THE REEL: It’s been a long wait but Avengers Infinity War is finally here

A scene from Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War, with Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (White Wolf). PHOTO | COURTESY | MARVEL/DISNEY

What you need to know:

  • The movie takes off right from where Thor: Ragnarok left off. The Asgardians have been stopped by Thanos’s ship as he seeks to get the Tesseract, the crystalline cube-shaped containment vessel for the Space Stone.
  • We saw Loki pick it up just before they left the now-destroyed Asgard. We’ve all seen the trailers so it’s no spoiler when I say Thanos gets handed the item he covets from this ship.
  • As for the heroes, there wasn’t a galactic alliance that called on them to work together, they literally stumbled into each other in some cases.

It’s been a long wait for the Infinity War. Set up from the first Iron Man film back in 2008, Marvel Cinematic Universe has been spun across 18 films prior to Avengers: Infinity War.

Throughout this time, and across these movies, it seems the superheroes in this universe are coming together in their respective cliques to battle foes who don’t have the interest of the larger population at heart.

HEROES

Each time they have been triumphant: Black Panther and Captain America won their respective fights against a king and a megalomaniac who wanted to take over the world, the Guardians of the Galaxy fought down a literal living planet, while the Avengers stopped an invasion of Earth by aliens.

As the countdown to the release date drew closer, I was more than excited to get to see how these heroes would face off with a threat to the entire universe (although it’s more like half the universe is at risk, really).

The movie takes off right from where Thor: Ragnarok left off. The Asgardians have been stopped by Thanos’s ship as he seeks to get the Tesseract, the crystalline cube-shaped containment vessel for the Space Stone.

We saw Loki pick it up just before they left the now-destroyed Asgard. We’ve all seen the trailers so it’s no spoiler when I say Thanos gets handed the item he covets from this ship.

Before they were attacked, it seems the Asgardians had sent out a distress signal into space, which is answered by none other than the Guardians.

When they get there, it seems too late as they simply find debris and bodies telling little but a lot of what might have transpired. Thor is picked up when he crashes on to the Guardians’ ship.

TEAM UP

Meanwhile, Bruce Banner, aka Hulk, has made his way to earth and ends up in Sanctum Sanctorum, which houses Dr Strange and Wong. After he tells them of the terror of Thanos and what he intends to do, they get word to Tony Stark and, through his means, also let Captain America and his outlawed band know.

Thanos already knows there are two stones on earth which he requires for his Infinity Gauntlet (a glove that can wield the immense powers of the Infinity Stones).

The two are the Mind Stone which is the source behind Vision’s being, and the Time Stone that is under the protection of Dr Strange.

His minions, the children of Thanos – named so because they were handpicked by him when he destroyed their respective planets – come to collect the stones on his behalf.

In the ensuing fights, Vision is gravely injured and the only place they can get the help he needs is in good-old Wakanda, while Dr Strange finds himself in a space ship headed for Titan – Thanos’s home planet.

If you watched Black Panther and thought to yourself the movie was too real, well you’re not even close to ready for Avengers: Infinity War. I say this because it tackles realm issues in terms of people who impose their thoughts and will on how the world should be irrespective of how others are or will be affected.

POWER

The powerful people’s quest for perfection, from their point of view, sees all kinds of casualties in the wake of their decisions.

Thanos believes the universe will be better off if half the population doesn’t exist. He pursues this by laying to waste and sacrifice all that is needed to achieve it.

The cost is high, and let me just say fans will be heartbroken a lot by the end of this movie. He does it, not for gain, but because he believes it to be the right and selfless thing to do.

The plot line falls in very well (my view) as the different characters realise there is an imminent threat.

There wasn’t a galactic alliance that called on the heroes to work together, they literally stumbled into each other in some cases.

JUST RIGHT

The movie has a lot of light moments, kind of Ragnarok-esque, but also so many serious and grim moments, each dosage was just right, with the timing and placement.

The dialogues were very decent too, except for when Thor goes to the Dwarf’s realm and Peter Dinklage’s lines weren’t exactly the stuff of Tyrion Lannister.

Wakanda provides the final stand to save the entire universe and the battle is everything and more that you think it will be.

Finally, a battle for the universe’s salvation that wasn’t fought in the northern hemisphere or more so New York.

My only qualms with this movie as I left the Theatre Hall 3 at Anga Diamond, is the feeling of betrayal by Marvel team.

I mean the movie was good, but even my entourage, Blossom and Mike, would tell you, they didn’t have to do us like that. You won’t expect what’s coming to you.