Infinity War (Spoilers)

We don’t make it to opening weekend for most movies, but I figured with as much time as I spend online, this would be my only chance of seeing Infinity Wars before stumbling over spoilers.

Speaking of which…spoilers after the cut!

Get This Man a Shield Meme

All right, where to start… First off, major props to Marvel for the culmination of ten years of planning and buildup. Infinity War might not have been perfect, but I can’t think of another project that comes close to the scope and ambition of this one.

Now onto Jim’s scattered post-movie thoughts.

Alas, poor Loki. Dammit, man. You’re supposed to be clever. What were you thinking? (I’m just gonna console myself by replaying the moment he tells Thanos, “We have a Hulk.”)

Heimdall dies saving…the Hulk? The leader of Asgard is right there, and you use your power and sacrifice your life sending Bruce Banner home.

Bruce Banner and Scared Hulk. The movie never comes out and says Hulk is afraid after getting trounced by Thanos, but I’m assuming that’s why Bruce can’t transform anymore. Hulk is in many ways a very young child, and I liked the way this played out. Poor Bruce is so flustered and befuddled and overwhelmed. I loved it.

Yay, banter! So glad we still got moments of character humor. Strange and Wong talking about ice cream flavors…

Screw you and the Accords you rode in on! Thank you, Rhodey! (And I loved that the hologram of Ross was noticeably shorter than everyone else.)

Wanda and Vision. One of the things that makes Marvel movies work is that they take the time to lay groundwork and build the story. That never happened with Wanda and Vision, and I found it hard to care about their relationship. It reminded me of the Bruce/Natasha thing from Age of Ultron. It just felt forced.

Thanos and Gamora. This was another relationship that didn’t feel real to me. I don’t think we saw enough of their past to understand how or why they cared about each other. What did Thanos see in Gamora that was so special? Where was the father-daughter dynamic that made Gamora weep when she thought she’d killed him?

Nebula. She didn’t get much screen time, but I liked what they did with her. The torture was rather gruesome, but helped with the Nebula/Gamora dynamic. But the way Nebula escaped, and her arrival to help try to fight Thanos, were great. I like her character more with each movie she’s in.

Thanos. Not the worst Marvel villain, but definitely not the best, either. His motivation just never made much sense. The universe is overpopulated? Um…okay. So hey, you have infinite power now. Why not double the size and resources of the universe instead of killing half the population? Same outcome, right?

Contrast Thanos with Loki or Killmonger. In both of those cases, we see why the characters made the choices they made. We see their pain and anger and ambition. We see the betrayals and the failure. We can understand and sympathize with them, even if we don’t agree. Whereas with Thanos, he’s just…there. Big and purple and powerful and out to kill half the universe because that’s what his character is supposed to do.

Thor’s eye. Thank you, Rabbit! (Loved the Thor/Rocket dynamic.)

Quill, you absolute dumbass. Half the universe died because Starlord decided to punch Thanos in the face instead of waiting a few more seconds for Tony and Peter to get the gauntlet.

Peter Dinklage! I somehow missed that he was in this movie, but I loved his character. That exchange with Thor…

“You’ll be killed!”
“Only if I die.”

Dinklage’s response and expression were absolute perfection.

Okoye, Wanda, and Natasha. I want a movie that’s nothing but these three women teaming up to kick ass and take names.

Bucky and Rocket. Also an acceptable buddy movie for which I would pay all the money.

“Kick names and take ass!” I laughed.

Bruce’s giddiness when Thor arrives for the final battle. I don’t remember his exact words, but it was sweet.

Infinity stones fall, everybody dies. You’d think the death of half the Marvel universe would have more of an emotional impact, but I wasn’t feeling it. Peter Parker fading away, and Tony Stark’s reaction, was probably the strongest. But there was just too much, and it was too obvious at least some of these deaths would be undone in the sequel. Particularly given Dr. Strange’s line about this being the only way.

Which means another thirteen months of waiting to find out who, if anyone, is really dead instead of just “mostly dead.”

I’d be really impressed if they just made Spider-Man 2 and Black Panther 2 about everyone standing around mourning the deaths of Spider-Man and Black Panther… Especially if Shuri gets to be the new Black Panther!

Captain America and Iron Man. I really expected one or both of these characters to die. I’m thinking now that’s probably going to happen in part two.

That post-credits scene. Meh. Yes, I know you’re making a Captain Marvel movie. And it was amusing getting to see Samuel L. Jackson say, “Motherfu–” before getting Voldemorted. But this scene didn’t do much for me.

Overall, it was a big, crowded, busy crossover spectacle. It’s a movie that’s incredibly broad, but at the expense of depth. Good pacing, and a lot of the character moments worked really well, considering how much work those moments had to do. A fun popcorn flick, and an impressive accomplishment nonetheless, though.*

*Okay, yeah, maybe “fun” isn’t the right word…

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I’m not thrilled about having to wait thirteen months to finish the story, but there’s just too much for one movie. Heck, this storyline could have easily been a trilogy…it might have been better as a trilogy, really. More time to develop characters and relationships and backstory and so on.

Anyway, that’s my post-Avengers thoughts. What did you think?