The Avengers
(2012) is the culmination of an ambitious project that was carefully planned
over several years and spans several films utilizing characters, both major and
minor, from each. While the notion of a shared universe with characters from
one franchise appearing in another is a relatively novel idea in film, it is
nothing new in comic books where costumed superheroes cross-pollinate all the
time and even contribute to a larger story (see Secret Wars II). With Iron
Man (2008), Marvel Comics decided to do in film what they’ve been doing in
comic books for decades. Its commercial success paved the way for subsequent
adaptations of The Incredible Hulk
(2008), Thor (2011) and Captain America (2011), each one
featuring a scene that hinted at something bigger and it has finally arrived
with The Avengers, which features
heroes from all of these films banding together to form a super team of sorts.
The challenge that Marvel
faced was to find a director that could successfully bring all of these wildly
different heroes together and also handle the movie stars playing them. Up to
that point, Marvel had employed journeymen studio directors like Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1 & 2), Louis Leterrier (The
Incredible Hulk) and Joe Johnston (Captain
America). But with Kenneth Branagh directing Thor, it was the first time the company had hired someone with
auteurist sensibilities since Ang Lee and his fascinatingly flawed yet
ultimately ill fated take on the Hulk in 2003. And so the hiring of Joss Whedon
to direct The Avengers surprised
some. With only one feature film on his resume – the cult film darling Serenity (2005), and known mostly for his
television work on Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, its spin-off Angel and sci-fi
western Firefly, there was some
question if he could handle a $200+ million blockbluster populated with movie
stars.
Whedon got his start as a
screenwriter and honed his chops over the years on T.V. sitcoms and as a
prolific and often uncredited script doctor (Speed, Twister, etc.), but
more importantly were his hardcore comic book fan credentials, having actually
written a brief run for The X-Men, so he knew how they worked in terms of
dialogue, plotting and depicting visual action – perhaps the most important
criteria for The Avengers gig. It was
a calculated risk that appears to have paid off as the film is racking in
impressive box office results and receiving strong critical response.
The Tesseract, a powerful
energy source that was featured prominently in both Thor and Captain America,
has activated itself and appears to be trying to open a portal to outer space.
Sure enough, exiled Norse god Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives with the intention
of using it to take control of Earth and enslave its inhabitants. To this end,
he brainwashes brilliant physicist Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and
S.H.I.E.L.D. (a top secret government organization) operative Clint Barton
a.k.a. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to help him do his bidding. This doesn’t sit too
well with S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and he decides to
enlist Earth’s mightiest heroes to stop Loki.
This includes Russian super
spy Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) who quickly
finishes her “interrogation” of Russian gangsters to approach Dr. Bruce Banner
(Mark Ruffalo), a philanthropic scientist now staying “off the grid” by working
in the slums of India and trying hard not to unleash his Hulk persona, a being
with superhuman strength that is off the charts. Captain America (Chris Evans)
has been thawed out since being trapped in ice at the end of World War II and
is still trying to sort things out with Fury’s help. S.H.I.E.L.D. also approaches Tony Stark
a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), interrupting his work on a clean energy
source. Norse god of thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Loki’s adoptive
brother, is the wild card, arriving out of no where to intervene when Iron Man
and Captain America attempt to capture him resulting in an impressive skirmish.
This all builds up to a spectacular climactic battle between Loki and an alien
army that comes swarming out of the portal created by the Tesseract and the
Avengers.
With the unfortunate exception
of Jeremy Renner, the entire cast gets a chance to flex their acting chops the
best they can between massive action set pieces. Mark Ruffalo, the third person
to play Banner after Eric Bana and Edward Norton, really nails the human side
of his character, playing him as slightly twitchy and paranoid drifter. He
appears confident (because, hey, he can turn into the Hulk) yet distracted – a
jumble of emotions. This is easily the best representation of the Hulk on film,
both visually in terms of CGI and also how he’s portrayed – as a rampaging
monster – the Mr. Hyde to Banner’s Dr. Jekyll. Not surprisingly, Robert Downey
Jr. gets the lion’s share of the funny quips – he was born to spout Whedon’s
witty dialogue. It is a nice return to form after the cluttered rush job that
was Iron Man 2 (2010). Based on
Whedon’s perchance for having prominent strong-willed female characters in his
projects, Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow gets a beefed up role and proves to
be an integral part of the team. Not only does she show off a considerable
physical prowess but she also holds her own against the likes of Robert Downey
Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth carry on with their
characters from their respective films without missing a beat, each adding
their own unique flavor to the team. In particular, Evans does a good job when
Captain America steps up and takes tactical control during the war in New York
while Hemsworth has some nice moments with Tom Hiddleston as warring brothers
who just happen to be gods.
The Avengers
is chock full of eye candy for comic book fans, from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
to actually seeing superheroes fight each other – something, oddly enough, you
don’t see in most films but that happens all the time in the comics. It is
pretty cool to see the likes of Thor, Iron Man and Captain America duke it out while
engaging in playful superhero banter. Unlike the other Marvel films starting
with and including Iron Man, Whedon
creates a real sense of danger for our heroes. There’s a feeling that they
might fail and this tension is thrilling because it is so rare in these kinds
of films, except maybe The Dark Knight (2008).
It also raises the stakes when Whedon’s film needs it because there is a real
sense that the Avengers are fighting for something tangible. He gives them something
personal to fight for than just the usual let’s save the world goal. This
culminates in the climactic battle in New York City between Loki and his alien
army and the Avengers in one thrilling sequence after another, each filled with
large-scale slugfests. The choreography during this massive battle is top
notch. There is never any confusion as to what is happening and where, which is
quite refreshing. The end result is pure, unfiltered comic book geek nirvana.
The Avengers
falls rather nicely within Whedon’s wheelhouse as it is all about a group of
misfits that band together to save the world from a great evil, just like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and so on. It doesn’t get any more disparate than a Norse
god, a billionaire playboy, a World War II super soldier, a brilliant scientist,
and two spies. Like much of the aforementioned work, the heroes in The Avengers bicker and fight amongst
themselves but when the need to step up for the greater good arises, they put
their differences aside and make a stand together. Loki continues in the
tradition of eloquent Whedon villains who are incredibly confident because,
well, in his case he wields great power and knows it. However, Loki isn’t just out
to rule the world. For him, there is a personal component – he seeks vengeance
for the slights he feels were incurred in Thor.
This film is a great way to kick off the summer blockbuster season and is a potent
reminder of what a filmmaker who knows how comic book works can do if given the
chance. The result is a smart, witty film that is a throwback to entertaining,
crowd-pleasing comic book adaptations like Superman
(1978) and Batman (1989).
