The Stream of Now

Rating: 6/10 (28 April 2018)

How long has it been since the Dark Knight? The DC film that defined how an epic comic book fantasy could wrap a world around a hero and a villain.
Marvel have a different way of building product, and the Avengers universe has spread over many instalments. And while the last two Captain America films have escaped popcorn and can be seen as real achievements, the Avengers have kept to a more Disney comfortable spectacle.
We ride from fight to fight, changing scenes but staying firmly locked into a fantasy present with no solid meaning, much better explored in comics. But even this limited form is broken here - with the idea of a villain who is neither camp nor fickle. By developing Thanos the film actually makes it's normal limitations feel worse. There is an empty parade that is supposed to support the narrative but can only manage sputtering buddy humour and colourful mayhem. From this thin gruel we are expected to construct a framework in our minds to justify the story. While enjoying the expensive antics, the attention wanders through the inevitable plot holes, pointless scenes and rolodex of similar heroes.
Better to keep to the single dimensional tunnel of the continuous spectacle, or dare to write a proper film. This fails to do either, rendering the final scenes like a Monty Python sketch without a punchline.