Let me get this out of the way first I LIKED Avengers Infinity War. It's not a perfect movie by any means, but as what it was aiming for, that being an entertaining summer blockbuster movie it is a roaring success. But what it definitely isn't is a top 10 movie of all time, as it is sitting at no 9 on the imdb top 250, ahead of timeless classics like Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I would more agree with it's RT Average rating of 7.5/10 with 84% ( and the top critics rating of 63% with rating 7/10 )
So why the dissonance with the critic and audience score you may ask ? Well in recent years I have found that a movie can only be either of two qualities, i.e: it should be the best movie ever made or the worst movie ever. People cannot seem to find a middle ground these days. You have to either like something or completely hate it. Now this level of thinking is not just confined to movies but most of all topics in the present world, from sporting rivalries to political ideologies.
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| Fan-Hype and Critics (The overrating and reality) |
To make matters worse given the state of social media anybody with a laptop can be a movie critic and I'm seeing most people giving this 5/5 reviews. Really guys ? isn't that pushing it a bit ? I get it you guys really liked the movie. But does that mean you have to overlook the obvious problems with the movie ? Like the pacing issues in the first half, or the heavy exposition dumps or the underdeveloped motivation of certain characters. Now you may say that these were explained in the 18 movies before it. But when you are giving a 5/5 review for a movie that movie alone should be deserving of that grade you give it. i.e: it should be able to stand alone as a movie first.
I get why this is getting 5/5 from the average joe, because the movie has some amazing, standout scenes sprinkled across it 150 minute running time, whether it be the the action set pieces or the character banter and probably the best villain in any Marvel movie after Killmonger ( I'm still not sure if I should consider Loki as a villain at this point). But the problem comes when you start comparing the said villain to probably one of the greatest performances of the 21st century which won almost every acting award that it was nominated for. That is just a whole new level of absurdity and over-hype.
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| "Let's put a smile on that face" |
I always have talked about movies were the sum is greater than the parts of it, Avengers Infinity War is an anomaly to this rule as the individual parts of the movie are greater than the sum of it when you really let the movie sink in. Yes this looks cool on screen and yes I have an emotional attachment to these characters because I've been following them for about ten years now, hence the reaction I get out of what is happening on screen. But when you really come to think about it, apart from Thanos, Thor and Tony who else had a proper character arc in this movie ? Really think about it.Let the awe of all the cool shit you saw on screen subside and really think about the writing and characterization of certain characters and storytelling choices.Apart from the impeccable use of Alan Silvestri's The Avenger's theme which invited ruckus applause every time it played and the portion where classical music plays in the end, didn't the score feel a bit too generic ?
So in short before you call something the greatest thing ever made just after you've experienced, let it sink in, really think about it. process what you have seen. Then form an opinion about it before riding the hype or hate train and remember it's okay to have a middle of the road opinion about things.
PS : to people who are writing reviews (the social media critics I mean ) I would appreciate it if you guys actually took the effort to study about the intricacies of film making and story telling techniques and comment on them instead of I don't know saying Thor's entrance was dope. Explain why that scene was dope instead of saying that it is dope. For those who aspire to be good critics I would advise you to read up on the late Roger Ebert's film reviews, in most of his reviews you will find that he points out problems with the movies he gave a thumbs up and points out the things he liked in those he gave a thumbs down. You'll find why he was considered one of the best
