Avengers: Infinity War (12A)
Dirs: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
With: Robert Downey Jr, Karen Gillan, Scarlett Johansson
Runtime: 149 minutes
****
HOW many superheroes does a budget of $300 million buy? In Avengers: Infinity War there’s a buy one, get a dozen free offer going on, with Edinburgh thrown in as a bonus.
Yes, Auld Reekie stars in this, the 19th film in the Marvel collection, which had its UK premiere in London last night.
Iron Man is here together with Thor, Black Widow, The Hulk, Black Panther, Nebula (Scotland’s Karen Gillan), and too many others to mention if this is not to sound like taking the register on the first day at Marvel High. The Rosso Brothers open the story amid the smoking ruins of a planet where Thanos (Josh Brolin) stands triumphant.
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The biggest baddest villain since the last one has a special golden gauntlet in which he is collecting “infinity stones”, gems that make him all powerful.
The glove looks like something QVC might sell, but Thanos is a very mean guy, so no-one questions his taste.
The call goes out to the Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, et al. Now is the time for all good superheroes to come to the aid of the universe, and what a blast it is to watch them come together.
As Spider-Man greets Iron Man and Thor encounters Star-Lord it is like King Kong meets Godzilla to the power of 100, or the characters in EastEnders taking a coach trip to Coronation Street.
The war for the world catches up with Wanda and Vision (Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany) as they are having a city break in Edinburgh. Fortunately, it is the middle of the night in winter so they can battle intergalactic villains to their heart’s content – okay, for a few minutes – up and down the Royal Mile, in Waverley Station, and other locations.
Try that during festival season and they would not have had room to swing a punch never mention hurl streams of fire. A lot of the film’s tush-numbingly long running time is taken up with fighting, with the action switching between planets and clashes in a web of connections so complex it will doubtless be a question one day on University Challenge.
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What saves Avengers: Infinity War is what always rescues such films: a sense of humour. Never mind the cod Shakespearean tragedy and the nods to bigger matters like world peace, it is all about the wisecracks, and this picture has them to burn.
It is not all fun and games, though. By the time the credits roll a sombre stage has been set for the sequel, scheduled for May next year. Book your seats now.
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