FILM REVIEW: The Avengers (2012)

‘Marvel’s The Avengers' (2012)

MARVEL STUDIOS

DIRECTED BY: Joss Whedon

STARRING: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo

The Avengers is about the group of freaks who were awkwardly invited to the ‘cool’ party. Entering the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier, it is clear these freaks have no idea what they’re looking at, or what they’re in for. All they see are people in suits, and questionable looks about them.

What could possibly go wrong?

When talks of an Avengers movie came about after the success of Iron Man, all the possibilities settled in. With so many characters, each given their individual run on the big screen, it was a daunting idea for one movie based on an established mash-up. And with the constant change in directors and writers, the final product could very well play off as mediocre, at best.

This is not The Avengers.

While we know the majority of the characters from movies prior, as well as the battles that lay ahead, Avengers goes deeper into these characters and their interactions with each other, before becoming a team. This is the strength and success of The Avengers. It puts the action and set-pieces second, and puts forward the inner conflicts and nuances a superhero may have when being introduced to another superhero. Despite the fact half these characters are in their own movie, the direction anticipates that it’s no excuse to experiment with what can happen when different heroes attempt to be one. Thankfully, it nails the execution with fluid prowess… and then comes the action and set-pieces. Along with the introduction of aunt Robi… I mean, Agent Hill, each of these superheroes have their own story to tell in Avengers. There’s:

- IRON MAN: the spoiled billionaire and the epitome of the 1%. He has the slick, silver tongue that everybody hears, whether we want to or not. Even when the suit is on, you’ll still see the random Stark Tower standing out in the middle of Midtown Manhattan; he’s still not the person you’ll expect to take up the responsibility of defending the people he can, despite all the potential he possess under the armor.

- CAPTAIN AMERICA: with 70 years below him, Steve Rogers is the old grandfather who doesn’t know what a circuit board is. While he’s the war-veteran who knows how to handle himself in battle with just a shield, he’s too foreign to the now. Despite this, his urgency for responsibility makes him the leader he is, exemplifying this accountability to the irresponsible Iron Man any chance he can.

- HULK: having been under the radars of every agency we know and probably don’t know, Bruce Banner knows what he’s getting into (or what SHIELD want him to). He’s been toyed with before, and he rightfully trusts no one. Attached to this awareness, however, is a soft and more appreciated and sympathetic scientist, helping when he can for the greater good, disregarding the ‘other him’ that can destroy any greater good infront of his face.

- THOR: while he wasn’t given a fair treatment in his who-ha movie with Natalie Portman, Thor is still a godly representation of any Greek mythos you pick. His power from his distant homeworld shant be questioned here, but his relationship with Loki puts him at odds against his brother’s intentions, which greatly benefits the smaller, more homosapien characters.

- BLACK WIDOW: headstrong with the objective, she lets no emotions keep her from her job as a swift acrobatic, instead using them as ploys against her adversaries. Along with her martial arts, her only weapons are basic 9mm Glocks that are, apparently, supposed to defend her against herculean aliens.

- HAWKEYE: aside looking like a modern-suited Legolas with a haircut, Hawkeye isn’t given a proper introduction in the story. Despite being tossed into the mix late in the chaos, he’s as headstrong as Black Widow, and his birds-eye skills are enough to be tested by both Loki and the Avengers.

Forget the threats of war, and the action that imposes these characters. Who are these guys? What business do they have together? How can a group of strange but powerful characters stand a chance against the forces of evil, let alone themselves?

What makes [them] a team?

Hell, even Nick Fury has doubts. The shadowy figures overlooking SHIELD have doubts. But this is the core of what The Avengers is shooting for: despite the chaotic threats, the odds and differences these spectaculars faces, they fight for the greater good, and they have to band together to save themselves, and the people they protect.

For understanding the plot, having to see the past origin movies isn’t necessary to understand what is happening (even though the payoff is worth it): Loki, Thor’s appropriately one-dimensional brother, wants to rule the world with the help of a powerful cube, and the Avengers gotta stop him. This simplicity in plot is worthwhile and welcoming, however, as it gives enough time for the characterization these heroes need, as they gather their differences and become a team.

The characters made by Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and the likes carry over here with ease and fluidness; the transitions from origin movies to this assembly are clear and flawless, and their interactions with each other seamlessly drive the movie forward, as they begin to become the Avengers. However, while past characters have been given recent opportunities to tell their tales, the biggest nods have to go to Hulk, Captain America, and the tin man:

Hulk has been a tough cookie to comprehend on the big screen. With two less-than-well-received movies, he’s been difficult to give form. However, his complication in execution is rectified with the Hulk we see here. At first, the loss of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/Hulk left me with a bad taste; thankfully, Mark Ruffalo gives justice to Hulk, not only as a mean, green, wild machine, but as a human being with a conscience (something I noticed was missing in Norton’s take). He’s held off the ‘other him’ for so long, that he’s settled in this curse as potential. Maybe he doesn’t have to be an isolated genius, but somebody that can help people, despite what people in suits ask from him. We see this in India, on board the Helicarrier, and in the battlefield of Manhattan. Perhaps past and failed iterations benefit his performance, but Ruffalo sets the new bar for what is an otherwise… Hulk.

Next to Hulk, the Cap and Iron Man are also given a dynamic relationship. This relationship begins like in a school playground: these two don’t like each other, at all. Cap calls Iron Man irresponsible and not a hero, Iron Man calls Cap another lab rat. It’s set in stone, but watching these two work together, from their first call to action aboard the Helicarrier, to the finale in New York, and change for each other is a thing of poetry, and by the final moments, we see Iron Man rise up to his potential as a true hero.

With the Avengers assembled, the fight against Loki and his army is on. The battle over New York puts the team’s allegiance in each other to the test, and their fluidity is very prevalent throughout. If the Cap is down in a fight without his shield, Iron Man will swoop down to blast off the surrounding creatures. If the Iron Man suit is under chaos from the aliens, Thor will come down and swing his hammer across their ugly faces. And if Thor is overwhelmed, then Hulk can… well, smash. This is a team that needs each other, and this is made cinematically obvious in a very elegant sweep shot that showcases not only these heroes’ superpowers, but their powers put together against the continuous flow of aliens attacking Manhattan. This single shot reminds you of what Avengers is really all about.

It’s a good thing, too, that this chaos looks really amazing onscreen. I’ve never seen Manhattan looked as ugly as The Avengers. Watching taxi cabs being tossed around one-by-one is magnificent, and buildings are simply not given a break as walls and offices are swept across like a knife cutting bread. While the destruction is almost the equivalent of a Cloverfield invasion, it’s not obsessive to the point of a Michael Bay romp.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/avengers-destruction-cost-nyc-160-billion_n_1507002.html

With so much going on, characters or not, what makes this epic production extraordinary is that it was put together under the direction and screenwriting of one, Joss Whedon. While a team of writers and directors could’ve been a practical and safer route, Whedon single-handedly avoids the formula hero/villains and action, and puts an intimate group of characters together into one cohesive and elegant production. His involvement in The Avengers is the equivalent of Copolla in The Godfather series; there is simply no better person to have put this together. And with cute moments like Tony hacking into a SHIELD jet broadcast with AC/DC, to Cap pointing out a joke he actually understands, to a the subtle after-credit scene (this was gonna happen, eventually), Whedon has a lot of humor and love for these characters, and having written a script that never forgets itself, his involvement is an impeccable match made in comic book heaven.

With what is a one-man army, what is even more extraordinary is what Avengers could have been: an absolute disaster. All the origin films leading up to this moment makes for an abundance of complicated characters, with one character possibly receiving better treatment than the other, and overall making a complicated mess with an underwhelming attention to actually assembling the Avengers. Instead, what we get is a different kind of origin story, a clear and focused representation of superhero teamwork, given careful and loving balance to each from the hours of movies beforehand, and leaving the set-piece destruction as second on the list, but still spectacular in-nature.

If there’s a gripe to be had, it’s Agent Phil. Remember Phil, the guy with a suit, always on the tails of such pre-Avengers events (finding the hammer in New Mexico, watching Tony build a better suit, etc.)? Like Black Widow, his involvement with the initiative is solidified here, yet it’s one that fails to trick me. While he’s only an agent, the Avengers feeding off his involvement in bringing them together is nothing but faint encouragement.

That said, The Avengers is a poetic superhero movie that has something for everyone to enjoy, which is a hard feat to accomplish with a mash-up like this. Whether it’s the serious characterization of the heroes we put our faith in, the magnificent site of Manhattan under absolute chaos by aliens, or the classy moments of fun we saw coming sometime or the other, The Avengers gives justice to just about every Marvel movie made within the past decade, under the leading hands of one filmmaker. This sets a new bar for future Marvel films and filmmakers, and what superhero mash-ups are supposed to be.

Years in the making, years in-question, the Avengers are finally here, and they avenge all doubt.

☆☆☆☆

- Ant