THE Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest entry, “Avengers: Infinity War,” arrived in Philippine cinemas yesterday, marking the film’s very first public showing.
Cebuanos were among the first to watch the eagerly anticipated film with SM Cinemas opening as early as 8 a.m. for “Avengers: Infinity War.” Convergys, a business process outsourcing company, even held an earlier block screening for its employees—the cinema opened at 7:30 a.m.
Hundreds of people woke up early just to be the first to watch “Infinity War.”
The SunStar Cebu team dropped by SM City Cebu cinemas to get a temperature check on how the “very first watchers” of “Infinity War” felt just minutes before they could finally watch the movie.
“We are expecting a lot of adventures in the movie and a lot of action stunts,” said Meashel Jaum, 28, customer service representative of Convergys. “We want to see Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) kay hot kaayo s’ya (because he’s so hot).”
Her officemate Jennifer Tanare, 23, had some mean streak in her, joking: “We plan to spoil (the experience for) our friends who were not able to see the movie with us.”
Of course, Thanos would not be happy about that. The cast of “Infinity War” starred in a public service announcement discouraging people who have already seen the film from spoiling it for others. It used the hashtag Thanos Demands Your Silence. Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, is the big baddie of the film.
“I’m not really a fan. Just so-so. However, I am expecting the movie to be good. My favorite is Captain America (played by Chris Evans) kay gwapo (because he’s handsome),” 26-year-old human resource employee Finzy said while laughing.
Despite the temptation of the bed this summer season, nine-year-old Raven chose to wake up early as if it’s a school day just because of the film. He was accompanied by his mom.
“Ganahan ko kay nindot (I want to watch it because it’s good),” said Raven, whose favorite Avenger is Iron Man, who is played by Robert Downey Jr., because of his amazing suit.
“I’m a great fan of Avengers,” said 21-year-old fresh graduate Vincent Manuel Boyles. “I’m so excited and I’m expecting a lot from the movie. Kanang grabe jud. I think naa juy something. Akong favorite kay si (My favorite is) Iron Man because of his intelligence and engineering skills and wa syay (he doesn’t have) super powers but makasabay sya sa laing (he can level with the other) superheroes.”
“I’m expecting the unexpected,” said Aledel Cuizon, who was with daughter AJ, also an Avengers fan. “I did not read reviews coming in but I have heard somewhere that it really lived up to its hype. I like the Guardians of the Galaxy (a group of misfits who became protectors of the galaxy) and Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman), and even the villains have their interesting stories as well.”
Cuizon admitted she is quite a nerd, which is why she was up early yesterday to be an “Infinity War” early bird: “I am equally a Marvel and Star Wars fan and maybe the nerd in me wanna watch it this early. It is an experience in itself.”
The third “Avengers” film has earned a lot of media hype to the point that “Avatar” director James Cameron is hoping people will eventually get “Avenger fatigue.”
“Infinity War” is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who helmed both “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War.” It is a sequel to 2012’s “The Avengers” and 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
It stars all the superheroes from various Marvel films: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and many others.
“Game of Thrones’” Peter Dinklage is also in the film.
With the pedigree that Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for complemented with the big stars, the anticipation has reached fever pitch even before the film hit the theaters. There were also a lot of spoilers surfacing online, which added to the stir. (Ginalyn Astudillo, CNU Intern)