To be
blunt: I don’t care about this story and it is because of the way this universe
unfolds. These characters – though some are quite likable just as in
Smallville – do not have meaningful arcs with lasting changes either in their
solo films or in the big team-ups. I don’t believe in the stakes
here. Ever. And it is because of the universe’s history
and what just about every previous entry has proven to me which is that almost
nothing matters, nothing really counts and the status quo will be maintained at
all costs.
This is shown in superficial ways across the entire series: SHIELD is
destroyed in Winter Soldier but Nick Fury still has an extra non SHIELD ship
lying around to help in Age of Ultron so there’s no real consequence of all the
SHIELD screw-ups. This is shown in problematic character ways: Age of
Ultron introduces Wanda and Vision to do…what? Do they matter at
all? Are they in any way interesting? Does their story inform
anyone’s growth or comment on anything? How many of the villains
throughout the entire series actually mattered or informed anything? And
this is shown in other character based ways: Spider-Man needs Stark there in
Homecoming (to help sell tickets) and his entire arc is based around Stark
telling him he’s not ready until at the end he’s offered a chance to be an
Avenger. Then, they play those exact same beats in truncated form within
Infinity War. Will they do the same things in the next Spider-Man
movie? Will Tony and Steve’s rivalry and “break-up” ultimately mean
anything? War Machine is shot or something in Civil War but he’s fine
again and flying around and has leg enhancements or something. Will any
of these relationships ever change or have consequences. Will any of
the love interests or romantic subplots matter? Having not seen Thor
Ragnarok I knew that he gets his hammer busted and loses an eye. But –
just like Smallville, just like any long running TV show that must return –
these things are unbelievably completely undone because he’ll find an even more
powerful axe and gain a glass eye because how could we have our hunky Thor
running around with a patch all the time?! The changes can barely
even last from movie to movie now! You
made a joke about it but I can’t find this style of storytelling to be anything
other than infuriating and completely unsatisfying. Granted, I still need to see that film and
see what emotional arcs affect the growth in Thor’s character but he largely
seems the same here (just more jokey, more on that in a moment) as he did in
any other movie so I’m guessing there isn’t much.
I never believed anyone important would die – again, based entirely on
every other movie within this universe – and so I was never really caught up in
this story because the only story being told here is a big baddie trying to
kill everyone. There is nothing else. If death is the narrative
hook and all previous entries have shown me that they are determined above all
else to maintain the status quo then I am unfortunately unable to take any of
these stakes seriously. Maybe Loki is dead but I fully believe everyone
else (including Gamora) is coming back. And I have no attachment to Loki
at this point and I have no reason to believe he’ll stay dead. The
deaths at the beginning (including Idris Elba who is always useless in movies
but seriously, the black character dies first?! Guess they had to
make up for all the progress of Black Panther!
Mostly joking. Poor Idris.) felt
to me more like a common trope in horror movies to kill off some characters
right at the beginning to pad out a body count and suggest some dire
stakes. I don’t really mind the trope but it did not invest any more
in the story.
To that end I would ask what does this story mean? What is it
actually about once you get passed the interstellar conqueror searching for magic
stones? Is there anything deeper to it than that? Should
there be? Does it matter?
More than just about any other movie I can think of this is really one
where we already know pretty much what we’re going to think and feel about it
before we sit down because – like most TV shows – this cinematic universe is
really not built around surprises (except for obvious and easily undone ones)
or change but, as you’ve indicated, giving the people what they seem to want
every single time which necessitates being slave to (an admittedly crowd-pleasing)
unwavering formula. You even indicated with Black Panther (one of my
favorite Marvel movies) that alterations to that formula seem to result in
films you don’t like as much. So we’re happily on opposite ends
here.
But I feel like the clearest example of what I’m talking about occurred at
my screening at the gorgeous Cinema Paraiso and the people with whom I
attended. I went with 3 friends, 2 of these friends (a couple) had
seen every Marvel movie and I believe had enjoyed all of them and were very
excited. The other friend had seen some Marvel movies – Iron Man,
Thor, Spider-Man Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy (he later confessed to
remembering almost none of that one and was initially confused when those
characters popped up in Infinity War) and probably a few others. He
had no strong emotions either way about those movies and said that with the
exception of the Nolan/Bale Batman movies he generally feels all superhero movies
are more or less the same. He never really seeks them out but finds
them to be generally enjoyable, if a bit forgettable. The movie
finished and the couple LOVED it. I don’t know if it was their
favorite Marvel movie but they seemed swept up by every minute, laughed at all the
jokes and were very eager for next year’s conclusion.
My buddy however fell asleep during a chunk of it and said (paraphrasing)
he thought it was 2.5 hours of the same fights over and over again which he
found exhausting. He did think it was funny when Banner couldn’t
turn into the Hulk but said he would not want to see another movie like this
again. My point is that this movie is MADE for the indoctrinated (of
which there are many so it will make those billions of dollars) who adore this
formula, these characters and who will see this thing multiple times and clap
when certain characters appear. For those who are not indoctrinated
because they either don’t care (my friend) or because they do not like and/or
are tired of the formula (Ricardo) there is almost nothing here for
them. I truly do not believe this movie – this TYPE of movie – can
offer any emotion other than what the viewer already brings in with them (in
that way it is bizarrely similar to The Passion of the Christ). This
movie does not care one iota about those not indoctrinated and it does not need
to care about them.
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