Even for a film that ballooned past 160 minutes, Avengers: Infinity War simply whizzed by, and it’s a credit to Joe and Anthony Russo that viewers were rooted to the edge of their seats for the entire duration.
It’s not without its faults, of course, but Infinity War is a true masterstroke of blockbuster filmmaking – the kind of superhero ensemble movie that simultaneously raises the bar all the while delivering a truly satisfying sense of closure to 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And at the heart of that MCU smackdown was Thanos, Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan who successfully acquired all six Infinity Stones in order to eviscerate half of all life in the universe. He did so with a snap of his fingers, too, which really shows the raw, untold power simmering within the Infinity Gauntlet.
That’s not to say that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes didn’t have their chances to avert disaster, as both Star-Lord and Thor came pretty damn close to besting Thanos at the 11th hour. And those close calls were something that Joe and Anthony Russo touched on during a recent chat with ComicBook.com, explaining why the latter in particular didn’t finish the job.
I would argue that the fan base could be equally upset with Thor, who chose to throw that ax into Thanos chest and not his head. He did so because he wanted to tell Thanos that he got his revenge.
Blinded by revenge, Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder aims for the heart, hoping to inflict a slow, painful death upon a cosmic entity responsible for the deaths of Loki and Heimdall – not to mention all those poor souls stowed away in the Asgardian ship.
Joe Russo continued:
Had he gone for a kill shot, that snap would not have happened. These are choices that characters who are feeling immense pain make and hopefully, the audience can learn to empathize with those characters because they can grow through stories. Stories can teach us things and that we should try to see every choice from the perspective of the character that made the choice.
In closing, the director added:
That moment when he clicks his fingers sends him into this ethereal plane inside of the Soul Stone where as part of his quote-unquote ‘hero’s journey’ in the film, he has one last moment to convey a sense of guilt about what he’s done. It illustrates what a complicated character he is.
Avengers: Infinity War is now playing everywhere and well on its way to box office stardom.