«Avengers: Infinity War», un blockbuster qui mise sur l’humour

Cinema Wednesdays - Loris S. Musumeci

«The scales of the universe tip toward balance.»

Thanos is the villain. He wants supreme power; he has a goal. This monster crosses the universe to gather the six Infinity Stones on the mythical Infinity Gauntlet: those of Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time and Spirit. With all these attributes, Thanos is sure to become a god, even the strongest. Selfish ends? No. Thanos is driven by compassion for the world's poor.

Realizing the lack of resources for a growing population, he decides to arbitrarily eliminate every other person so that «the newborns will have a full belly.» But the Avengers join forces with Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Wakanda people to prevent the genocide. The mission is arduous; it will cost casualties, sacrifices and blood.

The compassionate villain

Les frères Russo posent une vraie thématique pour leur film. A l’heure où les utopies écologistes atteignent les esprits les plus brillants, la question de la surpopulation et les solutions envisagées pour la combattre de manière radicale sont les bienvenues pour susciter une réflexion philosophique de fond. Néanmoins, comme chacun le sait, les Américains sont spécialistes en ce domaine, au point d’en devenir nauséabonds par la masse de films aux sujets apocalyptiques souvent ridicules qu’ils livrent.

The figure of Thanos, however, carries something profoundly interesting and relevant. It's filled with honest compassion. Normally, when screenwriters want to give complexity to their villain characters, they draw more on a psychology marked by suffering; animated in particular by the unhealthy desire for revenge against the world. In Thanos, the images bear witness to an astonishing tenderness mingled with a political project considered salutary for the balance of the universe.

L’humour chez Marvel

The various heroes who fight him also have a certain complexity that keeps them from being totally uninteresting. But they're most enjoyable for their sense of humor. A Marvel Studios trademark. This is undoubtedly the main dividing line between those who love Avengers et ceux à qui ces films font simplement pitié. Non seulement la salle est bien remplie, mais à plusieurs reprises elle éclate en rires malgré la gravité du propos à l’écran.

Division of opinion: some appreciate the punctuation of humor through screams and explosions, others abhor it, finding it pretentious and misplaced. Objectively speaking, Marvel-style humor is one of its key attributes. The remarks, responses, absurd situations and comical gestures are quite intelligent and good. Despite this, they become tiresome because of their repetitiveness and their always nonchalant intonation, giving themselves airs. cool, which have their limits.

Unsurprisingly, a blockbuster

In terms of the film's general tone, unsurprisingly, the viewer is faced with the blockbuster classic. And while there's some humor and a more complex villain, there's no shortage of genre tricks. Love stories, wars, explosions, touching little sentences before dying, team spirit, courage, superhuman strength, howls of glory here, cries of pain there, and so on. blah blah blah. Well, you know the drill.

Et, évidemment, les sons incessants sont à casser les oreilles ; les images du numérique le plus exagéré, à abrutir les yeux. Mais enfin, le spectateur sait à quoi il aura affaire en achetant son billet pour ce genre de films. S’il veut du divertissement banal et sans aucune esthétique – parlons directement d’une profonde laideur de la photographie –, il sortira satisfait de la projection Avengers: Infinity War.

«We're getting to the denouement now.»

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Photo credit: © Marvel Studios