REVIEW: 'The Infinity Saga Concert Experience' is a symphonic tribute to the MCU
In the muted darkness of The Theater at Solaire last Saturday evening, conductor Gerard Salonga finished off his greetings to the gathered crowd. Audience and orchestra alike were on tenterhooks, as the renowned conductor intoned, “If you see your favorite hero, feel free to cheer! If you see your favorite villain, feel free to jeer—I want to hear some boos!”
Delivered with unconcealed glee, the words were somewhat unusual to hear, especially coming from the head of a major classical orchestra. But then, the concert in question was anything but usual, as on this night, movie buffs, comic book fans, and music lovers had converged for the Philippine leg of The Infinity Saga Concert Experience, first staged at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2024. Covering musical highlights from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first 23 blockbusters, the event was the latest in Film Concerts PH’s ongoing mission to present iconic movies and live performances of their soundtracks in concert venues.
Audience members in formal attire could be seen rubbing shoulders with fans decked out in Marvel-inspired attire. Cosplayers who’d posed for selfies with fans in the lobby just minutes earlier were now part of the crowd, and the excitement was palpable. Excited murmurs gave way to enthusiastic cheers as the orchestra launched into the now-iconic Marvel fanfare, in perfect time to the Marvel Studios logo materializing on the giant screen above them. Despite being a relatively late addition to the MCU canon (making its debut in 2016’s Doctor Strange), the fanfare has become an integral part of the experience, its symphonic exuberance priming the audience for the super-powered action to come.
Shifting to selections from Ramin Djawadi’s (House of the Dragon) Iron Man themes, era-appropriate highlights of an impossibly young Robert Downey Jr. flashed onscreen. As the orchestra played alongside clips from the first two Iron Man films (and generous helpings of AC/DC), the sights and sounds reverted the audience to a time when all of this felt new, and the very idea of a cinematic universe was considered groundbreaking and bold.
The Salonga-led Filharmonika Orchestra played on, taking us from Tony Stark’s high-tech world and World War II-era America, to Asgard, Wakanda, and beyond, with the overall effect resembling that of a nostalgia-loaded shot to the audience’s pop culture-loving heart. Indeed, seeing favorite moments with the score played live made them feel fresh and vital, as though we were viewing them for the first time. Thus, whether we were humming along to The Little Mermaid composer Alan Menken’s Star-Spangled Man that introduced the world to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, Knives Out), or cheering the Avengers’ first assembly as Alan Silvestri’s (Back to the Future) triumphant theme played alongside, it was easy to forget that so much time had passed.
Highlights from the Battle of New York came next, next, driving home just how fun it was to see these characters interacting with one other. Quick vignettes for Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and Civil War-era Spider-Man (Tom Holland) followed in rapid succession. One quick shoutout to Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) later, and we were back in emotional territory with an extended bit in Wakanda honoring the Black Panther, as well as actor Chadwick Boseman himself.
Just before the intermission, Thanos' Avengers post-credits scene was shown, the Mad Titan grinning as if to remind us that we were only at the concert’s halfway point—things were about to get epic.
The orchestra’s return from intermission was marked by a performance of the Marvel Studios Fanfare, this time without any video accompaniment. Knowing the films we were about to cover, the anticipation from the crowd was at a fever-pitch, as clips from Guardian of the Galaxy provided the last good vibes we’d get for a while.
The heroic orchestrations of the concert’s first half were replaced by a score imparting feelings of mounting dread, punctuated by the brutal murders of Loki and Heimdall (Idris Elba) amidst the threat of invasion. Tension mounted as the stakes were laid out onscreen, and Thanos began his attack. Without our even realizing, the music had transported us to 2019, when the world’s moviegoers were united by our desire to see just how the Avengers would win the day.
But said victory would not come without cost, and by the time Sam Wilson’s Falcon ushered in the orchestra’s rendition of Portals, the accompanying scene proved just as powerful as when we first saw it. By the time Steve Rogers led the final charge with an utterance of his immortal battle cry, the cheers that erupted inside The Theater were as unabashedly loud as they were euphoric—representing 13 years and 23 films, this was everything that we loved about these characters and their universe, crystalized into one unforgettable movie moment. It was spontaneous, it was cathartic, and yes, it was glorious.
As Salonga and the Filharmonika Orchestra would later take their well-deserved bows in front of an appreciative audience, it was clear that they had accomplished something incredible, if not impossible. Over the span of two and a half hours, their music had made everyone in attendance forget the last five years of uneven releases, driving home not just how grand and exciting the Marvel Cinematic Universe once was, but how it could very well yet be. While it would have been nice to get a preview of the upcoming Fantastic Four score, what we got here was more than enough.
From a grateful fan, bravo to everyone whose hard work helped make this happen. Bravo, and thank you.
Disclaimer: PhilSTAR L!fe is an official media partner of The Infinity Saga Concert Experience.
