While there’s already literally
hundreds on reviews of Marvel’s The Avengers available on the web here’s a
Spoiler Free review for the thousands of US viewers yet to see the movie.
For me, May is Avengers Month. I
bought my first Marvel comic, Avengers #76, in May 1970 and it was May 2010
that I was lucky enough to get my photo in Avengers #1 so although the movie
opened here in New Zealand on April 25 I waited until May 1 before seeing the
movie with most of my family. (I tried to get in with my Avengers ID. The
cashier thought it was cool but I still had to pay. And I don’t begrudge a
single cent of the $10.50 entry fee.)
The premise of The Avengers as a team
of fictional heroes is that the team is greater than the sum of its parts and this
movie is a rare example where the same is true of the cast and crew. With this
movie everyone, the director, writers, actors, special effects, designers, have
all hit their mark with Hawkeye precision producing a new bench-mark in action
and comic book based entertainment.
Kevin Fiege, Joss Whedon and the
rest of the crew have expertly delivered an Avengers tale for today that still respectfully
pays homage to the 1960 comic-book origins of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes while mixing
with the best elements of the Ultimate Universe version of the heroes.
For those who think they know the
story from all trailers and T.V. spots, think again. There are still surprises
aplenty from the very first scene through to the end and there is not a single
wasted line of dialogue in the whole 142 minutes.
Contrary to the speculation that
there would be no room for character development with so many big name stars
and characters in the room at the same time there are many introspective conversations
that progress the story and the characters. Reprising his Tony Stark / Iron Man character Robert
Downey Jr is clearly steals the show and his interactions with Pepper, Cap,
Thor, Loki and Bruce Banner include many laugh-out-loud moments. Tim Hiddleston’s
Loki is even more likeable as a villain than he was in Thor.
Samuel L Jackson gets the
opportunity for more on-screen time and we learn more about his motivations and
methods. It was very pleasing to see Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Cap),
Clarke Gregg (Agent Coulson) and Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig) all behave in-character
with their earlier appearances in the cannon of movies that culminates in The
Avengers and it was like picking up the next issue of an epic limited series.
As an aside Marvel has released a
limited series Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big week that helps tie the movies
together and provides some background information.
Mark Ruffulo’s portrayal of Bruce
Banner differs from Eric Bana and Edward Norton but it is in a way that adds to
the dynamics. Newcomer Agent Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders has a bigger
role than expected and again adds to the contemporary relationship with the Avengers
in the printed medium.
The battle scenes are well
choreographed with a sense of panel-by-panel progress and the Thor / Iron Man /
Captain America conflict pays obvious homage to “The Big Three” and elicit
memories of Stand-Off and Avengers: Prime.
In fact every character has their
chance to shine in solo action, pitted against each other, and eventually against
the common foe that no single super-hero could withstand. Scarlett Johansson’s
Black Widow character comes out from the shadow of the big-guns and she and Jeremy
Renner’s Hawkeye earn their place on the team.
There’s plenty of visual humour
too especially from the Hulk and the collective gasp from the audience at the
unexpected death scene is evidence of the emotional bond between characters and
viewers.
I’m sure there some die-hard fans
that are lamenting the lack of Hank Pym but I cannot honestly think of anything
that would have made this movie better than what it was.
In short, this is the movie equivalent
of The Kree-Skrull War that no Marvel or Avengers fan should miss. Truly outstanding
- cannot wait for the Blu-ray for Christmas.
And then there’s the mid-credit
trailer … Avengers Assemble for Avengers 2!
