This ambitious film sees S. H. I. E. L. D. a secret peace keeping agency led by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) bring together a group of superheros known as The Avengers. The Avengers are brought together to protect the earth against Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor's evil, power hungry brother. Loki has acquired the Tesseract an all-powerful energy source and intends to unleash a supernatural army onto the earth. Standing in his way is a team of formidable heroes including Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) known only as The Avengers.
I was sceptical going into this film, scared that the film would rely too heavily on explosions and action and not on the story and characters. Luckily writer/director Joss Whedon has handled the film with care and consideration, masterfully incorporating entertaining characters, hilarious lines and gripping action sequences into a genuine blockbuster of a film. It's hard to create a film filled with so many starring characters. I believe there is no better example of it achieved successfully than Oceans 11. The key is to ensure every character has a purpose in the film, Whedon has definitely achieved this by providing ample screen time for every character as well as creating engaging relationships within the team. Whether its tension as characters try to prove themselves or the hint of a relationship, the end result is simply entertaining.
Effort has been achieved to ensure the individual movies that set up The Avengers are included in the storyline. From the Tesseract that was first seen in Captain America to supporting characters such as Professor Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Loki from Thor. This ensures the characters can combine easily without tiring back stories.
Perhaps the most effective aspect of the film is the humour. Whenever a scene verges on cliché, Whedon inserts his trademark comic relief. Whether its a quirky one line from Stark aka Iron Man or The Hulk hilariously displaying his frustration with Loki, the end result is the same, a theatre laughing in unison. Downey Jr. is definitely given the lions share of the comic relief as he handles it with such ease, yet every character has their moment. Perhaps one of my favourite characters is Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) who provides some memorable scenes, whether its trying to get Captain America to sign his collection of trading cards or simply taking no bullshit when assembling the heroes.
The characters do work well together on screen overcoming their individual issues to inevitably join forces. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk is played with excellent calmness and restraint from Ruffalo and next to Downey Jr. is the stand out performer. The most anticipating moment for me was seeing The Hulk's first emergence on screen. I wasn't disappointed as he was created with convincing special effects, even if he was smaller than usual. The Hulk acted almost as a secret weapon for The Avengers, with many characters sceptical even scared of his unreliable rage, yet ultimately happy that he was on their team. For fans of the comics look out for Stan Lee's honorary cameo near the end of the film.
Perhaps the most important aspect of a superhero film is the villain, for a hero is only as good as his counterpart. Loki was introduced in the movie Thor and I was unsure whether he could carry this film and be a fitting match for this ominous group of heroes. Hiddleston was surprisingly good and ensured Loki was a much more devious and imposing villain than in Thor. The main pitfall was the 'army' sent to destroy the earth. The supernatural goons were extremely unoriginal and imposed little threat to any of the characters. Even their arrival was unoriginal, looking immensely similar to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, with a portal in the sky opening up and allowing an army to reign down on earth. At the end of the day the movie wasn't really about the villain or the impending threat of world annihilation it was about the bringing together of The Avengers. This movie was on all accounts an origin story.
For anyone that is feeling hesitant to see this film, have faith in the brilliant mind of Joss Whedon and you will be pleasantly surprised to find a film rich with comedy, heroics and absorbing action. I will be eagerly anticipating the next Avengers movie, to see what character developments unfold and if there are any inclusions to the team (Ant-Man, Wasp). I only hope the next film has The Avengers come up against a villain worthy of their abilities.
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