(2) AVENGERS – INFINITY WAR & ENDGAME

(2018-2019)

 

“Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it’s here. Or should I say, I am.”

O boy – was he ever! The words of Thanos, the surprisingly compelling villain protagonist of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity Wars and its 2019 cliffhanger sequel Endgame, might well apply to the film duo itself, which had been building over a decade and nineteen films as the capstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date in narrative and significance

My expectations of it were heightened in that it was adapted from one of the few Marvel comics I’ve actually read (although of necessity it obviously does not adapt the full extent and cosmic scale of the comics) and it met my expectations.

More irresistible galactic force than villain, Thanos is coming for your stones. The Infinity Stones, that is, those six pieces of potentially universe-breaking god-making bling. And he’s a man – or Titan – with a plan to wipe out half of all life in a proverbial snap of the fingers. After all, who hasn’t felt the same way when stuck in traffic or in a queue? The universe just gets too damn crowded at times. But of course to actually do it would be wrong, so it’s up to heroes of earth and galaxy to stop the stones and his plan coming together. (Although it does beg the question of why he was sitting around in his space chair so long).

In the critical consensus of Rotten Tomatoes, “Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that (mostly) realizes its gargantuan ambitions.” And in the words of The Hollywood Reporter, the film takes “a cue from the ending of The Empire Strikes Back in its super-sized finale; this is the equivalent of Han Solo frozen in the carbonite, on steroids.”

And I liked Endgame. It didn’t quite stick the landing as expectations were almost impossibly high after that ending in Infinity War but it hit home well enough. Perhaps too well, as my interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe waned afterwards (as well as arguably its film quality), although some films still pique my curiosity.

Of course, if I have to choose one part of what is essentially a two-part film, I’ll go with the first part or film Infinity War.

 

FANTASY OR SF?

 

The Marvel Universe, cinematic and comics, tends towards science fiction, albeit an extremely soft science fiction fantasy kitchen sink version – that is, one in which fantasy tropes are thrown in willy nilly among science fiction so soft as to be fantasy in any event, with sorcerer supreme Doctor Strange as an example of the former and the origin of Spiderman’s powers being bitten by a spider that may as well be magic as an example of the latter.

 

COMEDY

 

That trademark Marvel humor is there – hovering on the verge of the cliche it would subsequently become but kept in balance with the dramatic beats, such that you can argue the case that these two films are the most earnestly heartfelt of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER – OR IS THAT TITAN TIER?)