The Avengers (2012) – A guest review by Miss NJ!

Marvel Comics, arguably the world’s most well known comic book publisher, had a task on their hands when attempting to adapt the story of the Avengers to the big screen. First, there were the origin stories, which had to stay true to the original source material in order to satisfy die-hard fans, but to also keep a level of clarity within what can be a murky universe. The origin stories had to then each sew together, which meant having carry-over characters in each film, carefully inserted so as to not ruin the general premise of the film, but with enough of a punch so their presence would be well noticed. And now finally, director & uber-nerd Joss Whedon has been tasked with taking each character out of their own film and into the collective known as The Avengers, fusing literally year’s worth of building and crafting of characters into one giant action romp.

Appearing in virtually all of the previous “origin” films, Samuel L. Jackson returns as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury, here experimenting with an energy source that could potentially power the world for eons. Working with Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard, who we had met in 2011’s Thor), the source is kept hidden in a top secret S.H.I.E.L.D base and guarded by agents, as well as archer extraordinaire Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Trouble arises when Loki (Tom Hiddleston, also from 2011’s Thor), fresh from being banished from the otherworldly Asgard, arrives on Earth to steal the source and use it to invite an army to take over the planet. Proving initially successful and an immediate threat, Director Fury calls in help to defeat Loki in the form of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), igniting the covert Avengers Initiative and enlisting the group to help save the world.

Realistically, there aren’t a lot of better people to write and direct this film than fellow fan boy Whedon. He’s worked extensively with Marvel before, and though he has his own style (a style which frequently relies on humour and sarcasm, which works well here), he is familiar with all source materials involved and can therefore work within the Marvel parameters that are required to really give punch and individuality to this film, which could have easily become very muddled. With roughly 7 main characters, all credit goes to Whedon in that he was able to accurately tell the main story, whilst also giving each character their own level of story, and then also allowing the characters to interact with/get to know each other, providing a sub-level of story that was unexpected and welcome.

Performances were generally excellent, though Downey Jr’s Tony Stark and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner really stole the show in many of their own scenes, and played brilliantly off each other in the ones they shared. Hemsworth has truly nailed the role of Thor, walking the line between humour and badass with relative ease, and Evans steps into his Steve Rogers tights again almost effortlessly. Renner as Hawkeye is generally good, though he could have added a little more bad to that ass, and whilst Johansson is enjoyable as Black Widow, an allusion to her origin story (which we have yet to see) got slightly melodramatic at times, though her sass more than made up for it. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, though to be fair, it would have been difficult to fit any more into this already jam-packed action affair where stand out scenes are many, and low points are few.

You can’t talk about this film and not mention the exquisite action scenes, gorgeous 3D and excellent cinematography. The use of CGI is obviously extensive, and yet seamless within the many intense action sequences. It’s not until you exit the cinema and truly think about what you’ve seen that you really comprehend the insane amount of special effects you’ve just witnessed, which is truly the sign of a job well done. The last battle in particular is mind-blowing, and the 3D is just stunning. In a world where post-production 3D is widespread – and doesn’t always look seamless, therefore feeling unnecessary, this film is a surprisingly great argument for it.

The best and worst thing about comic book movies is that they’re pretty silly, and it is up to the filmmaker/s to decide whether they’re going to acknowledge that or not. And when they decide that, they have to decide how far they’re going to lean either way. The X-Men franchise, for example, tends to lean towards the serious side, with very little hint of silliness and a lot of metaphors to dissect. The original Spider-man trilogy attempted to acknowledge the silliness, though this had DISASTROUS results in the third instalment. The Avengers, however, charts a different course… It knows it’s a little silly, and instead of just acknowledging it, it owns it, with quotable one-liners and humour abound. In this sense, it is pitch-perfect, and though there’s very little introduction to the main action of the film (meaning that, to truly understand what is going on, you really need to have seen the four/five other films within the series), your ticket price is worth it simply for the sheer fun you’ll have in your cinema seat.

I can’t see how this wouldn’t please a wide audience. Fans will revel in the characters and story that they’ve come to know so well on the pages of their comic books, casual fans of the film series will thoroughly enjoy seeing their favourite super heroes bash each other around physically and verbally, and people new to the series will get a kick out of the extensive humour, epic battles and brilliant effects. Definitely a big ol’ blockbuster, but it’s a big ol’ block buster you won’t want to miss.

#Marvel #TheAvengers #review #JossWhedon #MCU