In 2008, two important events happened. I married my wonderful wife (Adam speaking) and on May 2 Iron Man came out in U.S. theaters. This film kicked off a unique cinematic experiment that has created the most expansive and connected film universe in history. Avengers: Infinity War is the film that all previous films have been leading to. We have been getting hints for the past 10 years about Thanos and the Infinity Stones. The tension has been growing and the time has finally come for us to get to see what this has all been leading to. Is it everything we have hoped for? We’ll keep it spoiler free.
Likes:
Adam
- I was surprised. There was more than one occasion where I did not see something coming. I was expecting certain tropes to happen several times and then they didn’t.
- Combination of groups. There are a lot of different groups of heroes and it was cool and interesting how they came together in an organic natural way.
- The emotion. Infinity War has a lot of emotional tones. There is humor but this movie let itself be more serious. The situation is more grave than it has ever been and the film embraced it. I felt my heartstrings plucked more than once.
- Thanos. As villains go he is in my top 3. There is so much more to him than we have been privy to and we really get to see him flushed out. It is a lot less black and white than we have been lead to believe.
Luke
- The movie was entertaining throughout, and it gave opportunities for different characters who haven’t interacted together to have some screen time together. Thor with the Guardians of the Galaxy has some interesting chemistry (not spoilers since it was in the trailer).
- Thanos was a far more interesting villain than most of what Marvel has offered thus far. Between him and Killmonger, Marvel has finally produced some interesting villains.
Dislikes:
Adam
- The power of one specific character never seems to be up to where it had been in previous movies. It was a little off-putting for me because I like this character.
- The ending. Can’t really say more than that at this point.
Luke
- It’s hard to get into some stuff without getting into major spoilers, so it may be better not to discuss it at all (meaning warning, I could imply spoilers). As vague as I can make it, let us just say that I felt the ending was the big budget form of the “gunshot fade to black” trope found in student films.
- This really can’t be helped since you’re putting in so much into one movie, but the plot was scattered all over the place. You’re dealing with up to 5 different subplots happening simultaneously, while it isn’t as messy as it could be, it would be really hard to follow if you’re not up-to-date on the Marvel movies.
Awkward Walk-In Meter: 3/5
Adam
This film is a normal Marvel PG-13 except for two things that are briefly glimpsed in the trailer. There is a scene with Doctor Strange that has mild torture. Also, the creatures you see in Wakanda are a little gruesome. These two scenes can be a little intense for kids.
Infinity War Overall:
Adam
Coming out of the theater I really wanted to love this movie. If I’m being totally honest I don’t fully understand all of my feelings for this movie and it is going to take me time to process. There was a lot of great stuff in this movie and I enjoyed watching it. I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of it. I felt like the humor and seriousness of the film was well balanced. I loved a lot of the new character combinations. The end is where I have the hardest time figuring out my feelings. Sadly, I have to say my overall feeling is unsatisfied.
Luke
Honestly, I still don’t know what to make of this movie. I’m sure many will call it bold and like what they did, but I don’t feel satisfied by the ending. Let’s just say that there is no catharsis awaiting you in this movie. There are some fun moments of characters interacting for the first time, the action is intense and there’s plenty of humor. But I didn’t feel good coming out of this movie (which is why people go to see these movies). The only way I can fully articulate my feelings leaving the theater was this internet meme: