The Flickering Myth writing team share their thoughts on the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War…
Christmas came early for Marvel fans yesterday with the release of the first trailer for next year’s hotly-anticipated blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War. What did our writing team make of our first glimpse at the superhero epic? Read on to find out…
Chris Cooper: Been a little while since I’ve tingled watching a trailer. I think it’s just as much about this being the culmination of the storyline than it is the content, but it’s pretty damn cool.
Shaun Munro: I tend to temper my expectations with MCU movies but this looks really great so far. I’m especially pleased with how sharp Thanos looks, and the new settings and designs for the characters should help it seem distinct from what’s come before.
Matt Spencer-Skeen: I really like the tone of this trailer, way more sombre and serious. Of course it’s likely to have the moments of MCU goofiness that are a part of all their films, this feels much more Winter Soldier vibes than Thor: Ragnarok, hopefully showing Marvel playing into their directors’ strengths. The content doesn’t give too much away other than quick look at a lot of the characters and I like them putting Thanos centre stage, I think Josh Brolin is going to do a really great job with making him a real threatening villain (though I thought that with Ultron and James Spader).
Jessie Robertson: It’s a good first trailer. No goosebumps here, except seeing Cap back in action. No real story plots are shown but tons of characters are (sadly, my fave, Hawkeye, gets the shaft again). Thanos looks good but I’ll reserve judgement till the movie.
Martin Carr: Ohhhh myyy Godddddd! – Proper goosebumps!
Anghus Houvouras: This is a well-cut trailer. Especially considering how much they had to shoehorn into something just over two minutes long. You have nice character moments and some great lines. Brolin looks appropriately menacing. Seeing him ripping the gem from Vision’s skull was great. Holding on to the Guardians for the post title tease was great. With all the epic moments wedged into the trailer I had totally forgotten they were involved. It looks like the Avengers are going to get their asses kicked and I’m interested to see where it goes. This trailer makes me think that this thing is ending on a cliffhanger. I know Marvel has tried to keep our minds off that by re-titling to Avengers 4 after Infinity War, but there’s no way this one doesn’t end with an uncertain future and an uncertain fate for everybody’s favorite super-team.
Scott Watson: I LOVE the whole shift in tone of the Avengers theme and the trailer (end aside). I love the little moments we get of each of them. As Matthew said above, total goosebumps. Total and utter goosebumps. Thanos feels huge, weighty and carrying much menace! Roll on next year.
Villordsutch: Being truthfully honest, my only enjoyment from this trailer came from the “Get this man a shield” moment. Everything else seemed to be altogether somewhat Superhero humdrum. Monologue, jeopardy, broken friendships, big bad etc. I’m not sold so far.
Tai Freligh: I liked the trailer- appropriately somber and serious. Rounding up all the characters involved is no easy task, but they manage to do it. It looks like Thanos is going to destroy some people. I can’t imagine that we won’t lose an Avenger or two. Outside of that, I think I was the only one who thought Thanos didn’t look very good. He’s looked different in previous movies and I’m not sure if they made his face thinner or not, but I wasn’t impressed with the CGI. I will, however, definitely be seeing this movie!!
Ricky Church: It’s a good trailer, but I’m also a little underwhelmed. Maybe its because of all the high praise I saw just before watching it, but I didn’t get quite the same reaction as most others. I like how it started off with the “it began with an idea” bit, its a nice reminder of how far Marvel Studios has come since 2008. A lot of the action looks cool, but this trailer also has the same trappings as the one for Age of Ultron. Division between the heroes (which we know will get fixed) and a fearsome look at the villain. I just hope Marvel doesn’t make Thanos a quip-making villain like they did Ultron. On Thanos, though, he does seem ready to fuck the heroes up. The CGI on him looks a bit iffy. Personally I think he looks no better than Steppenwolf right now, and I would prefer him in his armour rather than the new outfit, but Brolin makes an impression.
Helen Murdoch: Full on goosebumps when Cap appeared. Like the more serious tone and I think the Russos can make all those characters work. Only down point for me was Thanos’ look, hope the CGI is better in the final film.
Eric Bay-Andersen: This bodes very well for the final film – an appropriately serious tone, some epic shots, brilliant choice of voiceover. Like all the best trailers it shows more than it tells, and makes you want to see more. On a personal note, I know I was very much in the minority with my dislike for Ragnarok’s breezy flippant tone, and I’m hoping putting Thor and Loki back in a film where consequences and emotion actually matter will give their characters some credibility and dramatic weight again.
Graeme Robertson: I say it looks like looks like a great set up for what I expect to be a glorious swan song outing for many of the old favourites. In short, I expect it to be a good bit of fun. Although is it me or does Thanos without his helmet look a bit like a giant purple Bruce Willis?
Rob Kojder: It looks amazing, but I don’t buy the actual tone of the movie will be that serious. Age of Ultron’s trailers were similar but the final product had him cracking jokes left and right. Still, my confidence levels are high this will be outstanding.
Jake Peffer: This felt more like a teaser really but it did a great job of getting me excited. If the movie is anything like the trailer it looks like every character will get their moment to shine which will be one of things to make this successful. Hopefully we get more from the next trailer but for now I’m definitely interested.
Luke Owen: This isn’t just a fantastic trailer, it’s a triumph for long-term planning. This is a movie 10-years in the making, across nearly 20 movies. Marvel Studios have spent time creating characters, creating this universe, creating this storyline – and Avengers: Infinity War is the payoff. Pure goosebumps watching this. Not just because it’s the culmination of everything they’ve been working towards, but because it’s just an excellent trailer. Each shot contains something new to make you go, ‘whoa’, and it begs to be re-watched to pick out new details. It’s a triumph. A perfect teaser. I’m not really getting the complaints about the CGI, though. Thanos sure does look like a cosmic wrestler, but I wouldn’t say he looks like ropey CGI.
So there’s the thoughts of our writing team, but tell us, what did you make of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below…
An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Avengers: Infinity War opens on April 27th 2018 in the UK and May 4th 2018 in the US and will feature an all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Paul Bettany (Vision), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Sean Gunn (Rocket, Kraglin), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke (M’Baku) and Peter Dinklage and Terry Notary in as-yet-unrevealed roles.
