AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR – A Digital HD Review by John Strange

 

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR – A Digital HD Review by John Strange

 

With the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the filmmakers have given us a HUGE mash-up of all of the elements that make up that universe.  Avengers: Infinity War brings together most all of the characters and more storylines than I would have expected.  Based upon the info I learned in the featurette, "The Director's Roundtable", this has never been done before.  They also made the film in about half the time that the previous films had to solidify their stories.

 

The central theme of this film is that Thanos (Josh Brolin) has finally started to gather the Infinity Stones to give him the power to eliminate half of the people in the universe. Why is he doing this?  He feels that only by doing this can he save the universe from literally running out of resources.

 

The base storyline in this film is complicated because of the sheer number of major players acting out their subplots.  Each subplot is absolutely necessary to bring all of these heroes to their own section of the final battle at the proper time. 

 

This meshing of the heroes goes about as smoothly as you might expect from this huge gaggle of oddly inspired individuals.  Example: from Guardians of the Galaxy you have a group (Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Drax (Dave Bautista)) determined to stop Thanos and save their friend, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Thanos' adopted daughter.  Their first meeting with the heroes from Earth (Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.),  Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)) on Titan does not begin well. They don't truly become "team-ish" until they actually face-off with Thanos.

 

The teams on Earth had a much easier time of it in this respect though there are a lot of wide-eyed expressions as some see Wakanda for the first time.  The early battles are tough but the heroes prevail.  The climatic fight is, at least to me, unlike anything ever seen in one of the films of the MCU series.  If, like me you are a huge fan, this fight will thrill you while wearing you out emotionally.

 

What comes from the filmmakers in the upcoming films will ultimately tell us whether this series will be one of the best ever or dies a sad tragic death.  If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the first option.

 

Now we get to my favorite part of home releases, the bonus extras!  Starting with the Director's Commentary, we get to listen to Anthony and Joe Russo (Directors) with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (screenwriters) discuss the film as it plays out.  When you listen to them discuss how they managed to bring this film to the screen, you may find yourself experiencing a feeling of awe.  The size of the task was daunting but they took it on and did a magnificent job with it.

 

The gag reel is pretty much what you would expect from these insanely talented actors and actresses.  It's well done and fun to watch.  The deleted scenes are always interesting to watch.  As with most deleted scenes I have seen, these are interesting but would either have changed the feel of the film or caused a stutter in the pacing.  Leaving them out was a good decision.

 

The featurettes, all interesting, each take a part of the film and give us more info on the reasoning behind scenes or characters and how the filmmakers made those decisions work.  Perhaps the best of the four given to us is "The Mad Titan" as the filmmakers and acting talent discuss Thanos' character and its effect upon everyone..

 

My favorite featurette for this film is "The Directors' Roundtable" where the directors who helmed all 19 films sat around a table (well, Taika Waititi attends by Skype or Facetime) and talk about what they each created.  They give us some great behind the scenes tales that are really fascinating.  These men created their films, each imbuing their stories with their own unique brands of style and humor.  And somehow, with the assistance of the Marvel executives like Kevin Feige, it all works together and flows like no series of films I have ever encountered. (NOTE: This featurette is ONLY available on the Digital HD offering!)

 

This is a film you MUST watch if you are a fan of the MCU.  You may not like what happens.  You may love it.  The people I have spoken with since the film came out in late April have been split with most taking an "I like it but I am waiting to see what comes next" attitude.  Personally, I liked it and I cannot wait to see what they do next!

 

 

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Selig Rating Scale:

 

BRAND NEW: Should add to your DVD collection at any cost

SALE ITEM: Worth owning, but try to catch it a sale

SECOND HAND: Plan to get it, but wait to buy it used

RENTAL: Worth taking a look at, but not owning

COASTER: Pick it up at a garage sale and use it for drinks

PULL!: Makes a great Trap Shooting target