Movie Review: ‘THE AVENGERS’

After six individual films (including the mostly forgotten Ang Lee Hulk film), several cameos and crossover appearances, and anticipation that mounted as high as Stark Tower, fans are finally treated to the film that Marvel has been building towards for years.  The Avengers carries a lot of weight with it as it charges into theaters today.  Thankfully it has an entire team of characters that we have come to love over numerous films to help with the burden.  Outside of it being one of the most anticipated summer blockbusters of the year, the film is the first time we’ve seen a collective like this assembled on screen.  With the X-Men films, the team dynamic was there from the start and we were never introduced to each of the mutants through their own individual films.  With The Avengers, Kevin Feige and Marvel have gathered together four unique characters from four very different movies and have thrown in two assassins and a handful of agents that have had limited exposure in the previous films.  This seemingly impossible task seemed destined to fail.  Yet, you have to hand it to director and co-writer Joss Whedon.  He knows these characters and their universe better than all of our comic knowledge combined.  Not only that, but he’s had the experience in dealing with multiple heroes and their internal and external conflicts all at the same time before.  Whedon is a pro after seven seasons of juggling “The Scooby Gang” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a crew of misfits in Firefly.  It’s amazing that Whedon hasn’t been tapped by Hollywood prior to this.  I’m sure that will all change after this weekend.  The Avengers is a rare instance of how a blockbuster film can have both the brains and the brawn.

You don’t have to be a gamma ray inflicted scientist or a billionaire weapons engineer to be able to figure the plot out.  In fact, you most likely gathered the general plot through the many tv spots or posters you have seen over the past few months.  Loki (Thor’s brother) is on the hunt for the Tessarect (or cosmic cube, if you’re one of those people).  With this glowing cube he hopes to open a gateway where a mythological army will come forth and destroy the world.  Like all mindless villains, he wants to be their leader and believes the human race is “meant to be ruled.” A team of superheros is soon gathered by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to put a stop to his plan.   If you thought it was hard trying to gather together a former WWII hero (Captain America), a snarky playboy (Ironman), a dangerous scientist (The Hulk), a mythological warrior (Thor), a Russian spy (Black Widow), and an expert marksman (Hawkeye), then you should see how difficult of a time they have getting along with one another.  I could go into much more detail about some of the many side stories that play a part in the film; one of which really took me by surprise beginning just in the first 15 minutes.  However, some of these unexpected story arcs that aren’t hinted at in any of the film’s marketing campaign is a real treat to discover.

As just mentioned, a main theme of the film is a focus on the problems that many of us “normal” people face everyday: getting along with one another.  Beginning first as strangers who are forced to work with one another, these six strangers soon seem to exist as family members who have to lift one another when another is down or need a helping hand when another is battling creepy aliens; you know … real family stuff.  This focus on the character’s relationships and interactions with one another is one of the joys while watching the film.  Robert Downey Jr. has obviously been given a majority of the jokes – much like his two solo films – but all of the cast are given an ample amount of time to expose their unique traits and idiosyncrasies.  Whedon’s focus on the heart of the characters plays a major part of the middle third of the film.  Some people may not jump on board as easily as the true comic fans when this part of the film plays out like The Breakfast Club with brightly colored costumes.  But if you have enjoyed the journey these superheroes have taken us on during each of their previous adventures then you won’t mind when the film slows down and takes a deeper look into their lives.  What most people will recognize is the inclusion of some curious background details regarding Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow.  They may fall on deaf ears unless you are very familiar with the comic character, but it helps flesh her out as more than just someone that looks great while flipping around guys and choking them with her legs.

Much like you would expect from a summer blockbuster, The Avengers offers a number of exciting action sequences.  The main one most will remember the film for is the finale.  It’s a platform for Whedon to show off all the characters in action at once, showcase some very funny visual gags (two of which will have the audience applauding wildly for The Hulk), and to reveal his competence in directing an action sequence that is exciting and smart.  What I mean by smart is Whedon’s attention to detail and visual storytelling.  As much time as he has put into the characters’ funny quips, he has spent an equally grand amount of time in creating a final spectacle that is easy to follow and understand without turning into a mess of explosions, laser blasts, and flying fists.  He demonstrates an astute knowledge of when to cut from a shot and how best to feature a long take showcasing the extent of the battle.  It’s a finale that’s well worth the wait and is all the more impressive after you have already been blown away by a handful of other action set pieces including a forest fight and an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

It may sound like I’m giving Mr. Whedon most of the credit, but I really do think it’s mostly justified in this case.  He is able to take a guy in a blue nylon suit, a bright green creature, and a villain who wears a theatrical horned headpiece, and has made all of these loud and flashy looking heroes look grounded in reality somehow.  A character like Batman has so much of an easier time coming across as realistic and gritty.  It’s not so easy when dealing with a Greek god who wears a cape.  There’s not a second in the film though when you question the plausibility of the situation.  Every situation and frame comes across as a balancing act between maintaining a very human based reality while acknowledging the medium of comic books.  It is in fact the “inferior” medium of comics where these characters were brought first to life.  As someone who read comics religiously growing up, I couldn’t help but be reminded of panels and full page spreads while watching the film.  Whedon and his cinematographer- Seamus McGarvey– have tapped into what makes an impactful composition on paper and has brought these eye-catching visuals to life.  You can brush off The Avengers as being just another superhero film.  You can dismiss it for having a story that’s derivative of every “good vs. evil” story in the book.  I will even let you knock it for being slightly too long which some may count as evidence of it being too self-important.  But the fact of the matter is that this is damn fine storytelling regardless of the fact that it’s a summer blockbuster.  Superhero films don’t have to be dark and gritty to be considered more accepted among elitist critics.  More importantly, they don’t have to be relegated to just “B movie” grading.  The Avengers is an unabashed comic-book movie that marks a new level of quality for future Marvel films to strive for and is deserving of much more than an “A” for effort.