Tony Stark is trying to put Iron Man aside and have a meaningful conversation with his normal girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow) in romantic Central Park. They are interrupted when up pops Doctor Strange: “I need you to come with me,” he says solemnly. The universe is in danger—not just the planet but the entire cosmos!
What’s to like about Avengers: Infinity War, the most popular movie in America (and probably the universe) right now? For me, it has three of my favorite contemporary actors: fast-quipping Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, the ironically intense Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Mark Ruffalo as the inwardly tortured Bruce Banner a.k.a Hulk. They bring human chemistry to this pseudo-science project. It’s also enjoyable that Infinity War draws on the most intentionally funny superhero (Iron Man) and the most real world intelligent (Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther). But I’m less sure about dragging in characters from every sector of the Marvel universe, including but not limited to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). For comic relief, we have the Guardians of the Galaxy plus Spider-Man (Tom Holland), eager as always to impress Mr. Stark.
Avengers: Infinity War gets crowded—in some scenes the assorted superheroes almost trip over each other in their jousts with Thanos. He’s a behemoth of evil in search of all six Infinity Stones—glowing little gems strewn across the cosmos with the Big Bang whose powers (when gathered together) would enable him to control time and space, perhaps reality itself. The squabbling cast of superhero characters spells out a moral to the story in a shaky hand: it’s all about teamwork. Putting aside differences for the greater good can save the day—or not.
A glimmer of meaning can be discerned in Thanos’ story. Like every totalitarian of the 20th century, he has a notion of Utopia, a better universe, and is willing to sacrifice millions (make that trillions if we count other planets) to establish his idea of a better universe by fire and destruction. “Reality can be whatever I want,” he growls like Clint Eastwood in a dark mood.
But any ideas Thanos’ comic book authors might have had back in the ‘70s are easily overlooked in the endless profusion of hurl-across-the-planet combat scenes in garish computer-generated colors. Once in a while the special effects arrest the eye; mostly they’re like numbing drops at the eye doctor.
Avengers: Infinity War takes itself very seriously except when it doesn’t. The trouble Banner has in arousing the rage to transform himself into Hulk is comically suggestive of a man who can’t manage an erection. And the dialogue mocks itelf. “Hitherto undreamt of?” one superhero chides another. “Did you really say that?”
At the start of Infinity War, Thanos promises: “No resurrections this time.” Given the movie’s box office triumph, here’s betting he’ll be proven wrong.
