If there’s one word that can aptly contain the essence of the whole MCU-flavor of films, it’s this one—straightforward. These films give the audiences exactly what they promise—plenty of blockbuster spectacles, unpredictable plotlines and sometimes, memorable approaches at characterization (Winter Soldier, Iron Man 1 to name a few). But the chief aspect of the MCU is their interconnected-ness, which was genuinely refreshing back in 2012, but after watching Infinity War, it seemed that even that mold is starting to lose it’s luster.
The main contribution of the MCU in the broader aspect of the world of filmmaking is the episodic format of storytelling that it has introduced in it’s movies. Every film in the Marvel-verse exists as a stepping stone to something exponentially more, which too, has become rather a hit-or-miss effect on the films. Some movies shine in that framework while others suffer or at least, lose some of their meaning in the long run. Winter Soldier is an example of the former category while Thor: Ragnarok belongs in the latter.
For both fans and moviegoers alike, Avengers Infinity War represents the culmination of an era in the MCU, kind of like the crescendo to a long saga. Ever since we saw Thanos as the end of 2012’s The Avengers, everything that came after was building to this film. And it delivers in that regard fully—Thanos arrived, conquered and in true MCU fashion, left at least a new trilogy of films’ worth of material to cover. Which means the amount of storytelling opportunities that Infinity War gave is sumptuous—enough to keep the wheels of the franchise going for at least half dozen films, not counting the inevitable solo films and sequels that are already slated thus far.
But not only did IW (Infinity War) served as a culmination of the previous stories that we saw in the MCU, it’s also inhabited everything that was characteristic of the Marvel cinematic formula (which is the episodic format of storytelling and the interconnected nature of the films). And here’s where it gets interesting, as the way the film plays out, it shows some glaring signs of age in the MCU brand of movies. After watching it, there’s no doubt (for me at least), that both of the episodic format and the crossover-style is beginning to worn out and feel tired.
That’s kinda the nature of formulas, they start to wither and fade and when watching the Avengers assembling (for the umpteenth time) and charging against Thanos’ army in Wakanda, the thrill that was felt in the battle of New York, is barely there. The ‘shtick’ of the whole different characters-coming-together-to-battle the big bad villain has now been relegated to just blockbuster noise as opposed to something truly awe-inspiring.
And speaking of blockbuster noise, there’s a lot of sound and fury-signifying-nothing in IW, which can be rightfully attributed to the overuse of the MCU mold and to a lesser extent, it’s over-eagerness to please audiences and refusing to break away from it’s roots. The much talked about ending and it’s obvious ramifications feel empty after realizing that most of the characters already have individual films lined up so their absence instantly loses much of their shock value (You know they’ll be back and kicking in no time). Instead, it feels more like a stunt at being impactful rather than actually being that.
IW also shows that the same mold that made MCU so richly entertaining in the first place is now working against the franchise. And this is where Thanos’ character works—it takes the audience out of the usual MCU-tropes and offers something radically different. Which is effective but only partially.
As a villain, Thanos shines, maybe more than everyone else who came before in the MCU. The writers of IW have gone the lengths to make him feel humane and relatable but strangely, we are left out from his true motivations or the ‘Why’ part for doing everything that he does in this film and all we get is a cliched ‘because-he-can’ answer. His drive for ‘balancing out’ the universe is followed by a gratuitous amount of moral relativism that is showered on his character. It also makes you go—“well, with the full power of the Infinity Gauntlet, why didn’t he think of another way to solve it?” These things combine to bring layers rather than depth to Thanos’ character, which ultimately takes away from the ‘tragic’ angle that Marvel was going for with him. Make no mistake, Thanos is an all-round badass and the centerpiece of IW, but he’s no Darth Vader or the Joker.
Being a crossover film, IW thrills and dazzles with it’s set-pieces but the one which would stay in the memory of moviegoers is most likely the battle on Titan against Thanos. The climatic battle, for the most part is yet another superheroes-beating up-CGI canon fodders, and definitely feels repetitive. Aside from that though, the fights are engrossing and it’s always great to witness familiar characters getting a few licks in, with style. Guess that never gets old.
So to sum it all up—IW is everything that the MCU promises to deliver and there’s 10 times more of that flavor here than in any other film that has come out from the factory. It’s straightforward, funny (perhaps more than it needed to be) and saavy, even though there’s times when you may wish it was a bit more alive or at least, more dense.
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