To this point the films depicting Marvel’s universe of Avengers characters — Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America — on the big screen have been (outside of Iron Man 2) nothing more than character introductions and origin stories, familiarizing comic and non-comic readers alike with the live-action incarnations of these heroes. It’s been an up-and-down ride ranging anywhere from exhilarating to tedious, each film seeming more like the pilot episode in a lengthy television series than an actual feature film, suggesting some level of promise, but it was never quite clear if it was worth sticking around for an entire season.
In those terms, the Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers signals sweeps week and the first five episodes were worth it as necessary introductions to the characters as they all come together in what is certainly the most cohesive and complete Avengers film yet. Massive in scale, representative of all the personality traits the previous films represent and, above all else, it’s a whole lot of fun. There are still flaws, such as its length and a couple of unnecessary/underutilized characters, but when it comes to grandiose summer blockbuster spectacle this is the kind of movie you want to see.
Bringing in Whedon to not only direct the film but also write it was probably the best move the studio could have made. Whedon has worked in the Marvel universe before, writing 24 issues of “Astonishing X-Men” among other titles, and he clearly knows how to embrace the world these characters inhabit and the absurdities that go along with their existence. Bringing together a billionaire in an iron suit, a demigod from another universe, a green gamma-ray monster, a World War II super soldier and a pair of human assassins is no easy task. There are times when it all becomes a bit too much and has that feeling of “I get it, the Hulk gets mad,” but on a whole it works and works and works.
If anything it has the feeling of the character and story control of the first half of Iron Man and the pure, unashamed entertainment of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, a film I originally merely enjoyed, but upon repeated viewings see as the most entertaining of the introductory installments. To that point, Whedon has taken the best elements of all the origin films and piled them into one big superhero mash-up as the world is now threatened by yet another familiar face.
Tom Hiddleston was first introduced to audiences on a grand scale as Thor’s villainous, adopted brother. Here, his spiteful path to revenge against his sibling, and desire to play god over all of humankind, presents a man more evil than what we saw in Thor and Hiddleston embraces every menacing tic of his character.
On the hero side of things, the strongest elements of the film come from Robert Downey Jr. (to no surprise) as billionaire playboy Tony Stark and Mark Ruffalo, picking up the Hulk mantle on the heels of Edward Norton’s turn as the big green guy in the 2008 feature (which I really liked). While there was a lot of talk about bringing Norton back for the role, going with Ruffalo proves an excellent fit. Dr. Bruce Banner has managed to control the monster within and Ruffalo’s onscreen personality lends itself well to Banner’s laid-back approach to life and work. This isn’t to say Norton wouldn’t have serviced the character well, but Ruffalo’s unassuming presence fits the character nicely at this point and watch out when the CGI team takes over.
Beyond unassuming and laid-back, when the Hulk smashes he eventually becomes the highlight of the film, establishing him as an excellent supporting character for upcoming standalone Avengers features before the inevitable Avengers 2, proving it may be the only way to get the big green guy on the big screen rather than attempting his own standalone film ever again.
The largest stumbling block The Avengers faces comes with the non-superhuman characters Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). The human side of things is explored as far as need be with Agent Colson (Clark Gregg) and the surprisingly solid, and not at all forced, introduction of Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) as Maria Hill.
Both Hawkeye and Black Widow are only necessary to advance a particular plot point rather than as characters anyone would be interested in and the film seems just as uninterested. Renner is given little to work with and his character is a dud as a result, and Johansson’s Black Widow is a take-it-or-leave-it character no better than her stint in Iron Man 2.
Where The Avengers is at its absolute best is in Whedon’s screenwriting. Whether it’s the lines given to Downey as Tony Stark, a character and actor perfectly suited for Whedon’s comedic wit, or simply the actions given to the characters, particularly a late-in-the-game bit of Hulk smashing, the writing is an absolute blast. Best of all, the ridiculousness of these superheroes is never felt. It absolutely works and Whedon doesn’t rely on an abundance of self-awareness to make it work as I expected he’d need to. There is more of an acceptance of the situation as aliens from another planet arrive to terrorize Earth through a giant portal powered by some kind of all-powerful cube, a scenario ridiculous enough to make me roll my eyes while writing it, but there was never a moment I grew tired of it while watching.
It’s nice to see the time we’ve spent getting to know these characters over the last few years has been worth it. Whedon pulled everyone together and delivered exactly what we want and deserve from a summer blockbuster. Now it’s up to future Avengers films to live up to Whedon’s high standards, I have faith in Shane Black for Iron Man 3, but Marvel is going to have to continue to find talented writers and directors if this level of entertainment is to continue.
NOTE: Avoid paying to watch this film in 3-D at all costs. It would be an absolute waste of your money. I’m not sure Whedon considered 3-D for a second when making this film and it’s better off for it.
