By: Thomas Williams

The Avengers (2012) – (PG-13)

Director – Joss Whedon – Serenity, “Firefly”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Glee”, Much Ado About Nothing (upcoming), “Dollhouse”
Starring – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgard, Cobie Smulders, Ashley Johnson

I consider myself lucky that I grew up in the household that I did. My two brothers and I grew up reading comic books … and they have always had a special place in my heart as a world of fantastical make believe in which anything could happen (superpowers, flight, time and space travel, characters die … and magically come back to life years later!). We boys luckily had a father who still read his Batman comics as we were growing up and he allowed each of us to find our own comic niche – my older brother liked the individuals with superpowers who called themselves The Avengers (hmmm …) while I found myself identifying more with the mutant X-Men (I had “mutating cells” [cancer] as a child) and it was my little brother who loved Spiderman. Two of us have experienced seeing our favorites come-to-life on screen for over a decade now and my older brother has finally been given the opportunity to see his beloved superhero team “assemble” to save the day. And … well … I’m thinking it was worth the wait!

Marvel Entertainment has been playing around with several of these feature characters for years now as Iron Man and Hulk have both had two movies apiece made about them (although the Hulk movies are questionable whether or not Marvel is including them in the Marvel canon of film). Thor and Captain America have appeared on screen one time each … which was last year. Throughout each of these films, one character has tied them all together, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson – Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane, Jackie Brown), who has teased the audience (of fanboys/girls) with the hope/dream/fantasy of a grand future collaboration of mega-strong superheroes. It has worked out best for The Avengers that most of the onscreen characters have all been seen before and provided with a nicely-written and well fleshed out backstory in their own films. Going into this new film, no time is wasted in introductions to Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes, Tropical Thunder), Thor (Chris Hemsworth – Cabin in the Woods, Star Trek), Captain America (Chris Evans – Fantastic Four, Sunshine), Hulk (newbie Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island) or Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson – Lost in Translation, Match Point) whom have been introduced in (mostly) their own features (sans Black Widow who has not had her own film). The only new addition to the team the audience has not seen before onscreen (he did have a blink-and-miss-it cameo in Thor!) is Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker, The Town), an assassin with mad archery skills! As most of the audience knows the characters and their situations (such as their reluctance to join a team), the movie wastes no time getting to the heart/core of the story/situation which allows for the action to begin early on in the film.

I found this to be both a plus and a negative as I was thrilled to get to see our favorite Avengers costume-up and take on some baddies here and there; but at the same time there wasn’t much heart in the first half of the film. The human element is pretty much missing as the only person with an emotional connection is Iron Man’s assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare In Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley [one of my favorite films of ALL time – shout-out!]) who fears for her boss’s (is he finally more?!) safety. Potts only has one early scene and Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers are called away to a massive air-base that has been launched into orbit to investigate a matter that becomes the film’s central plot. For most of the film, earth is all in hindsight … and the action takes place far away in space as Thor’s trouble-making brother, Loki (an awesome Tom Hiddleston – Thor, The Deep Blue Sea, War Horse) has made a deal with the leader (The Other) of an alien race known as the Chitauri who promises him a Chitauri army to basically take-over the earth. All Loki has to do is retrieve a magical/mystical device known as the Tesseract that has unknown powers and capabilities. It is most obvious that Loki succeeds on his first part of this mission … or we wouldn’t have a film. It is what Loki (somewhat unknowingly) unleashes on the world that sets up the film … and one has to see it to experience it.

There is a LOT of action in The Avengers – perhaps a bit too much at times – but the point is very apparent that The Avengers mean business (even those with “lesser powers” have moments to shine). As mentioned, most of the beginning action/story occurs in space (or simply not on earth) and I felt somewhat detached from what I was watching. It was only after the action centers on Manhattan and the viewer sees and hears a frantic population funning for their lives in the city streets that a human connection to this story is finally made. Yes … it is a comic book film; but what has made so many of these comic book adaptations so successful of late is their human story (namely The Dark Knight). Without a “real-life” connection we are simply watching bigger-than-life happenings in awe … it is only after the world (people like you or me or our friends and family in Manhattan) are in danger that the movie becomes more grounded. The film needs this … it needs to be connected to the earth for there to be a bit more of an impact.

Mark Ruffalo steps into the shoes of scientist Bruce Banner for the first time here (it was previously played by Eric Bana and Edward Norton), and he has made him his own (it helped that Ruffalo was able to act through the entire movie as Hulk wasn’t ALL CGI this time compared to others). Hulk is given some of the film’s better action sequences … and his treatment of Loki in one scene is howl-worthy. Woot! I appreciate Johansson’s Black Widow – she’s a tough female who holds her own and it is kind of disappointing that Marvel has no plans to give her her own film (Natasha Romonoff has an interesting and film-worthy backstory in my opinion). The Avengers also gives the audience a bit more of a glimpse into S.H.I.E.L.D. by giving Fury more of a role and more-heavily featuring two other agents with pivotal moments in the film – Phil Coulson is played by Clark Gregg (Coulson was in Thor, Iron Man and Captain America) and Maria Hill is played by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”). I am one who believes both Evans and Hemsworth are actors of limited-means; but I won’t deny that Hemsworth highly resembles his comic book alter ego. Everyone is pretty-much passable here but the standout has to be British thespian, Tom Hiddleston who plays the diabolically mischievous Loki. His sneers, grins and leers are excellent … and there is no doubt as to what Loki is thinking when Hiddleston fixes his glare onto someone/something.

The film becomes almost TOO BIG and it feels as if the earth’s mightiest heroes might not be able to pull it off … but knowing that Marvel has signed these stars up for a second and third film lets us all know they don’t have an epic fail here. The film is nice to look at – pretty faces and some nice action scenes – and it is fun to actually listen to as well (the banter between our heroes can be hilarious if one can catch what they say). A lot of credit must go to the director, Joss Whedon, who hasn’t failed me yet, either. Whedon’s other foray into space – the Firefly/Serenity series are worthy watches … and he doesn’t let a big story ever take over. Him and his film are both great. I don’t think this one will disappoint. Bring on the popcorn and the sequels … !

Grade: B