Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyAvengers Infinity War Blu-Ray
Marvel Studios
Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson, Elizabeth Olsen, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Karen Gillen, Pom Klementieff, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sebastian Stan, Vin Diesel, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Benedict Wong, Benicia Del Toro and Peter Dinklage
Rated PG-13
Thanos decides to take matters into his own gauntlet and track down the missing Infinity Stones that have eluded him since the first MCU film. I’ve reviewed the film already, but the digital and Blu-Ray release of the film offers new insights into the story from the filmmakers, actors, producers and more. So I am reviewing the extras and features included with the release.
Commentary
The filmmakers and screenwriters discuss the movie and reveal certain Easter Eggs like having Thor director Kenneth Branagh come in to provide the voice over distress call from the Asgardian ship at the beginning of the film. Commentary tracks are always hit and miss. The hit is when you get some good reveals. The miss is always in the level of engagement of the commentator. Everyone admits at the beginning that they are tired and you get that sense as the movie plays on and in the tone of their contributions. Still, some interesting information revealed in the track. 7/10
Deleted Scenes
An extended scene of Tony and Pepper in the park talking about their future, specifically their wedding day. Happy shows up and drops his two cents about all the stress their wedding is putting on him. It’s a funny scene, but Happy got featured a lot in Spider-Man: Homecoming so his absence in Infinity War is not a big deal. 7/10
Wanda and Vision on the run from Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. Adds more tension to the chase and a jump scare as well. Well done even if not fully rendered, but paced too slow for what the directors were trying to achieve story wise. Made more sense to cut it. 7/10
Nebula escapes the Chitauri and sends a message to the Guardians. Peter and Drax fight over Peter’s Zune because Peter feels like he lost his groove. The scene is completely unnecessary. It has one funny moment, but it doesn’t add anything to the overall story and would have taken the audience out of the film from a pacing standpoint. 5/10
Thanos shows Gamora a vision of a time when she seemed to enjoy being both his daughter and a galactic conqueror. He then proceeds to tell her why he chose her to find the Soul Stone. It adds an additional element to the Gamora/Thanos dynamic and does give more insight into the decision Thanos makes and how he actually feels about Gamora. It’s a good scene pre-visual effects. 8/10
Gag Reel
Fun and funny. Not too long with some funny moments with a bleating goat and an annoying fly. 7/10
Director’s Roundtable
Jon Favreau, James Gunn, Ryan Coogler, Anthony and Joe Russo, Peyton Reed and Taika Waititi sit down to discuss directing superhero films and their visions for the MCU. It is reminiscent of Favreau’s Dinner For Five series where he would roundtable a discussion with friends and notable people in the industry. Something I found notable in the feature was how the directors contradicted the narrative that Marvel Studios is some kind of machine that doesn’t allow for a director’s vision to be shown. All of the directors from Coogler to Whedon agreed that there were moments that they didn’t think they could add to their features and that Kevin Feige would assure them that it could be done.
There are some great moments of reflection from Favreau and others about the connective tissue that makes the MCU work and how the characters and tones can all be different, but work together in a bigger mosaic. It’s what you want to hear from the people bringing these stories to life and worth the thirty minutes plus to watch. 9/10
Beyond The Battle: Titan
The Russo brothers and Kevin Feige discuss the scale of the story of Infinity War, but this feature is all about the battle on Titan and how it was brought to life. It showcases the stunts and visual effects, but also takes time to bring it all back to the story and how the Titan scene shows some of the emotional punch of the film itself. 8/10
The Mad Titan
This feature is all about Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones. The Russo brothers and Josh Brolin discuss the character, his mission and his motivations as well as Zoe Saldana talking about the world of Thanos that hasn’t been shown. A world that she and Nebula have been trying to escape from. 7.5/10
Strange Alchemy
The Russo’s and Kevin Feige discuss the process by which they paired certain characters together for the film. It’s a fun feature and lasts about five minutes. Worth watching 7/10
Road to Infinity War
The cast of Infinity War congratulates Marvel Studios on its 10 year anniversary. 5/10
The extras and features on the release are fine for the most part, but there is something missing. The lack of a sneak peek of the next MCU film or Avengers 4 would have been a great addition to get fans excited about what’s coming next. Frankly, with this film being the culmination of 10 years of Marvel Studios, what would have put this release over the top would have been the return of a Marvel One-Shot. One that paved the way for the new order in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Avengers Infinity War Blu-Ray
