A whole episode of Cinemaholics dedicated to Avengers: Infinity War? We’re just as surprised as you. It’s one of the biggest event movies of all time, and in every sense of the word, crushing box office records and causing massive debates online about (SPOILERS). Well, that goes for us as well.
Will Ashton and Maveryke Hines joined me this week to do a spoiler-free review of Infinity War, but followed by a massive spoiler section noted in the show notes above. Be wary of spoilers, but be even more wary of my emotions, as things get somewhat “Hulk-y” toward the midpoint of the episode.
Question for you: if you saw Infinity War, let us know what you think of the villain, and who do you think was “right” about the main debate in this episode? Careful for spoilers in the comments!
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I’m a bit more on Jon’s side with the ending stuff.
SPOILERS
I don’t think the movie wants you to think these deaths are permanent, otherwise they would have dwelled on those scenes and foreshadowed them a LOT more. The focus was really on the remaining characters reacting to their new circumstances, which is the right way to go about it in my opinion. I also buy into the idea that THANOS is the main character, so it makes sense to end with him and that only makes the “deaths” feel all the more important because they’re important to HIM.
Great review.
Overall I really enjoyed the movie, but I felt hollow with the sad ending. I really didn’t like Thanos, and I think I’m just going to sit in the minority here and not pick a fight with anyone who does. But here are the reasons why I did’t like him:
-Its the problem of making a villain too powerful, so by consequence they’re an idiot for not using the power more so the heroes can fight them (they could have said something like he’s yet to discover all the powers the stones possess, or something like that to rectify it). I wanted more than just bubbles, hallucinations and shooting lasers (though we do get that snap of his fingers at the end). There’s a weird amount of Thanos punching for a entity with God-like powers.
-Also, his plan to kill half of the population is odd. Even if humans are prosperous, unless Thanos kills half the population at intervals, the population will overgrow again eventually. And if the gauntlet can do anything, why not create more resources for everyone? He’s like Killmonger. They only see violence as a way to bring balance to the universe, but the movie doesn’t acknowledge other solutions, which is a mistake.
-I still think Thanos is a sociopath, with only a disturbing definition of love for Gamora. I think he thinks he loves her, but I would rather the stone not be given to him after he killed her, because love is actions as well as emotions. The stone could have been previously retrieved by someone else before Red Skull got there, and then Thanos could go get it, but knowing that his sacrifice was all for nothing.
-Overall Thanos serves as a great threat to the heroes, but his character isn’t that much better than many previous Marvel villains. He’s not the first to claim he’s killing for a greater good, but he succeeds and has suffered some loss himself, which is why I think he’s popular. Like Quill said though, he did have a choice and he chose to murder someone he “loves” for a poorly thought-out plan. But maybe part II will make him better for me.
Also my thoughts on the deaths and other parts of the movie:
-If you kill T’Challa, please let Shuri dawn the Black Panther suit and have a real action sequence please.
-Is Pepper alive? What about Wong? I’m worried about Pepper because Tony said that he dreamed they had a kid together, and Tony already lost Peter so he shouldn’t lose her too.
-One of Thanos’ first lines in the movie is “no resurrections this time”. So the movie acknowledges that there haven’t been very high stakes thus far, but if they’re going to resurrect some of the characters, it means they aren’t correcting the problem. I know it’s probably in reference to Loki only, but that line is ironic considering death in the movie here.
-I have mixed feelings on the OG avengers being left alive. The sell of this movie to me was seeing everybody together, it might make the sequel feel small by comparison.
-That death scene with Peter dying broke my heart, and the end credit scene was really frightening with how sudden the disappearances were. That end stinger confused my mother who doesn’t read comics, and even I was annoyed we had to wait until the end to see it, though I did like it.
-I wonder how this movie will make the previous and future films feel. The end of Thor: Ragnarok is super dark knowing what happens to the Asgardians. If part II is a disappointment, or way better, it will vastly colour our judgement of this movie.
Anyways, sorry for the long comment.
I listened to this the other day and appreciated the discussion, but I appreciate it so much more after tryign to get through the /Filmcast review for Infinity War. It was just painful and weirdly hypernegative. I appreciate you guys having nuanced opinions and criticisms that don’t feel so mean-spirited and condescending.
Dang this was a heated episode. I mean yeah Will and Maveryke are right about the deaths not working as I think the movie intended, but I’m glad Jon pointed out how ridiculous comic book movie speculation especially with characters dying is treated as way more important than it actually is. The story works without you having to buy that these characters are gone for good.
Love this post, thank you for sharing! I loved Avengers:IW was so much, its such a great movie! I got the insane opportunity to go to the World Premiere on the 23rd. I was just in front of Tom Holland during the screening at the Dolby Theater, he was with his brothers and they were all so sweet! I got to talk to members of the cast and they were all incredibly nice! I wrote two posts on my blog about it (one about the premiere and another one about after party) if you’d like to check it out!
Love, Tiffany Lea
https://zimmylifestyle.com/