Too much stupidity...Maybe it's about high time they lost

Rating: 3/10 (17 April 2020)

Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel's latest blockbuster, actually got more right than I expected. The opening scene started with a good amount of tension, people died right away, and you begin to think this might be their best one yet.
Then.
The first half an hour ends and the film becomes utterly consumed by a horde of swarming side plots and then completely falls apart in one of the most excruciating drops from decently engaging to excruciating I can think of.
With each added character, the emotional stakes lessen and lessen until all you have left is a mental checklist of who you think is going to die. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem but for two things: the Russo bro's utter incompetence in crafting well-made action scenes, and the laughable ridiculousness of the script's attempts to be philosophical.
First off, the action scenes. They retain some trippy visuals and entertain on the basic level, but for the most part are reduced to illogical CGI barf where characters are flung around and punched like rag dolls. Yes, the superheroes get beaten in the end, but you never doubt for a second that they will be able to fix it; the climax would have had more emotional heft if Iron Man wasn't always transforming like a liquid Terminator and if Spider Man could quit sprouting more arms and superpowers. All these little pop-up tricks really undermine whatever stakes there are supposed to be in this movie. It's a problem I have with superhero movies in general, that we're watching powerful people beating other powerful people, and succeeding because they have more powers, etc. It just doesn't make a good story. The action culminates, meanwhile, in a massive, shaky-cam, lamely choreographed battle which was probably meant to evoke the Lord of the Rings but I kept getting flashbacks to the Phantom Menace. (Bubble shield to cover the good guys, check. Miniature bubble shields for good guy troops, check. Giant bad guy troop carriers, check. Hordes of cannon-fodder troops, check. What visionaries the Russos are). Once again, the Avengers' strategy is to charge their enemies-forget it, that doesn't even work as a strategy. The battle then revs up and we are treated to so many acts of maximum destruction that all impact is lost. It's like watching a house of cards being atomic bombed. Then, due to a series of tactical blunders, they lose anyway. Just one way for them to win, Doctor Strange says? You might want to check another couple million possibilities because you probably overlooked something.
Okay, on to the script. It attempts to philosophize with its pretty lame villain, Thanos, who is only considered great because he has been teased for so long he must be good, right? He isn't. The movie doesn't even offer any reason why he's wrong other than "You just can't kill people!". Well, he's saving the environment, I'm sure Michael Moore would encourage him. The whole thing is just ridiculous. Besides, if he's so concerned about the universe's 'finite resources', why doesn't he just use the all-powerful Infinity McGuffins to create more resources instead of killing a bunch of people? Can he not do this even when he has a 'reality stone' that controls reality or something like that? It's total nonsense. The writers are good at making you laugh, but when it comes to anything serious or thought provoking they're doomed.
Well, at least we still have the characters, and seeing them lose was pretty refreshing after their string of 20 some victories. But then you get on to Endgame, and this movie looks like an artistic masterpiece...