Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

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This is a movie that I have been waiting for for a long time! In preparation for watching Avengers: Infinity War, I took time over the weekend to watch all Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that were available on Netflix. That meant "reviewing" the story arcs of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Before this, I also watched Doctor Strange and Black Panther in the cinema. I didn't even bother watching Guardians of the Galaxy because I thought it was disconnected... just like how Deadpool is independent of the Avengers narrative. So I went into SM San Pablo feeling prepared to watch Infinity War.

But I was wrong...

Though I was refreshed with the facts, I wasn't prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that was Infinity War. 

I realised that the movie takes off soon after Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: Civil War. Thanos, the villain first seen in The Avengers (2012), was determined to collect all infinity stones for himself. He attacked what remained of Asgard after the goddess of death (and Thor's sister), Hela, destroyed the realm because he wanted to get the Space Stone. Meanwhile, chaos was ensuing on Earth as the rest of the Avengers broke into two factions: one led by Tony Stark and the other led by Steve Rogers (Civil War). Thanos showed up on Earth soon after destroying Asgard. Captain America and the others were bent on protecting Vision, who held the Mind Stone; while Iron Man went with Spiderman, the Hulk, and Doctor Strange went on to protect the Time Stone (held by Doctor Strange). To no avail, because Thanos was able to extract these stones from the Avengers anyway. He was also able to get the Soul Stone by sacrificing his adopted daughter, Gamora (Guardians of the Galaxy); the Reality Stone (the aether in Thor: Dark World) from The Collector; and the Power Stone from a planet called Xander. With all these magical stones in his possession, killing off half of sentient beings in the Universe was just a snap away.

Thanos was ready to sacrifice everything for his ideological belief (that the Universe is overpopulated and chopping the numbers down to half is the solution). He and his henchmen killed or disintegrated well-loved characters in the MCU, succeeding in shocking the viewers. I couldn't get over the pace at which Thanos destroyed... and I thought Hela was the baddest of the villains. 

Nope.

This movie reminded me so much of the battles between Harry and Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. No character was spared; I had to reread parts of the book in disbelief because JK Rowling actually killed off several characters. The movie also reminded me of Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back because the protagonists lost in that movie, only to win spectacularly in the next movie. The way things turned out in Infinity War, I think, is a warning that success (the only possibility in the 14 million futures Doctor Strange had seen) was about to be reached. 

While I wait for the next Avengers movie, I shall content myself with seeing the next stories that the MCU will dish out: Antman and Wasp and Captain Marvel. Perhaps, these films will give clarity towards the direction that the next Avengers movie will take.

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