Ok, so let me preface this post by saying, Major. Fricking. SPOILERS to follow!! I mean, its been more than two months, surely anyone who wants to see the movie must have by now so don't say I didn't warn you.
Anyone who knows me will be able to tell you that I am a massive fan of the MCU and all the films they have produced, so this may not be the most impartial of reviews. Yet, in spite of me already being a fan of the Cinematic Universe, I can still confidently say that the Russo Brother's most recent directorial effort is a strong, and fitting conclusion of an ambitious storytelling process, which has taken over 10 years to unfold. In the 3 hr run time, (which arguably seems incredibly daunting to begin with but is entirely justified), the film deals with both the consequences of the snap, and the struggle which the heroes face to bring those who they love most, and the rest of the world, back from dust.
To anyone who wasn't too traumatised after the snap to notice, it is made clear at the conclusion of Infinity War that the standout group of survivors are the original 6 Avengers. With the exception of Hawkeye (thanks to actor Jeremy Renner's double arm breakage before filming began), audiences were certain that the original lineup had survived, paving the way for them to become the centre of the conclusion. The action of the film is well paced, with there being plenty of surprises and cameos for both experienced fans and new recruits alike, and the concluding battle scene is an incredible combination of CGI and live action filmmaking, the epic proportion of which is absolutely astounding. As is the case with all Marvel movies, the quips are endless, and the rapport between the cast translating effortlessly on screen.
Honestly, the film is a close to perfect as one can expect from a film tasked to not only conclude a storyline 10 years in the making, but to also give fitting send offs to two of its most popular and well established characters an franchises, AS WELL as giving adequate screen time to those characters who narratives are now set to evolve thanks to the events which unfold in this film, namely Tom Holland's Spiderman, whose latest solo film will directly tackle the repercussions of the death of his mentor, role model, and "Uncle Ben" figure, Tony Stark.
The death of Tony Stark and the, I guess, "retirement"?? of Steve Rogers as Captain America are both incredibly fitting ends to their stories and their depictions. Fittingly, a fan online pointed out that Tony is surrounded by Pepper, Rhodey and Peter Parker all wearing suits which he made for them when he dies, the idea being that he has been able to protect them with what he's built. The discovery of "time travel", thus paving the way for Steve Rogers to go back and live the life he was destined to live with Peggy Carter is the most perfect ends which fans could have hoped for for Chris Evan's character. Much has been made of the decision for him to pass the shield onto Sam Wilson, instead of Bucky Barnes as is the case in the comics, but as can been seen from recent castings in the universe, Marvel Studios has strove to present audiences with a more realistic depiction of what America, and in turn the world looks like. And so the fact that Captain America, one of the most respected character in the universe, will now be an African American man, makes great strides in the effort to depict a more realistic version of America.
As is a frequent theme of Marvel Movies, there can be much debate over the representation of women in the universe. Without a doubt, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel is the absolute strongest character in the universe, arguably capable of defeating Thanos herself given half that chance (but I mean then we wouldn't have a three hour epic of a film so how much fun would that be?), and the death of the only female Avenger in the original lineup is a somewhat controversial choice, however in terms of storyline and motive, it makes the most sense for Black Widow to have sacrificed herself on Vormir for the sake of the only family she's known.
So yes, it can be argued that there is still some problems with female representation (but that team up scene during the epic battle was kick ass), and yes I'm sure that if I were to sit down and comb through the whole film there would be plenty of flaws that I could pick out, but taking the enormous task the cast, crew and filmmakers undertook into consideration, it cannot be denied that the film is the perfect conclusion of the wealth of storytelling which numerous directors, and writers have put together over the span of 10 years. The one overarching question left at the films conclusion is how (rather conveniently), all of Peter Parker's friends and class mates were dusted away in the snap, leaving them able to be reunited for the sophomore effort in Marvel's Spiderman franchise. It is a question which will likely (and hopefully) be dressed with the film's release on Tuesday
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