All hands on deck

There’s no question Avengers: Infinity War is a lot of movie. Not just in run time at two hours and 40 minutes but in the multiple, equally weighted plot threads for numerous headlining characters. And while this loaded quality has some critics carping, it’s also the very thing that has fans excited. How excited? Fandango reports pre-sales have not only doubled those the online ticket retailer saw for Black Panther, they’re outperforming the total for the last seven Marvel movies combined.

Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising since, in some sense, this film is every Marvel movie combined. At least, it’s the movie the studio has been patiently building toward since Iron Man first took the stage in 2008. It’s only natural then that all the heroes audiences have invested in over the last decade from Captain America to Black Widow to Black Panther would make an appearance. So if this first installment of the two-part culmination of all that effort seems a bit loaded, I’d say other critics need to put their nitpicky hats away. This is for the fans, and they have earned it. And, boy, does Marvel pay back their devotion.

Contending with 18 past movies, each filled with its own character development and complex world-building, Infinity War manages to maintain internal integrity with nearly all of it. The story arcs for personal favorites may be briefer than we’d like, but the whole still manages to give everyone their due and has lots of fun pairing them up in the process.

Heroes we’ve known in multiple solo outings don’t have sudden shifts in personality to accommodate an ensemble piece. (A subtle nod to Chris Pratt’s real-life professed faith is particularly appropriate for a Missouri-raised kid—when Stephen Strange asks him which master he serves, Star-Lord wonders if he should answer, “Jesus.”) Tensions and backstories built up in past films aren’t shunted aside to make room for the new adventure. That, coupled with a worthy, believable villain, makes Infinity War a roaring success (believable being a relative term where talking raccoons and hammer-wielding Norse deities are concerned).

Marvel’s best films have always incorporated relevant worldview debates, whether it’s Captain America and Iron Man clashing over how much control a national martial force should cede to an international governing body or the Wakandans wondering whether to open their borders to immigrants. Like Killmonger, Thanos (Josh Brolin) makes arguments that don’t sound far off from something you might read in an op-ed in a major newspaper.

Apparently the hulking blue alien spends his free time reading The Population Bomb, as his sole goal for attaining the limitless power of the five infinity stones that figured in previous Marvel plots is to kill half the inhabitants of the universe. He reasons that the universe’s resources are finite and some people go hungry. By wiping out 50 percent of all sentient creatures, the other 50 will live in plenty and balance will be restored.

Contrasting Thanos is the ideology voiced by Captain America (Chris Evans) who repeatedly asserts, “We don’t trade lives.” What goes inferred is we don’t trade them for convenience or to make our lives more comfortable, though individuals may sacrifice their own to save others. The filmmakers may not have consciously intended it, but it paints a striking contrast between a pragmatic culture of death and a principled culture of life.

Of course this is a modern PG-13 movie so there is some brief, minor language to contend with along with plenty of battles, though I’d argue the relatively light level of objectionable material in these movies also contributes to their success. And it’s always hard for stakes to feel as high as in other genres when, thanks to a little wizardry care of Dr. Strange, there appears to be a possibility of reviving deceased characters. But after such meticulous universe-building, I’m fairly confident we can trust that the final, aching images of this installment will have enduring consequences. This train has one more stop to make in 2019. I don’t think anyone wants it to go off the tracks now.