Avengers: Infinity War

Thanos wants to wipe out only half of the universe because his motivation for doing so is to end scarcity in the universe. He lived on a planet which was destroyed because there simply wasn't enough resources on the planet to sustain them, and they died out as a result. He sees a similar fate for the universe, that there's simply too much life for the amount of resources in the universe, and that a universal culling is necessary for the good of all life. From this twisted perspective, which is of course wrong both from a 'that much death is never justifiable' level and a 'there is no way there isn't enough resources to go around, they're just distributed poorly' level, he sees what he is doing as righteous and noble, that he is the only person in the universe who can see reality for what it is, and he has been burdened with the knowledge that only he can protect the universe from itself by 'balancing it' by cutting all life in half. Also he doesn't just kill anyone that resists him because he doesn't take pleasure in the act of killing, he's doing it because he sees it as necessary through his twisted worldview, so he only does so when necessary (which is unfortunately, '50% of all living things'. To me the larger issue is 'why not just like, wipe out a bunch of stuff that isn't sentient which must outnumber sentient beings by like 1000:1, but I guess if he did that there would be no movie at all, so I'm more than willing to suspend my disbelief on that).

(There's also a really interesting parallel between Thanos and Tony Stark that they teased which I really enjoyed thinking about, it was one of the more effective 'we're a lot alike, we're nothing alike' scenes I've seen in a movie, because it's subtle, but the subtext is very heavy).

Thanos wants to wipe out only half of the universe because his motivation for doing so is to end scarcity in the universe. He lived on a planet which was destroyed because there simply wasn't enough resources on the planet to sustain them, and they died out as a result. He sees a similar fate for the universe, that there's simply too much life for the amount of resources in the universe, and that a universal culling is necessary for the good of all life. From this twisted perspective, which is of course wrong both from a 'that much death is never justifiable' level and a 'there is no way there isn't enough resources to go around, they're just distributed poorly' level, he sees what he is doing as righteous and noble, that he is the only person in the universe who can see reality for what it is, and he has been burdened with the knowledge that only he can protect the universe from itself by 'balancing it' by cutting all life in half. Also he doesn't just kill anyone that resists him because he doesn't take pleasure in the act of killing, he's doing it because he sees it as necessary through his twisted worldview, so he only does so when necessary (which is unfortunately, '50% of all living things'. To me the larger issue is 'why not just like, wipe out a bunch of stuff that isn't sentient which must outnumber sentient beings by like 1000:1, but I guess if he did that there would be no movie at all, so I'm more than willing to suspend my disbelief on that).

(There's also a really interesting parallel between Thanos and Tony Stark that they teased which I really enjoyed thinking about, it was one of the more effective 'we're a lot alike, we're nothing alike' scenes I've seen in a movie, because it's subtle, but the subtext is very heavy).

The return of the Red Skull was pretty amazing

The return of the Red Skull was pretty amazing

Fury does a lot in his minute of screen time

Fury does a lot in his minute of screen time

They used him the least and his death still had the loudest reaction in the theater

They used him the least and his death still had the loudest reaction in the theater

(weakest of the GOTG chaarcters but I expect big things in the next one)

(weakest of the GOTG chaarcters but I expect big things in the next one)

My jaw dropped when Thanos kicked the crap out of the Hulk. I was also surprised to see Loki not side with Thanos. I also found it confusing that Heimdal used his last bridge to send Hulk away as opposed to his friend and Lord Thor (but Thor didn't die when the ship exploded anyways, so apparently he was right in this choice).

Thanos is the bad-ass we've been waiting for. I found his powers a little inconsistent, though - one moment he's turning Drax and Mantis into piles of rubble, the next he's wrestling with Iron Man and Spiderman.

I suspect the next movie will bring back those that disintegrated - some of these characters have upcoming sequels (eg. Black Panther, Spider Man). The Averngers will probably get the time stone back, reverse time (not sure who will do this since Strange is dead ... perhaps another wizard?) and have Thor chop off Thano's head (Thanos made a mistake in telling Thor this). Maybe they'll go back even further andGamora, Loki and Hiemdal too.

With Thanos being god-like now, I wonder if they'll merge Infinity War with Secret Wars, with Thanos playing the role of The Beyonder. Perhaps Thanos will create a Battle Planet and have the heroes fight one another gladiator-style.

My jaw dropped when Thanos kicked the crap out of the Hulk. I was also surprised to see Loki not side with Thanos. I also found it confusing that Heimdal used his last bridge to send Hulk away as opposed to his friend and Lord Thor (but Thor didn't die when the ship exploded anyways, so apparently he was right in this choice).

Thanos is the bad-ass we've been waiting for. I found his powers a little inconsistent, though - one moment he's turning Drax and Mantis into piles of rubble, the next he's wrestling with Iron Man and Spiderman.

I suspect the next movie will bring back those that disintegrated - some of these characters have upcoming sequels (eg. Black Panther, Spider Man). The Averngers will probably get the time stone back, reverse time (not sure who will do this since Strange is dead ... perhaps another wizard?) and have Thor chop off Thano's head (Thanos made a mistake in telling Thor this). Maybe they'll go back even further andGamora, Loki and Hiemdal too.

With Thanos being god-like now, I wonder if they'll merge Infinity War with Secret Wars, with Thanos playing the role of The Beyonder. Perhaps Thanos will create a Battle Planet and have the heroes fight one another gladiator-style.

By the end of the film all the Guardians save Rocket are dead. With Nebula and Tony stranded on Titan one would assume that's going to be the big subplot. Also with how the original story went and Nebula was such a major character in that story and a minor one here I would expect her to be one of the big leads.

It's interesting to point out the Earth survivors

War Machine - (to take over for Iron Man)
Hulk
Captain America
Black Widow
Rocket
Hawkeye - (who they didn't use)
Ant Man/Wasp - (who they didn't use)
Captain Marvel - (who was teased)

You've got basically the original team with a pair of proxies (Iron Man/War Machine, Rocket/Fury)

Space Team

Iron Man
Nebula
Valkyrie - (who they didn't use)
Adam Warlock - (who they continue to tease)

So now you've got to wonder if we'll get the Netflix guys, Fantastic Four, or X-men in the sequel.

By the end of the film all the Guardians save Rocket are dead. With Nebula and Tony stranded on Titan one would assume that's going to be the big subplot. Also with how the original story went and Nebula was such a major character in that story and a minor one here I would expect her to be one of the big leads.

It's interesting to point out the Earth survivors

War Machine - (to take over for Iron Man)
Hulk
Captain America
Black Widow
Rocket
Hawkeye - (who they didn't use)
Ant Man/Wasp - (who they didn't use)
Captain Marvel - (who was teased)

You've got basically the original team with a pair of proxies (Iron Man/War Machine, Rocket/Fury)

Space Team

Iron Man
Nebula
Valkyrie - (who they didn't use)
Adam Warlock - (who they continue to tease)

So now you've got to wonder if we'll get the Netflix guys, Fantastic Four, or X-men in the sequel.

When I saw Thanos snap his fingers, and half of the cast fade from existence, my jaw dropped. I didn't even cry, or feel sad, I was too shocked that Marvel actually did something like this to react appropriately. And I F*cking LOVED IT! Ballsy, unexpected, exciting to see, it's actually gritty and new ground for a franchise that was starting to get old. I know most of them are not going to stay dead, cause Black Panther and Spider-Man died. If those two hadn't, I would've probably believed it, but knowing the future slate of Marvel's films, the tension was a bit undercut. I just HOPE there are lasting stakes, whether they bring everybody, or some back, I need there to be gravity, cause this is the kind of storytelling that I want to see from a 10 year culmination of a franchise.

When I saw Thanos snap his fingers, and half of the cast fade from existence, my jaw dropped. I didn't even cry, or feel sad, I was too shocked that Marvel actually did something like this to react appropriately. And I F*cking LOVED IT! Ballsy, unexpected, exciting to see, it's actually gritty and new ground for a franchise that was starting to get old. I know most of them are not going to stay dead, cause Black Panther and Spider-Man died. If those two hadn't, I would've probably believed it, but knowing the future slate of Marvel's films, the tension was a bit undercut. I just HOPE there are lasting stakes, whether they bring everybody, or some back, I need there to be gravity, cause this is the kind of storytelling that I want to see from a 10 year culmination of a franchise.

Yep, pretty much this. Most of the deaths I bought as possibly being permanent, until Black Panther. At that point I knew it couldn't last, so Parker dying didn't have much of an impact.

I can still appreciate how gutsy it is, but I'm pretty nervous about the movies becoming the same kind of convoluted retconned nightmare that comic books inevitably become, and it starts with stuff like deaths that don't really take and/or multiple universes, time travel, or the constant need to one-up themselves with mutants whose powers can reshape reality. That stuff has to be used sparingly, if at all, so I'm a little surprised and worried that something like this is part of the MCU, let alone this soon.

Yep, pretty much this. Most of the deaths I bought as possibly being permanent, until Black Panther. At that point I knew it couldn't last, so Parker dying didn't have much of an impact.

I can still appreciate how gutsy it is, but I'm pretty nervous about the movies becoming the same kind of convoluted retconned nightmare that comic books inevitably become, and it starts with stuff like deaths that don't really take and/or multiple universes, time travel, or the constant need to one-up themselves with mutants whose powers can reshape reality. That stuff has to be used sparingly, if at all, so I'm a little surprised and worried that something like this is part of the MCU, let alone this soon.

Funny because I knew going in that they're probably going to retcon everything. And I knew some of the deaths, including Peter. But that didn't change the fact that his death effing scarred me. Poor kid.

Funny because I knew going in that they're probably going to retcon everything. And I knew some of the deaths, including Peter. But that didn't change the fact that his death effing scarred me. Poor kid.

I found the weight and overall story well done too. But the details always get in the way for me, and Infinity War is no exception on that front. I felt that too many plot points were telegraphed as inevitable solutions to the situations presented. I also struggled with what I perceived as an inconsistent balance of power from one character to another and further, how some character strengths (and motivations, to a lesser extent) would change depending not on the already past demonstrated powers of the individual, but on the dramatic impact of the moment. This, like so many of my criticisms with movies in general, fall on the writers. I suppose that is a relatively minor gripe, but for a franchise that has been evolving for a decade, I would think these details should be a bit more thorough. Perhaps that's just OCD getting the best of me.

I found the weight and overall story well done too. But the details always get in the way for me, and Infinity War is no exception on that front. I felt that too many plot points were telegraphed as inevitable solutions to the situations presented. I also struggled with what I perceived as an inconsistent balance of power from one character to another and further, how some character strengths (and motivations, to a lesser extent) would change depending not on the already past demonstrated powers of the individual, but on the dramatic impact of the moment. This, like so many of my criticisms with movies in general, fall on the writers. I suppose that is a relatively minor gripe, but for a franchise that has been evolving for a decade, I would think these details should be a bit more thorough. Perhaps that's just OCD getting the best of me.

I thought Hal Jordan was DCEU? Regardless, I like that he went with a complimentary color change throughout this movie!

I thought Hal Jordan was DCEU? Regardless, I like that he went with a complimentary color change throughout this movie!