INFINITY WAR: Marvel's Masterpiece?

so I'm here at DragonCon to talk about infinity war it's a place of many different costumes some of which are related to infinity war it's Captain America look at that [Music] [Applause] I still remember the days when imagining the guardians of the galaxy meeting the Avengers felt like a fever dream that would never come to pass I remember the days when the guardians of the galaxy themselves felt like a fever dream I remember watching the trailer for guardians back in a theater in 2013 and like half the audience turning to each other and saying a talking raccoon and a tree really that same audience would eventually come to cheer at the movie screen when the raccoon the tree and the norske teleported to a fictional African nation using Rainbow Road like you do still even despite all the skepticism and theorizing and pure waiting Avengers infinity war has come and gone it's on blue right now I popped the disc in yesterday and I couldn't help but think about the time when we haven't seen a single image of the movie remember that leaked footage from comic-con remember that time we heard about Thanos throwing a moon and we were like what here at DragonCon the people who said what are everywhere and weebs lots and lots of weebs that's why I came here to talk about infinity war well I'd be lying to you if I said I'm not a Marvel fanboy to some degree or to all degrees I saw the Avengers in IMAX on my 12th birthday which is probably the best possible time in your life to see the Avengers and from then on I was obsessed [Music] and to be sure if you've watched my Marvel Cinematic Universe analyzed video from a couple years ago you know that I don't love every Marvel movie there are a good number of them that I think are just mostly passable entertainment and nothing amazing but even the movies that I don't think are objectively great I still like and appreciate as a fan and almost all of them hold a place in this cinematic universe that's important and enjoyable except Thor the dark world according to Chris Hemsworth good night sweet prince and then there are the installments that truly are impressive memorable and well executed pieces of action filmmaking Iron Man Captain America 2 & 3 guardians vol 1 & 2 good night sweet prince spider-man Home Coming black panther infinity war oh yeah infinity war I reviewed infinity war on my channel in a 15 minute ramble video when I first saw the film which you can go back and rewatch if you want but I'd really say my opinions on the movie had developed a lot since I first watched it and that's part of what this retrospective will tackle I saw infinity war what four times in theaters but since I've had it on DVD every watched it at least six or seven more mostly they're taking notes for this thing so what is this whole infinity war retrospective nonsense thing gonna be well for one thing I want to talk about how the film has aged as a few months have gone past talk about cultural impacts and how I think it'll be viewed in another 10 years even though you know it's only been out since April I also want to discuss the film's place in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe like how meaningful certain aspects of the plot are when you read them in context of the other 18 movies or how some of the character arcs pay off things that have been alluded to for a long time in this series just you know talking about the MCU so with that let's get into my Marvel retrospective on Avengers infinity [Music] you [Music] all right before we get into the craziness and complicated analysis let me just set the stage and briefly tell you what I think of infinity war now that several months have passed in my initial review for infinity war I said that this is Marvel best event if their best spectacle but it is not their best film they've made far better film from this in the past this is more of a best event if their best spectacle but it's not their best film they have made far better films than this in the past I just said that and I'd still agree with that sentiment I think some of the more intimate small-scale movies like half Winter Soldier or Iron Man will always be better films in my eyes because they have more time for character but that's said with every rewatch infinity war status as a film and an event has done nothing but improved for me I think it's a mind-blowing achievement that Christopher Markus Stephen McFeely and the Russo brothers managed to pull off a movie with so much going on and still make it feel coherent satisfying and layered I also think it's indicative of how skilled they are as storytellers that despite the fact that this movie has ten times more characters and subplots than something like age of Ultron does infinity war actually feels less crowded the scope of this film is undoubtedly the grandest the MCU has ever attempted the first few phases of the Marvel Universe felt in many ways like superheroes entering the real world especially when the major catalysts for their involvement was a government agency and not anything cosmic but recently things have been changing infinity war feels less like the real world and more like a comic book universe showcasing everything it has to offer places like knit of allier nowhere of makanda and characters that range from giant dwarves to talking raccoons all served to make this feel like a universe that's come a long way since Iron Man was busting terrorists in Afghanistan I also love that the movie feels dramatic the bombastic Sylvestre score the bold and elegant location title cards and the sense of weight and anticipation involved really give the entire film the feeling of an operatic conclusion instead of just another throwaway adventure even the opening scene instantly instills dread and build up for what Thanos will bring with him and the writers aren't afraid to get rid of things that have been around see you for a while be it the longtime plot device of the tesseract or the original villain of the Avengers himself beyond just the opening scene in general I love that this movie for the first time in the MCU doesn't feel like it's just maintaining the status quo big things are happening that will likely change the fate of the series permanently there's not much an infinity war that feels unnecessary either even scenes that would normally be included in a big blockbuster don't really show up because they're not important this film is also unique from a visual perspective than the MCU the color grading issues I complained about with other Marvel movies in previous videos yeah there's none of that here this is without a doubt the most vibrant comic book II and often psychedelic the MCU has ever been visually and it's not just the poppy V effects by Wetty and ILM though they are incredible it's also the cinematography and direction that just feels more experimental and unique breathtaking one take shots like this would never have showed up in previous MCU movies wait it is that who I think it is car shoe Saudi if I have any withstanding complaints about the film there probably that some of the humor is a little overdone at points and there are a couple action scenes that are somewhat forgettable I also don't love this shakey cam and the makanda battle I mean it's fine and that sequence has a lot of great moments but if you compare it to something as gracefully orchestrated as the Thanos fight on Titan it really doesn't hold a candle also a hot take I guess but Bruce Banner is just no good when he's directed by anyone other than Joss Whedon a kid that Ruffalo is going for the whole I've been hooked for three years and I'm awkward now thing but it's just weird he feels like a way less interesting character and can we all agree the invisible Drax scene was pretty bad I mean don't get me wrong I think the guardians were done really well in general but if there was one thing I'd cut from the movie it would literally just be that scene that's my director's cut it's the whole movie without that one scene oh and without this line you can't be a friendly neighborhood spider-man if there's no neighborhood okay I didn't really make sense but you know what I'm trying to say what do you mean that doesn't make sense Peter that makes total sense stop beating yourself up man you're fine so those are some of my basic thoughts about the movie without struggling any further I guess it's time to get into some of my more abstract opinions about the film sorry that sounded pretentious this is just a superhero movie I don't want to sound pretension Avengers infinity war is the 19th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which means it took a lot of build-up to get to where we are now and that's the fact that the TV spots and trailers will not let you forget so it's pretty impressive that things that were set up almost a decade ago in this series are finally being paid off in a way that's satisfying you've got the obvious stuff like they own up all the way back in 2012 and the Infinity stones being scattered throughout the series but then there are even the little things that make a difference via the art departments on infinity war and black panther working together to make Wakanda feel consistent or the VFX teams using the Chitauri models from the Avengers in the flashback to Thanos his army offhand lines and spider-man homecoming that allude to Tony Stark's daddy issues keeping a large number of big-name actors around to star in minor cameo roles age of Ultron brings back to that guy from the Winter Soldier I like that guy the point is the attention to detail in the MCU has rarely faltered and that's probably because the guy running this whole thing is a giant fanboy himself after watching infinity war it really becomes crystal clear how necessary all of the MCU movies even the mediocre ones were to set up something like this if it weren't for guardians to Thanos his abusive relationship with Gamora and nebula would have no weight if it weren't for homecoming Tony Stark's father-son relationship with Peter Parker would feel Hollow the investment and emotion are built on the context you know look how far we've come sort of way seeing Peter Parker go into space and get his iron spider suit is satisfying because we know the small-scale adventure Spidey has had up till now and we've realized what a big change this is for him that's why realistically I think in order to engage and feel with the MCU you really do have to have seen most of the movies in the series you can make a list of all the films you have to see to understand infinity war but then those movies require you to see other movies to understand them it's interesting to talk about infinity war through the lens of it being a payoff to ten years of setup though because that was a big conversation during the first few weeks the movie was out some critics including in a few ways myself wanted to judge infinity war in a vacuum ignoring the context leading up to it and picking apart the semi shallowness of the film as a whole this movie on its own doesn't have that much time for many character arcs or meaningful dialogue or really anything that most people would consider necessary to writing a film with depth but infinity war doesn't exist in a vacuum Marvel spent a decade making eighteen movies to lead up to it so that it would work as well as it does and to ignore those movies is to ignore the basis of the film's existence entirely this is the culmination of all that came before and many of the dramatic beats depend on what we know from other films I don't think that's necessarily lazy writing it's just the basis of a film this ambitious and culminating you could say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part-2 doesn't work on its own but that's why you watched all the previous seven movies so that it would work I don't think this concept is at all foreign to audiences at this point either there was a time when cinematic universe storytelling was alien to the mainstream but over the past ten years we've all become and reading this new form of narrative and marvel knows that if there's one thing I changed about my assessment of infinity war from when I first saw it it would be the statement that it's not a complete film that it feels more like a part one than a finale especially after the rewatch is I think it's abundantly clear that it is complete it may not be satisfying and the heroes may not win but infinity war is a tragedy and it functions as such upon the initial viewing of an infinity war much of the first half of the story is extremely exhilarating charming and even funny seeing your favorite characters meet each other the exchange of quips in one liners the action beats throughout that seemed triumphant it all feels like another breezy Avengers movie on the second go-around though that sense of breeziness is lost almost entirely becoming almost like an elaborate misdirection to make you think things will play out like they always do when in fact the characters sense of confidence that they'll win is their downfall the Russos know what the audience's expectations are and boy did they upstage them and that's not to say that the movie ceases to be enjoyable on a second viewing it's just that you begin to see that the ending of the story was inevitable and even from the beginning these characters were bound to lose Thor's quest to forge a new hammer becomes gloomy when you know what it leads to and you realize he's making the same mistakes he always has Peter saying makes you go yeah boy you should have seen on the bus even something charming on the first viewing like Tony start talking to pepper about having a son becomes instantly tragic on the second when you realize that he'll lose a young surrogate son by the end of the film with even Pepper's fate uncertain by that token the movie also makes an effort to remind us of some of the long-running lovestruck pairings in the MCU from pepper and Tony to Bruce and Natasha to peter and gomorrah and wanda envisioned also that it can take them away from us or at least make them feel tragically naive by the end these movies for all their effects and action are still built on relationships and characters and on that note I want to focus the rest of this video on the specific heroes and villains an infinity war who are given meaningful development especially when you read it in context of their other films so without further ado let's talk about kick what would you do with the Infinity Gauntlet oh person blackjack okay hookers and blackjack right would you know what the Infinity Gauntlet over I'd ask for friends oh it's not that powerful that's true it's important to recognize that the majority of infinity war is action that's just a fact but well in many other films having nonstop action could simply eclipsed the story and characters infinity war is great at instilling every scene it depicts with important drama and emotional beats that keep the character arcs alive this isn't just empty spectacle and it's important to examine why that is so because I really admire his content and I wanted another voice than mine in this video I got my good friend films and stuff to cover that very subject Thank You Houston and let's just jump right into Marvel and action just like how infinity war is the culmination of ten years worth of stories and characters it is also the culmination of the action filmmaking essential to the franchise while I will always support that these films are as successful as they are due to their strong foundation and character it's also important to note that these films are also successful due to their thrilling action set-pieces after all the key reason for the superhero boom in the first place was their ability to convincingly portray these impressive feats of heroism through the magic of digital effects [Music] while Marvel has had a wide range of quality in its dozens of action scenes if you can deny that directors Anthony and Joe Russo have elevated the art form of the superhero set piece every single action scene and their to Captain America films are jam-packed with clever choreography kinetic motion and important character moments when I think about their action I think about the multiple ways in which their characters interact with each other the way they keep coming up with new ways for their characters to showcase their powers it's the expression of character that really matters in these large-scale action scenes what reveals the most about a character's intentions are the way that they move action is character Avengers infinity war certainly puts this idea to the test telling a story with over 20 important characters and twice as many minutes of action many of these characters have no more than a couple of speaking lines and thus have to prove their worth through their shared action screen time now before we talk about these fight scenes and how they function we also have to discuss their MacGuffins the Infinity stones every single action scene revolves around protecting or retrieving one of these stones many characters are tasked with containing these stones with some being tied to their fate because of this the action scenes less resemble the typical fight the army save the city and stop the Doomsday Device format were so familiar with and might become an intricate game of hot potato as the stones and their keepers go in and out of trouble the vast majority of characters showcase their powers through their attempts to protect these stones and the way in which the film is able to juggle so many different characters within these action scenes is through an action filmmaking principle called the reversal the best way to understand the function of a reversal is to break action scenes down into verbs at any given point a character is trying to achieve an objective through a specific action whether it be a jump a swing a block or kick each verb is also directly tied to a character's power set and personality a reversal is the interruption of one of these verbs often through the interference of a new verb from a separate character these mixing and matching of verbs are key they are what allow that the makers to showcase so many power sets and character dynamics in an engaging manner and these reversals happen constantly let's take a look at one of my favorite action beats in the entire film where spider-man attempts to rescue Doctor Strange and the time stone from Emma Dima first evany more attempts to grab Doctor Strange through his telekinesis but only manages to grab his cloak this sends strange flying through the air allowing spider-man to wet him to safety however evany ship manages to intercept strange beaming up the two of them while flying upward smarter man grabs a street lamp below only for MA - once again uses telekinesis to lift the street lamp from its foundations thus sending strange inspired man flying towards the ship within the span of 20 seconds we were shown five different reversals with each one showcasing a character's power set that propelled the action forward in an interesting way these over CIL's are often the key driving these action scenes like how the Avengers keep finding new ways to prevent Thanos from using the gauntlet or how the film plays with stakes as an Iron Man suit constantly evolves and then eventually defaults alright enough about reversals let's get back to the idea that action is character while every character is tasked with the same mission the manner in which they take on this task becomes another form of character expression everyone gets the same call to action but their actions are all over the place Tony Stark for instance chases after dr. strange and a time stone in space using epidemis ship as an opportunity to take the fight to Thanos Captain America on the other hand stays grounded on earth rescuing vision and the mind stone to take them to the safest place he knows Thor ignores the stones entirely and decides to venture off and make a weapon capable of killing Thanos these forms of action and how the Avengers engage with danos are not only specific to their power sets they also reflect upon the driving forces of these characters how Tony needs to confront Thanos and the fear he represents how Captain America went put into a fight will always prioritize protecting his fellow soldier how Thor is so driven by grief that he only seeks vengeance you die for that all three of these missions these three different mindsets male partly due to unforeseen consequences partly due to the Avengers inability to match Santos is cruel to you ultimately this failure is made through their choices with the fate of the Infinity stone in the air each of these action scenes result in an ultimatum the game of hot potato goes cold and our heroes are forced to take a life of one of their own as expressed through their action our heroes are selfless enough to risk their own lives but not selfish enough to take one for many it goes against their defining principles we don't trade lives they'd rather refused to make the choice or are too late to take it the odds are stacked against them and ultimately this is why I love the action in infinity war our heroes face an unwinnable battle but they fight in any way they stick to their core values despite those values running their downfall their loss through action defines why we care for them in the first place [Music] thanks to Jonathan for that great insight I mean as of the recording of this clip I haven't actually seen the insight but based on the track record I'm gonna assume it was pretty good ever since the beginning the appeal of the MCU has always come from the characters nobody cares about the plot of most Marvel movies they care about seeing how the heroes will respond to the plot and especially in the team-up movies have the heroes will respond to each other the biggest selling point of the first Avengers movie was seeing completely different characters like Thor and Iron Man and Captain America all collide in one event and as of yet the rush audiences get from seeing their favorite heroes cross paths really hasn't faded people didn't just want spider-man in the MCU because Marvel Studios would make better movies about him they wanted spider-man in the MCU because it would be so much fun to see him meet everybody else same goes for the x-men and the Fantastic Four and nowhere is that joy in character combos more present than in infinity war so many different interactions here had to be nailed just right and for the most part they're perfectly executed the level of thought and care put into the combinations that the characters in the film come so clear as the story goes on dynamics like Thor and rocket and Tony and Doctor Strange provide meaningful contrast to highlight who each hero really is by showing who they're not given how huge infinity war is both in cast and scope naturally most of the characters have reasonably minor roles even some who have usually been major players in years past characters like Doctor Strange and Bruce Banner and even spider-man are all portrayed as supporting cast because we see them mainly through the eyes of other characters really getting inside their head space in many ways I actually think this serves some of the heroes better than individual solo films sure Doctor Strange is OK in his own movie but his appearances in both Thor Ragnarok and infinity war each felt more satisfying than seeing him on his own the same could be said for someone like ant-man or Hulk the minor roles are actually more interesting than the major ones still even despite the fact that many characters are relegated to supporting cast here the film does choose to focus on a select few heroes more than others and many of them are surprising choices at first the characters I want to talk about now are Thor Gamora Tony Stark and Thanos [Music] what do you think that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would do if they had the Infinity Gauntlet if they if the Ninja Turtles would do well no a bunch of do-gooders you know they would do anything with it ability I guarantee I would use it inappropriately if I were being totally good first off what's the first thing I'd wish for another Infinity Gauntlet door has had a complicated history in the MCU his first two films Thor and Thor the dark world were decently well received solo movies but they're definitely not anyone's favorite the gimmick with Thor's character has always been that he's an old-fashioned Norse God who's never been to earth and he's confused by humans and our weird customs basically a fish out of water type deal and for a couple movies that was pretty charming Thor's presence in both his first movie and the Avengers is very entertaining and likable but while characters like Tony Stark and Captain America we're both evolving and growing in major ways with every installment in Phase two Thor had mostly stayed the same in every movie he appeared in up through age of Ultron enter Thor Ragnarok no look I'm not the world's biggest fan of Ragnarok I mean I think it's fun but reasonably overrated the wackiest weirdest stuff is great but there's still a fair amount of cliche superhero movie tropes hella is a sucky villain and most of the truly emotional or thought-provoking concepts are undercut with jokes a little too often for my tastes but no matter what you think of Ragnarok as a film in general it's hard not to commend Taika Waititi for what he did to breathe new life into the character of Thor himself Ragnarok basically made Thor cool again and not just because he suddenly had super awesome lightning powers or a way better haircut although let's be honest that's part of it but also because as a character Thor was savvy ER in the time since age of Ultron he'd grown as a hero into someone who wasn't nearly as self serious or melodramatic and it seemed like he understood the ways of the world more than he used to all of a sudden Thor was lighter funnier and he seemed like he knew he was in a superhero movie when I first saw actor Rock I argued that this was a negative change because it made Thor more like every other quippy self-aware protagonist in the end u-unless like himself but as time has passed I've realized that either way it was a pretty necessary shift to keep the character relevant and that's where infinity war comes in because while I didn't have some problems with Thor's sudden change of character and Ragnarok going from a burden self-important hero to a happy-go-lucky guy infinity war solves all of those problems by portraying them in a different light when infinity war was still in its early stages the writers and directors both claimed that Thor would be one of the most prominent characters in the film which really surprised most people it seemed like Tony Stark or Captain America or even Black Panther would all be more suited for a leading role than him but after infinity war came out one of the things almost everyone unanimously agreed on was that Thor's character and Chris Hemsworth performance was one of the highlights of the movie by far in the commentary track for the film the rusev others talked about how they wanted to set up Thor as the yin to thanasis yang from a plot perspective and make the audience believe that he would be the one to defeat him in the end they do this first by stripping the character of everything he cares about his people his brother even the victory of his previous movie and leaving him as the underdog of all the heroes and that's where the brilliance of the Russos direction really begins to shine because instead of once again changing the character of Thor and making him into a stoic sullen faced warrior who's lost all hope after they take everything away from Thor they still maintain his personality as the happy-go-lucky action hero he became and Ragnarok the only difference is they reframe his humor and positivity as the way he copes with all this pain and loss this is a guy who's lived for thousands of years and at this point things are getting repetitive and tiring his brother has died multiple times he's defeated countless world dominating villains but more just keep popping up again and again door basically has superhero movie fatigue but the thing that makes him so likable and charming and easy to get behind it's that despite all this he's fighting his hardest to stay positive and macho through it all even when he's dying inside the conversation between rocket and Thor in the pod potentially my favorite scene in the whole movie is a perfect example of the depth the Russo's managed to project into the character and the way Chris Hemsworth portrayed it perfectly was I'm wrong and more good news this is why Thor's arrival and makanda is such an awesome showstopper crowd-pleasing moment we've seen this character lose everything but through sheer force of will and selflessness he splurged the weapon he needs he's teamed up with the Guardians and he's in his prime in the perfect position to defeat Thanos or at least that's what it seems like that positivity and heroism the audience loved about the character from most of the runtime also shows that it has a bad side the fact that Thor has been through this much and still remains certain he can win does reflect some of the ego the character has always had and that ego that overconfidence that he can win and the reckless urge to get revenge on his antagonist is exactly what keeps Thor from killing Thanos in the end let's talk about Gamora do you think Gomorrah is still alive as she's trapped inside the soul stone I don't know we'll just have to see I might be coming back this one's gonna be shorter than the others because Gomorrah has a major role in infinity war but it's not quite as huge as someone like Thor and much of her purpose in the film has to do with her presence off screen I wasn't a massive fan of Gomorrah in the first Guardians movie I mean she's a serviceable badass female character but her personality doesn't truly develop until Guardians vol 2 and that's when things really do finally gain some depth gamora's relationship with Peter as explored brilliantly by Lindsey Ellis and her video is one of the very best things about volume 2 in that it doesn't play out like a stereotypical Hollywood romance and both of the characters are required to develop as healthy human beings before they even have a chance at being romantically involved the first kiss between Peter and Gamora doesn't even happen on-screen until infinity war four years later on that note the Russos did a good job with the guardians in general but one of the things I enjoyed most was that they managed to show how the team had grown and evolved in the four years since their previous movie and also you know how they'd stayed the same little touches like Gamora singing along to the music in their introduction something she'd never have done in years prior or rocket saying okay time to be the captain as an indicator of how he's matured as a leader really do a lot to give these characters some additional well character gamora's abusive relationship with Thanos is arguably at the heart of infinity war and she's also one of the only characters in the movie other than Thinnes who we see from a first-person perspective in that we get flashbacks to her childhood and see her apart from other characters on her own more than any other hero in the film brief shots were the film cuts to her reaction as she realizes Stannis is behind things instantly put the audience inside her head even when she doesn't say a word and it's clear throughout that gamora's feelings toward Thanos are complicated and not entirely in her control over the past four years she's become a warrior fiercely opposed to her father and loathes everything he instilled in her from an early age but however evil and abusive he may have been he's also the man who raised her and they have a history probably a manipulative one at that people who ask why gomorrah cries when she thinks she's killed her father I mean if she hates him so much why does she said totally missed that toxic relationships between parent and child are rarely simple Gomorrah questions how much of who she is today was based around nature and how much was based around nurture and Thamus was the key driver of that nurture and let's not forget there was a time when supposedly Gomorrah was serving her father wholeheartedly just because she's seen the evil in him and rebelled now doesn't mean she still can't have any lingering emotions from years past no matter how much she might know intellectually that those emotions were the result of manipulation it could also be argued that if the Russos say infinity war is a movie about strong wills with Thanos as the character whose will is the strongest Gamora might be a close second while other heroes hesitate to sacrifice and sometimes let their ego and emotions get the better of them as the daughter of Thanos Gamora is the most selfless and dedicated to the task she's committed to of stopping her father there's no moment when she's not willing to give her life to stop him and the only thing that gets in her way is her sister nebula just like Gamora I wasn't a big fan of nebula in the first Guardians movie either I thought Karen Gillan's performance was a bit OneNote and cartoony and James Gunn's idea of a nebula solo movie always sounded frankly pretty bad still by the time guardians vol 2 was finished the character had been given a suitable amount of depth that hadn't been there before and her relationship with her sister was nothing short of heartbreaking it's context like this that makes the dramatic beats an infinity war all the more meaningful when you realize Gamora has always felt guilty about nebulas abuse under their father the idea that she'd relinquished the soul stone just to make sure her sister is okay suddenly becomes more believable emotional [Music] gomorrah's untimely demise at the hands of her father further driving home the idea that Thanos has the strongest will in the film works so well because the audience subconsciously prepared themselves for her death when she asked Peter to kill her but it was assumed that if she died it would be for a noble cause this cause this is just tragedy even for the man who thought he had to do it and that comes as a shock I'm getting ahead of myself though let's move on and talk about our final two characters Tony Stark and Thanos [Music] Santa got an upgrade for Christmas so here we are talking about the two most important characters in all of infinity war why did I pair Toni and Thanos together well if Thorin thinner sat the yin and yang from plot perspective Tony and Thanos are definitely the yin yang from a thematic perspective Robert Downey jr. Tony Stark is Marvel's headline superhero a perfect picture of what it looks like when an actor captures a persona to a tee he's also and you can quote me on this one of the most fascinating and rich cinematic characters of the past decade especially when you consider that he's been constantly evolving throughout that decade when we first met Tony Stark the first major change he went through was learning to care about people other than himself she pleased assistant Pepper and those affected by his war profiteering and since then we've seen him continue to learn to work with others and develop selfless relationships to the point where deep down he's actually terrified of losing his newfound friends and feels responsible for their well-being another thing that's stayed consistent since Tony Stark's introduction is how concerned he is with his own legacy how will he be remembered when he's gone will he leave as big an impact as his father Howard did and will people view him as a hero or an egotist Starks journey in the MCU started as an attempt to atone for his sins restart his life and be a better person even when society told him he was crazy but deep down sometimes it seems like no matter how hard he's tried to be selfless to give to the next generation to create peace for the world some people will still view him as the war monger and narcissist that he started out as and that hurts you think he was fight for us his fight for yourself I've seen the footage the only thing you really fight for is yourself you're not the guy to make the sacrifice play to lay down on a wire let the other guy crawl over you I think I would just cut the wire one of the most important things to remember about stark in the MCU is that just as much as he was in the comics he is an addict now granted in the comic books Tony Stark's addiction manifests mainly as alcoholism we do see a little bit of that in Iron Man 2 but not much after in the movies Tony's addictive nature often takes a different form transposed from alcohol to other more personal things like his obsession and addiction to security and even paranoia few years ago I almost lost her so I trashed all my suits and we had to mop up I dread and then Ultron my fault and then and then and then I never stopped because the truth is I don't want to stop most of this stems from Tony's experiences in the Battle of New York which the MCU uses as a major catalyst for his character growth or in some ways lack thereof in the next several movies Iron Man 3 depicts Tony as a man suffering from PTSD due to the magnitude of the threat he faced a year prior his response to this the fear that he is not enough to stop the next army that attacks from space is to become severely addicted to creating specialty Iron Man suits for every possible circumstance to protect himself and his girlfriend he effectively creates high-tech cocoons for his fears Iron Man 3 of course ends with Tony learning to be a hero without the suits blowing all of them up at the end and having his arc reactor removed so that he doesn't have an excuse to say he needs them anymore unfortunately though addiction rarely dies it just takes a new form and that's exactly what Tony's does in Avengers age of Ultron as even though he's decided that he doesn't need the Iron Man suit to keep himself safe anymore Tony's fear that the Avengers will not be strong enough to stop the next threat starts an obsession with creating a suit of armor around the world I see a suit of armor around the world sounds like a cult world time I've seen colder this obsession of course ultimately leads to Ultron and all the destruction that follows and the ensuing chaos is only stopped by Tony's second creation the technological savior and the only one capable of stopping what Stark has started and at the end of age of Ultron it seems like vision might be the answer to Tony's problems Tony may not be worthy enough to lift Thor's hammer but he's created a seemingly infallible machine who is he feels like he might have finally made something that allows him to settle down with Pepper for good time for me to talk about what Stark's character is doing an Iron Man 3 and age of Ultron and all the movies following is repeatedly trying to pass off the responsibilities and protecting the earth to a force stronger and more capable than himself so that he won't have to worry about it again and his obsession with security can finally end Tony has been a man driven by guilt ever since he first became Iron Man and that guilt coupled with the fear that he's the only one who can stop the next invasion is weighing him down as he tells Banner wouldn't it be great to have peace and our time peace in our time peace in our time Tony's desire to shed his obsession with heroism is why even in the Avengers movies he's content with calling Captain America the leader of the team he doesn't want that responsibilities forced upon himself well actually he's the boss I just pay for everything and design everything make him look cooler the sokovia accords in civil war represent the same desire Tony's guilt over the destruction caused an age of Ultron and other guilt he's carried with him even since his time as an arms dealer leads him to believe that if he can sign a document passing the responsibility of the avengers actions good and bad to the UN he might finally rest easy and be able to take a step back of course this doesn't come to pass Tony's attempted to secure the Avengers team end up completely splitting them apart and we're still his supposedly perfect creation of vision in age of Ultron the one thing he's invented that hasn't turned out horribly wrong ends up nearly killing his best friend proving that he's not as infallible as Tony created it would be became distracted so Tony Stark is a man who is addicted to trying to save the world but it all stems from ultimately wanting to find a permanent solution or defense so that his obsession can finally come to the end of the line Tony's desire to pass the torch and find the final resting place has manifested in suits it's manifested in Ultron and vision it's manifested in the sokovia accords and it's manifested in trying to pass the mantle of Iron Man to another generation be it his mentorship to Harley an Iron Man 3 or his father-son dynamic with Peter Parker and homecoming Tony just wants to find a way to retire and let other heroes worry about the world for him but in doing this he's constantly trying to win a war before it even starts isn't that the mission is it nothing why we fight so we can end the fight so we get to go home every time someone tries to win a war before it starts innocent people die every time and this is where the parallels between Tony Stark and Thanos really come into view because almost everything I just said about Tony is true of Thanos too and mind you every Avengers movie thus far has had a villain with some similarity to Iron Man but there's a reason infinity war draws such a clear connection Tony mentions how Thanos has been inside his head for years acknowledging that much of his paranoia has come from the idea of the mad Titan even before he knew his name it's you who doesn't understand that Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he's back I don't know what to do Tony is also the only Avenger that Thanos recognizes and knows by name dawg you know me I do you're not the only one cursed with knowledge Thanos is wise to see that despite completely different strategies and mindsets Stark in himself are two very similar individuals Tony and Thanos are both futurists obsessed with their own legacy and burdened with the weight of the universe because they feel like they're the only ones who know what they know the futurist is here he sees all he knows what's best for you what are you like her mad Tony has felt ever since the Battle of New York like he's the only one who's aware and readily preparing for another invasion like it and he also seems like the only guy who fears that the Avengers might not be enough to stop it a second time how are you guys planning on beating that together we'll lose and we'll do that together too Thanos has felt like he has the solution to overpopulation ever since this planet was on the brink of collapse and nobody believed in men his strong obsessive will pushes him to never let that circumstance happen again with anyone who contradicts his plan or tries to reason with him being viewed as a child who doesn't understand the situation it needs oh you don't know that I'm the only one who knows that Thanos thinks he's the father of the universe and he knows best this is why even when people pick apart Thanos his plan by pointing out things like how he could have just increased the food supply or made new planets it doesn't matter to him this guy has had an idea for how to save the universe rattling around in his head eating away at him ever since his own planet collapsed and he believes he's the only person who understands the circumstance people who say that us is a twisted abusive terrible person who shouldn't be viewed as a hero are obviously correct like duh but infinity war is more about how Thanos views himself as a hero in his own head and why he can't be reasoned with ultimately one of the biggest parallels between stark and Thanos is that while both of them do feel burdened by a mission that they only [Music] ultimately one of the biggest parallels between stark and Thanos is that while the two of them both feel burdened by a task that only they can fulfill they also just want to settle down and know that they've completed their mission for good they should take a page out of Barton's book little pepper a farm simple life and then what I finally arrest infinity war is tragic for many if not all of the characters involved but no one isn't more tragic for than Tony Stark himself why because it's Thanos getting the happy ending that Tony always wanted farmhouse and all and it's all of Tony's worst fears coming to pass with no way out the team start assembled to protect the earth is torn apart partly because of his own mistakes the technology he thought would aid him in protecting the planet is brought to its peak abilities but it still isn't enough to stop the threat and he stabbed in the gut with his own blade the child apprentice and surrogate son he hoped would someday take his place as a hero dies in his arms and if you died Tony looks at his hand to see if he'll turn to dust too but he's staying right where yes his worst fear has come to pass when I first saw infinity war I thought the ending was a little cheap even that we know most of these characters will be back but after seeing it again I feel like the point is less about the people who died and more about the visceral feeling of loss both in the audience and the people left behind without their loved ones some of these people have even lost the same loved ones before Steve is forced to relive Bucky's death a Khoya is forced to relive to child's death rocket is forced to relive groots death it's all about the people who lose it all and I think on that front the tragic ending of this installment puts the original surviving Avengers team and a far more intimates compelling place for Avengers 4 instead of a movie about a villain who rises from nothing whose plans are thwarted before they come to fruition Avengers 4 will see the heroes challenging a god who already won and just wants to maintain the status quo if they weren't already the Avengers are absolutely the underdogs now and you can bet Tony Stark is out for revenge so why did Thanos win what makes Thanos such a phenomenal villain and formidable foe it's his strong will and obsessive conviction if infinity war is a movie about sacrifices Thanos is the only character in the film who doesn't hesitate to make them and it's easy to step back and say why didn't want to just kill vision earlier or why did quill have to mess up the plan but if you look at the characters every decision they make is completely in accordance with who they are weakness is included vision and Wanda have fallen in love over the past two years because they're both outcasts in some way vision is an Android when nothing else remotely like him and Wanda is a young woman who's lost her family her brother and her country losing vision would be losing the only person who makes her feel normal again Peter quill lost his own mother at a young age and Gamora apart from being of romantic interest to him also provided some catharsis to what was left unresolved when his mother died she's the only person willing to call him star-lord and the only woman who stayed constant in his life for more than a day losing her would be like losing his mom all over again and yeah that level of attachment to a girl because she makes you feel important maybe unhealthy but that's part of who Peter quill is flaws and all of course both star-lord and Wanda are courageous and heroic and at the end of the day they do make that choice to sacrifice the ones they love but neither of them makes it fast enough they're too noble for that Thanos when faced with the decision to murder his own daughter for the sake of the universe doesn't give it more than a few seconds to make up his mind and that's why he wins does Thanos really love Gamora does infinity war mean to show us that this monster is somehow a loving parent no obviously not if they honest really loved his daughter he wouldn't throw her off a cliff but the point is that in his mad twisted head this guy believes he loves his daughter and he believes he's ultimately doing what's best for her as many abusive parents do however skewed their perception might be Gamora herself says just before her death that this isn't love and she's right but soul stones sacrifice is intentionally contradictory in tragic to attain the stone you must lose that what you love but of course if you truly loved a person you wouldn't be willing to sacrifice them for your own game the stone is instead looking for selfish surface-level attachment and affection which will be sacrificed to gain it it doesn't matter if that attachment is twisted and destructive it's looking for a mental sacrifice from the person who wants to attain it infinity war as a movie isn't saying in the slightest that Thanos his relationship with his daughter is real healthy love it's just depicting a character who believes that it is the beauty of Thanos in infinity war is that he's not a mustache twirling villain after the first scene his lack of armor in the movie makes it feel like he takes very little joy in fighting his enemies and it really seems like he's over exerting himself Thanos instead views himself as a holy warrior seeking peace just defending his purpose and forging ahead with the force of a steam train this guy is messed up but the movie shows us why he doesn't realize it we may not have sympathy for him but we get why he is who he is I've said it already but infinity war is a tragedy more than anything else the story is a messy convergence of strong wills ego shrouding better judgment and the empty draining feeling of loss that must overcome a person before they can do anything to fight it there are a lot of Marvel movies that don't improve upon the rewatch instead becoming more and more cliche and predictable on the second viewing or less funny because you knew all the jokes infinity war is not that way in all my rewatch --is of the film to make this video and all the lenses through which I viewed it the movie did nothing but improve the action is top-notch memorable and packed with character beats that give it a meaning the pacing is relentless stopping only for what's most important and never feeling dull the characters are all written with a heavy knowledge of their past story arcs and they each act according to who they are at all times the VFX and CGI are gorgeous and near photorealistic and even when they don't look perfect the performances of the actors sell them anyway and most of all this is an event movie that doesn't lose its heart and soul it may not be flawless but this is Marvel's masterpiece this is the culmination of everything they've worked toward and it's more than just explosions and CGI infinity war is an achievement like no other it concludes and pays homage to every arc in the MCU while also offering a satisfying story of its own I am beyond blown away well Dragon Con has been fun we saw tons of costumes and cosplays and vendors and my friend and I met Napoleon Dynamite by the way but it's finally coming to a close I want to thank my friend Jonathan from films and stuff for co-starring in this video even shortly and I want to thank the viewers for watching it in the first place seriously guys thanks so much for checking this out I've spent the last month making it so I hope you found it entertaining and informative also a special thanks goes out to the patrons over on patreon it's only $1 a month but you get behind-the-scenes content and unscripted rambles and video previews so I'm very thankful for their support and thankful for the new patrons all right self-promotion part is over [Music] that's the real deal so here we are at the end of the video we've talked about infinity war we've been to Dragon Con and I want to know about your thoughts about the movie in the comments below be sure to follow me on patreon and thanks for watching

Channel: Houston Coley

Views: 155,048

Keywords: video, essay, analysis, breakdown, explained, movies, reviews, critique, stuckmann, star, wars, film, critic, marvel, superheroes, comics, dc, avengers, geek, houston, productions, one, hp1, houstonproductions1, review, infinity war, captain marvel, marvel studios, marvel cinematic universe, avengers 4, captain america, iron man, thanos, gamora, soul stone, spoilers, retrospective, tribute

Id: 4tbv_5s-AEc

Length: 50min 21sec (3021 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 20 2018