Avengers: Infinity War (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Finally watched this last week. To answer my question from a few months ago--no it was not worth my time, and yes it is a rehash of the 50 other Marvel movies.

I liked the banter and the occasional comedy, but this film was a trainwreck of half-thought out ideas mixed with direct ripoffs of the other Marvel movies. It didn't feel like I was watching a new movie, but rather stuff that got left on the editing room floor from earlier movies.

Edit to add: Thor Ragnorok was great, though.

I'm not nearly as negative as you on Infinity War, though it's far from my favorite Marvel film. I agree that a lot of it feels like things we've seen before, but it did feel grander and more epic. I think the producers of the film did a good job handling all the characters and giving each a moment to shine. As ridiculous as Thanos's plot is, I did like that his character had a little depth, that he wasn't completely without any human qualities. It's a film with a lot of great moments, but the totality doesn't expand the frontiers of the genre.

Totally agree. Thor: Ragnarok is in the upper tier of Marvel films IMHO.

Edit to add: Thor Ragnorok was great, though.[/quote]

The problem, as ever, is the medium. You've under 180 minutes to tell a tale, give out some fan service and give as many characters as you can their moment.

You've also got the fact Marvel have tended to focus on one movie at a time, and built a universe on top of that, unlike other franchises who've tried to embed films in a cinematic universe from the start. Maybe it's time for them to reel that back in a little.

For example, GOTG2 could easily have been IW part 1 in all but name, freeing up the Soul Stone section of IW and introducing Thanos properly.

Ragnarok could have seen Thanos unleashing Hela, and gaining the Gauntlet and the Tesseract from Asgard in the midst of the chaos (and would've fitted with the "fine. I'll do it myself" clip from AoU), again freeing up more time for IW.

Maybe it's time Marvel revisited their current formula a little, not so much that every film has to service the greater story, but that some do where it makes sense.

Actually, yeah, I will agree that they struck a good balance with all of the characters. That definitely stood out from past movies where some characters just felt like filler. I groaned when they introduced Spider Man, but they actually gave him stuff to do to further the plot, and it worked well.

Don't get me wrong, Thanos was a good villain with an interesting back story and motivations. I think I'm just honestly burned out on seeing the same shit over and over again for the other 80% of the movie. I do credit the writers with how they ended the movie by killing off half of the universe and half of the cast. We all know that will likely be undone in the coming movies, but it's a ballsy thing to do.

You know, there are so many movies to watch to get all of this. Had I not seen Thor ragnarok I would have been really lost. As it is I just sort of fill in the blanks on captain America because he bugs me. And why the fuck does he need to grow a fucking hipster beard?

The movie was pretty good with action and effects, but powers just vary way too much. Especially the main bad guy. It seems like they made a huge villain that was just too powerful.

I am getting a bit tired of comic book movies.

The different power levels of the characters is something that's always kinda bothered me in movies like these. You have "unusually agile and well trained but otherwise normal strength woman" on the same battlefield as the invincible green rage monster, and they are fighting alien monsters that anyone outside of "guy wearing super high tech tank suit with advanced weapons" level has no chance of defeating. Narratively Thanos being nigh-unstoppable makes sense, but that means only one of three things can happen, either he will be brilliantly outsmarted, they will bring in a stronger super to beat him, (Probably Carol Danvers/Capt. Marvel) or he will be massively depowered in the second part. Honestly, I hope it's the first, because it would make for a better story, and I just don't like Captain Marvel. And the thr=ird option would mean a shockingly fast and sharp decline in the writing quality of the MCU.

I have other questions. So this does not have his hammer anymore and he wants a new weapon. Why didn't he just cruise over and ask sometime before the ultimate evil makes things a time issue? It seems like he had some free time after ragnarok so do something useful as God of thunder.

And how stupid is starlord? He does screw up sometimes, but you know the moment I am talking about. Why would you do that?

What is up with grimace needing five stones to dispatch with normal humans. Some of the avenger might have protection from the stones, but we know Tony stark is just a man in a suit. Starlord is human now too. I know he needs five stones to kill half the universe, but shouldn't he be able to turn some of them to dust for their troubles? How is it that purple people eater can hold a bunch of infinity stones in his base hands without being torn apart, but he gets a cut on his face from an energy blast.

I swear in the next movie black widow is going to have a stupid hipster beard because alternative universe people have them. I am really getting tired of beards after that fucking movie.

How do you figure he had free time?
Thanos's ship pops right up in the post-credits of Ragnarok, and Infinity War picks up a minute after.
We go right into it.

I think Thanos just likes to test himself.
He could have just cremated Hulk with the purple stone, but he preferred to wrassle him.
Once Tony was impaled, he almost blasted Tony with all 4 of the stones he had up to that point before Strange made him stop, and gave him the time stone.
Thanos was perfectly fine using the stones as a finishing move.

Plus, there's something about he has to close his fist for the glove to work.
Look at all the times they use Spidey webbing, and Iron Man gizmos to keep his hand open.
So, even the glove hand isn't perfect.

The glove is invincible, he isn't.
Think of the Infinity Gauntlet as a cosmic oven mitt.

No, they make it a joke of it right in the movie.
Remember? Thor says to Cap "oh, you copied my beard".

Just wondering, is it possible that the Hulk didn't want to appear because he knows something about the Infinity Gauntlet or maybe has something that Thanos doesn't about, perhaps another stone?

I think the hulk, as a character has always, deep down, been afraid. There was a comic where he killed everybody because he was afraid of how they would treat him.

There was a third option, he won and killed off half the population of the universe. Of course, that sort of bummer ending is not what people watch super hero movies for. Aside from a nice intergalactic uber to drive Thor around the universe the guardians of the galaxy were not going to do much. The only one who had a power to do something was useful for a moment, but the rest of them were not even the buzzing of flies to him.

I think I will just pretend it was a happy ending and half the universe died. Then I can wait for the reboot. Really, iron man has become depressing, I never bothered with captain America, the new Spider-Man is annoying, Thor has no reason to exist anymore, and the guardians of the galaxy was not as funny last time and now that they broke the sexual tension they were doomed to moonlighting in space.

To the first fetus who asks what moonlighting is I will go Bruce Willis on your ass for asking.

Who's Bruce Willis?

Oh yeah, that OLD guy!

BWahahahahahaaaaa!

Well she really doesn't do squat in the fight except run around.

Number three would be the worst thing they could do. Thanos can not be powered down. In fact he has to be even stronger because the fight to turn everything back to the way it was before his finger snap will be a far bigger fight than any fight in Infinity Wars.

Number two would be terrible, I don't think Captain Marvel is going to be that popular with movie fans to be the one to carry off defeating Thanos that the fans would accept it as anything other than a Deus Ex Machina. She hasn't had ten years of exposure like the current MCU characters. Fans could accept her as the heavy firepower of any attack on Thanos but she can't be the one who saves the day. That role has to fall to the original Avengers as a team.

Number one being outsmarted is the best bet. It's also probably where Dr. Strange's comments to Tony come into play. I read a theory, I think it was a comment on YouTube, that Thanos (at least the comic book version) is his own worst enemy. That on a subconscious level he doesn't want to ultimately win so his grandiose plans always have that one flaw in them that enable people to defeat him. You just have to find that flaw before he rips your head off.

Yeah. Thor doesn't even really get a chance to take a piss before Thanos shows up.

Plus Thanos is no mere mortal. He can hold the Infinity Stones in his bare hand.

But that doesn't mean he can't get cut if you hit him hard enough.

Hulk didn't want to appear because for the first time in his life he really got his ass kicked and he knows it.

Technically the Hulk Buster suit did it first but he could rationalize that away as technology. Here we have Thanos just straight up beating the shit out of him. Thanos wasn't even using the power stone to do it.

He's in shock.

Movie Thanos is quite different from comic Thanos, at least in motivation. Comic Thanos is motivated by his love of death, which is a character in the marvel comics universe. who has been partially replaced by Gammorah...his adopted daughter...She's probably going to escape the soul stone and perhaps trap him in the reality stone. My second biggest hope for the MCU is that they never tap into the godawful marvel multiverse because that would mean that nothing truly matters.

Yeah, Hulk has always been the strongest, and has just had several years of being in charge and winning and being feted as a gladiator.

He goes up against Thanos, expecting to hand out another arse kicking, and gets the ever-loving shit leathered out of him with Thanos barely breaking a sweat. He's in hiding.

As for beating Thanos, we know he's injured from the effort from the fingersnap, the gauntlet and his arm are damaged. We also know only certain people can hold the stones, so it's likely going to be an Asgardian reversing the damage.

Wouldn't be shocked if it turns out Loki is still alive and, as part of a redemption arc, is the one who wields it and with a heavy price. I mean, Loki would never have gone for the chest when trying to kill Thanos, his weakness is his arrogance, Thor's is his lack of forethought.

Heh, I can imagine his last words "I had all the power of the stones at my disposal and what did I do? The right thing. We truly are brothers, I'm every bit as stupid as you are."

I kinda suspect Loki is in Bruce and that is getting in the way of the Hulk.

Wait, what?

I didn't get that idea at all. Did I miss something?

No, he's just theorizing, and I like where his head's at.

Well, I can't believe Loki is gone forever. But I haven't seen anything solid to indicate he's tricked his way out of death.

The thing that gives me pause is his line to Thor: "The sun will shine on us again" right before he's killed by Thanos. I suppose this could be Loki mustering some heroism by suggesting Thor's solar power boost at Nidavellir, but I'm hoping it's more meaningful than that.

It's just speculation. But consider: Loki likely isn't dead. He would have fixed it so that he escapes, rendering his death scene some illusion or feint. The obvious escape is with Thor and Hulk, and of the two, something is clearly wrong with the Hulk.

Yeeees, but along those lines...

Loki tells Thor "the sun will shine on US" (emphasis mine). Maybe he's within Thor somehow.

Possible, of course. But that would be much more dangerous than hiding inside a defunct (and hence less likely fighting) Hulk, and the latter might explain why Bruce can't change anymore.

By fanfic logic, and by semi logical conclusion I would st Loki is In Thor. Loki being in Thor ads the fangirls incest factor to it, and it would also allow Thor to hold more stones as we know from GotG if you are together you can dissipate the destructive effects of the stones and 2 god children are probably the better bet than hulk. Plus Loki is the God of mischief and there is that whole sibling thing so what Better way to fuck with Thor than to be inside of him since he has already been hulk slammed in ragnarok.

Just a thought.

This makes a bit more sense considering how Loki thinks.

Getting a bit dealer into the Loki jumping into someone Thor makes a better choice over all.

Loki had to know thanos would kill him after failing in the first avenger. Thanos was not happy with him. Loki may also know what thanos was going to do with the stones. Loki may know he was only going to kill half the people. Given the population of asguardians when he did his thing he would have recognized he would have died when the wish happened so it was time to go into Thor because the wish might not kill thor because of the population of asguardians, and he would survive because his body was dead. Bruce has far less odds of survival being human and that meant he might be among the half of the population to die. Bruce is also not guaranteed to try to brink Loki back as his view on Loki would still be he is not loyal and troublemaker. Thor has a much bigger soft spot for Loki especially after ragnarok.

Loki trying to stab thanos knowing it would fail, which he had to be aware of, makes far more sense given his normal long game manipulations. Loki may have even had enough insight to realize thanos would leave Thor alive to watch the end given he had time to converse with him before the events of avengers. Thanos is not familiar enough with him to know he could survive death over and over.

The hulk thing would be interesting, and I cannot put it beyond the plot hole fairies who play Loki a bit too stupid at times, but it would not make sense.

Not being into the whole history of the comics I only really know Loki from the movies.

Does he have the power to possess people in order to resurrect himself? I don't ever remember that being one of his powers.

I think it would be a huge cop-out to have Loki be the cause of Hulk's actions in Infinity War. It also raises the question of why didn't Loki immediately resurrect upon returning to Earth or communicate to Dr. Strange or Banner that he's in the Hulk. If he's in Hulk he should know they are on Earth. It also raises the question of why Hulk didn't say anything. He was able to tell Banner that he wasn't coming out to fight in the beginning on Infinity War and we know from Thor Ragnarok that Hulk does have the ability to hold a conversation. He's not a total brain-dead brute.

I think it more likely that Hela from Thor Ragnarok is still alive. She is after all the goddess of death in the Asgardian world-lore so why would she be dead? She simply got sent back to Hel and resurrected after Surtur destroyed Asgard. Probably stuck there until someone lets her out again. She certainly has the power to resurrect Loki. So in part two they go to her and convince her to resurrect Loki.