How Avengers: Infinity War uses humor to solve its story problems

From weightless CGI super-fights to an overpacked cast, Avengers: Infinity War has issues — and one perfect tool to fix them

“Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe,” Thanos says in the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer. “But this does put a smile on my face.” He isn’t alone. When screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were plotting out the film, they certainly put a lot of thought into how to use humor to balance the story, and to shore up some of the most difficult plot obstacles Infinity War would inevitably face. Humor has been a signature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the franchise launched with Iron Man in 2008. And humor is especially important throughout Infinity War — not just to distinguish Marvel movies from Warner Bros’ grim DC films, or Fox’s dour X-Men movies, or to shape heroes who are interesting because they can experience more than one emotion. It’s used strategically to address the film’s inherent problems, and ease viewers through them.

Because Cumberbatch can currently be seen in theaters in Avengers: Infinity War, and this Sunday night will be on Showtime in Patrick Melrose.

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