The Avengers (***½)
Directed
by: Joss Whedon
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, Gwyneth Paltrow
Seen:
May 28th 2012
***½
Out of ****
Years
of planning and (lead-in but still standalone in their own right) movies
running up to The Avengers have resulted in a spectacular blockbuster of epic
proportions, furthering superhero mythology started in Iron Man 1 & 2,
Captain America, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk. For sheer scope very few movies
come close to The Avengers, as directed by Joss Whedon. Up to now he has only
been known to sci-fi die-hards as the guy who made Firefly and Serenity, with a
few other TV director’s credits to his name; but now with The Avengers, he
bursts forth onto the big screen with a furious violence.
The
villain from Thor, Loki (Hiddleston), makes a deal with the Chitauri, an alien
race bent on conquering destruction, for an army of their warriors in exchange
for the blue power source from Thor, the Tesseract. Loki comes to earth and
steals the Tesseract, leaving behind a trail of destruction as well as a very
upset Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury (Jackson), who takes no time to put
together The Avengers Initiative in preparation for whatever battle may be
headed their way. Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow (Johansson) is sent to
recruit Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo); Agent Coulson (Gregg) visits Tony
Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr.) and Pepper Pots (Paltrow); and Fury himself ropes
in Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans). After Rogers, Stark, and Romanoff
capture Loki (a bit too easily), Thor (Hemsworth) arrives on the scene – and
The Avengers are assembled. Loki is the centre of something bigger though, and
all that has been mentioned so far is but the tip of the iceberg compared to
what’s still to come for The Avengers, in talk and in action, everything up to
now is merely a taster for the second half of this huge and hugely entertaining
Marvel movie.
Trying
to lift out some highlights is tough, but if I have to pick a few I’d start
with an unintentionally true quote from Captain America after Loki tells him
that he is a god: “There is only one God, and he doesn’t dress like that.”
Cinematic gold. More great scenes include Hulk thrashing Loki, (actually any
scene with Hulk in it); Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America facing off (by fist
and by wit); Black Widow and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner) joining in the fight
– this is one massive movie packed chock-full of excellent action and
adventure. The action is intensely well scripted and the stakes have never been
higher in a Marvel movie, with fantastic visual effects that draw you into
every event. Even the acting from all the leads, while not a required
expectation for a movie like this, lifts it all even more.
If I
have one problem with the movie it is that it is actually slightly
over-the-top, just that little bit too much – as if Whedon and Co. attempt to
force viewers into believing the movie is awesome by burning/blasting away all
their synapses – dialling it back just a small notch could possibly have
rendered The Avengers even better. That said, The Avengers is insanely
entertaining, and it creates in all of us an unconscious excitement about one
day being part of something this big in our own lives as well. If you’re a fan
of superhero movies, you’ll definitely like this one.
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