*Spoiler Alert* *Spoiler Alert* *Spoiler Alert* might contain slight spoilers.
Marvel has been building up to "Avengers: Infinity War" for a long time. The first post credits scene in "Iron Man" put them on a trajectory that has finally culminated in this movie in this moment. I saw it this past weekend, and I went in more excited to see it than any movie in a long time... since "Black Panther."
The movie speeds ahead briskly, and it kept me laughing and locked in throughout. But I walked away from it feeling empty and disillusioned. It was a feeling I have had before.
I played World of Warcraft as a little kid. My brother introduced me to it at the age of eight and I was hooked. I stopped eventually, but I continued to pick it back up sporadically. I was a fan of the stories the games weaved, the tales and myths of its world masterfully woven, drawing me in so that I would never want to take a step back.
Each time I picked the game back up I would inevitably reach the same point. I would awake from my deep dive realizing that the purpose of the game is to keep you playing forever. I would get confronted with just how much time and energy I had invested into the game, and the reality that it was all for nothing. There is no end to the game.
I felt the same way as I made the slow trudge to my car after the movie with my mother and my girlfriend. I have seen every Marvel movie since "Iron Man" and bought into the Marvel way of life. Four or five movies year. Argue with my friends that "Ant Man" is low key one of the best Marvel movies. Buy tickets in advance to make sure I get a good seat on the opening weekend.
Now we are at the culmination of the different tales Marvel has been weaving together, except that the Marvel way of life is just that - a way of life. The goal is not an end, a death, but always a continuation. In "Avengers: Infinity War" we see the Avengers fail. They get defeated, they despair, and they die. But, instead of this being the end, it is only a beginning.
We know the Avengers will come back. We know they will win. And we know the end of this movie will set up another one. In the Marvel way of life there is always another tale to tell, another super villain to confront, and another universe to save. There is no end to the game.
As the weekend progressed I was confronted by my feelings about the movie. They morphed as time went on, from total discontent and despair to appreciation of a well put together movie that ended the way I expected but didn't want it to.
I was always confronted by the same feelings towards World of Warcraft, but I would eventually always come back too. My disillusionment would fade, and the call of the story and the adventure that came along with it would draw me back in. "Ant-Man and the Wasp" comes out in July. Hopefully that will be enough time to fill this T'Challa sized hole in my chest.
