The Avengers

Growing up I collected X-men comics. It wasn’t exclusively X-men, but it was pretty damn close. I had a very narrow view of the Marvel Universe at that time, and anything that wasn’t X-men was crap. Unfortunately this meant that while I was aware of who Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Nick Fury were, I remained ignorant on their importance and history within the Marvel Universe. So when May 2008 rolled around and a little indie art flick called Iron Man was released, well, I was pleasantly surprised at its quality. Not really being an Iron Man fan I had no idea what to expect. My friends educated me, though: Robert Downy, Jr. was Tony Stark. I had no reason to disagree. In fact, Iron Man, along with The Dark Knight, were my two favorite movies that year.

Unsurprisingly Iron Man made everyone else’s Top 10 lists for that year, ensuring a sequel. Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk was also released that year. While it didn’t do Iron Man numbers, it made money for Marvel. And then the whispers started. Iron Man’s success greenlit Thor and Captain America. Then there were more whispers. In the faintest of voices, the comic lovers of geekdom dared to dream: Would Marvel make an Avenger’s movie? All the pieces seemed to be falling into place. Iron Man. Thor. Captain America. Hulk. They were all there. If only someone could pick up the pieces and put them together. Who would have the massive cojones required to pull all these characters together and  tell a good story? Or, a better question to ask, who would be just crazy enough to try?


Enter Joss Whedon. If you look in your wallet (or purse) and can pull out a Geek Card with your name plastered all over it, then you know who Joss Whedon is. You know that he is beloved by all of geekdom for bringing us some of the greatest serial television in recent memory. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Serenity are all ideas that erupted from Whedon’s cryptic brain. Given that his only feature film before The Avengers was Serenity (and that didn’t do too well), it may seem odd that Marvel would give the reigns to this somewhat unproven man. But it turned out to be an inspired choice.

The Avengers is the very definition of a superb popcorn flick with enough fanboy shoutouts to almost guarantee an endless amount of nerd joygasms. The story of The Avengers is simple: An alien army led by Loki intends to take over the world, and the only thing that can stop them is a jimble-jamble of dysfunctional super heroes. It’s really that simple. If you’re looking for something cerebral to change your outlook on humanity I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. However, if you’re looking for the Hulk to smash shit up real good, then you’re in for a helluva time.

Chris Evans does an impeccable job as Captain America. He’s got that “everyman” charm that he seems pull off effortlessly, and exudes a righteous confidence that doesn’t ever get annoying. He’s exactly the same Cap that he was in his own movie, yet this time around he is very much a stranger in a strange land. Robert Downy, Jr. does his thing as Tony Stark/Iron Man. He probably elicits the most laughs in the film, probably benefitting the most from Whedon’s snappy dialogue. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is also fun to watch, though he doesn’t get to get all Shakespearean like he did in his own film. Scarlett Johansson returns as the Black Widow and really gets to shine, having much more to do in The Avengers than she did in Iron Man 2. Jeremy Renner (is there a law or something now that says Renner has to be in all movies?) returns as Hawkeye, playing both a villain and a hero in the film. He has a few moments, but sadly is probably the weakest character of the bunch. Samuel Jackson is also in this, and he has an eye patch. People in the film keep calling him Nick Fury for some reason, but really, it’s just Sam Jackson. With an eye patch. Kicking all sorts of ass.

There were two real standouts for me. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a fascinating villain. His scenes with Thor really allow him to express his motivations. When Thor offers him a chance at redemption you can see in his eyes the briefest flashes of hope, a chance to go home, a chance to make things the way they were. But then the moment is gone, Loki has committed, he will see this thing through to the end. It’s this scene that really made me “like” Loki. He’s not a cookie cutter villain and has real depth and motivation for his actions. He was a blast to watch.

Second, and most awesomely, was Mark Rufallo’s Bruce Banner. Rufallo has the migraine-inducing job of being the third person to portray the metaphorical Jekyll and Hyde. Thankfully his take, in my opinion, is superior to Norton and Bana’s. Where Norton and Bana’s Banner feared the monster, Rufallo’s Banner has somewhat accepted it. Like if one was planning a picnic and a thunderstorm rolls through it’s pretty shitty, but oh well. This new attitude is explained in dialogue, and I won’t ruin it for you because it’s really quite...moving? The Banner in the Avenger’s has accepted his fate, he’s not running from it anymore, and in turn, this gives the Hulk much more gravitas when he finally appears.

The next big question I’m sure you’re dying to know: Does the Hulk smash? The answer, dear reader, is yes. The Hulk smashes, and smashes well. The last hour Whedon finally lets the Hulk do what he was meant to do: go apeshit and destroy everything. What makes this infinitely better than the previous two Hulk movies is that the destruction the Hulk accomplishes is fun. It’s play time. The Hulk finally gets to be an unstoppable force of nature and is...unleashed. This is how the Hulk should be from now on, forever and ever, RAmen.

Whedon’s direction is tight and focused, his sense of geography is immaculate, and the action is easy to follow and hard hitting. The dialogue is snappy and, more importantly, sounds good on each of the character’s tongues. Marvel would be foolish to not sign Whedon now to a billion year contract to write and direct all subsequent Avengers movies.

There are only two minor nitpicks I have with the film. The first is the score. It’s almost non-existent. If you held a gun to my head and asked me to hum the Avengers theme back to you, you’d have to pull the trigger, because for the life of me can’t remember any themes from the film. The score doesn’t detract from the film by any stretch, but it certainly doesn’t add anything to it.

The second nitpick has to do with the slow first and somewhat slow second acts. This is where the team is built and all the inter-team fighting takes place. The fights are great, certainly, it’s just getting to them seems to take forever! I found my attention wandering a few times, but once the movie got going, it didn’t let up until the end.

I highly recommend seeing this film in the theaters. It’s epic in scope, the action is top notch, and the laughs are plentiful. You’ll be laughing and applauding the heroic actions of the heroes, and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth in the 2+ hour flick. You don’t need to have seen the previous films that star each of the heroes, but you’ll get more out of it if you do.