Avengers: Infinity War is surprising in unexpected ways

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have taken on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most ambitious project yet and, somehow, they manage to link dozens of characters, several narratives, and epic battle scenes in a witty two-and-a-half hour experience that, mostly, lives up to fan’s expectations.

Unlike its predecessors, this Avengers film is darker and edgier with more than a few laughs to lighten the mood. But it still maintains its apocalyptic tenor while concurrently delivering a superhero extravaganza that, mainly, gets it right.

In spite of littering the film with several cataclysmic events, the directors still manage to bring the narrative to an emotional climax, or rather, cliffhanger. Despite their superhuman abilities and near insurmountable bravery the directors manage to portray the humanity of these superheroes in a stirring and unforgettable manner.

If there were to be one criticism of the film it would be the fact that there are simply too many characters to stuff into one film. As a result, some heroes are left out in the cold in terms of screen time and while this is nothing new for Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) it doesn’t seem right for Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) to have so little screen time.

Still, Avengers: Infinity War makes sense and more importantly will excite MCU fans to no end. But be prepared though because this film will take you to a place you may not be used to going.

*Spoiler alert*

After Thanos (Josh Brolin) succeeds in collecting all the infinity stones, he follows through and with a snap of his fingers eradicates half the world’s population. The final scene is a montage of several heroes disintegrating, literally, while others are left behind.

Avengers: Infinity War lives up to high expectations

Charles Siboto  2 May 2018

Naturally, this provokes several questions. Surely, Black Panther couldn’t come to such an unremarkable end, could he? Probably not as Marvel is unlikely to say adios to its biggest star from the Marvel Universe quite yet. As a result, there must be a theory that makes sense of it all.

Here follows a theory: At a point in the film, Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) uses the time stone to look into the future. He tells Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) that there are more than 14 million different realities they could end up with. Now tie in the fact that Thanos most likely feels serious regret for sacrificing his daughter, Gamora (Zoey Saldana), for the soul stone. Put these two pieces together and it is highly likely that Thanos didn’t choose to eradicate half the globe but instead placed said half in alternate realities. Why would he do that? So that he can find the one reality that allows him to keep his daughter alive. This is but one theory however amongst a feverish online debate currently dominating the timelines of just about every MCU fan.