THE AVENGERS Review

Directed by: JOSS WHEDON

Produced by: KEVIN FEIGE

Screenplay by: JOSS WHEDON

Story by: ZAK PENN & JOSS WHEDON

Based on: "The Avengers" by STAN LEE & JACK KIRBY

Starring: ROBERT DOWNEY, JR., CHRIS EVANS, MARK RUFFALO, CHRIS HEMSWORTH, SCARLETT JOHANSSON, JEREMY RENNER, TOM HIDDLESTON, CLARK GREGG, COBIE SMULDERS, STELLAN SKARSGÅRD, SAMUEL L. JACKSON

Critical reception: ROTTEN TOMATOES -  92%

                                       IMDB - 8.5/10

                                       METACRITIC: 69/100

Synopsis: Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army. 

The strength of The Avengers was not in the story but in its casting. The actors and actresses  cast were impeccable, fitting into their roles beautifully (with a few minor exceptions here and there). Robert Downey, Jr. delivered yet another brilliant turn as the "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" Iron Man. Chris Evans did a stolid job as the 'fish-out-of-water' Captain America while Chris Hemsworth continues to have a godly presence in his scenes. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character and back-story were fleshed out in more detail this time than in Iron Man 2 while unfortunately, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye was reduced to a more-or-less bit player. Representing the shadowy intelligence organisation S.H.I.E.L.D, Samuel L. Jackson continues in playing another no-nonsense character- this time as Nick Fury, war veteran and Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Once again, Clark Gregg is spot-on as the impassive yet funny Agent Coulson whereas Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill was rather wooden and stilted. 

The two real stand-outs, however, were Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo as Loki and Bruce Banner respectively- at least in this writer's opinion. Tom Hiddleston brought a certain gravitas to his role that turned Loki into an emotionally-damaged and complex character as opposed to a mere two-dimensional villain. Mark Ruffalo, taking over from Eric Bana and Edward Norton, brought a certain geekish, shyer and even boyish charm to the conflicted character of Bruce Banner. He was also the first actor to actually play the Hulk using the same motion-capture technology that allowed Andy Serkis to play Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and you can see the Ruffalo features in the Hulk as he tears up buildings and villains, ending up as one of the more memorable characters.

In terms of action and special-effects, the $220 million budget was certainly well-spent- the Helicarrier, battles between the members of the Avengers and the final showdown in New York were beautifully rendered and on a grand-scale. These scenes and more were truly adrenaline-pumping and breath-taking, executed brilliantly. 

However, the movie is not without its weaknesses. The director, Joss Whedon is a household name for his television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the short-lived Firefly. He  also wrote for several comic-books, his most notable work the Astonishing X-Men series. His film credits include contributions to the screenplays of Toy Story, Speed and Alien Resurrection. Joss Whedon was therefore more of a writing-man than a director and even then for television than films. The lack of experience in the latter could be felt on occasions as the film suffered at times from a more television style, something on which even Marvel executives agreed on.

Furthermore, the story came dangerously close to becoming more of a comedy than a serious superhero movie. While the numerous one-liners and one or more pop culture references were a welcome breath of fresh air, it veered dangerously close to becoming campy- and one look at the disastrous Batman & Robin shows how toxic that can be. Similarly, if one were to ask what they remembered most about The Avengers after watching it for the first-time, many people would say that it was the jokes more than the action sequences. That can be interpreted as both positive and negative, though it did not make the film any less entertaining. 

With regards to the story, it was rather formulaic and overly familiar (alien invasion movies have been done just one too many times) and indeed, the third act was more or less a rip-off of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (albeit far more enjoyable). This isn't necessarily the fault of Joss Whedon- the alien invasion appears to have been a stipulation of the producers and studio heads. Likewise, the themes and issues weren't entirely thought-provoking or ground-breaking as the film tended to centre more around the characters- which was why they were the highlight and support of the film. In a given choice of a better story or better characters, the latter is always more preferable. However, when considering that the real duty of The Avengers seems to have been to deliver a humourous, exhilarating and action-oriented popcorn affair- in that aspect, it performs beautifully.  

What happens next:

'Phase 2'. That's how Marvel Studios' president and the man responsible for shepherding the films, Kevin Feige, is describing it. 'Phase 2' will consist of  Iron Man 3 (2013), the third installment in the Iron Man franchise, followed by the sequels to Thor and Captain America, respectively titled Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). The new entries will include Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Ant-Man (TBA). Also, a S.H.I.E.L.D TV series is announced to be in the works under the guidance of Joss Whedon, who has been contracted to help guide all these movies and TV show to culminate in the yet-to-be-titled sequel, The Avengers 2 (2015). 

Personal opinion:

The Avengers was not merely a movie- it was a cinematic event and milestone, the pay-off of nearly a decade's worth of creative risks, almost a billion dollars in expenses and trust in both the people developing the films, the cast and most importantly, the audience. What began as a teasing post-credits scene in 2008's Iron Man culminated in the spawning of the individual solo outings of Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Incredible Hulk (though Edward Norton was eventually replaced) and the sequel Iron Man 2 before leading up to The Avengers. It was a daring move, connecting all these films into a shared universe, a move never attempted before. Now, Marvel Studios can breathe a sigh of relief: upon its release, The Avengers broke multiple box-office records and has attained the position of being the third-highest grossing film of all-time, with over a billion dollars in the bank. 

Not only that- it would also change the face of the superhero movie genre with regard to hero team-ups, something that DC Comics is now attempting to emulate with a possible Justice League movie. In addition, it was a breath of fresh air in the movie adaptations of comic-books. Ever since Christopher Nolan made Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, nearly every superhero movie that follows is trying to make it 'gritty and realistic'. Not all movies are suited for such an approach and certainly not The Avengers. There needs to be variation or the superhero movie market is going to become very saturated.   

Writer's rating: 4/5