Anghus Houvouras on Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, and The Hulk…
I really enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War. Not since the original Avengers have I felt this excited about a Marvel movie as well as the urge to see it multiple times. As someone who had been suffering a case of Marvel movie malaise, this is an impressive feat. However, I do feel the need to opine about one aspect of the movie that left me feeling a little bittersweet.
Spoilers ahead.
Thor: Ragnarok was one of my favorite Marvel films. A blend of action, adventure and comedy that felt like the perfect comic book adaptation. It captured the kind of manic ‘anything can happen’ energy and over the top thrills that comic books are known for. Taika Waititi deserves endless praise for making such a fun, epic and thrilling movie. Thor gets dragged through an intergalactic gauntlet forcing him to make tough decisions that leads to the ultimate destruction of Asgard and driving him to lead his people on a journey to find a new home.
It’s an ending with something of a silver lining. Thor has finally become a true leader understanding the value of sacrifice while reconciling his relationship with Loki. A small sliver or hope peers through the ashen clouds of Asgard’s destruction…
…which is quickly curb stomped by Thanos in the opening of Infinity War as he wipes out all the survivors except for Thor and Hulk.
A re-watch of Thor: Ragnarok might not be the same crowd-pleasing experience once you realize that everything they did in the movie was utterly meaningless. Congratulations on surviving Hela’s wrath and the destruction of your home world. For your pain and sacrifice, you get to be slaughtered in outer space by Thanos and the Black Order.
The other thing that bummed me out about Infinity War was the treatment of the Hulk. In November 2017 we were treated to the best cinematic take on the Hulk EVER. He was big, bad and helped elevate Thor: Ragnarok to epic levels of entertainment. Then he gets to Infinity War where he’s beaten like a redheaded stepchild in forty-five seconds by Thanos and spends the rest of the movie cowering in Bruce Banner’s subconscious. Reduced to a whimpering green tinge that Banner tries to fart out several times throughout the movie. It was the one cringe-worthy element of the film. Watching Mark Ruffalo go through the seven pained faces of passing a brown baby through his rectum was not exactly what I expected to see in the latest Avengers movie.
We went from the best Hulk in a movie to the worst Hulk in a movie in a span of five months. And I’m including Ang Lee’s terrible adaptation.
How did we go from Hulk in Avengers being lynch pin in saving the world to Mark Ruffalo in a hemorrhoid commercial in Infinity War?
Like I said, I enjoyed Infinity War. It’s one hell of a victory lap for Marvel Studios and all the talent that made it possible. However, it is at the expense of Thor: Ragnarok and the Hulk. I suppose we can add them to Thanos’ body count.
Anghus Houvouras
Originally published April 30, 2018. Updated November 21, 2019.
