all the things one was expecting to happen over the course of the film, the task of juggling it all and structuring the movie in a way that wasn’t a mess was unenviable one. But the Russos accomplished this in tremendously impressive fashion, grouping our heroes in fun and interesting ways, showing great restraint in not bringing everyone together all at once and, as a result, keeping the action and storytelling fresh throughout proceedings.
Restraint was also shown in terms of the film’s physical conflicts. Sure, there were some remarkable moments but it was never over the top, the action was always under control, never a mess of CGI and explosions, but carefully choreographed for our pleasure. The film’s best moments of conflict were the one on one struggles, which were thankfully legion, allowing the emotion of said conflicts to permeate through the violence, creating a number of clashes of great intensity that never felt out of hand. This was not what I expected but it is greatly appreciated.
Thanos
Thanos was, of course, always going to play a pivotal role in the movie, but I didn’t expect him to grab the reins so authoritatively, so absolutely, and in the process quite obviously becoming the film’s main character. For this is indeed and without question Thanos’ movie. Infinity War is his story. He’s there at the start and the dominating presence at the end. Thankfully, this was a wonderful decision, a decision made palatable because the villain is such a compelling creation. Thanos could easily have succumbed to the flaws of the overwhelming majority of super-powered alien threats that have so far existed in the MCU, but luckily, the character is far more than a cackling psychopath and the quality of his insidious motives actually far from egregious without ever arriving at being outright interesting.
But what is truly impressive about Thanos is not what he’s trying to accomplish but the success in which the filmmakers found in their passionate encouragement of the audience to emphasise with him. This giant purple alien has a heart, one that surprises both the viewer and the character’s adopted daughter. Thanos achieves his life’s ambitions in this movie but it comes at a price. Saving the universe from itself (as he sees it) has come at a tremendous and personal cost to him. Collecting all the stones and enacting his design for the world has caused Thanos to lose everything. As a result, this is an MCU villain that begs to be seen again and a morose soul worthy of further exploration. Thanos is quite simply the most compelling character in the movie and it’s not even close.
Infinity War’s emotional resonance was its most surprising factor and greatest gift to its audience and we have Thanos to thank for this. Not only because of the death and destruction the villain wrought (I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Spider-Man’s touching demise) but because he was more than the sum of his actions. And while I can’t say my love for the franchise is now restored, I am genuinely interested in seeing how the good guys overcome this mighty foe, which of course they will, but Infinity War has shown me that the journey itself can at least be an interesting one.
Samuel Brace
