Avengers: Infinity War (Quick Analysis)

As many predicted, Infinity War was a big event and people knew that it was going to be big because many will die. What people didn't know is the scale. Reactions on social media and the memes coming out of the Marvel fan community have centered (on the most part) on how Infinity War left them emotionally wrecked. I went to watch it and... I think all these people need to watch Madoka Magica to know what being emotionally wrecked is really like. To be clear, the movie is good. It has the Marvel standard of quality: it's serious, dumb, funny, engaging, and entertaining in all the right places. Infinity War is a solid 8/10. However, the biggest impact according to fans failed in my eyes. Why?
To be clear, this is NOT a review on the movie. If you seen any Marvel movie, you know what to expect from this. If you didn't like it, you probably didn't like any of the other movies so why did you watch this one? Again, solid 8/10. Also, since I will be focusing on character deaths and the villain there will be a huge amount of spoilers (and in this movie, there are a lot, so watch the movie before reading this).

First, let's talk about Thanos. He is a good villain. Nothing more to say there. For a character that isn't really intimidating, everyone who worked on him really succeeded in making him a believable threat. Strangely enough, also sympathetic, which was a pleasant surprise. I felt for Thanos, which didn't make me root for him but it did make him more of a three dimensional character and not just some generic evil intergalactic schoolyard bully. So, what's my problem with Thanos? Well, not with him exactly, but what he becomes by the end of the film. By the end of the movie, Thanos obtains all infinity stones, making him the most powerful being in the universe. The problem with this is that not only are we told about what he is able to do with that power, but we see it. The Villain won. Creating a challenge for our heroes is fine, but Thanos defeated our heroes starting with one stone and now he has all of them, and half of the heroes are dead. Not to mention that among the stones he has, he possesses a stone that can warp reality and a stone that can reverse time (with no clear limits on these powers). I've seen this scene before. The anime Soul Eater walked through this exact plot line (Spoilers for Soul Eater, if you haven't finished it): Asura needed to do something to become completely invincible... and then he does. Then, this invincible entity that even Death couldn't beat is defeated by getting punched in the face by a 14 year old girl. The anime tries to shoe horn an explanation on how Courage defeats Madness (I guess using the same logic as Rock-Paper-Scissors) but I think anyone who has watched the anime can agree that it was absolutely terrible. The way Infinity War ended has me worried more about the writers than the heroes (more on that on the second point). Thanos, by the universe's own rules, has become too powerful which will lead to either a gimmicky Deus Ex Machina (which may or may not involve Captain Marvel) or some logically sound but unsatisfying ending. I will definitely see the next Avengers movie, but only to see how the writers get themselves out of this corner.

Second, let's talk about death. A lot of characters died in Infinity War, MANY of them unceremoniously. People's been reacting mostly the way they're supposed to: sad and mourning. I, on the other hand, am just asking one thing: "Ok... out of all of the characters who died, how many of them will STAY dead"? Here's why I don't buy most of the character deaths in Infinity War.

(Casualties: Loki, Vision, Gamora, Winter Soldier, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Starlord, Spiderman, Doctor Strange, Falcon, Black Panther, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury)

1) It was never established that a main character could die in this universe like in Game of Thrones or Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica. It's very unlikely they would kill so many characters this late in the game. "They killed Quicksilver" you might say, but Quicksilver was pretty much introduced to be killed. "They could go the Harry Potter route" you say and sure, that could be true, except that Harry Potter started killing characters  at the end of the series to make the War of the Wizards mean something in regards to narrative stakes, and to prevent the temptation of wanting to bring back the ones who died. We know that Marvel has plenty of movies coming (including for those killed in Infinity War). Furthermore, it has been established more times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that characters can cheat death. Furthermore, characters have more consistently cheated death in this movie than they have actually died. To the point were Thanos had to break the fourth wall to tell us "Yes, Loki is dead. For Real this time". Death in this universe means very little from a reality point of view and an In-universe point of view.

2) Many of the deaths mean nothing to the plot. When it comes to characters who stay dead, Vision and Gamora would make sense because their deaths served a purpose. That's the kind of movie this is. Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Falcon could stay dead because (like Quicksilver) they are not that big of characters to kill off while still being beloved to have an emotional reaction. But let's be honest here... Killing Doctor Strange is outlandish enough. 3/4 of the Guardians of the Galaxy, they are certainly coming back because you know Marvel wouldn't kill Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Killing off Spiderman after all the legal battle with Sony for his rights? KILLING OFF BLACK PANTHER!? Of course Marvel would kill off their most celebrated movie (which is still on the theaters, by the way, and has a sequel in production).

I can't feel emotionally invested in these character deaths because most of the Deaths in Infinity War are inconsequential. In Game of Thrones they established early on that ANYONE can die at ANY TIME (no plot armor for nobody). Madoka Magica killed one of their leads by episode 3. Establishing this in the narrative is not just for shock and stakes. It establishes a universal rule in the world we are exploring: Death is an unforgiving mistress. In the Marvel Universe this was never established. Death happened to make you sad or to further the plot, and even then, it was a supporting character or villain, NEVER a lead. So, killing off so many leads this late in the game is simply not believable. Furthermore, if Marvel tries to shoe horn all of these deaths as permanent, well... most are unsatisfying deaths. Again, only Vision and Gamora died in any significant way. Everyone else just vanished into a puff of smoke. It comes out of nowhere and makes no sense either from a business/marketing perspective nor a narrative perspective.