Now Streaming: ‘Infinity War’ is the event film of our generation
By Drew Henderson
After the credits rolled in “Iron Man,” Tony Stark was approached by a man who said these words. “Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.” These were the first words spoken by Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury almost 10 years ago, and they ring true of the scope that now encompasses the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What once consisted of a billionaire in a metal suit is now home to characters, such as a talking raccoon, a god of thunder and a whole civilization that has been hidden from the world for years, posing as a country they are not. The scale of the MCU is far and wide, galactic and on earth. That is why every plot point, character development and side plot, finally comes to a head and succeeds in “Avengers: Infinity War.” With the acclaimed movie now available for streaming, let’s take a look back on how this movie, changed the world that we have been watching for almost a decade.
In “Infinity War,” the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy team up, to find the remaining infinity stones, before Thanos collects them all and exacts his will on the universe. From the moment the film begins, it is non-stop. Every character we have known and seen on the big screen races against time to stop Thanos. There is no filler in this movie at all as the scenes jump from Thanos collecting each and every stone to our heroes dying in their attempts to stop the genocidal warlord.
From the first opening scene, Thanos makes his mark as the MCU’s greatest villain faced, and with a fantastic performance by Josh Brolin and some of the best CGI ever seen on film, he also joins the pantheon of villains, that have left their mark on movie history. The film may be titled “Avengers: Infinity War”, but this movie is 100% Thanos’s story. Helping out Thanos, is also his Black Order, a gang of henchmen dubbed “Children of Thanos,” that are just bigger fodder for our heroes to take care of.
Speaking of heroes, audiences were wondering which teams “Infinity War” would follow. Between the Guardians and the Avengers, there was plenty of potential for awesome team-ups of our favorite heroes. While everyone started in familiar territories at the beginning of the film, each group ended up with different characters from various franchises, some beginning first-time interactions. Every group interaction felt natural, never forced, as some characters teamed up for the first time. My favorite team-up had to be Thor and the Guardians, because ever since “Thor: Ragnarok,” this new version of Thor, just seemed like he would mesh well with the Guardians own humor and aura. Most of the film’s humor comes from these team-ups and interactions, with some of my highlights being anything involving Spider-Man, or when Tony and his crew, finally meet up with the other guardians.
But for a film studio that is known for its humor, Marvel Studios does sometimes come under fire for the films being too light, or not having dark and serious tone, like their competitor, DC Films. But “Infinity War” is not a light film, it is the darkest hour for some of our heroes, and there are plenty of casualties after the film is all said and done. Just like the films they directed before, the Russo Brothers are able to walk the fine line of balancing character interaction and development with a great story that are equal parts fun and thrilling. There are moments in the film, that is light-hearted and funny, but there are also those that leave you gasping and even in disbelief. In just over two and a half hours, “Infinity War” tore apart a universe that was 10 years in the making, now we must wait a year later, for the still untitled, “Avengers 4”, to see if our heroes can come together and unite the universe once again.