After months of piqued anticipation, the 19th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally hit the screens, and this time it’s bigger than ever. The third instalment of the Avengers movies, “Avengers: Infinity War” has created heaps of excitement among the audience, ever since its larger-than-life, mind-boggling trailer released online. Such an uproarious response on the film’s release was quite expected. And, does Marvel Studios deliver? Better than ever. The Russo Brothers have given the viewers 2 hours and 40 minutes of a tightly scripted, action-packed and spine-chilling rollercoaster ride.
A host of characters are introduced one after the other, until the entire crew of the mightiest heroes on Earth, now merged with the Guardians of the Galaxy, face off against the children of Thanos, in a full-blown war in Wakanda. It is quite prudent to mention that someone who is a complete layman when it comes to the MCU, better opt to watch the film only after watching at least the two previous Avengers films as well as “Captain America: Civil War”. Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spiderman, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Black Panther, War Machine, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Vision and Hulk are the Avengers present in this instalment, with the exception of Ant-Man and Hawkeye, both of whom are shown to be under house arrest after the incidents of Captain America: Civil War.
Thanos is the mightiest villain the Avengers have ever faced, and he is after the six infinity stones, in order to complete his gauntlet and wreak havoc over the entire universe, by snapping his fingers. The Avengers assemble to prevent him from doing so. This is the overarching plotline of the film, but the Russo Brothers have punctuated it with so many eclectic elements of emotion, fear, rekindled friendships, loss, doubt and sadness, that the film has become a potpourri of edge-of-the-seat thrills and never lets the audience breathe a sigh of relief.
Some individual character arcs and relationships are also finely cultivated, to the extent of giving the audience a sense of intimacy amidst the wreckage. Scenes with the Guardians often provide the audience with some much-needed comic relief. There are conflicts, tensions, momentary resolutions, but somehow the Avengers always fall of short of the needful. Even then, they are still prepared to go the extra mile to prevent Thanos from executing his ominous and perverse plans.
Josh Brolin’s Thanos, the great villain, is depicted as a mixed bag of utterly humane feelings. He is loving, vulnerable as well as amoral at the same time, and by the end, the audience is in doldrums as to what Thanos actually did, or did not do. It seems only Doctor Strange was the only omniscient Avenger who knew whatever was happening throughout and is seen to mould his actions accordingly. However, Strange’s actions leave the audience badly searching for answers. A question which keeps plaguing the thinking person is that, are the Avengers really the good people? Vigilantism of advanced humans, against the interests of the State, comes with hefty prices.
The ending of this insane yet evocative sojourn through the highs and lows of the mightiest heroes on Earth, completely makes the beholder blank. The entire film appears to be reduced to a mere teaser of something much much bigger which is about to come. As is Marvel’s signature, the film does give the audience a tip-off during the end credits, but this time, not of the next film (Ant-Man and The Wasp both have dedicated films coming up next), but of perhaps the next big thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Paul Bettany’s Vision and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, become important cogs in the wheel of the entire quest since they are the Avengers who possess the Mind and Time stones respectively. CGI and VFX of cosmic brilliance, used to depict the battle to shield the universe against Thanos’s overtures, tremendous fuss and fanfare over the superheroes, some sporting a changed look, some getting introduced to others for the first time, maintaining a boiling hype throughout the runtime of the movie about the ultimate fate of the superheroes – “Avengers: Infinity War” is the epitome of the sheer brilliance of the entire team at Marvel Studios. MCU is getting bigger and grander by the day, and the exponential increase in cinematic splendour is being received with a commensurate rise in the general fandom of superhero flicks. Something huge which is already in the news is the Avengers and X-Men crossover film slated for 2020. We just hope the 95-year-old creator Stan Lee is still alive till then!
