All Marvel roads have been leading to Infinity War. For years, Marvel has been introducing new characters, providing some backstory and sprinkling in the Avengers sequels. Infinity War was meant to be epic. With a two hour, 29 minute run time, it has an epic length. With a box office of 641 million dollars (worldwide) on opening weekend, the largest opening weekend in history, the film has set epic records. With a price tag of more than 300 million dollars to produce, the investment was epic as well. So the only question left for me to answer is, "did Infinity War merit the hype?"
The Avengers have fallen on hard times. The "band has broken up" as they say. Iron man (Robert Downey Jr.) appears ready to settle down to a quiet life, Captain America (Chris Evans) and crew are fugitives, War Machine (Don Cheadle) is faced with a decision on whether to follow orders or arrest the fugitive team members, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is on a broken planet with brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) introducing arch-nemesis Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Guardians of the Galaxy or looking for a payday (or another opportunity to save the universe) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is unwittingly drawn into the fray. He holds of of six keys, infinity stones, that together wield unlimited power. The stones are scattered throughout the universe, although two have found their way to earth, one with Doctor Strange and the other with Vision (Paul Bettany) who also seems ready to drop off the radar with his love interest, Scarlet Witch (Ashley Olsen).
The pending threat to the universe leads the Avengers toward reunification. They are on a collision course with some new team mates, to include Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spiderman (Tom Holland) and the Guardians. A quick recap on our interplanetary heroes: They are led by self-titled "Captain Starlord" (Chris Pratt) and his inferiority complex, the sexiest green creature in the universe, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and newest member Mantis (Pom Klementief). Together with the avengers, this star-studded universe of Marvel heroes face the daunting task of preventing Thanos from collecting the six relics that will yield him unimaginable power. The power to snap his fingers and destroy half the souls in the universe. A twisted perspective that indiscriminately "culling the herd" benefits the universe by relieving the strain on common resources. Will the might of unified forces for good overcome the growing power of an evil destroyer? That is the question everyone wants answered.
Good writing is the foundation of any movie. Infinity Wars has a lot of moving parts. And plenty of action for a film of this length. It does not seem to lag, which is important. There are several intersecting plot lines that are carefully managed to converge at key points. It could easily get confusing, but writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely deftly weave together a story that careens forward without losing the audience in any single story line. Both writers are veterans of the Marvel franchise, providing steady hands to deliver a story that manages to incorporate humor, decent character development and interesting minor conflicts within the broader story. The narrative arc builds dramatically, as an epic should, leading to a massive confrontation that follows numerous smaller conflicts. The story provides an excellent build up to a massive cliffhanger that will likely produce a box-office busting sequel.
It appears that a good portion of the 300 million dollar budget was spent on salaries. Aside from a star-studded cast that contains dozens of A-listers, the film was shot at numerous locations requiring crews for each location. I almost fell asleep waiting for the credits to roll so I could watch the Easter Egg. All the more important given the cliffhanger nature of this film. I like this cast. If I tried to address every primary performance, this would read like the closing credits, and I really don't want to put anyone to sleep. Suffice it to say that the film is well cast. The snarky humor, drama and action sequences are all lent credibility by a cast of professionals, almost all of whom are veterans of the Marvel franchise.
Surprisingly, Infinity War eked out a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. Films with a lot of violence (particularly war films) often earn an R rating just because of the totality of violence in the films. While there is plenty of violence in Infinity War, it is not gratuitous nor is it particularly gory. There is plenty of it to go around, but it is handled well. There is a bit of adult humor and some strong language as well. This film is pretty tame in comparison to other films today. For young Marvel fans, I wouldn't restrict viewership.
Back to my original question: "did Infinity War merit the hype?" I am split on this. I am going to say that it is not the best film ever made (to merit a 600 million dollar opening weekend). It is a solid film that builds up nicely to the sequel. The sequel may yet be epic. This film has plenty to like, to include a nice dose of tongue-in-cheek-humor, internal conflicts and good writing all around. But I think the "fanboys" are driving the current IMDb rating of 9/10. It is really not that good. It is exceptional. Great theater, amazing effects, awesome cast, solid writing. Everything I go to the cinema for. But, in totality, I can think of better films. Having said that, go see this while it is at the theater, if you are a fan, it is an awesome film. 8/10.
Images and trailer subject to copyright by Marvel Studios.