The Marvel Thread - Multiverses and other Shenanigans

[Mr. Blaileen]

I've seen Infinity War twice now and I love it. Out of all the Marvel directors, I think I like the Russo brothers best. For me, their films are the perfect tone in terms of balancing drama and comedic moments (although, as usual, I could have done with a few less jokes in key spots). They do action well, they do drama well, and their stories seem to maintain a believability even with all the ridiculousness of superheroes and comic book stuff that goes along with them. All of their films (Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War) are up there in the MCU hierarchy.

Infinity War, man, what a ride. I wasn't sure it was possible to have a 2.5 hour movie feel rushed, but this one almost did. There was so much going on! Thanos is easily my favorite villain to date, and Josh Brolin kills it. I wish they had more of his backstory, honestly, but the directors felt it wasn't necessary for the film. He managed to mostly live up to the hype though, in my opinion. He was badass, brutal, tender in the right moments, and relatively well-rounded, at least for Marvel villains.

Highlights:
- Thanos. See above.
- Breaking up the heroes into new teams. It was fun to see the fresh interactions that came with Stark/Strange, Thor/Rocket (Rabbit), and others.
- Thor - they've really made him a great character since Ragnarok. The new weapon is badass, and I laughed a little every time he called Rocket "Rabbit."
- The CGI. It was spotty in a few shots, but with a film that had so much CGI going on at all times, it was pretty fucking good overall. Makes Justice League look like a joke (and I'm a DC fan too).
- Bucky's new arm. He didn't get to do much as a character, but man I love the black and gold of that new arm. Also loved him dual wielding a rifle and Rocket.
- Red Skull! Even if it was only a tease, it was cool to see his whereabouts after all this time. Sucks that Hugo Weaving didn't do the voice.
- Wakanda. The fight scenes were great. That last battle scene was amazing.
- The pacing overall. With so many great characters, new teams, and heightened stakes, I was never really bored at any point during the movie. The directors did a great job of distributing the action and dramatic scenes.

(Minor) Gripes:
- Even for a 2.5 hour movie, it felt a bit rushed. I know why they didn't include them, but I would have liked to have at least seen a flashback to the destruction of Xandar or the initial attack on the Asgardian ship. Also would have liked more Thanos as a whole.
- The Black Order - felt like they should have been a bit more formidable or memorable, but they were pretty 'meh' as a whole. Maw was the only interesting one and he got killed early.
- I like the Guardians, and I get why they're comedic relief a lot, but I don't like that Drax is basically a walking punchline now. Don't get me wrong, a lot of his jokes land with me and they're funny, but the dude never seems to do anything serious anymore. He just says ridiculous things every so often and that's pretty much it.
- Enjoyed the Thor side-plot, but it probably could have been shaved down by a few minutes in favor of some other stuff.

Favorite interaction:

Thor (to Cap): "This is my new friend: Tree." *gestures to Groot*

Groot (while killing things): "I am Groot!"

Cap (in all sincerity): "I am Steve Rogers!"

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All in all, loved it, and will probably see it one more time in theaters.