Marvel Studios has shockingly placed their large bets on dangerous film and economic tactics, such as hiring talented craftsmen and slow audience burn, to lead all of their comic book adaptations up to the biggest superhero film of all time, only to miraculously win it all. THE AVENGERS is not only very good and the best thing to achieve being the definition of a "blockbuster" this summer, it is a pure example of a comic book, only with the inks and paints placed on celluloid instead of paper. It handles and solves the many bipolar audience problems, creating an easy gateway to new viewers while pampering the hardcore and devoted. Whether it is giant explosions and heavy combat or rich character relationships and altruism, this film is the total package.
Describing the main plot is both laughably pretty thin yet feels adequate and brimful: The Norse God Loki, who seemingly survived the finale of THOR, appears on Earth as the personal vanguard/lackey for an intergalactic army called the Chitauri. He wants a glowing Macguffin called the Tesseract, a "Cosmic Cube" that fans of the films and comic books are knowledgeable of, in order to open a space-gate for the invading forces. The Marvel supporting player Nick Fury and his shadowy group SHIELD assembles existing powered-up individuals to serve as his soldiers/scientists of fortune against the God of Mischief. If the superheroes can handle some checks and balances, maybe they all can cooperate peacefully with each other to bring the dormant "Avengers Initiative" into action. But it will hard for Tony Stark to subside his Iron Man bravado, Captain America to drop the army mentality, the returning Thor to stop being the godly outsider, and Bruce Banner to handle and keep his Hulk persona in check before getting a bullet or arrow to the head from master assassins Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Like a good read from a book, or a graphic novel in this case, once the mission layout and conflict is established, all that is left to sustain interest is copious amounts of dialogue, characterization, and interactions. Writer/Director Joss Whedon, a man who has the experience to craft and put together extensive lore vibrant circumstances, achieves this beautifully for the most part. The chemistry amongst the characters is impeccable. Each of the mighty six heroes are expertly given their own prime moments to shine brightly throughout the picture when they are not hilariously and brilliantly bickering and working with one another. It becomes a contest for the viewer to pick their favorite moments; Whether you laughed more with Hulk-Thor and Banner-Stark, or think Iron Man is more badass with Capt. America or Black Widow, the debate will be endless. Once you throw Loki into the duo mix, then it becomes much more sweeter to feud with your fellow audience members.
Of course, without the right actors, there would be no humor between the heroes. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth once again deserve great acclaim for their returning performances. Mark Ruffalo had the rough task of being Bruce Banner/Hulk number #3 and is able to succeed greatly with it. He gives the troubled doctor turned green wrecking machine a meek, defeatist attitude but still able to deliver a funny jab. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner get to finally receive more room to perform as the once minor supporting spies, while their SHIELD colleague Clark Gregg continues to steal the spotlight as Agent Coulson. The person who once again conquers the screen, however, is Tom Hiddleston as Loki. His character was one of the best complex super-villains in last year's THOR and here he still follows and accomplishes it well. Both a major threat and an unfortunate soul, Hiddleston sells the evil grimaces and lonely tears like a master artist.
It's not that hard to say that the long, bombastic climax in New York City is the best feature of all. There are plenty of action sequences done before it, all featuring the same unique camerawork and superb editing mixed with the brutal attacks, but this final festival of violence never burns itself out, nor able to be not epic enough for anyone. However, despite all the glorious fun, one of the most fascinating things about the conclusion, as well as being outlined all through the film, is how it cements Scarlett Johansson and her character Black Widow as being capable to play within the male big leagues. The film has a nice feminist aesthetic, while at the same time removing the "T & A" aspects that continue to plague comic books. Johansson, as well as Cobie Smulders as Fury's second-in-command Maria Hill, receive equal participation and abilities without being resorted to later be a love interest, a damsel in distress, or the weakest link.
Sadly, there are a few things that cut this down from absolute film perfection. Plenty of questions are half-heartedly answered with really horrible throwaway lines. The biggest one, how Thor was able to return to Earth after the events of his own film, is painfully rushed out when it is not bad exposition. Also, maybe I'm being a little too nerdy here, but the whole sequence where Loki is arrested feels straight out of THE DARK KNIGHT, hitting some of the same beats. The only other bad element would be a complete spoiler, but fans of Whedon's previous work know it is an unpopular plot device he likes to do constantly. It is a bit justified to be a major element both for the story and the whole scheme of things, but it still feels like a miserable thing for him to do.
Maybe when I watch the film again, which is pretty much a given, all of my pointed out errors in judgment will be washed away underneath the great action direction and acting. That is one of the many joys of a well put-together action film; Why care about realism and meticulous details when you are witnessing human beings working for the greater good, but with more explosions? THE AVENGERS is a very suitable fit for cinematic entertainment today and a nice prelude for further superhero films to come. Also, as tradition, the film has two stingers, one amongst the first set of credits and one at the very end. They are well worth it.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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