+++ Opinion +++
Ten years after the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Iron Man”, the film franchise culminated in its 19th installment with a previously unimaginable spectacle: the heroes of the various Marvel series came together to stop a powerful villain. Well, that sounds so succinct after the first “Avengers“, but is much, much larger and more powerful:
“Avengers: Infinity War” shows heroic splinter groups spread out to the winds, who absolutely have to stick together in order to have a halfway fair chance against the disaster rolling towards them. You can experience the resulting high-pressure spectacle with an unforgettable conclusion (again) on TV today: Sat.1 shows “Avengers: Infinity War” on October 9, 2022 from 8:15 p.m. Alternatively, you can always find the murderous crossover on Disney+.
» “Avengers: Infinity War” on subscription to Disney+*
The insane Thanos (Josh Brolin) is taking gigantic strides towards the fulfillment of his dreadful plan: he will collect all the Infinity Stones in order to wipe out half of all life in the universe with a single flick. Now not only the fractious Avengers around Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), but also Wakanda’s leader Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Vision (Paul Bettany), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and the Guardians of the Galaxy act urgently…
Not only Thanos is a titan with a crazy plan: Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige took a risk with this bombast flick to implement his master plan! A murder load of characters (the above plot information by no means covers all of them!) is confronted with an unstoppable threat from the very first moment, which escalates for over two hours and then ends abruptly. That could have resulted in a complete cinematic catastrophe – just a year away from the long-awaited, costly sequel to this mind-blowing spectacle.
That “Avengers: Infinity War” that didn’t crash the MCU and is now, retrospectively, taken for granted as a safe bet, is a testament to the good work that the writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and the director duo Anthony & Joe Russo did . One of the great tricks behind “Avengers: Infinity War” is the pressure that the filmmakers create:
missed Thanos Thor and the Hulk a crushing defeat even before the film title appears. Troops of heroes are constantly assembled and torn apart as Thanos progresses from one milestone to the next, leaving behind mighty havoc. “Avengers: Infinity War” is in this sense the superhero answer to 70s disaster film classics like “Earthquake”: A devastating accident breaks out and we follow an almost confusing collection of characters as they desperately toil away towards it adequately react.
When it’s not groaning, cracking, swishing and rattling in a visually and acoustically powerful way, the sharply sketched, distinctive figures quickly exchange ideas about their plans, missing plans and ideas for the first possible idea of a plan. That drives the adrenaline up, never lets you forget how massive the still looming disaster is, and still has an outrageous entertainment factor. The different ways in which the characters deal with the crisis, as well as their various fighting styles, also ensure constant variety in this riot continuous fire.
The fact that this skilfully exuberant thunderstorm of effects doesn’t end with the target audience slouching to bed exhausted from the constant pressure and oversatiated is meanwhile at the logical end. An ending that I enjoyed in several cinema screenings – and that caused tremendous murmurs, amazement and screams around me every time. Exhaustion gave way to a stunned, questioning stare at the screen.
And if you “Avengers: Infinity War” for the first time on the occasion of today’s TV broadcast and for some reason managed to approach him unsuspectingly, don’t worry: you don’t have to wait a year for the answer – the TV will follow “Avengers: Endgame“ Already next week!
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