Hello, Steemians, how are you doing? 

I'm great because this weekend I finally saw the movie that has the world upside down: Avengers Infinity War! This film represents a unique film project in its class since it defines 10 years of trajectory with a total of 19 films so far with interconnected stories.

Of course this is something worthy of praise and it’s something made for the first time in the history of cinema. I must say that the members of the current generations are privileged to have witnessed firsthand what the phenomenon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to develop from 2008 until today. 

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But not all is pretty in pink… 

Sometimes having some knowledge about cinema or about plot structures can be a real torment, because we stop seeing with excited eyes what is presented to us and we start to analyze it more thoroughly. I am not an expert, but through studying Social Communication and my interest in the narrative, I have a medium knowledge on how to analyze the stories on the big screen.

In this way I must comment on one of my biggest criticisms of Marvel films: 

Too many repeated storylines! 

You don't believe me? Well, let's consider the following narrative thread:  

1. The protagonist has an outstanding power, ability or condition. 
2. The protagonist meets his enemy. 
3. The protagonist loses his power, ability or outstanding condition. 
4. The protagonist, now a normal person, struggles to get ahead, overcomes adversity and proves to be worthy. 
5. The protagonist regains his power, ability or condition. 
6. The protagonist fights against his enemy and defeats him. 
7. The protagonist lives happy being wiser and better than at the beginning of the film.  

Of course this formula is a narrative archetype that has been working for many years not only in Hollywood, but also in the stories present from ancient Greece to the novels, comics, videogames, movies, etc, of today.

Let's see some examples of the films where Marvel has implemented this formula: 

• Iron Man (2008) 
• Thor (2011) 
• Iron Man 3 (2013) 
• Doctor Strange (2016) 
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) 
• Thor: Ragnarok (2017) 
• Black Panther (2018)  

You see? If you think about it, these 7 films have the narrative line that I mentioned before. Yes, they may look different in the themes in which they develop their characters (a man in a robotic suit, a Norse God, a magician), but in essence they have the same final situations and events. 

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I also know that it seems like a small amount because there are other 12 different movies where this is not repeated at least clearly, however, 7 is an important digit to take into account.  

A curious fact is that other movies also share similar format. This is the case of The Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), which have many similarities in their structure, although they will not be discussed in this post.

So ... Why is Avengers Infinity War different? 

It is impossible to talk about this movie without mentioning a spoiler, so I just didn't say anything until this point of the post and I warn you that, from now on, if you haven't seen it yet, stop reading and come back after doing so.

Beyond severely breaking the typical narrative scheme that I explained earlier and bringing a different story, the writers of Marvel unify the variety of characters with their respective "universes" in a perfect way. Each one has a raison d'etre, a role to be carried out with motivations that are consistent with their personalities and desires.

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However, there is a fact that, I think, is really outstanding: in this film the real protagonist is Thanos, not the Avengers. Curious, is it not? This is a character who is just presented us and who, despite his questionable purposes, is so well profiled and developed that we even understand him and in many cases feel affinity with him or even agree with him. This is not easy, remember that we are talking about the antagonistic character.  

I think a good villain manages to make you hate him but a great villain makes you love him.  

I think that happened with Thanos in Inifity War. Not only is he powerful and intelligent, but his will makes him unstoppable when it comes to doing whatever he can to achieve his goals. 

Thanos represents an antihero by nature: that character who is not interested in the ethical dilemmas between what is right and what is not, going directly to the application of his justice, which until now has shown to seek a "benefit" for all the beings of the universe. 

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The absence of well-developed antagonists was always one of the great shortcomings of Marvel, these usually had no motivations that went beyond the madness to achieve power and glory. In the case of Thanos, we are talking about an individual moved mainly by his desire to bring justice to all. He is not an insensitive being, because we see how his relationship with Gamora is deep and full of love, not the love we all know, but the one he interprets and feels.  

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That is the cornerstone of my statement for the fact that this delivery is different, attractive and incredible. Because they knew how to combine technical and audiovisual aspects with a great plot and development of characters worthy of praise. Avengers Infinity War deserves, without a doubt, the almost perfect score that the critics and the audience have given. Personally I was very satisfied with it. 

Well, Steemians, what did you think about the movie? If you liked this review and you agree with it, let me know in the comments. If you didn't, tell me also and let's discuss it!