So the decade long journey that the famed Marvel Cinematic Universe traversed, comes down to this. Having introduced over dozens of characters and sifting through numerous story-archs, Avengers: Infinity War is the apotheosis of this superhero odyssey that the franchise has been building up to. And director duo Joe and Anthony Russo ensure they more than deliver on that.
There’s a massive threat looming over the “Earth’s mightiest heroes” in the megalomaniac Thanos, who aims to bring balance to humanity by wiping out half the race with the help of six holy artifacts, known as the infinity stones. Our beloved Avengers have a herculean task at hand in trying to keep him from succeeding in his sinister stratagems. But this is an assignment unlike what they’ve ever been in.
As one may have seen in the trailers, the stakes are astronomic here. And the movie flies out of the blocks from the off, wasting no time in making us comprehend the gravity of issue. Even when it cuts across numerous narratives, as the Avengers have been whittled down in groups and scattered across different landscapes, you’re never let off the tenterhooks. Such is the urgency. Such is the exigency.
But as it’s the trademark of every Marvel movie, this one too is interspersed with light-hearted comedy at regular intervals. The Russo brothers sprinkle enough humour to tickle your funny bone, and ensure it doesn’t sink deeply into the storytelling tenebrosity that it otherwise flirts with. The character interplay is at an abundance here, and it’s all pulled off masterfully. Scenes shared by Thor and Rocket Raccoon are among the standouts.
Despite attempting to give every character in this crammed roster enough coverage, the writing never slips up even a bit. The tempo never eases up. The CGI and the visual nirvana at every step of the film serves to compliment it aptly.
Infinity War is everything you hoped for – a thrill fest that makes your heart come crashing out, and an emotional rollercoaster that tugs at your tearchords too, cascaded by events that you may not have seen coming. But at the end of it all, there’s a bigger sense of anticipation of what’s to come in the concluding instalment next year. ‘Cause there isn’t a definitive ending; rather a cliffhanger that you can’t wait to unravel. And therein lies the movie’s success.
This is a cinematic masterpiece that could never be adequately panegyrised inspite of all the exalt and eulogy that’s on its way once it opens in cinemas. It’s something only to be reveled in. And we are in for a long, long one year ahead of us.
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War comes to theatres today.
