For a while now, Marvel Studios has tried to give each of their superhero films a distinct tone. Some are political thrillers, like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” While “Guardians of the Galaxy” was billed as a space opera. Whether or not you actually believe that to be the case is another thing altogether. However, when directors Joe and Anthony Russo were thinking of the tone they wanted for the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War,” they immediately thought of ‘90s crime films.
“So, I think it’s got a really unique tone to it, and I think it’s impulsive, I would say it’s an adventure film, but it has elements of…we were inspired by ’90s crime films when we were working on the script. So, it’s got an energy to it, a bit of a smash and grab energy,” said Anthony Russo in an interview from the set of ‘Infinity War.’
His brother, and co-director, Joe Russo chimes in, “Like the heist genre.”
It may be a bit weird to imagine a movie featuring an alien threatening to wipe out life in the universe with the help of a magical glove as a ‘90s crime film, but the directors are onto something. The alien in question, Thanos, is on the lookout for six “Infinity Stones” that have been scattered throughout the universe. In that sense, it is a bit of a heist film, as Thanos attempts to steal the stones. But we admit, that’s a bit of a stretch.
However, inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes in film, and the Russos have two films, in particular, that seem to be their crime films of choice, namely “Out of Sight” and “Two Days in the Valley.” Joe Russo also talks about how these films serve as inspirations, in a tonal and narrative imagery sense, but don’t go expecting “Infinity War” to be a Steven Soderbergh remake.
“The movies that we looked at, ‘Two Days in the Valley,’ ‘Out of Sight.’ We always look to movies for an inspiration for the energy that we’re looking for, or a narrative construct that we want to be inspired by,” said Anthony Russo.
How much of a ‘90s crime film we see in “Avengers: Infinity War” remains to be seen. Judging by the two previous Russo Brother superhero films, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War,” these guys definitely have a unique style that they bring to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.