Marvel’s Avenger’s: Infinity War is the culmination of over a decade of character development, high-concept storytelling, and Stan Lee cameos. However, if the film is not worth watching then what’s the point? That’s what I am here to answer today. I’m going to be breaking down my thoughts on the movie as well as some fun Easter eggs I spotted throughout the movie.
To call Infinity War a film really undersells the product that you are getting when you see the movie. The movie does not abide by the traditional rules of storytelling whatsoever because it really has no need to. It has no need to develop or expound upon the main characters and show the audience what kind of characters they are because the audience already knows. They have already seen at least one movie starring these characters, sometimes even two or three. This release from focusing on building up the heroes allows the movie more room to flesh out the villain and less breaks between the action to insert character-building scenes.
Marvel movies have always struggled with creating compelling, relatable villains but it seems that in their last few movies, especially Infinity War, they found the formula to create an amazing antagonist. First and foremost, Avengers: Infinity War is Thanos’ (the primary antagonist) film. He is the one of the few characters to debut in this movie (unless you count post-credits cameos in other films) and the majority of the screen time is dedicated to him. This focus leads to one of the most if not the most compelling villain in any Marvel movie. By the end of the film, the audience can understand why The Mad Titan does what he does even if they do not agree with it. Josh Brolin, while he may be covered in a combination of CGI and makeup, gives an unforgettable performance that elevates Avengers: Infinity War miles above it’s fellow cinematic universe counterparts.
This movie is almost constant action. The story lines all rapidly jump back and forth from each other and the audience is bombarded with information nonstop. While this is a negative in most films, Marvel’s prior characterization and emotional scenes in previous movies turn this into a positive. Because of the constant action this almost three-hour film comes out barely feeling around two hours. This works great if the audience has seen the other films that come before this one, but not so great if this is their first outing at a Marvel movie. If someone has never seen any of these films, then they will not be inclined to care about any of the characters in it and the film in and of itself, does not really give them any reason to. In short this movie may be the magnum-opus of cinema for many diehard Marvel fans, but overindulgent, confusing, uninspired junk to anyone that is unfamiliar with the universe.
As with all Marvel movies, this film had its fair share of Easter eggs, cameos, and nods towards other Marvel properties. [Beware, spoilers ahead for much of the film] Of course, the first that must be mentioned is the gratuitous Stan Lee cameo as Peter Parker’s bus driver. The man is a legend and shows no signs of letting old age get to him any time soon. One of the more obscure Easter eggs stems from the sitcom Arrested Development. Many astute credits readers waiting for that juicy post-credits scene may have noticed a card thanking Fox for their allowed use of an Arrested Development character and been perplexed as to where they could have fit in the dark and gritty story of Infinity War. When the Guardian’s travel to the Collector’s base to retrieve the Reality Stone, Tobias Fünke can be seen in full Blue Man Group makeup for a few brief shots. This is a nod to the directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s work directing multiple episodes of Arrested Development. There is a callback to the first Avengers film when Loki is confronting Thanos and he repeats the “We have a Hulk” line that Tony Stark told him during the Battle of New York. Rocket Raccoon’s obsession with prosthetic limbs continues when he asks Bucky Barnes for his metal arm. Bucky is referred to as “White Wolf” by T’challa, the same name given to T’challa’s adopted brother in the comics. And lastly, something that is less of an Easter egg and more of just a filming detail, Steve Rogers’ flip-phone is registered under a 678 number, most likely due to the fact that the movie was filmed in Atlanta.
