Sacrifice and Morals in Avengers: Infinity War

Well, Marvel has finally done it. In the first installment of their grand crossover, they've gathered the main characters from 9 of their 10 character lines, along with at least one supporting character from each one, and put them all in one movie. As icing on the cake, they even managed to hold it all together into one cohesive story.

Marvel Saga

Now that a new Infinity War trailer has dropped and we've all had time to watch it a thousand times, I want to make a commentary on the journey taken with these films. The Marvel Cinematic Universe films have been an unprecedented endeavor and success in so many ways, but the one I really want to focus on is the long form storytelling. They have basically told an epic saga usually only seen in books and serialized television shows, only they've done it in bite sized, self-contained films. The entire films series (disregarding TV shows) follows a giant 3 act structure.

For those of you unaware, a 3 act structure is a story telling formula heavily favored by Hollywood and many other creators. If you don't know what it is, I guarantee you've seen it without knowing it. Here's how it goes.

Thor: Ragnarok 'n' Roll

One of the many pleasures of being part of a film industry group is the ability to go to screenings of current movies, and about half the time, they're ahead of the release date. Such was the case of how I got to see the highly anticipated Thor: Ragnarok this week. I can truly say it was worth the wait.

LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE TRAILERS OR NEWS

The Marvel Movies: You're Either In All the Way Or You're Out

Back in 2012, just after The Avengers came out, I was talking to a friend about it and he told me he hated the movie. He didn't understand what Thor and Loki were fighting about, he didn't get what the deal with the Tesseract was, he didn't know what was going on with Black Widow, or what SHIELD was supposed to be. When I explained that all that info was in the previous movies, he replied, "What? I have to watch other movies to understand this one? That's stupid. This movie should explain everything I need to know."

A couple years later, I was marathoning the MCU films with my step-mom's family. Cumulatively, they had seen about half of them. When we finished Iron Man 2, my aunt said, "so now we watch Iron Man 3?" I said, "No, now we watch Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and then Iron Man 3." She was puzzled. She wanted to watch Iron Man 3 and didn't understand why we had to wait.

Earlier this year, my friends and I were making plans to go see Captain America: Civil War. Everyone was excited, but one friend asked, "I haven't seen Captain America 2, is that bad?" I was honestly astounded that he was excited enough to see it opening weekend, but hadn't bothered to see the previous one. I explained that not only did he need to see The Winter Soldier, he also needed to see Avengers: Age of Ultron and, if he had time, Ant-Man.

All these cases are people coming from the same general assumption; that each Marvel film, even the team ups, is self-contained and the only thing that matters is watching the individual character lines in the right order. That's been the Hollywood model for superhero films up to this point, but as the loyal Marvelites know, it's no longer the case. The entire Marvel line is one giant series. Each one contributes to a larger story that feeds into the next one. You wouldn't expect The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to explain what the ring is and how it works, because that was already explained in the first film which you presumably saw. Likewise, the Marvel films will always assume you've seen the previous installments.

The Fundamental Difference Between The Avengers and Age of Ultron

When Iron Man came out in 2007, it was relatively unremarkable. Several other superhero one-offs were in already in play including X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman. Iron Man was definitely better than the average, but didn't stand out too much, except for one thing. The post credit scene gave audiences a promise: we're going somewhere with this, The Avengers are coming. Every Phase I film contributed to that goal. Each one was an opening act and The Avengers was the main event. The same cannot be said for Age of Ultron which has more in common with Iron Man 2.

Guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1 & 2

PHASE I
Iron Man 
This is the first film and assumes as much. It very gradually introduces the audience to a superhero character before dropping the bomb of that it's only the beginning of a larger universe. 

The Incredible Hulk
This film is stylistically similar to Iron Man and expands on the "larger universe" that Iron Man promised. We get our first character with actual powers. 

Iron Man 2
This film escalates the universe and begins really putting pieces in place for The Avengers. The post credit scene sets up Thor. 

One Shot: A Funny Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (on the Captain America Blu Ray)
This is an optional little interlude that expands on Agent Coulson on his way to the events of Thor. 

Thor
Expands the cosmic side of universe and gives the biggest glimpse into SHIELD. It further sets up The Avengers by introducing its villain and the terrasect. 

One Shot: The Consultant (on the Thor Blu Ray)
Functions as an epilogue to Thor and explains the closing scene from Hulk and precisely when those events took place. 

Captain America: The First Avenger
Though chronologically the first of the series, it relies on Thor to make sense. The bookend scenes also take place almost immediately before The Avengers. 

The Avengers
An act one finale to the events to date. This is the climax to stories from all five previous films and sets up the future of the series. 

Phase II Begins: Iron Man 3

The latest, and possibly final, installment of the Iron Man films is a mixed success.  On one hand, it's high action with new themes, and Stark's loveable snark is turned all the way up to 11.  Sadly, the film is overcrowded with undeveloped elements and nonsensical plot developments.  For most, it may be an improvement on Iron Man 2 since it's a true hero's struggle  from start to finish and the lessons learned are much stronger, but that doesn't excuse an unfocused story, a mish-mashed villain, and frankly, a significant disservice to the source material.

NOTE: This is a review of IM3 as a film in itself and what it bodes for the future of Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Some Spoilers ahead.

Avengers Assemble, But Only For A While

After a four year drumroll, The Avengers has arrived and it's a hit.  Marvel now has the commercial leverage it needs to pursue further films within the Cinematic Universe, and in stand alone series like the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man.  That clout puts Marvel producers in a rather unique and unprecedented position.  They can produce multiple films in the same universe at the same time and release up to several per year.  While it may sound cool for fans, Marvel faces a danger of going too far too fast with their films.  Multiple films means a longer investment in the characters and a risk of formulaic stagnation.  Then there's the difficulty in adaptation that the writers are already facing, and which will only get worse.  If Marvel isn't careful, their franchise could run away into multiplicity, and then, oblivion.  

Primer for The Avengers

The release of Marvel's big crossover film, The Avengers, is coming out this week.  Now, despite what AMC Theaters would have you to believe, there is a chronological viewer order that differs from the release order.  This post lists the Marvel films in that order, with all information needed to watch The Avengers.  

REVISED ON 06/15/13

The Phantom Menace Indeed

No, I haven't seen it yet, but the numbers are finally in and in its opening weekend, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3D rated number 4 at the Box Office.  The film (in its second theatrical release) came in during the lower competition season and, while it no doubt drew a few more people to theaters than normal, I'm afraid it may be a small beginning of what will turn into a larger issue.