Since 2008 with the release of "Iron Man," viewers have been invested in the franchise known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Big baddie Thanos has been teased since 2012 in 'The Avengers' end credits. Some viewers have been excited at his appearance, awaiting the moment he finally left his chair. Others have casually ignored him, believing him to be just a tease of Marvel property, much like Howard the Duck at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy." However, in Marvel's latest release "Avengers: Infinity War," Thanos does indeed leave his chair and makes anyone who doubted him sorry they did so.
"Infinity War" left viewers absolutely shocked, outraged, and people left the theater feeling like they had just witnessed something different than any other Marvel movie thus far.
Thanos is the MCU's greatest villain
If you were like me, seeing Thanos in an end credit scene was just meh. No excitement, just a reference to the comics you didn't get. Recently, Erik Killmonger from the box office smash "Black Panther" was deemed the MCU's greatest villain for having an understandable and sympathetic goal. However, Killmonger has now been dethroned by Thanos.
Although this is technically an Avengers movie, it actually feels like Thanos' movie. He is the center of this movie, and without him, the movie would not exist.
A lot of Marvel's villains are throwaway characters - forgettable, replaceable, and one-dimensional. Thanos is in a league of his own of villain quality. Not only is he a fully fleshed out, dynamic character, but his motivations, while sinister, are understandable. Josh Brolin brings a realness to the villain that Marvel usually neglects.
He is actually shown to have a heart underneath the hard exterior (and it is very hard indeed).
A couple characters shine through
Because this film has so many characters (around 40!), it would be impossible for everyone to have a shining moment. Despite the somewhat crowded nature of the film, a few characters, in particular, had both significant impact on the plot and an emotional impact on the audience as well.
First is Thor, who went through a lot in his latest film "Thor: Ragnarok." The emotional impact of what happened seeps through in Chris Hemsworth's performance, and his character arc is arguably the most impactful of the film. Then we have Tom Holland's Spider-Man, who only just recently debuted in the MCU. Spider-Man wasn't the most important character in this film, but he definitely brought a lot of heart and humor into the mix, especially in the climax of the movie.
The CGI is discordant
Thanos' CGI is marvelously done. When looking at him, you can see the tiniest of skin details and the smallest of emotions on his face. Some backdrops look amazingly done. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that this wasn't actually filmed on an alien planet - they actually just filmed in front of a green screen.
As great as Thanos and some backgrounds look, however, others characters and settings are quite lacking. One character in particular - Proxima Midnight - looks like nothing more than a well-done video game character. There is a particular planet on which an emotionally heavy scene takes place, but that too also looks like a cut scene from a video game. Perhaps all the budget went to Thanos? Either way, the CGI could have been improved in certain areas.
The bottom line
Although there were a couple tonal issues, like jokes in emotionally heavy moments, as well as some faulty CGI, "Avengers: Infinity War" is Marvel's best movie to date, and it definitely deserves a trip to the theater. Josh Brolin shines as the multi-layered Thanos, and Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Tom Holland's Spider-Man deliver the emotional impact that may evoke a tear or two.
Even though there are over 40 characters, the two-hour,30 minutes run-time helps make sure that almost every character is serviced correctly. The ending will leave the audience in complete shock, and on the edge of their seats until the sequel is released in 2019. The bottom line: run to the theater!
