Avengers: Infinity War - You Can't Do Epic Without Symbolism

Quick Thoughts: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Basically all the superheroes. No Ant-man, unfortunately. No Hawkeye. Not missed. But the Avengers are present. They fight bad guys - somewhat good ones.


Infinity War is... Infinity War. This is a good Marvel picture. It's not Doctor Strange, but it has Doctor Strange in it. He doesn't bring the film down too much. I don't really care to dive deeply into this film as it doesn't deserve it. I will say, however, that this is--more than anything else--a damn good comedy. I laughed pretty heartily throughout the film and even choked on my drinks. So, two thumbs up there. There are issues with tone whilst the film jumps between being a Thor movie, A Guardians of the Galaxy movie, an Iron Man movie, etc (this doesn't try to be Doctor Strange or Captain America too much - a good decision). However, the comedy binds all of the parts and it really makes the film worthwhile.

Whilst everything else is all right, and whilst you have to respect how difficult it is to bring these things together, a significant issue really stood out to me. Black Panther marked a different kind of Marvel movie in my view. Black Panther had archetypes and a classical narrative. Its use of kings, kingdoms, redemption, etc, was so refreshing - and it did so much for the symbolic weight and substance of the film. This is a rarity for Marvel. And whilst most of the people who watch these movies couldn't give a shit about symbolism and meaning, the people who create these movies need to be doing a better job in this apartment - if they want to make better movies that is. And this is because symbolism is felt before it is analysed. Marvel movies are deprived of good symbolism. Thus, they don't build the emotional storm within the audience that they should - that they could be.

I won't linger on the details of this major flaw, but, I believe this symbolism is something that Marvel simply show no coherent or substantial understanding of most of the time. It's a shame. It holds their movies back an awful lot. Jesus, Bay does a better job here. Alas, Infinity War is Infinity War. I had a good time.






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