AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

avengers: infinity war (2018) movie

Genre              |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   100+ minutes

Released         |   25 April 2018

cast

Robert Downey Jr... Tony / Iron Man
Chris Evans ... Steve Rogers
Chris Hemsworth ...Thor
Scarlett Johansson ... Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo ... Bruce Banner / Hulk
Jeremy Renner ... Hawkeye
Don Cheadle ... James Rhodes
Josh Brolin ... Thanos
Paul Bettany ... Vision
Elizabeth Olsen ... Wanda Maximoff
Tom Holland ... Peter Parker
Benedict Cumberbatch ... Dr. Strange

director

Anthony Russo
Joe Russo

writer

​Christopher Markus ... (screenplay by) &
Stephen McFeely ... (screenplay by)
 
Stan Lee ... (based on the Marvel comics by) and
Jack Kirby ... (based on the comics by)
 
Joe Simon ... (Captain America created by) and
Jack Kirby ... (Captain America created by)
 
Steve Englehart ... (Star-Lord created by) and
Steve Gan ... (Star-Lord created by)
 
Bill Mantlo ... (Rocket Raccoon created by) and
Keith Giffen ... (Rocket Raccoon created by)
 
Jim Starlin ... (Thanos, Gamora and Drax created by)
 
Stan Lee ... (Groot created by) and
Larry Lieber ... (Groot created by) and
Jack Kirby ... (Groot created by)
 
Steve Englehart ... (Mantis created by) and
Don Heck ... (Mantis created by)

cinematographer

Trent Opaloch

music

​Alan Silvestri

film editor

Jeffrey Ford
Matthew Schmidt

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box office result

Worldwide               $? million

Australia                 $? million

North America        $? million

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the best dialogue

x

x

x

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AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 27 April 2018
Pop ​Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐½

The Avengers reassemble for their third big screen adventure and this time they’ve got some help; lots of help…

After eighteen movies, Marvel Studios tackles its biggest adaptation yet, the story of Thanos and ‘The Infinity Gauntlet’. The 1991 Jim Starlin written story for Marvel Comics was a huge success. Starlin expanded on characters and themes he had introduced as far back as the 1970s. The six-part story brought all of these elements together as Thanos wreaked havoc across the Universe in his quest to win the affection of Mistress Death, however, Nebula manages to steal the Infinity Gauntlet and its left to Adam Warlock to make things right.

That was then, this is now…

As fans of all the Marvel movies know, the carve-up of the the film rights by the cash-strapped comic book company in the 1990s saw many of its key titles acquired by 20th Century Fox (X-Men, Fantastic Four) and Sony (Spider-Man). Marvel Studios and Sony have managed to come to a working arrangement for the character of Spider-Man, but 20th Century Fox has remained steadfast and have not entertained a similar tie-up. (This will, of course, change if and when, the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney receives US regulatory approvals, but that’s at least another 12 months away.) So, even though some of the characters are different from the original comic book story, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR follows much the same plot…

Thanos, a refugee from the planet Titan, has decided to cleanse half of all existence, bringing together six ‘Infinity stones’ into a gauntlet (a forged metal glove) that will give him ultimate power and rule the Universe.

The majority of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is spent on his pursuit of the stones and the efforts made by various groups of heroic characters trying to stop him.
In an attempt to give every major character from all but one of the eighteen films their “moment”, the Marvel writing team of Stephen McFeely & Christopher Markus break the story’s heroes in smaller groups,  delivering a remarkably layered adventure that keeps moving all the way up to a finale that will be debated long and hard among fans of both the Marvel movies and comic books.
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In an exercise such as INFINITY WAR, there’s really no point in trying to assess the film on its artistic merit. It’s pure, unadulterated entertainment.

The best question to ask is “Which characters are best served by the story?”

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor continues to evolve and INFINITY WAR manages to successfully blend his new-found RAGNAROK humour with his AVENGERS heroism to make him, arguably, the most likeable of the original Avengers cinematic team.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange is a man with a plan. As keeper of the ‘Eye of Agamotto’, Strange is in possession of the Time stone and becomes a target for Thanos. Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. spend most of the film together, along with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, so it’s not hard to imagine the ego on hand in the Strange Vs Stark banter.

Paul Bettany’s Vision is also a key player given his head is literally embedded with the Mind stone. Fans may find the writing of his character frustrating, as he seems to have “lost” the ability to fight back when confronted by danger. By default, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff spends most of the film fighting Vision’s battles for him.

Josh Brolin does a great job as Thanos. Given the physical size of the character and his ever-increasing power, it could have been easy to play him as a scenery-chomping villain. Brolin manages to keep these tendencies in check and play Thanos as someone who believes he’s doing the right thing. He’s seen his people and planet die because life itself has been left unchecked. Thanos believes somebody has to do something otherwise the Universe itself will cease to exist. In an effort to create a greater good, he sees himself as the only being capable of making the hard decision about who lives and who dies.

Perhaps the three people who deserve the most credit for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR are sibling Directors Joe & Anthony Russo and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.

This film could have been an absolute mess. It was a fear expressed by many Marvel movie fans ever since the ‘Infinity War’ announcement.

The Russo brothers keep the film focussed on its goal, making almost every scene counts as the film hurtles toward a finale that will leave viewers stunned but, no doubt, wanting more. INFINITY WAR is also the most visually appealing of the three AVENGERS movies. Much of this is to do with the return of Cinematographer Trent Opaloch, who shot both the Russo’s CAPTAIN AMERICA films. The only letdown (as was the case with BLACK PANTHER) are the film’s battle sequences set in Wakanda. For some reason, these bright daytime scenes never feel like they’re epic. There’s a sense of a few people running around looking for the closest CG effect to be inserted at a later date.

There’s no doubting Kevin Feige...

Marvel Studios now have nineteen hit films in a row. Not even fellow Disney stablemates Pixar or Lucasfilm can boast the record that Feige has delivered while he’s been in charge. The break from the larger Marvel business, with the support of both Disney Chairman Bob Iger and Disney Studio Chief Alan Horn, has allowed Feige to fulfil the ambition of a plan that started back in the late 2000s. The first hint of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was present back in 2008 with the release IRON MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK. The success of IRON MAN allowed Feige to explore the idea further with a follow-up IRON MAN movie in 2010 and the subsequent release of THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER in 2011. Much like Samuel L. Jackson’s fictional Marvel alter-ego Nick Fury, Feige managed to assemble the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and use them to create the single most successful franchise in the history of cinema.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and, no doubt, the yet-to-be-titled AVENGERS 4 are the culmination of more than ten years of planning and hard work. Kevin Feige, and all those who have worked with him to achieve the success of that effort, should be congratulated.

The question that will be of most interest will be “Where to from here?”

BLACK PANTHER has been praised for the precedent it set with its portrayal of a Black superhero, but the virtue of racial equality or social diversity is not enough to sustain Marvel Studios. More than ever, there’s is a need to explore cinema’s own diversity model: GENRE. The future of cinema itself needs it. Viewers don’t want to spend another decade feeling as though Marvel have simply expanded upon what they’ve already done.

There’s never been a better time to explore the potential of the Universe!

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) USEFUL LINKS

​Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - IMDb
​Avengers: Infinity War - Wikipedia
​Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes
​Avengers: Infinity War | Movies | Marvel.com

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