MCP
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The Infinity War:
I don't fault this editor's intention, by any means.
I just find this edit misunderstands the structure of the film, focussing too much on the plot and too little on the characters in that plot.
The editor stated his intention was to make the film serious THROUGHOUT, rather than just at the end. But the movie is intentionally constructed to be humorous, so that the more intense tonal shift of the end is jarring. By setting up the entire movie preceding it with a humorous tone, preparing us for a "same ol, same ol" feel of a fun 2 hours, we are even further unprepared for the conclusion. It leaves the viewer even more shocked at how horrific it ends, as we weren't expecting THAT; we were EXPECTING the heroes to defeat some inconsequential threat, like the entirety of the series thusfar. The humorous tone works off of that affect, as the viewers are as unfazed and unworried by the threat of Thanos as the characters are... until that threat pans out... then we're just as caught off guard as them.
Also, the humor isn't just there for the sake of story. In fact, it was never serving the story or emotional experience at all; it was serving how the viewer feels about the characters. Having humorous moments with these characters causes us to associate a positive emotion with them. That's what makes us like them, and it's the fact that we like them which makes us care so much when they suffer a horrible fate in the final scene. So we actually lose an emotional investment in the characters, by losing the humorous moments we shared and spent with them... like old friends.
I would say this editor certainly has technical competency on his side. I would say this is a failure to improve a film, actually hurting it in the process, but like any failure the editor should learn from it; trial and error. I wouldn't be surprised if their next edit is even better from a character standpoint.
I applaud your efforts, Cavolon. I look forward to seeing what you do next. Keep editing.
~Silver Screen Samurai~
https://ifdb.fanedit.org/the-infinity-war/discussions/10466/
I don't fault this editor's intention, by any means.
I just find this edit misunderstands the structure of the film, focussing too much on the plot and too little on the characters in that plot.
The editor stated his intention was to make the film serious THROUGHOUT, rather than just at the end. But the movie is intentionally constructed to be humorous, so that the more intense tonal shift of the end is jarring. By setting up the entire movie preceding it with a humorous tone, preparing us for a "same ol, same ol" feel of a fun 2 hours, we are even further unprepared for the conclusion. It leaves the viewer even more shocked at how horrific it ends, as we weren't expecting THAT; we were EXPECTING the heroes to defeat some inconsequential threat, like the entirety of the series thusfar. The humorous tone works off of that affect, as the viewers are as unfazed and unworried by the threat of Thanos as the characters are... until that threat pans out... then we're just as caught off guard as them.
Also, the humor isn't just there for the sake of story. In fact, it was never serving the story or emotional experience at all; it was serving how the viewer feels about the characters. Having humorous moments with these characters causes us to associate a positive emotion with them. That's what makes us like them, and it's the fact that we like them which makes us care so much when they suffer a horrible fate in the final scene. So we actually lose an emotional investment in the characters, by losing the humorous moments we shared and spent with them... like old friends.
I would say this editor certainly has technical competency on his side. I would say this is a failure to improve a film, actually hurting it in the process, but like any failure the editor should learn from it; trial and error. I wouldn't be surprised if their next edit is even better from a character standpoint.
I applaud your efforts, Cavolon. I look forward to seeing what you do next. Keep editing.
~Silver Screen Samurai~
https://ifdb.fanedit.org/the-infinity-war/discussions/10466/