There are very few blockbusters that manage to truly captivate an entire audience; to lift every member out of their seats for a truly magical and exciting experience that will leave a lasting impression which then drives you back to the theater for round two. The Avengers is one of those films and for a variety of reasons.
When Loki (Tom Hiddleston) comes to earth and steals the tesseract aka cosmic cube from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters and threatens the earth with an extraterrestrial army, Nick fury calls upon Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Hawk Eye (Jeremy Renner), the only heroes who can help him prevent the world from being conquered.
Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is a film that has done what so many summer blockbusters have failed to do and has done with more pressure, anticipation and high expectations from four years of filmmaking that no other film has faced since the final Lord of the Rings. He overcame the challenge of not only bringing together a group of high profile individuals, many who thought would have been overshadowed by Robert Downey Jr., but found a way to balance the character development, giving each hero their fair share of screen time, creating a lot of suspenseful drama which was then complemented by intense action scenes, only to then be topped off with a scoop full of hearty and good natured comedy. It’s no small feat and Whedon has done fans of the Marvel universe justice.
With so many powerful presences on one screen, the challenge became how do we bring together all the stories and manage the various egos. There are moments when they are all at each others’ throats but when the moment comes that they have to unite, that’s the moment that gets you on the edge of your seat.
Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as Tony Stark and continues with his intelligent rock and roll antics that we know and love. Chris Evans proves that he can be a rightful and just Captain America in the modern age and doesn’t miss a beat since his film was released. Hemsworth’s presence is as mighty as can be and his fight sequences are a joy to watch. Johansson’s Black Widow is much more impressive this time around and Scarlett finally channels how deceptive and manipulative her character can be. Renner’s Hawkeye and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury were simply cool as shit. And Hiddleston’s performance as Loki is absolutely riveting. You thought he was good in Thor, just wait until you see him control just about every scene in this one.
Though, despite all these excellent performances, the surprise of the group was Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. What 
sets this Banner apart from the others is that Mark’s has finally accepted that “the other guy is here to stay.” And while Ruffalo was the surprise, The Hulk was the showstopper and literally destroys every scene he is in. He was the secret weapon of The Avengers but he was also the secret weapon of the film, a character audiences literally yelled and cheered for every time he did something incredible. There is one scene he has with Loki that makes me stupidly grin every time I think about it; it’s definitely the most memorable one of the film.
As much as I loved the movie, and I’m seeing it again this week, I know it isn’t a masterpiece. As monstrous as the opening scene is, the recruiting scenes that follow are slightly slow, but once Thor shows up you become completely engrossed. Furthermore, the 3D is hit or miss, it’s not a bad conversion but it isn’t required for viewing. Lastly, for as good looking as Cobie Smulders is, her role as Agent Maria Hill was rather pointless and somewhat annoying. Luckily, she’s only in it for a few minutes.
When the movie finishes, there is no doubt you’ll be smiling with glee because of how epicly awesome it is. But wait…it gets better. If you have some knowledge of the Marvel universe then prepare yourself, because you, my friend, are going to have a geek orgasm after you see what’s in store for you a few minutes into the credits. I personally yelled “Holy shit!” followed up with “that’s fucking awesome!”
The Avengers is the pinnacle of four years’ worth of storytelling and is the comic book movie fanboys/girls have been dying for. It succeeds on nearly every level and is a film that literally anyone with a fun side can enjoy; parents and children alike. Mark my words; The Avengers will be the best light hearted blockbuster of the summer and, thanks to its relentless and stunning action sequences, is without a doubt going to meet or surpass your already high expectations.
Rating: A remarkable, epic and, most importantly, fun cinematic adventure that won’t let you down (9/10)
Recent Comments