WASHINGTON — When “Iron Man” arrived in 2008, Hollywood had no way of knowing just how successful the Avengers franchise would be, ushering in the Golden Age of Superheroes.
This weekend, after a full decade of Marvel blockbusters, it all comes down to this — sort of.
While all of your favorite superheroes gloriously collide in “Avengers: Infinity War,” it was originally intended as a two-part finale like “Harry Potter” or “Hunger Games.” So, even if “Part 1” was scrubbed from the title, “Infinity War” is still a precursor to next year’s final chapter.
If you know that going in, you’ll have a blast. If, however, you expect a standalone film, you might be overwhelmed, especially if you haven’t seen the preceding flicks (is there a rock that big to live under?). By now, most moviegoers are familiar with these characters, which allows us to cut directors Joe and Anthony Russo some slack and actually admire their juggling act.
Picking up where “Civil War” left off, The Avengers overcome their petty differences to reunite against the supervillain Thanos, who seeks six infinity stones scattered across the universe: mind (yellow), power (purple), reality (red), time (green), space (blue) and soul (orange).
In the right hands, the gems are a force for good, as Dr. Strange wears the time stone around his neck and Vision holds the mind stone in his forehead. In the wrong hands, they can be cataclysmic, as Thanos seeks to erase half of the universe with the snap of his fingers.
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The most rewarding part of “Infinity War” is the novelty of the different stables interacting.
Still reeling from “Ragnarok,” a bruised and battered Thor (Chris Hemsworth) hangs with the Guardians of the Galaxy. The God of Thunder compares muscles with Drax (Dave Bautista), speaks in a deeper voice than Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and annoys Rocket (Bradley Cooper) by calling him “Rabbit” (oh yeah, Groot is no longer a cute baby tree but a pouting teenager).
Even more fun is watching Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) trade sarcasm with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a genius pairing since both are wealthy geniuses without inherent super powers, relying on technology, armored suits and capes to get the job done.
Still, the most anticipated overlap comes when Captain America (Chris Evans) fights alongside Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) in Wakanda. It’s a “Dream Team” to rival Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, pairing Marvel’s two most acclaimed movies, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Black Panther,” which shattered box office records just two months ago.
With the memory of T’Challa so fresh in our minds — the film is literally still in movie theaters — it feels odd to see him back so soon with such a minor role in the storyline. When he finally shows up an hour into the movie, the audience will deservedly clap. Unfortunately, the big Wakanda battle becomes bogged down by lizard creatures attacking the kingdom’s forcefield (i.e. Matt Damon’s flop “The Wall”). The rapid shaky-cam action is disorienting compared to the recent, carefully choreographed fight sequences by Ryan Coogler and Patty Jenkins.
T’Challa’s minor role is indicative of the film’s biggest flaw. With dozens of famous characters, it’s virtually impossible for screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to give everyone ample screentime. While Vision (Paul Bettany), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) get impressive character arcs, Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) get far less playtime.
Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) barely make cameos, as if the Russos decided to cram everyone in for good measure. There’s even a few new faces, as Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”) makes an ironic cameo as the giant Eitri via perspective tricks and camera angles.
This overcrowding is acknowledged by the writers as their Achilles Heel, slipping in a few lines of dialogue to spin our opinion. “Perfectly balanced, as all things should be,” Thanos says, followed by, “I hope they remember you.” The latter may be more accurate in this jam-packed movie, depending on your ability to juggle dozens of characters and storylines in your head.
In the end, it doesn’t matter much that the protagonists don’t get their day in the sun. That’s because the main character here is actually the antagonist, Thanos (Josh Brolin), a bold, gutsy move for a genre that too often plays it safe with the usual heroic formula. It’s a smart choice as the franchise has been building up to Thanos after a decade of post-credits teasers.
Thankfully, Brolin’s villain delivers, putting to shame every Marvel baddie before him, except maybe Killmonger. Not only is Thanos given a complex backstory of fatherly guilt (how often do we see a villain cry?), his ultimate destruction instantly makes him the most consequential of villains, unleashing a genocide that marks a “before” and “after” in the Avengers timeline.
While “Game of Thrones” shocked us with a “Red Wedding” for the ages, “Infinity War” fans have speculated for months which of their favorite superheroes might not survive. We won’t spoil who disappears from the roster, but let’s just say that not everyone makes it out alive.
As the film cuts to black, expect gasps at the abrupt lack of closure. One audience member shouted, “That’s it?!?” Indeed, the final act feels more like an intermission than a conclusion, making us wonder if Marvel should have left “Part 1” in the title so as to not piss off the fans.
As for me, I dug the daring finale, making “Infinity War” more like “The Empire Strikes Back” where the villains triumphed before the heroes mounted a comeback in “Return of the Jedi.” This, of course, leaves next year’s final “Avengers” film to pick up the pieces, as the writers still have the time and reality stones at their disposal to bring the dead back to life. This cop-out solution would lower the stakes, but you’ve got to think fans deserve a happy ending in 2019.
Until then, we’re left with a good start to an epic finish that, while incomplete, is every bit as entertaining as it is shocking and refreshing from a franchise that was once predictable.
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