More is too much in ambitious 'Avengers: Infinity War'
“Avengers: Infinity War” - ★ ★ ½ stars
Intriguing, but virtually devoid of suspense.
Funny, but pressing too hard for laughs.
Monotonous, but not boring.
Spectacular, and unrelenting so.
“Avengers: Infinity War” appears to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of those 1970s disaster films with a kajillion stars struggling against overpowering forces, and advertised with the tagline, “Who will survive?”
Early on, it becomes apparent that “Infinity War” doesn't intend to play fair with its survival rate.
Superheroes and supervillains alike get axed, speared, burned, blown up, bashed, crushed, even dismantled, yet their super godlike abilities (especially the all-powerful magical incantations, and high-tech devices that seem more mystical than sci-fi) inexplicably award them extra lives as if they were the Mario Brothers.
So if any beloved superheroes do bite the celestial dust (no spoilers here!), we feel little sadness or loss, because we suspect they'll pop up in the next act.
“Thanos is coming!” wheezes Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), alias the Hulk, after being jet-propelled across the universe into the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).
Thanos (voiced by a gravely Josh Brolin in a craggly CGI body that almost looks real) comes from the moon Titan, and intends to wipe out half the universe (something we're reminded of every 15 minutes) as a merciful gesture to make sure the remaining half lives long and prospers.
The plot involves Thanos' attempt to find and gather up six “infinity stones” that, once combined, will give him the power to nuke the universe to save it.
In different narrative threads that tie together by the finale, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) gives young Spider-Man (Tom Holland) his own Iron Man-grade super costume. Captain America (Chris Evans) brings the mystical Vision (Paul Bettany) to Black Panther's (Chadwick Boseman) nation of Wakanda for safekeeping (since he carries one of the prized stones in his forehead), along with the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), green Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and the other members of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” join the fight, infusing this movie with juvenile humor that, although it worked in their own movie, doesn't create a tight fit here.
Many more Marvel superheroes gang up on Thanos in constant, nearly numbing battle sequences accompanied by Alan Silvestri's bombastic score.
“Infinity War” caps 18 other interlocked movies built in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008. (More will be arriving later.)
The entire series, beginning with “Iron Man,” qualifies as a work of marketing and narrative genius from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Before the home video market existed, Hollywood studios would never think of creating a movie that required viewers to see a decade's worth of other films to know what's going on.
This movie, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, takes a “more is more” approach, and winds up with simply too much to properly squeeze into a 2-hour, 26-minute action smackdown.
Still, the ambitious “Infinity War” should be mandatory viewing for serious Marvel movie fans.
• • •
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, Chadwick Boseman
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Other: A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for language, crude references, violence. 156 minutes.