It’s become almost traditional, if not formulaic, to kick off each summer blockbuster season with a superhero movie.
Over the years we have seen Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and even the Hulk take centre stage in their own films, so on paper at least, the coming together of these iconic super hero superstars in Avengers Assemble sounds like every comic book fanboy’s wet dream.
But does more necessarily mean more? Or have Marvel – who admittedly have done a terrific job so far in bringing their comic book pages to life – bitten off more than they can chew?
Well in one word, the answer is no. Like the childhood Christmas present that gets played with lovingly to near destruction once your get your eager hands on it, to see Marvel’s movie at long last is incredible, but at the same time is both brilliant in its script and in its execution. As such, just like that Christmas present, it keeps on giving and in the process provides ample reasons for fans of the comic books and films to rejoice.
A film nearly seven years in the making, fans have slowly, patiently, seen the formation of this film through the little clips that occurred at the end of the credits of each previous movie.
First you had Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jnr) being approached by Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), then the story of Captain America (Chris Evans) and how he ends up taken in by SHIELD. There’s even Thor’s film, (the main role played by Chris Hemsworth) which in many ways sets up the plot for this movie and even clever references made in the last Hulk film. Each provided subtle clues towards where the plot arcs were going to lead.
After such a wait, no way was Marvel and director Joss Whedon going to disappoint fans. A superb opening set-piece puts the storyline and reasons for these characters coming together firmly in place. ‘The Tesseract’ (last seen in Thor and Captain America) is a cube of immense power that both sides are trying to unlock. However, it has opened a door to another world, which Loki (played truly impressively by Tom Hiddleston) comes through with his original intention of ‘ruling us all’. But worse than that, he’s brought a whole bunch of bad boys with him. Who else are going to put a stop to his plan other than the Avengers?
Indeed, as each of these superheroes could take on enemies of immense power, it has to be a near-on war to cause them to come together and Mr Whedon has no intention of holding back his vision of what a superhero movie should consist of.
Thankfully, Marvel did not go about this movie without getting the right funding in place, so nothing is watered down and all of the super powers, transformations and adversaries (of which there are hundreds) are embellished with as much attention to detail as if they were in their own movie. The end result is pretty much what you would expect from the comic book on screen and it has to be said some scenes are jaw-dropping. Avengers will probably set the standard for future superhero movies to come.
None of the special effects would work in isolation unless there were proper characterisations. Joss Whedon and the screen writers should be applauded for continuing to build upon each individual’s complexities; Tony Stark is still as brash and arrogant as he has ever been, Captain America still has the heart of someone who would sacrifice himself for others, but just follows orders. Only Mark Ruffalo’s interpretation of the David Banner / Hulk is different to his predecessors in that he is more edgy and unpredictable. I do have to say I preferred Ed Norton’s version, however Ruffalo does an excellent job nonetheless. New characters that open up in this movie are Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) which are both portrayed as brooding counterparts which hopefully further movies might build upon.
3D or 2D?
Watching this film in 3D provides just an average experience, which is a shame as they could really have done more to open up the experience and give it that extra wow factor. As it is, besides a few set pieces, I found it made little difference. 3D is a medium I feel should be pushed more, especially when it can really create some stand out moments for the audience when utilised well.
My Verdict
A great kick start to the summer blockbuster season and a fantastic movie in its own right. Cant wait to see what next is in store. Oh yes, that will be Spider-Man less than 8 weeks away. Don’t you just love summer?
9/10
