It’s been ten years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with a rich man who made a iron suit and became a super hero. Then, he joined other special people, including a Super Soldier, archer, Thunder God, spy and big green guy, to create the Avengers. When they had their first battle together six years ago, they had no idea that a big purple alien would change their world.
Now, the moment Marvel fans had been waiting for finally happened. The Avengers, along with several other heroes, gather to battle Thanos in Infinity War. Spoilers below the image.
SPOILERS BELOW
This is a super hero movie that does something shocking, and most people are still recovering.
There’s a lot of Twitter entries like this:
https://twitter.com/AyMauldin/status/990068216406921217
The point is, a lot of people are stunned about how it ended, even those who knew the story from the comics.
They were stunned Marvel went there, but also stunned enough to generate 258 million dollars in the US in the first weekend, way ahead of The Force Awakens.
It all centers on Thanos, an alien from the planet Titan, who thought killing half the people in his planet would save it from environmental destruction. Though he wound up being right he was sent into exile. After that, he applied his theory to other planets, and he thinks he’s doing them a favor. His followers, the Black Order, even say to the victims they should be happy to die as children of Thanos.
Now he wants to get the Infinity Gauntlet and the six Infinity Stones. With a snap of his fingers, half the universe dies, and he thinks that makes him a hero.
His opponents are, of course, the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Dr. Strange and Spider-Man.
So how to handle so many heroes?
Just bring them out in stages. As the actors mentioned in interviews before the movie, most of them never got a full script. The premiere in Los Angeles on April 23rd was literally the first time they saw the whole thing,
That’s why you have Captain America and Black Widow in one section, the Guardians and Thor in another, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man and Iron-Man in another, and Black Panther in another. It’s soon condensed into two sections, Earth and outer space with Thanos figuring in both of them.
If there’s a best team-up, it should be Thor with Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Off they go to make a new weapon for Thor. It’s funny seeing the Thunder God call Rocket a rabbit and instead of lashing out Rocket tries to be responsible and helpful. It was noble how Teenager Groot helped in Thor’s quest in an interesting way. Peter Dinklage makes a good impression as a dwarf called Eitri who also helped make Thor’s weapons.
The meeting of the Guardians and Thor was also well-done. Even though he’s a god, Thor would fit in very well with Peter Quill and his motley crew.
A close second is Spider-Man and Iron Man with Doctor Strange. The banter is first-rate, especially when the doc and Tony Stark’s egos clash. Spidey seems a bit too relaxed, really stepping up with his new Iron Spider suit. He even comes up with a way to deal with Ebony Maw of the Black Order thanks to an “old movie”. While that was clever, it’s a shame because Maw was the best secondary villain due to his telekinetic powers. The way he caused major damage in New York was chilling.
When I went to the Galaxy Legends IMAX near Reno, there were a lot of cheers when Captain America showed up for the first time. There’s still a lot of love for the guy, unless you’re a grouchy general who wants to arrest super heroes. Black Panther made a great impression, too. The movie was able to explain the events from Civil War to now, and why someone was not there for the battle.
Still, this is Thanos’ movie. Josh Brolin does what few people can do: make us shed a tear for a very bad man. He really believes killing half of everything is great in the long run, and you almost believe him. Then you see him killing millions without blinking an eye while making sure a small green girl (who is really Gamora of the GoG) doesn’t see what he’s doing. That relationship is painful to see because it’s insanity disguised as a tender hug.
The big moment is that he sheds a tear. Yes, Thanos sheds a tear when he does something unspeakable to get one of the stones. He thinks it’s done with love, but a kind of love that destroys.
Make no mistake, though. Thanos can be tender AND ruthless. In the first two minutes of the movie, he kills hundreds on Thor’s ship just after the end of Thor: Ragnarok, along with two key characters. Thanos beats someone so bad he’s afraid to show his face again. This movie doesn’t fool around.
Then, there’s the ending. When it was shown at the IMAX, there was silence followed by a lot of talking by fans who wondered what they just saw. As we said before, it stunned those who did and didn’t read the original story. It produced more shock than the Red Wedding episode in Game of Thrones. That hardly ever happens in movies these days. Even the closing credits were depressing. As for the post-credits scene, it features two people who should have come back sooner, and the hint of someone else coming soon.
Of course, we won’t spoil it all for you, but I do have a special post on my personal blog where I will go into deep detail on what I think may happen next.
There’s been a lot of responses about how the movie ends. A writer on the Huffington Post condemned the ending, claiming it’s a trick to force us to come back for Avengers 4: Long Live the Thanosverse or whatever it’ll be called next year. It also points out certain actors are coming back for future Marvel movies, which should dull the true impact of the ending (but it didn’t).
The Hollywood Reporter did something similar, saying it’s disappointing we only get half the story and that it can’t be a distinct movie all its own. It’ll need part two next year to be whole.
Thing is, did anyone complain when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was split into two movies, or Twilight: Breaking Dawn? It wasn’t a trick but more a way to avoid making a six-hour movie.
Heck, Tarantino was smart to split Kill Bill into two movies, and that worked fine.
Oh, The Godfather was in three parts, and people didn’t complain. The first two won Best Picture, and are certainly distinct as separate movies. If the Infinity Gauntlet saga takes that strategy, it’ll be great (maybe the Godfather of super hero movies).
Also, the Infinity Gauntlet story is very long, as Marvel fans will tell you. Infinity War is the first half, and next year’s follow-up will be the attempt to undo what Thanos did. It’ll be done differently than in the comics, though.
One more thing: when Thanos looks for one of the stones, he meets someone whose true identity stunned fans all over the world. The Hollywood Reporter has the details.
Infinity War will now go down as probably the biggest MCU-buster since Winter Soldier, and one of the most popular movies in the series. It serves as the transition to a new era in Marvel Studios, and better things ahead….. we hope.
We’ll find out a year from now. In the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp in July and Captain Marvel next March should add more details and hints on what to expect when the good guys battle Thanos one more time.
Besides, Deadpool 2 will soon ease the pain.
