Ryan McNeil
In every sport except baseball, franchises that assemble themselves an all-star team rarely succeed. The reason or this is simple; when you get that much ego in one place, that many personalities used to being “the man”, nobody knows how to play their role. These teams become plagued by squabbling and ultimately fail. It’s only in every member of the team understanding how to play off the ball that the team can win. When this happens, everyone understands which piece they are in the larger machine.
Only then will they all fit together; Only then can they be assembled.
First things first: While this film can be watched stone cold, it plays a lot better if you do the homework and watch THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON MAN, and IRON MAN 2.
At this stage of the story, Loki (Tom Hiddleston)is trying to take over the Earth and pave the way for its occupation by intergalactic warlords. To do this, he has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, used his shiny stick to get Prof. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard) and Clint “Hawkeye” Barton (Jeremy Renner) on his side, and steals an energy source called the Tesseract (last seen in the CAPTAIN AMERICA film).
The device is capable of unknown and seemingly unlimited power, so to retrieve it S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) invokes the Avengers Initiative.
The plan is to counter whatever symphony of destruction Loki might yield by assembling earth’s greatest heroes. Namely, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and hopefully retrieve Hawkeye to round out the team.
THE AVENGERS is designed to be a stand-alone film: villain steals loot, good guys give chase, chaos ensues. In that light, THE AVENGERS is a good movie. What gives the film a little bit of extra lift though, is the way it has used the five previous Marvel films to its advantage. The difficult thing with any story focused on a group dynamic is fully shaping each member of the group, and giving them their moment in the sun. In this case, the film comes with the advantage of most members already getting their moment in the sun in previous films. So for those who have already been on the journey for five movies, there’s an added level of familiarity.
Before I move on from the point of group dynamics, I feel credit should be given where credit is due. There are few creative talents in Hollywood who are able to bring purpose and balance to a team as well as Joss Whedon. He has done it for years on television, and has now proven that he can do it on a blockbuster scale. Not only was he able to craft a script that stuck the landing on where these films have been destined for four years (and peppered it with snappy witticisms), but he did so in a way that felt genuine for this collection of heroes.
For me, part of the reason this film feels so exceptional is in an unexpected detail. Of all the pieces that had been put in play so far, the least interesting seemed to be The Hulk. It’s hard to say why exactly, except that neither the Leterrier film that was part of this project, nor the Ang Lee version that came before were able to get the struggles of Bruce Banner just right. He often felt almost secondary; an unfortunate necessity for a CGI demo.
This time out though, Whedon wrote Banner as a complexed and intelligent character (and clearly wanted to spend more time with him than his big green alter-ego), and Mark Ruffalo was able to bring some much-needed humanity to the part. It’s as if Whedon and Ruffalo were able to see something in the character that was there all along that no one had yet tapped into. In the middle of the film, a character pieces together the evil plot against our heroes and says “So that’s your play. You’re trying to use Banner.” It’s true of the narrative at hand, but is also a sly self-aware declaration on THE AVENGERS itself.
Where the film requires some patience is in the early going as the team is coming together. For some, the constant infighting might test the patience, but for me it was a necessary step. For the most part, none of these characters have worked together before, and with each one of them having a completely different m.o., it’s reasonable to assume that they wouldn’t quite click right away.
The interesting upshot of this is that it allows us to fully understand what each team member brings to the table (besides superhuman abilities). Sure, The Avengers would be a formidable force based on ability alone, but how much more is gained from Tony Stark’s innovation, or Bruce Banner’s scientific understanding, Hawkeye and Widow’s combat training, or Steve Rogers’ leadership? Just like any team, they have to learn how to pass the ball…only then will they be able to dominate the game.
Ultimately, THE AVENGERS is a fun and gratifying blockbuster fuelled by wit. When Whedon’s clever throwaways aren’t dotting the film with laughter, Robert Downey Jr’s razor-sharp delivery is (sidebar: These two men need to work together again, and soon). The film succeeds by never taking itself too seriously, and giving us moments of comic relief anytime deep seriousness seems at hand.
Everyone involved with this project (and its predecessors) deserves major kudos for playing nice with all the other kids in the sandbox. Sure an ego or two might have been sent for timeout along the way, but those who got this far did so by playing off each other’s strengths. They did so by understanding that it was how they played away from the ball that would allow the team to win.
Matineescore: ★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of ★ ★ ★ ★
I loved this film. Absolutely blown away. The humour, the characters, the actors, the action- everything was perfect for me.
Also the fact that we saw it before North America gives me a lot a joy 😛 Can’t wait to see it again. Hulk Smash!!
I must admit, I *was* slightly surprised that Marvel decided to buck the trend and open the film worldwide before dropping it in North America. Of course now that they’ve cashed in with that staggering opening weekend take, I guess it proves they knew what they were doing, right?
The question I’m left with though is where they go from here. Can they possibly engineer another series of films as well as this again?
This and the new Spider-Man are reasons why I feel that MARVEL is such a great production company. They give us something slightly different from the now swamped comic-book movie market, just like they did in the comic-book market back when they were starting up. Yes their morals may be old fashioned as well as their execution of them, but it just makes me smile in ways that Batman has never made me (not to say Batman doesn’t make me smile…)
This movie was such fun and I hope this is the beginning of studios trusting Whedon to create properties again.
I can’t pass any judgment on the new Spidey until I see it. Lest we forget that there is still a lot stacked against it: It’s a reboot of a recent franchise and coming off a sequel that was critically drubbed.
While I liked THE AVENGERS a lot, it is for me a shade below THE DARK KNIGHT because it didn’t take my mind to broader themes the way that Nolan’s last film did. For me, that is still the comic film bar, and nothing in the last four years has cleared it.
What AVENGERS does do is provide fulfilling blockbuster entertainment, proving to all franchise-makers out there that it *is* possible to make a whiz-bang film and not insult the audience’s intelligence. It just takes forethought and smart writing.
As for Whedon, I’m pretty sure he’s just earned himself a blank cheque to make whatever he wants to make next.
It’s nice to see a large-scale, hyper-ambitious superhero movie like The Avengers show up and compete in the market-side of the industry while racking up critical love after the last major release of this sort– The Dark Knight— did so four years ago, and in a far more somber mien. This is an optimistic tonic of joy and healthy nostalgia to Nolan’s grim, oppressive take on masked crimefighting, and a great example of blockbusting done well.
For me The Avengers really reminds us why superheroes are important and why they matter to us so much, in both overt ways (e.g. its spectacle and physical demonstrations of its heroes kicking butt), and in subtle ways (as in the entire Avenger Initiative basically being born out of Fury’s fan worship). It’s been a while since I’ve been so thrilled by a superhero movie, and I couldn’t be happier.
PS: More Hulk please.
The funny thing is that many of the individual films were unable to tap into this sort of critical and audience love (save the original IRON MAN). Yet another sign that this set of stories is worth more than the sum of its parts.
Really, this film was just a blast with lots of wit. I wish more blockbusters could put as much effort into the end result.
Thrilled is the only way to place my response to The Avengers. If there was a lag (and I didn’t feel one during the assembling portion of the film) it didn’t make a difference to me. In fact, a great deal of fun came from watching these characters walk into each other’s universes.
It’s funny, a friend braced me for the scuffle in the woods, and yet that was one of my favorite parts. Watching these alpha dogs scrap it out for position at the head of the pack was amusing and surprisingly succinct (far better than the Iron Man/War Machine smackdown in I:2).
Hopefully this isn’t the end of the line for this level of execution.
Terrific stuff, Ryan. Don’t you have some kudos leftover to spot to Scarlett who held her own as not only the only woman in the super squad, but one who could have easily been dismissed as simply eye-candy?
I could have written another 1,000 words if I’d gone actor by actor since they just about all bring the goods. But by request, I liked the specificity of Black Widow’s role within the group – as an elite soldier capable of not only kicking ass, but assessing a situation and figuring out how to work it to her advantage.
Plus, as I mentioned, I loved that her conversation with Loki contains a self-aware wink at the construct of the movie itself.
Now if only some member of the press would have scored me an advanced ticket (or two)…
I love this movie. I had fun watching this. I was like a kid and I wanted to do a running commentary on the fight as if I was good ol’ JR Jim Ross going nuts for Stone Cold. I would’ve been saying “Look at Hulk go! He’s stomping a mudhole on those Chitauris!!! Black Widow kicking some serious ass!!! Oh, look at Hawkeye! He got him good!”
I was sitting next to a mom and her kid and that kid was excited for Hulk. I hope there’s a good price for a Hulk teddy bear or something!
I took an insane amount of giddiness from this film too – especially in that final brawl since it never stopped peppering the film with moments of humour. Never has so much wit been dropped into a blow-it-all-up sequence and worked this well.
It’s quite fun to watch. You are right that it doesn’t quite transcend the comic book genre, but I had a good time. The dialogue and story structure by Whedon works really well.
If I have a minor complaint, it’s that I was not convinced Loki as a real threat. As a character in the movie said: “It lacks conviction.” This is not saying Tom Hiddleston is a bad actor, he did the best he could. It’s just the movie is really about these superheroes coming together, the villain isn’t the focus of the story.
Interesting point.
I liked Loki as a Big Bad, mostly because I Hiddleston really sold his Machiavellian personality, and was able to play up the trickster part (“when will you ever not fall for that?”). Likewise, remind yourself that Loki was supposedly acting on behalf of someone else. So as an operative, I buy it…were he the one who wanted to ultimately rule, I might not.
A good friend underlined my biggest qualm with the film, but I’ll get into that on the podcast on Monday morning (so tune in).
As a sports writer, I love your comparison here. And it makes absolute sense. I loved the film and agree with all of what you say here.
My main concern going in was the total amount of characters and how they would work together, and if they would all get enough screen time. The more characters that are brought in usually means doom (see Spiderman 3 or original Batman films). But, here it worked and I certainly hope they can continue to make it work.
I won’t go any further, I wrote plenty about it already (and even that seems too small).
I’ve noticed it time and again through the years as many teams have built themselves that way and flamed out (last year’s Heat, the 2006 Canadian Olympic hockey team, this year’s Philadelphia Eagles, etc).
I’m with you though that there seems to be a magic number when it comes to heroes and villains you can put in play at once – and that both of those films proved the theory.
I think what made this film special in that regard were those previous five films and how Norton aside everyone carried over into this to allow character continuity.
So glad you liked this. I had a lot of fun with this at the cinemas. Because of all the fun I was having I forgot to find faults with it – much like War Horse, except I wasn’t having so much fun crying, haha.
I shall sift through your Hot Docs coverage now I have a little more time on my hands!
It was wickedly hard to refrain from reading all the posts you international folk were putting up in recent weeks. I’ll have to take an evening this week and do the circuit.
Hope you enjoy the Hot Docs coverage!
I agree that the team getting together is the most testing part of the film, in fact, I found myself not liking the film for a good thirty minutes. Once the team was together and seemed to be moving towards a common goal, I think the film takes off wonderfully. Almost everything before felt like wasted time to me.
I’ll agree that Whedon deserves credit for the great writing, and teasing out a Bruce Banner that I’d love to watch in his own film, but I was underwhelmed by his direction. The action, in particular, just wasn’t up to snuff for me. It’s functional, but a reminder of why I think of Whedon as a writer first and foremost. In contrast to Goddard’s excellent direction in The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers feels visually pedantic.
I think it’s unfair to compare the efforts of a low-budget slasher flick to a multi-hundred million dollar action film. Whedon did more than well in scenes like Iron Man’s aerial battles and the dust-up between Thor and the Hulk.
It’s not flawless, so you won’t hear any gasps of astonishment from me. However, directorialy, I think this film vies for the best film in the series with IRON MAN, and likely eclipses it thanks to a better villain and better final confrontation.
I actually thought Whedon did a good job of giving the action gravity, which has been the downfall of a lot of CG action films in recent years. Compare how it all played out to any TRANSFORMERS film, or most of Zack Snyders movies, ditto GREEN LANTERN.
Making sense of all this nonsense isn’t easy, and I’m actually delighted Whedon was able to ground it the way he was.
Great write-up Ryan. I’m not so sure if the film rests on HULK as much as you say, but I can appreciate how by setting up a plot whereby HULK is a threat means (a) you don’t need much hulking-out (two sequences in total) and (b) forces us to get to know the new Banner without unneccessary action sequences that don’t progress the story.