Let's be honest. This could have been one of the biggest disasters in (short) history of Marvel film Studios. Too many characters, an untested (for blockbusters at least) director, a raft of egos, a film packed full of CGI effect heavy action... It could have been, shudder, another Transformers 2. Or worse even
Transformers 3.
And with any other studio it probably would have been. Thank god then that Marvel have once again proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that when they bring their A game, few others can come close.
Marvel have been on a rare run of form that has seen Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and, too a lesser extent, Iron Man 2 all become both critical and commercial successes across the globe. It's fair to say then that The Avengers had some rather large shoes to fill. Well fear not as Marvel and Serenity director Whedon deliver what is probably their best film yet. The Avengers in short rocks.
The story: After a familiar villain returns from exile with an army of disposable bad guys in tow, Shield boss Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) has to do the unthinkable... get a disparate bunch of superheroes to work together to protect the Earth from an seemingly unstoppable invasion. Queue the arrival of the cocky Iron Man, buff demi god Thor, man out of time Captain America and sometime hulk Bruce Banner along side Shield mainstays (and as yet without their own solo movies) Hawkeye & Black widow.
Yes the story is as simple as that. But in honesty the 'why' is almost less important than the 'how'... because Loki's army never really feel like the insurmountable threat they are billed as and therefore the danger at the heart of the film just doesn't exist, but it's Wheldon's handling of his trademark character interplay (never more importantly mastered that it is here) that really makes The Avengers stand out from the crowd.
See because if you didn't know (and if you didn't know where the hell have you been over the past 10 years and what the heck have you been watching!), writer & director Joss Whedon was the creator of TV gold such as Buffy, Firefly and Dollhouse (not to mention a host of rewrite credits including films like Toy Story). He became renowned for his expertly drawn three dimensional characters, sparking writing and groundbreaking story ideas. So it's no surprise that the character interplay is by far the strongest part of The Avengers. In part that is because Wheldon's script delivers - pathos, humor, dread. Often in the same scene. That said if any part of this film would work it was always going to be the script. But it would be nothing without the top notch cast all delivering their A game. As usual Downey Jr shines as the ever humorous Tony Stark , but Evans, Hemsworth and Ruffalo all more than hold their own and, naturally, Sam Jackson could be cool reading from the phone booth. This film was always going to rely on the balance of these characters, potentially the films biggest downfall. As it turns out, it's actually The Avengers strongest asset. Even adding the yet only glimpsed at Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) doesn't leave anyone short changed, finding enough space to make these characters feel fully drawn. Watching The Avengers and seeing what Wheldon has achieved, I honestly doubt if there is a director in Hollywood today who could have managed to balance the ensemble cast as well as he does.
That's not to say the action isn't good... far from it. Wheldon puts together some of the best action seen in a blockbuster for some time. Well shot, expertly paced and best of all it isn't edited in that hyper kinetic super quick style that has plagued action films since Bourne & Bay hit he scene. But best of all because these are characters you care about, of actually care about what happens in the action scenes. These aren't faceless robots or badly drawn planks of wood, these feel like real (albeit super powered). Whether it's The Hulk smashing Thor through the bowls of the Shield super ship or Iron Man blowing bad guys out of the sky, the action is clear and often breathtaking.
Villain duties fall to Thor bad guy Loki is there to provide the films big bad and is played with relish by the always brilliant Tom Hiddleston. Cocky, arrogant and dangerous, Loki's interplay with Black Widow, Iron Man & Hulk lead to some of the films best (and often funniest) moments.
Does it have faults? Of course it does. The first hour takes a while to get going (mistakenly leading me to think I may not have been blown away by the film), Loki's army are a bit meh, lacking in reason or real threat with their own power coming in numbers rather than skill and I would have liked to see a little more of Thor. But these are pretty small issues in what is for all-intense and purpose is one hell of an film.
Oh and it would be remiss not to mention that, finally, after two previously flawed attempts someone has finally gotten The Hulk right. Less conflicted then we've seen before, Ruffalo brings a likable but suitably dark edge to a Banner and when Hulk finally does smash he does so better than ever.
So a great script, a superb cast, some of the best action we have seen on the big screen for some time... The Avengers is probably one of the top 3 superhero/comic book movies ever made. All this from a filmmaker who has been mostly ignored or abused by Hollywood for he past decade. In Joss we geeks have always trusted and now secret is out.
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