"The Avengers"
They're finally here! The
Avengers is a film that has been four years in the making. Iron
Man was the first of four superhero flicks that was to kick off the origin
stories. The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America:
The First Avenger soon followed. We all knew it was leading to the
assembly of one of the most elite teams ever in comic book history.
The reason it was necessary for
these superheroes to come together was because of Thor's brother Loki (Tom
Hiddleston.) Loki is looking to wield the power contained within this
extraterrestrial cube that was previously discussed in Captain America's (Chris
Evans) back story. America's foe, Red Skull was unable to harness the
cube’s power which ultimately led to his demise. Decades later the cube
found its way into the hands of the S.H.E.I.L.D. agency lead by eye patch
wearing Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson.) Loki needs the object because it
will act as a gateway between our world and alien world. The aliens who
live on this world do not come in peace. They will act as his army in hopes of
eventually enslaving the entire human race.
The film has a pretty simple
premise but keep in mind the material it’s based off of is from a comic
book. And that's why The Avengers works so well on a number of
levels. Evans, Robert Downey Jr., (Tony "Iron Man" Stark) and
Chris Hemsworth (Thor) all have a very good understanding of their characters
and how they should be played. Each character's ego under normal
circumstances takes up the entirety of his own film but The Avengers has
all three of these characters. How does director Joss Whedon accommodate
the space for these three iconic superheroes? He makes a feature that
spans nearly two and half hours in length.
I was pleased to see that
Paramount let this run time fly because without it the film would suffer.
Whedon allows tons of time for the characters to breathe and take in the
situation that is at hand. Yes, we are familiar with these characters but
they also need to get acquainted with each other. This is no easy meet
and greet though. These guys do not get along with each other, they can
barely stay in one room together, and see no reason to work together to defeat
Loki. We know this can't go on forever. Some sacrifices are made
and soon bonds start to form.
When I see Iron Man whizzing
around the skyscrapers of New York, Thor summoning lightning from his mighty
hammer, Captain America knocking down aliens left and right with his shield,
and The Hulk doing what he does best (smashing) simultaneously all together in
one scene, I can't but smile. This is a great example of what a
"fun" summer blockbuster should be. Granted, the film is big,
loud, and filled with an overabundance of visual effects, but I kind of don't
care.
Never is The Avengers boring,
dull, stupid, and most of all, insulting to its audience. I'll say this though, it
should probably be required to watch its four predecessors because those films
really do set the tone for this film. They would also familiarize you
with the characters and their motives. The Avengers made me
further appreciate the work Evans, Downey Jr., and Hemsworth have put into each
of their characters. Also, even though Loki's character is clichéd,
Hiddleston's performance is fantastic as he clearly owns every scene he is
in. Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Rener really are just along for
the ride as their characters are supporting and nothing more than that.
Mark Ruffalo's performance as Bruce Banner is fine but I wouldn't say he added anything
new to the character. Not since Spiderman 2 did I feel like I was
watching a comic book come life. The Avengers gets it right and
sets the bar high for its genre. Well done gentlemen!
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