"Today we don't fight for one life...we fight for ALL of them." - T'Challa.
Over the course of the weekend, I have taken in two showings of Avengers: Infinity War. Both times I saw it with my girlfriend, and close friends. And both times electrified my imagination and jump-started my inner being with excitement. A fair warning to all who see it. If you are someone who loves comics AND the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film will elicit a wide range of emotions from you. Chief among them is sadness and anger, for reasons that will become extremely clear extremely fast.
Anthony and Joe Russo have outdone themselves this time. Already having made a name for themselves with Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, this blows everything out of the water. To undertake a project of this magnitude, with a cast this large, and a story that has everything within the MCU hinging on it, needs to be handled with skill and dedication. Together, these brothers have done all they clearly set out to do with the movie and more.
Infinity War is now one of the largest cast superhero movies of all time. Every single member of that cast managed to get a degree of screen time, big and small. In the grand scheme of things, that is what matters. Everyone who has a favorite hero or heroes within the franchise, gets to see characters they appreciate be together with their fellow heroes in one of the biggest fights in all cinematic herodom.
From Robert Downey Jr. to Cobie Smulders, all play their parts that have become synonymous with their names to a T. The whole movie is basically a giant smorgasboard/who's who in MCU. And while there are some notable absences (for reasons that are explained away in-dialogue), such gaps are filled with the overflow of heroes and yes even villains on camera.
Speaking of villains, Josh Brolin truly stood and delivered as Thanos. To play the Mad Titan, one of the most formidable threats in all of Marvel Comics, is to take up a role with a complex background behind it. Admittedly, his purpose for wielding the Infinity Stones it different in the movie as opposed to the source material, but the mission still has the same driven energy behind it. What is most surprising is how far he is willing to go to acquire all 6 of the Infinity Stones. The quest to possess one of the stones will yield a very unexpected cameo from a MCU character. In order to see who, those who are waiting until the fervor dies down, make a point to see the movie this week or weekend.
On the subject of special effects, this is an area where the MCU has always excelled. Going all the way to 2008 with Iron Man, to the present with Infinity War, each installment has yielded more and more gratifying on-camera wizardry. Over the course of a decade, fans and audiences have seen Norse gods fly and throw lightening, super-soldiers become legends, and living trees and talking racoons save the galaxy multiple times over. And all of that is thanks to the Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, Method Studios, Weta Digital plus 7 other companies. The end result speaks for itself, a symphony in light, sound and color guaranteed to fill the imagination with bright noises and flashing wonders.
Music wise, there is one mind-numbing score composed by legend Alan Silvestri. There is even a throw-back piece of music for the Guardians of the Galaxy to jam out to. There will be no spoilers as to where it shows up, only what the song is. 1976 hit 'Rubberband Man' by The Spinners. Here's a little something to jam out to in case seeing the movie isn't on the immediate horizon.
Another benchmark for Marvel/Disney's latest spectacular, is how booming it is doing at the box office. In the short amount of time it has been out, the film has broken all records and zoomed to the top of the collective charts. According to the Los Angeles Times yesterday, domestically (not adjusted for inflation), it topped out for opening weekend at $250 million, out-performing 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which earned $247.9 million before inflation). Worldwide it has blown the door of the barn, with a whopping $630 million intake so far globally, not counting the Chinese market (that debut isn't until May 11).
10 years. This has been 10 years in the making. From the moment Thanos appeared at the end of 2012's The Avengers, Marvel fans and movie-lovers of all ages have known this was where things would end up. Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Sorcerer Supreme, a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, plus the Guardians of the Galaxy and the might of Wakanda, all banded together to take on the single most dangerous threat to all existence. Now, with tears fresh and hearts ripped asunder by the outcome, the wait begins for the next installment. 2019 seems so far away now. Thankfully, there are other new outings from Marvel (and studios like Fox and Sony) to help make the wait go by faster. And if there is a hankering for some 'classic' MCU, all the previous movies from before.
Avengers: Infinity War receives a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars. Not just on casting and special effects and music alone, but for its story, and for serving up an amazing almost 3 hours of plot-intense, slam-bang style magic that Marvel has become well known for.
Anthony and Joe Russo have outdone themselves this time. Already having made a name for themselves with Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, this blows everything out of the water. To undertake a project of this magnitude, with a cast this large, and a story that has everything within the MCU hinging on it, needs to be handled with skill and dedication. Together, these brothers have done all they clearly set out to do with the movie and more.
Infinity War is now one of the largest cast superhero movies of all time. Every single member of that cast managed to get a degree of screen time, big and small. In the grand scheme of things, that is what matters. Everyone who has a favorite hero or heroes within the franchise, gets to see characters they appreciate be together with their fellow heroes in one of the biggest fights in all cinematic herodom.
From Robert Downey Jr. to Cobie Smulders, all play their parts that have become synonymous with their names to a T. The whole movie is basically a giant smorgasboard/who's who in MCU. And while there are some notable absences (for reasons that are explained away in-dialogue), such gaps are filled with the overflow of heroes and yes even villains on camera.
On the subject of special effects, this is an area where the MCU has always excelled. Going all the way to 2008 with Iron Man, to the present with Infinity War, each installment has yielded more and more gratifying on-camera wizardry. Over the course of a decade, fans and audiences have seen Norse gods fly and throw lightening, super-soldiers become legends, and living trees and talking racoons save the galaxy multiple times over. And all of that is thanks to the Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, Method Studios, Weta Digital plus 7 other companies. The end result speaks for itself, a symphony in light, sound and color guaranteed to fill the imagination with bright noises and flashing wonders.
Music wise, there is one mind-numbing score composed by legend Alan Silvestri. There is even a throw-back piece of music for the Guardians of the Galaxy to jam out to. There will be no spoilers as to where it shows up, only what the song is. 1976 hit 'Rubberband Man' by The Spinners. Here's a little something to jam out to in case seeing the movie isn't on the immediate horizon.
Another benchmark for Marvel/Disney's latest spectacular, is how booming it is doing at the box office. In the short amount of time it has been out, the film has broken all records and zoomed to the top of the collective charts. According to the Los Angeles Times yesterday, domestically (not adjusted for inflation), it topped out for opening weekend at $250 million, out-performing 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which earned $247.9 million before inflation). Worldwide it has blown the door of the barn, with a whopping $630 million intake so far globally, not counting the Chinese market (that debut isn't until May 11).
10 years. This has been 10 years in the making. From the moment Thanos appeared at the end of 2012's The Avengers, Marvel fans and movie-lovers of all ages have known this was where things would end up. Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Sorcerer Supreme, a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, plus the Guardians of the Galaxy and the might of Wakanda, all banded together to take on the single most dangerous threat to all existence. Now, with tears fresh and hearts ripped asunder by the outcome, the wait begins for the next installment. 2019 seems so far away now. Thankfully, there are other new outings from Marvel (and studios like Fox and Sony) to help make the wait go by faster. And if there is a hankering for some 'classic' MCU, all the previous movies from before.
Avengers: Infinity War receives a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars. Not just on casting and special effects and music alone, but for its story, and for serving up an amazing almost 3 hours of plot-intense, slam-bang style magic that Marvel has become well known for.
