Avengers: Infinity War

[Clertar]

This thread seems to be missing, now that we're just weeks away from the opening and that the new trailer just came out.

[Clertar]

The trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwievZ1Tx-8




Good things:
- It's a very teasy trailer, it reveals significantly less than most blockbuster trailers do these days
- Thanos and his children look threatening, and with enough personality for CGI villains
- It looks like Spider-man will have a bigger role than previously suggested
- There is a real feeling of high stakes

Bad things:
-

[Lord Joeltion]

I personally liked the Thanos vs Steve stand-off scene, as ludicrous as it may look for comics fans.

Bad things:
-

-No Son of Coul Haven't checked last season, don't blame me
-No Nick Fury kicking alien asses like a real mot****
-No WE GOTTA HULK style line
-I don't like Blonde Widow much. Like, real downer, man. She's supposed to be hotter than red!
-Hawkeye and Ant-Man are very much missed

I think those are all I've got

[Chen]

I personally liked the Thanos vs Steve stand-off scene, as ludicrous as it may look for comics fans.

When the heroes all out fight Thanos in the comics (after he cuts himself off from the omniscience of having all the gems and gives the heroes something like a 0.5% chance of winning) I'm pretty sure Cap is last man standing (however briefly).

[Kyberwulf]

So, does anyone else think the people's heads in the poster look like some badly photoshopped thing?

Also, judging from the Poster, I think Iron Man's death is assured. I mean, look at that Christ like pose.

Also, Do you think Spiderman is going to become the new main focus of the MCU, I mean he is down in front right in our eyeline.

[Red Fel]

-No Son of Coul Haven't checked last season, don't blame me

Blame the TV series for that. And then go watch it. And then ask yourself why did I bother to watch this.

-No Nick Fury kicking alien asses like a real mot****

Honestly, I kinda want a standalone Fury: Origins movie, the way we're now getting these A Star Wars Story movies. I would love to see badass spy Nick Fury earning his way up the ranks at SHIELD.

-No WE GOTTA HULK style line

Wait for it.

-Hawkeye and Ant-Man are very much missed

Because arrows and bugs are totally going to help out against a galactic conqueror.

Let's be honest, they're fun, but they're B-listers. Besides, Ant-Man is getting a sequel; he doesn't need the extra hassle of fighting purple giants.

Also, judging from the Poster, I think Iron Man's death is assured. I mean, look at that Christ like pose.

Also, Do you think Spiderman is going to become the new main focus of the MCU, I mean he is down in front right in our eyeline.

I think they're preparing their second-phase heroes for when the first-phase heroes' contracts run out. Cap, Tony, and Thor are all running down the clock at this point; they need to have us eyeballing the leads for Marvel: The Next Generation.

I still say they really managed to capture the adorable awkwardness of Spidey in this guy.

Personally? Quite reasonably stoked about this film.

When Avengers first came out, I was really impressed; so much of the story was character-driven, rather than mindless action setpieces all stacked one on top of the other. There was a lot of dialogue, world-building, and character development, and it was good, really good, so that when we finally got to the action, it felt like an earned culmination to the arc. I also liked the fact that action happened outdoors, in daylight, which makes it so much easier to see than those dark, gritty, nighttime fight scenes we always seem to get.

This gives me confidence for Infinity War. Hopefully, they'll strike that same balance between story and action. And from the trailers, the fight scenes are - again - visible and brightly-lit, which my weakening eyes appreciate.

The big challenge with a movie like this is squeezing characters in in a way that feels meaningful. So I can see why Hawkeye and Ant-Man are nowhere to be found, for instance. I'm not holding my breath with respect to that; they're going to drop the ball somewhere, inevitably, and a lot of people will be asking, "Where is X?" But as long as they give the characters who do get plot-related screentime enough depth and development, it's going to be solid.

I'm confident that, at the very least, it will be a popcorn-munching good time. Even the worst among the Marvel movies (looking at you, Thor 2) at least gave us an entertaining romp worth sitting through. I have confidence that they'll do at least a little better than that, and if they can pull that off, it's a good movie.

Doesn't have to be high art. Just good. Really good.

[Lacuna Caster]

I'm still baffled as to how Mantis transitioned from a quasi-topical vietnamese superheroine to a super-touchy alien space bug lady. I mean, I like the new version and all, but the history eludes me?

[thorgrim29]

Because arrows and bugs are totally going to help out against a galactic conqueror.

Let's be honest, they're fun, but they're B-listers. Besides, Ant-Man is getting a sequel; he doesn't need the extra hassle of fighting purple giants.

Counterpoint, Falcon and Black Widow are in it. Falcon is a regular guy with a fancy jetpack, and Black Widow is a regular woman with pistols and fancy tasers. Antman is for sure more useful then they are. Hawkeye... not so much but he's just as much a core avenger as Black Widow is. Hell even Dr Strange's librarian is in the movie.

Speaking of B characters, Warmachine is on the poster (looking about as convincing as the MECs in X-Com Enemy Within, good job Marvel graphics department) so I assume he gets a bigger role then paraplegic best friend.

[Lord Joeltion]

Blame the TV series for that. And then go watch it. And then ask yourself why did I bother to watch this.

Eh... I like the show. Specially Coulson. I didn't have much time to watch it this year tho

Because arrows and bugs are totally going to help out against a galactic conqueror.

Let's be honest, they're fun, but they're B-listers. Besides, Ant-Man is getting a sequel; he doesn't need the extra hassle of fighting purple giants.

Well, hear me out when I say these words, as the biggest Falcon fan in the room: Falcon is in this movie. As B-listers go, he's near rock bottom. Specially out of the three four Average Humans there are in MCU (I'm counting Nick, just cause).

Besides, in his Giant Man form, Ant-man can actually DO something vs the army, unlike Black Widow. Plus, his nonchalant personality would be missing some potentially funny scenes with all the scenery chewiness from Tony and Starlord.

ETA: Yes, I know Falcon is Caps buddy, but with Jesus Barnes on it; the Cap is already one sidekick too many.

The big challenge with a movie like this is squeezing characters in in a way that feels meaningful. So I can see why Hawkeye and Ant-Man are nowhere to be found, for instance. I'm not holding my breath with respect to that; they're going to drop the ball somewhere, inevitably, and a lot of people will be asking, "Where is X?" But as long as they give the characters who do get plot-related screentime enough depth and development, it's going to be solid.

I'm a firm believer they were removed from trailers for doublefold reasons (pick either two):
-They have little screentime, and most of it is too spoilery to show
-They will be missed throughout most of the film, but will show to do something awesome in the nick of time
-They will die unexpectedly/first, a la Johnny Cage
-Most of their scenes are "comedy gold", which doesn't fit the trailer so whoever edited the video just gave up

[Kitten Champion]

I'm still baffled as to how Mantis transitioned from a quasi-topical vietnamese superheroine to a super-touchy alien space bug lady. I mean, I like the new version and all, but the history eludes me?

I believe the Abnett & Lanning run on GotG just retconned her to suit their needs - where she's mostly a narrative tool for the characters to reflect off of - because no one used her for a long while and... well, they could. Plus copyright IPs and comics, it's a thing. They kept enough of her original appearance and her name to justify her being Mantis, but the Celestial Madonna stuff I don't believe was mentioned. Marvel Studios took her a step further to make her fit the plot and be more comedic, same as Drax.

Mantis' general issue appears to be largely that she was more her creator's baby (apparently he kept making Mantises under different names even when he left Marvel, and vocally complained about the movie's portrayal of her) first and foremost and when he left she didn't see much longevity once divorced from him. There are a lot of characters like that.

[Red Fel]

Eh... I like the show. Specially Coulson. I didn't have much time to watch it this year tho

I do, too. Have watched it since the beginning. And this season is very much a return to form after last season's... Underwhelming... Stuff.

Still, you'll understand once you've caught up.

Counterpoint, Falcon and Black Widow are in it. Falcon is a regular guy with a fancy jetpack, and Black Widow is a regular woman with pistols and fancy tasers. Antman is for sure more useful then they are. Hawkeye... not so much but he's just as much a core avenger as Black Widow is. Hell even Dr Strange's librarian is in the movie.

Speaking of B characters, Warmachine is on the poster (looking about as convincing as the MECs in X-Com Enemy Within, good job Marvel graphics department) so I assume he gets a bigger role then paraplegic best friend.

Well, hear me out when I say these words, as the biggest Falcon fan in the room: Falcon is in this movie. As B-listers go, he's near rock bottom. Specially out of the three four Average Humans there are in MCU (I'm counting Nick, just cause).

Besides, in his Giant Man form, Ant-man can actually DO something vs the army, unlike Black Widow. Plus, his nonchalant personality would be missing some potentially funny scenes with all the scenery chewiness from Tony and Starlord.

ETA: Yes, I know Falcon is Caps buddy, but with Jesus Barnes on it; the Cap is already one sidekick too many.

To be fair, Falcon may be set up to be the next Cap, like he was in the comics. And while Bucky has also been Cap, Black Panther suggests they may be exploring alternative avenues for that character. Point is that Falcon, like War Machine, is potentially second-gen; they're going to give him screentime.

As for Ant-Man snarking with Tony and Peter, you do see how that becomes a bit... hm... excessive, after a point? I mean, you've got Tony Snark, Peter Zero Chill, Doctor Sarcasm, Puppy Parker, and at a certain point you have more quips than actual dialogue.

I'm a firm believer they were removed from trailers for doublefold reasons (pick either two):
-They have little screentime, and most of it is too spoilery to show
-They will be missed throughout most of the film, but will show to do something awesome in the nick of time
-They will die unexpectedly/first, a la Johnny Cage
-Most of their scenes are "comedy gold", which doesn't fit the trailer so whoever edited the video just gave up

1 seems probable. 2 seems possible, but less likely. 3 seems unlikely; don't kill off a character unless there's an impact, and there's no impact if they've been absent. Especially true for Ant-Man, who, as mentioned, has a sequel, and killing him off so promptly after that's released just makes zero sense. 4 seems possible, but the wrong tone; hopefully, they're going more Black Panther and less Thor: Ragnarok with this one.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Frankly, I like that they seem to be angling towards making Mantis something other than just another superpunchy, occasionally blasty hero. And if she follows the usual arc of an empathic hero, she'll also be non-lethal, which is a rarity in the MCU and thus welcome.

[Douglas]

I like how Peter assumes that "Doctor Strange" is a made up superhero alias rather than his real name.

[Kitten Champion]

I'm surprised Spider-Man's in the movie as much as he appears to be, when the first trailer dropped I assumed he'd only be in the first act and get Worfed along with Iron Man when Thanos appears.

As for Ant-Man, I suspect we'll get something with him having been caught and sent back to prison after his escape in Civil War, and the events of this movie might go to explain why they reduce that punishment to mere house arrest... or it could be probation maybe.

[Lacuna Caster]

Frankly, I like that they seem to be angling towards making Mantis something other than just another superpunchy, occasionally blasty hero. And if she follows the usual arc of an empathic hero, she'll also be non-lethal, which is a rarity in the MCU and thus welcome.

Oh, I have no specific grudge against the new version, and yeah, it could be interesting to see someone using psychic abilities to good effect.

[Legato Endless]

The thing that grabs me most at the end of the trailer isn't the ever present quipping or action shots, or the look who gets to meet who. Those are all fun sure.

No, it's that very brief cut of a (probably) young Gamora holding hands with her father. Guardians has always been about dysfunctional families and their love, abuse, isolation.

With Thanos as our headliner for this, undergirding his pseudophilosophical balancing of life and death nonsense through magic rocks with a real theme about his relationship with his children might give a touch of humanity to this shameless popcorn fest. Not that there's anything wrong with pure popcorn.

[Lord Joeltion]

I do, too. Have watched it since the beginning. And this season is very much a return to form after last season's... Underwhelming... Stuff.

Still, you'll understand once you've caught up.

Oh... I see... They did it again *cries in the corner*

To be fair, Falcon may be set up to be the next Cap, like he was in the comics. And while Bucky has also been Cap, Black Panther suggests they may be exploring alternative avenues for that character. Point is that Falcon, like War Machine, is potentially second-gen; they're going to give him screentime.

As for Ant-Man snarking with Tony and Peter, you do see how that becomes a bit... hm... excessive, after a point? I mean, you've got Tony Snark, Peter Zero Chill, Doctor Sarcasm, Puppy Parker, and at a certain point you have more quips than actual dialogue.

Hey, I never said it was a good idea, just that the potential for jokes is there. And we know how MCU goes when there is snarkiness potential: they will seize it. And if there is none: they will force it down your throat till you choke on those popcorn!!!!

I haven't looked at the BP/Bucky side. That sounds interesting. But I rather not have Falcon as Cap, because I haven't liked much that editorial decision. Besides, Bucky deserves it more than him, because please give him a second chance. He has the looks of our Lord and Saviour Krispy Cheesus!

3 seems unlikely; don't kill off a character unless there's an impact, and there's no impact if they've been absent. Especially true for Ant-Man, who, as mentioned, has a sequel, and killing him off so promptly after that's released just makes zero sense.

Yeah, well thell that to the Three Cavalieros Warriors Three. Honestly, #3 was just addressing Clint; and I only put it there bc I read it on Twitter. I also think it's unlikely we see any character's death on this one. If anyone, I'd vote for the Cap.

4 seems possible, but the wrong tone; hopefully, they're going more Black Panther and less Thor: Ragnarok with this one.

Never underestimate the power of everything below PG-13!!!

I like how Peter assumes that "Doctor Strange" is a made up superhero alias rather than his real name.

What do you mean it's not?!?!?

[Ardentex]

The hype is real. My favorite part was Gamora tipping the hat to the comics by talking about the whole "wiping of galaxies with a snap". Also, Cap stopping Thanos' hand was one of the most bad-ass things I've seen in a while, and I can't even articulate it properly as to why.

[Lvl45DM!]

The hype is real. My favorite part was Gamora tipping the hat to the comics by talking about the whole "wiping of galaxies with a snap". Also, Cap stopping Thanos' hand was one of the most bad-ass things I've seen in a while, and I can't even articulate it properly as to why.

Its honestly Evans's acting. Look as his face. Damn, its intense. Despite the fact that its a super-soldier from WW2 in a costume wrassling with a giant purple alien in gold armour, in a fictional African country you can feel what he's feeling.

[Clertar]

Unexpectedly, the Russo brothers have ended up becoming the heart of the MCU in a really successful way. Joss Whedon was credited as a genius for making a film with 6 superheroes all together. And he did do a very good job (but he flopped it with Avengers 2). The Russos managed 12 superheroes, twice as many, in Civil War, and they're multiplying this number again in Infinity War, which hopefully will at least be better than Age of Ultron.

With Justice League, even with BvS, we saw the hard way how hard it can be to manage coexisting superheroes in a single movie. The Russos, and the screenwriters (the same ones for Civil War and Infinity War), no doubt with a good steering hand in Kevin Feige, are breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling.

[GloatingSwine]

Unexpectedly, the Russo brothers have ended up becoming the heart of the MCU in a really successful way. Joss Whedon was credited as a genius for making a film with 6 superheroes all together. And he did do a very good job (but he flopped it with Avengers 2).

Joss Whedon got a lot of residual credit for being Joss Whedon (before it became public he was a bit of a scumbag), but he's nowhere near the Nerd Director Jesus people thought he was when Avengers came out. He has basically one voice for characters, which is "quippy", which is why in the Avengers most of the actual characters have to get out of the way for quips and action.

(Check out the difference in how the dialogue sounds in Guardians of the Galaxy to Avengers, the Guardians all talk much more like real people and one of them can only say five words!)

It's not like ensemble movies are such an insurmountable task though, and that's what a big superhero crossover really is. It's an ensemble where the usual "everyone has unique skills and personality that all contribute to the caper" of something like Oceans Eleven gets turned up to, well, eleven.

I'm expecting Infinity War to have a lot of heroes who are just there to make things feel bigger*, with only a few lines of dialogue to hint at future character direction. It's likely most of the actual heavy character lifting will be done by Tony and Steve for the earth side and probably Gamora and Nebula for the Guardians.



* Which is not unreasonable, that's what most of the non-cosmic heroes are for in Infinity Gauntlet and basically everyone who isn't Adam Warlock is for in Infinity War

[Lacuna Caster]

Unexpectedly, the Russo brothers have ended up becoming the heart of the MCU in a really successful way. Joss Whedon was credited as a genius for making a film with 6 superheroes all together. And he did do a very good job (but he flopped it with Avengers 2). The Russos managed 12 superheroes, twice as many, in Civil War, and they're multiplying this number again in Infinity War, which hopefully will at least be better than Age of Ultron.

I think Age of Ultron suffered from being an interstitial piece that had to satisfy the demands of a lot of other films in planned production, with the effect of feeling overstuffed despite the primary villain's anaemic development. 'Flopped it' seems a bit strong, though- it's still a perfectly serviceable movie, it just never reached it's full potential.

Also, Firefly/Serenity were very very good.

[Aotrs Commander]

Er, guys and gals? Can we not drop/imply unmarked spoilers for the current season Agents of Shield, please? It's only just started airing in the UK, like, two weeks ago and we're a looooong way behind you folks stateside. Ta muchly.

[Clertar]

I think Age of Ultron suffered from being an interstitial piece that had to satisfy the demands of a lot of other films in planned production, with the effect of feeling overstuffed despite the primary villain's anaemic development. 'Flopped it' seems a bit strong, though- it's still a perfectly serviceable movie, it just never reached it's full potential.

Also, Firefly/Serenity were very very good.

I would agree that Age of Ultron is a decent film. For the record, I meant that Whedon flopped the multi-superhero juggling in the movie, not the movie itself. And while it's true that it suffered from having to set up future movie archs, so could have Civil War, which had at least just as many. Compare Thor's arc in AoU with both Spider-man and Black Panther in CW.

[Traab]

I do like the idea that this will be a changing of the guard movie, where a lot of the current big names are stepping down so the next gen can have their movie series to keep things going. Its a lot like wrestling. When the new characters come in, the old hands are supposed to help "get them over" with the crowd. Joey "Brown Shoes" Bannon would have a lot harder of a time turning into the new face of the company if Hulk Hogan didnt take a clean loss against him in a good story. Same for the movies. You cant just switch from iron man to penance movies, but if you have the guy show up in an iron man movie, work well within that film and get the chance to raise some interest, his stand alone movie will likely do a lot better.

[GAZ]

I personally liked the Thanos vs Steve stand-off scene, as ludicrous as it may look for comics fans.

I love that it looks ludicrous to Thanos too. Look at his face, he's all "I don't get it. Why aren't you squished yet?"

When the heroes all out fight Thanos in the comics (after he cuts himself off from the omniscience of having all the gems and gives the heroes something like a 0.5% chance of winning) I'm pretty sure Cap is last man standing (however briefly).

https://welshyfilms.files.wordpress....rica.jpg?w=640

Because arrows and bugs are totally going to help out against a galactic conqueror.

Let's be honest, they're fun, but they're B-listers. Besides, Ant-Man is getting a sequel; he doesn't need the extra hassle of fighting purple giants.

Hawkeye has far more substantial showings than a lot of these characters. Hawkeye has demonstrated proficiency in contributing to the defeat of alien invasions before and practically shot the hellicarrier out of the sky. Avengers and Age of Ultron both treat him like a core member of the team. Dropping him for Wong and Mantis feels like a disservice to the previous Avengers films.

As for Ant-Man snarking with Tony and Peter, you do see how that becomes a bit... hm... excessive, after a point? I mean, you've got Tony Snark, Peter Zero Chill, Doctor Sarcasm, Puppy Parker, and at a certain point you have more quips than actual dialogue.

I actually think it would be totally in line with what all these Marvel movies have been to have one scene of Tony, Quill, Parker, Strange, Lang, and Rocket all mouthing off simultaneously until like Gamora or Banner or somebody reminds them what's at stake and that they're being idiots.

The thing that grabs me most at the end of the trailer isn't the ever present quipping or action shots, or the look who gets to meet who. Those are all fun sure.

No, it's that very brief cut of a (probably) young Gamora holding hands with her father. Guardians has always been about dysfunctional families and their love, abuse, isolation.

With Thanos as our headliner for this, undergirding his pseudophilosophical balancing of life and death nonsense through magic rocks with a real theme about his relationship with his children might give a touch of humanity to this shameless popcorn fest. Not that there's anything wrong with pure popcorn.

I agree with almost all of this. Many of the phase 2 and 3 movies have had something to say about something on top of being action spectacles. Like you say, GotG is about dysfunctional family relationships. Plus Black Panther is about marginalized people, Ragnarok is about legacy, Civil War is about justice, Winter Soldier is about freedom, etc. I think the Russos have been a big part of that and I trust that they'll do a good job with this.

I also love that we'll apparently be getting a history and a story for Thanos. We know all the heroes, so it's great to get to know the villain.

And my one disagreement is that I am more enthused about all the different character interactions. I do know and love all these heroes and I do want to see what happens when they all meet each other.

[Lacuna Caster]

I thought Age of Ultron made it clear that Hawkeye was looking to retire from active hero work? Give the scene with him in the homestead with the wife and kids? I wouldn't be surprised if he's just opted to duck out of the Avengers by now.

I would agree that Age of Ultron is a decent film. For the record, I meant that Whedon flopped the multi-superhero juggling in the movie, not the movie itself. And while it's true that it suffered from having to set up future movie archs, so could have Civil War, which had at least just as many. Compare Thor's arc in AoU with both Spider-man and Black Panther in CW.

Oh... yeah. Thor's little detour in AoU felt really awkward. Point to the Russos, I guess.

[Rogar Demonblud]

It makes more sense in the extended scene. Really, what AoU needed was slightly different cuts to tighten up a few things and to open up time for the hooks. And maybe junking that scene between Nat and Bruce.

[J-H]

I skipped Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor 3, the new Spider Man (3rd in less than 20 years), and Ant-Man. Haven't seen the most recent Star Wars movie or Black Panther due to kids and moving.

So...
Who are the two guys under Iron Man's armpits? I think the one on the right might be that Starlord guy from GG. The guy on the left is completely unfamiliar.
Is the bottom middle guy the new spider man? Doesn't look right for a Spidey costume.

I'm assuming the heavy guy behind Dr. Strange is from that movie (also skipped, didn't even realize it was MCU). Anyone else I'm assuming is from BP, GG, or some other random movie (like the alien in the blue helmet).

[The Glyphstone]

Captain Beardmerica still just looks weird to me. Has he really been hiding somewhere so remote that he couldn't even shave?

So...
Who are the two guys under Iron Man's armpits? I think the one on the right might be that Starlord guy from GG. The guy on the left is completely unfamiliar.
Is the bottom middle guy the new spider man? Doesn't look right for a Spidey costume.

The guy on the left under Tony's arm is Steve Rogers, aka Captain Beardmerica. The guy on the right is Thor post-Ragnarok. The guy behind Strange is Wong, Strange's sidekick.