Friday, April 27, 2018

This is a completely spoiler free discussion regarding my viewing of Avengers Infinity War.

I went to Avengers: Infinity War the first time this weekend (I'm going again on Saturday) last night with friends Brad Habegger and James Salmonsen (who flew in from Vancouver for a visit). The theater was packed, the show was sold out. One of the nice things about this particular theater in Utah is that they allow you to bring in whatever food you like. So we stopped in at Slapfish where I got a burger topped in lobster. It was really tasty. We also had a delightfully nerdy conversation about how Adam Warlock plays into the infinity stones (and story) in the comic books, and how Thanos (in one comic book) so triumphs over everyone else that he rips the head off of Ghost Rider and gazes into Ghost Rider's eyes for the penitent stare every morning (so that he can relive his memories in fondness). But at this point, you probably want to know if Infinity War was good, and I'll tell you that afterward...I thought it was the best superhero movie I've ever seen. Yeah, it was even better than anything Christopher Nolan ever dreamed up.

The stakes were high, but that wasn't a surprise. They really needed to be high for a film and a story that has been building for ten years. What did surprise me was how committed Marvel is to telling its story, and all of my predictions through all the blog posts didn't pan out in the way that I thought they would. And then, this isn't saying that the ending itself (of the movie) didn't start making me think over the nature of the infinity stones and that something else may be going on with one in particular. And I actually have no reason at all to think that there is something that could be up other than the fact that I want there to be something...anything really...to explain what I saw on the screen, and to provide an answer to the eternal question: what happens next?

Avengers: Infinity War is a work of brilliance. I'm glad it landed so solidly on its footing. But I think the title is misleading in that it's too straightforward. Yes, this is the Infinity War over the infinity stones and the fate of the universe. But more than that, it is Thanos's movie, just as Dr. Strange had his own movie and Captain America and so on and so forth. Thanos is the troubled epicenter of everything that is happening, and even before the opening credits, he establishes himself as a villain as great as Darth Vader. Guys, Disney somehow managed to pull off the impossible, bringing all of these big names together into one gigantic film. I'm just glad we only have to wait a year for the sequel. There are way too many questions circling in my head, even if the story itself, is entirely and definitively complete. Just to be clear, this is not a cliffhanger movie. So yeah...questions. I have so many.

7 comments:

  1. Good to hear it lived up to expectations, at least as far as quality of story if not how the story flows.
    Seeing an early show this afternoon.

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  2. I knew you wouldn't be disappointed. Can't wait to see it.

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  3. A burger with lobster on it? I totally need to try that.

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  4. I'm glad it didn't suck. Considering how much build up was put into this movie, that would have been easy enough to happen. And I don't mind spoilers, so feel free to discuss the movie at length.

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  5. Staying away from spoilers - After watching this I had an odd thought --- I really want to see the story entirely from Thanos perspective. Can you imagine if they'd done origin stories for his henchmen from their point of view and we only see the Avengers as enemies. It's too bold an idea for something this expensive but perspective can really lead to different emotions.

    After hinting about Thanos for about six films, I figured the leadup was too much for him to live up to expectations. I was wrong. He was amazing and the best/worst villain in the MCU. I definitely liked the movie. It will take me time to figure out where to put it on the overall list but right now I'm certain it is in my top 5.

    For anyone that sees it make sure to stick around for the post credit scene. It takes forever to run but it's worth it.

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  6. Don't know if I'd go as far as calling it the best one yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as well, and agree that it is indeed a Thanos movie. Hopefully the second part reaches the same level of brilliance while tying everything together, but at least we'll have Ant-man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel to tide us over until then.

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  7. I loved the film and I liked that Thanos was a complicated villain that we could kind of sympathise with. I have a lot of questions too and a lot of theories about how things will pan out in the next movie. I think some of the characters will exchange fates.

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