Resiko besar apa yang akan terjadi? Apakah para superhero kesayangan kita ini akan tinggal diam saja ketika Bumi terancam kembali dengan kedatangan para super villain baru ini? Bagaimana dengan nasib alam semesta ini, dengan adanya campur tangan Thanos? Semuanya akan sedikit demi sedikit terjawab melalui film Infinity War ini. Tapi perlu diingat, bahwa film ini merupakan bagian pertama saja dari seluruh plot yang akan dihadirkan di film Avengers ini, sehingga jangan kaget jika ketika menonton, Anda akan merasakan plot hole di dalamnya. Mengesampingkan plot utamanya, yang perlu dihindari untuk bisa menonton Infinity War secara keseluruhan lebih nikmat, Marvel Studios kali ini berhasil memberikan sebuah sosok villain yang patut ditakuti, dan memang memiliki kekuatan tanpa batas selayaknya yang digambarkan di dalam buku komik aslinya. Acungan jempol bagi pihak yang terlibat di dalam film, yang mampu memberika gambaran detil tentang Thanos, dan semengerikan apa kekuatannya ketika menghadapi para superhero kesayangan kita.
The following is spoiler-free, as it is based on the comic book storylines, not on “Avengers: Infinity War.” For all the great things the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has accomplished, one it has always struggled with is making the audience feel concerned for the hero’s safety.
In the 18 released films only Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has died — in the final moments of “Age of Ultron” — and that wasn’t exactly a crushing loss. Even when “The Avengers” tried having a meaningful death by killing Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) — a character we’d gotten to know through multiple of the Phase 1 films — it was immediately undone thanks to ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD.” “Infinity War” has a real chance to shake things up by killing off a big character for good.
Through the last 10 years, the MCU has created a massive stable of characters. Perhaps some of them would be best utilized by making the ultimate sacrifice in the battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin). These characters are in the most danger of falling in “Infinity War.”
5. Nebula
Up until “Infinity War,” hardly any character in the MCU has enjoyed face time with Thanos. In fact, it’s pretty much just his two daughters Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan). Both have a lot of solid reasons to hate dear old Dad, but if one of the two has had it worse it was probably Nebula. Thanos at least seems to have some respect for Gamora, where he just slowly tore Nebula apart and replaced her with cybernetics.
Related ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Cast Breakdown Marvel’s Biggest Film Stagecraft Special Edition: Tom Hiddleston Talks Shakespeare, 'Avengers'
It’s likely one, if not both, of these sisters confront the Mad Titan in the film. If money needed to be put down on which one falls to Thanos it’s easy money on Nebula. It would certainly give Gamora one more reason to hate her father.
4. Vision
Vision (Paul Bettany) is in some serious danger going into “Infinity War” largely due to why he exists. He came into being back in “Age of Ultron,” when the body Ultron and Helen Cho were building was combined with the Mind Stone. Thanos is looking for all the Infinity Stones so he can bedazzle his Infinity Gauntlet.
“Infinity War” could possibly end with Thanos acquiring all the stones — a la Voldemort finding the Elder Wand at the end of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” — which would set the stage for “Avengers 4.” If that’s the case, Vision we hardly knew you.
3. Iron Man
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is the grandfather of the MCU. He was there from the start, and nearly every character respects him. If he were to fall to Thanos, it would be a thunderous message to the remaining heroes — and the audience — that Thanos — and Marvel — aren’t messing around. The character hasn’t starred in his own film since “Iron Man 3” in 2013, instead popping up in other films like “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Captain America: Civil War.” Perhaps the stories Tony Stark had to tell are coming to an end.
Plus, Downey Jr. essentially gets paid in battleships of cash. Even though Marvel basically prints money these days, it might be nice to allocate that money elsewhere.
2. Hawkeye
Between the time the first “Infinity War” trailer dropped and now, there have been approximately eight million think pieces on where Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is and why he isn’t in any posters or clips. This could mean one of two things. Either we’ve got a Luke Skywalker/”The Force Awakens” situation where he doesn’t show up until the very end of film, or nearly all of Hawkeye’s scenes are important enough to keep under wraps.
“Age of Ultron” spent a decent chunk of the film developing Hawkeye — revealing he had a wife and kids, and lived on a farm — and ended with him deciding to retire from the superhero life. “Civil War” made the point to bring him out of retirement and make him a fugitive. This much focus on a character who was initially mostly a throw-away character (looking at you “The Avengers”) is never a great sign for that character’s lifespan.
1. Captain America
The MCU films haven’t exactly been subtle about the fact that Captain America (Chris Evans) is the heart of the Avengers. Having him fall at the end of “Infinity War” would be a massive blow to the team. Story-wise this also opens the door for a lot of interesting films going forward. Unlike other characters, Captain America — or Steve Rogers more accurately — dying doesn’t mean the franchise has to end. There are plenty of great stories from the comics when both Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) spent time wielding the shield.
Logistically, this makes the most sense as well since Evans has stated that he’ll be done with the character after “Avengers 4.”
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Avengers: Infinity War shows Marvel has hijacked cinemas and they're here to stay
Updated
Avengers: Infinity War is out. I hear the naysayers muttering: are we finally done with this endless litany of Marvel movies?
Infinity War draws to a close an 18-film arc, an unheard-of cinematic endeavour of surprising complexity and huge box office earnings.
Last week, Avatar director James Cameron lamented the seemingly endless parade of big budget Marvel flicks, saying "I'm hoping we'll start getting Avenger fatigue here pretty soon".
Let's ignore for a moment the fact that Cameron has four Avatar sequels slated and focus on the question: is the wave of Marvel films over?
Is Infinity War the war that will wrap it all up?
Where it all began
Let's go back to the start of this odyssey.
Sitting at the press screening for Iron Man in 2008, I didn't know what we've now all committed to muscle memory: ALWAYS STICK AROUND AFTER THE CREDITS. But I sat there in the dark chatting with a friend, and WHAM.
Suddenly we were given an Easter egg of sorts: Iron Man is going to join The Avengers.
It turned out to be the first hint of many. Next we got Edward Norton's forgettable turn as The Hulk with a post-credits nod to the idea of a super team that could knit together multiple movies. Captain America: The First Avenger did it again. Then Thor not only mentioned The Avengers, but cameo'd another Avenger, Hawkeye. Iron Man 2 had Tony clashing with Nick Fury over not meeting the criteria required for joining this rumoured super team.
Then it happened: The Avengers. A funny, smart ensemble superhero film that actually worked. Marvel launched into phase two, which included more Iron Man, more Thor, Cap's fantastic cold war-style thriller The Winter Soldier, and the revelatory Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Marvel movies kept coming, and miraculously, they all linked up! People began taking them seriously, too. We now had a functioning cinematic universe, populated by massive stars playing characters we'd grown up loving, or grown to love.
How does Infinity War stack up?
Infinity War is an ambitious film, but it never falters under its own weight, as much as James Cameron and his ilk might want it to. Every character in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) worth their salt shows up and gives it their all.
Thanos, the villain at the core, is making a horribly compelling argument: the universe is going to collapse, eat itself, due to rampant overpopulation.
The solution? Click your fingers and wipe out half the population, selected at random. It's shocking and cruel, but it has a kind of madman's logic. Maybe that's why Infinity War excels; everyone has a reason for doing what they're doing.
One of the selling points in its marketing is the question of "Who will die?". To me that seems like a bewildering place to start as a viewer: which of these characters you adore will be snuffed out to emphasise the danger of this situation?
Don't worry. I won't spoil for you who does or doesn't die in Infinity War. Disney promised us numerous twists and turns and warned critics not to blow any of it for the cinema-going public.
But thankfully, Infinity War doesn't live or die on who lives or dies. It's a smart, sassy, terrifying film with staggeringly high stakes and a huge roster of stars, but it works.
Infinity War might be the best, most audacious Marvel movie to date.
So is this the end of the line?
But let's get back to James Cameron's question: are we done? Has Hollywood got this radioactive blood out of its system? Now that we've seen through this 18-film juggernaut, can we finally get something else on our screens?
Really, the question doesn't make sense. Hollywood is still turning out non-superhero films, like always, and guess what? They're as good as ever. And indie films are still kicking arse — look at Get Out or Call Me By Your Name — not a spandex-clad warrior in sight!
I suspect what chafes naysayers is that somehow, these films are working. Strike that, they're better than ever.
Look at the latest movies from the Marvel Cinematic universe.
Thor: Ragnarok, a superhero hair-metal buddy-cop comedy that flipped Hemsworth's Thor from Shakespearean deadpan nobility to charming, effusive stoner god.
Black Panther was a profoundly empowering film with an electric cast and a super soundtrack — and it's just topped $680 million at the box office.
These films are good, and they work well together. Why would Disney ever stop riding this train?
This year alone, they're releasing an Ant Man sequel, and next year we get a Captain Marvel solo outing. What's more, we're not even done yet — Infinity War ended on a cliff-hanger!
Even if Disney do eventually call it quits with this leviathan of a cross-franchise movement, they've set a precedent now. Films can cross-pollinate. Spinoffs can be hugely successful. Weird, tangential, unheard-of heroes can make it to the big leagues.
After the premiere of Infinity War, I saw two adorable kids — once dressed as Falcon, one as Black Panther — joyfully yelling "Wakanda Forever!" at each other, as their mother, wearing a Captain America T-shirt, cajoled them towards the exit.
An entire generation has now grown up watching heroes play nice and intermingle. Just imagine what effect that's going to have on the next generation of filmmakers and creators.
Paul Verhoeven is an author, broadcaster and comedian. Infinity War is now showing in cinemas.
Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, australia
First posted
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Benedict Cumberbatch at the Avengers premiere
The latest Avengers blockbuster is getting almost as many raves as it has superheroes, with one critic calling it "a supremely entertaining showdown".
Avengers: Infinity War, writes The Guardian's reviewer, is an "utterly confident comic-book movie mash-up."
Featuring most of the characters from the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), it shows Iron Man, Black Panther et al unite against an apocalyptic threat.
Variety says the result - out in the UK on Thursday - is "bedazzling fun".
Yet its critic does suggest that having so many superheroes populate the same film "means they're all less special".
Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the stars of Guardians of the Galaxy also feature in the two-and-a-half hour film.
Their adversary is Thanos, a computer-generated villain who seeks to collect six "infinity stones" that give their owner power over reality, time and space.
Image copyright Marvel/Disney Image caption The film sees Doctor Strange (left) have his first encounter with Tony Stark, aka Iron Man
Attendees at screenings held in central London on Wednesday were exhorted not to reveal details of the film's plot that are not already in the public domain.
"Don't spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn't want it spoiled for you," read a message written by the film's sibling directors, Anthony and Joe Russo.
Critics are largely adhering to this request, though the Daily Mirror's Chris Hunneysett gives away a few key details we won't share here.
"Fans will be dumbfounded by the direction the movie takes the Marvel Cinematic Universe," he writes in his five-star review.
Image copyright Marvel/Disney Image caption Josh Brolin plays Thanos, the film's computer-generated villain
According to Screen Daily, the film "boasts plenty of comic-book action while also making room for a darker tone and emotional resonance".
Total Film concurs, describing it as "an onslaught of action, thrills, gags and gasps" in its own five-star review.
Yet Digital Spy expresses reservations in its three-star write-up, saying "it all feels a bit rushed" and is "ultimately rather depressing".
The Telegraph's Tim Robey, meanwhile, finds fault with Josh Brolin's Thanos, suggesting he resembles an "outsize ogre-thug beamed in from World of Warcraft".
Avengers: Infinity War will be followed next April by another Avengers instalment that has yet to have an official title.
But fans will not have to wait that long for more MCU fantasy, with a second Ant-Man film due out in August and a debut outing for Captain Marvel scheduled for March.
Our verdict, by entertainment reporter Neil Smith
"Thanos demands your silence," critics were told at the packed screenings that took place on Wednesday night in London's Leicester Square.
And there will be many film lovers who will be avoiding the internet today, in case their own viewing experience is spoiled by people in the know revealing too much.
So what can we write about Avengers: Infinity War? Well, it won't ruin anything to say it's an efficient, engrossing and entertaining spectacle with some craftily sprung surprises.
Image copyright Disney/Marvel Image caption Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy also feature in the film
Its vast ensemble cast features most (if not all) of the characters we've been introduced to over the last 10 years, many of them assembled in rewarding new configurations.
Keeping so many balls in the air has ramifications for the plot, which is spread over a number of locales and is sometimes confusing.
As they did in the two Captain America films they co-directed, though, the Russo Brothers make some bold choices fans won't stay silent about for long.
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