Avengers: Infinity War (12A.)
Directed by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Pom Klementieff and Tom Hiddleston. 149 mins.
This is not the end, but it feels like the beginning of the end. This grand sequence of comic book adaptations began a decade ago with Iron Man and most of the old gang probably now only have one more film left in them (next year's conclusion of this story.) I will miss them. This series of films has grown and deepened and may become the work that this era of Hollywood filmmaking is primarily remembered and celebrated for. Half a century ago, the people who moan about the number of superhero films in cinemas these days would have been rolling their eyes at all these cowboy films John Ford was churning out, complaining about how they were simplistic tales of good and evil that were all the same.
Still, you can have too much of a good thing. This isn't called Infinity for nothing. The cast goes on forever, the action sequences go on forever and at the end, the credit sequence goes on forever as you wait for the last little bit they tack on at the end. This is a film that makes Age of Ultron look like a model of restraint. In it an infinite number of costumed heroes, perform an infinite number of CGI generated action sequences rendered by an infinite number of desk-chained mouse jockeys, to try and stop one bloke destroying the universe. Brolin is a very fine Thanos, though after all the build-up you'd expect this destroyer of planets to be a bit bigger. Thanos is actually a kind of extreme eco-warrior concerned about overpopulation. He just gotta collect a bunch of stones and then he can kill off half the universe and bring balance.
Infinity War has all the traditional Marvel virtues. It is consistently funny and your affection for these performers and their interpretations of these roles means it is entertaining. For the first half hour the film looks like it might be able to pull it all together into a cohesive storyline that is truly epic, rather than just very, very big but it quickly gets bogged down by the sheer number of people who have to be dropped in on. The script is like a bloody Christmas card list; you don't dare miss anyone out.
And that's just about all I can say on the matter. Before the screening Disney was hammering home their No Spoilers message handing out #Thanos Demands Your Silence badges and showing us a spoof trailer with the cast telling us not to blab the film's secrets. Which is fine by me but as things not to be spoilt start happening right from the beginning than I don't have much wriggle room. Anyway, as there is another one coming out next year and this is a comic book movie, where resurrections are ten a penny, I suspect even the biggest shocks and surprises are open to negotiation.
Directed by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Pom Klementieff and Tom Hiddleston. 149 mins.
This is not the end, but it feels like the beginning of the end. This grand sequence of comic book adaptations began a decade ago with Iron Man and most of the old gang probably now only have one more film left in them (next year's conclusion of this story.) I will miss them. This series of films has grown and deepened and may become the work that this era of Hollywood filmmaking is primarily remembered and celebrated for. Half a century ago, the people who moan about the number of superhero films in cinemas these days would have been rolling their eyes at all these cowboy films John Ford was churning out, complaining about how they were simplistic tales of good and evil that were all the same.
Still, you can have too much of a good thing. This isn't called Infinity for nothing. The cast goes on forever, the action sequences go on forever and at the end, the credit sequence goes on forever as you wait for the last little bit they tack on at the end. This is a film that makes Age of Ultron look like a model of restraint. In it an infinite number of costumed heroes, perform an infinite number of CGI generated action sequences rendered by an infinite number of desk-chained mouse jockeys, to try and stop one bloke destroying the universe. Brolin is a very fine Thanos, though after all the build-up you'd expect this destroyer of planets to be a bit bigger. Thanos is actually a kind of extreme eco-warrior concerned about overpopulation. He just gotta collect a bunch of stones and then he can kill off half the universe and bring balance.
Infinity War has all the traditional Marvel virtues. It is consistently funny and your affection for these performers and their interpretations of these roles means it is entertaining. For the first half hour the film looks like it might be able to pull it all together into a cohesive storyline that is truly epic, rather than just very, very big but it quickly gets bogged down by the sheer number of people who have to be dropped in on. The script is like a bloody Christmas card list; you don't dare miss anyone out.
And that's just about all I can say on the matter. Before the screening Disney was hammering home their No Spoilers message handing out #Thanos Demands Your Silence badges and showing us a spoof trailer with the cast telling us not to blab the film's secrets. Which is fine by me but as things not to be spoilt start happening right from the beginning than I don't have much wriggle room. Anyway, as there is another one coming out next year and this is a comic book movie, where resurrections are ten a penny, I suspect even the biggest shocks and surprises are open to negotiation.
