I love movies. More importantly, I love seeing movies before almost everyone else. Certain movies will get me to the theater at midnight, so I figured I’d see them first and write a review the next day so you can get a real review from someone that isn’t a Hollywood hack.
In this installment… The Avengers. There will be spoilers.
Until now, comic book movies have always been mostly self-contained within their own pocket universes. However, starting with Iron Man, Marvel Studios began doing something no one had ever done before, or at least something that no one had ever done with Comic Book Movies before: creating a coherent universe for all their characters. The end goal of this process, five movies later, is The Avengers.
Before I get in to my review of The Avengers, I think it’s important to put what’s happened here in the correct context. Marvel created a universe where five movies directed by four different directors (Jon Favreau directed Iron Man and Iron Man 2; Louis Letterier (The Incredible Hulk), Kenneth Branaugh (Thor), Joe Johnston (Captain America)) are all able to come together under another, entirely different director (Joss Whedon (The Avengers)), in one ensemble movie. Prior attempts at doing this (X-Men, Fantastic Four) have been good to so-so, and none of them were as complex as what Marvel has done here.
As to why this is so important, it’s because the comic book universes, both DC and Marvel, frequently have characters team up to defeat foes they could not defeat individually. By proving that this formula can work on the big screen with multiple actors, you set the stage for what is frequently referred to as The Holy Grail of Comic Book Movies: a live-action Justice League.
It would seem a little odd to talk about any DC properties in an article devoted to Marvel’s moment of ultimate triumph, but it’s worth noting that DC’s Superman and Batman are both higher profile than anything in Marvel’s stables, even if the rest of the Justice League aren’t (as evidenced by last summer’s Green Lantern). Bringing both together on screen has always been something of a pipe dream, until now. Ultimately, without a wildly successful Avengers movie, DC would never have the juice to be able to create a similar universe and pursue a similar concept.
And now, my review of The Avengers.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
I went in to The Avengers with high hopes. The cast was excellent, the director was excellent, and it’s predecessors have been okay to great without any obvious stinkers (I don’t care what anyone says, I enjoyed The Incredible Hulk, the weakest of the five preceding films.)
I was not disappointed. In fact, even my wildest expectations were exceeded, and that’s saying something.
The Avengers opens with an attack on a SHIELD facility by Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston, who is delightfully unbalanced the entire movie), Thor’s brother, who promptly mind controls Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner, arguably the most underused character in the movie) and Eric Selvig (played by Stellan Skarsgard) (both from Thor) and steals the Tesseract (from Captain America), also known as the Cosmic Cube, a source of unlimited power.
As the Tesseract emits gamma radiation, Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) is tasked by Agent Coulson to bring in Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), the world’s foremost expert on gamma radiation, while Coulson himself gets Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). As they’re assembling, Loki attacks a conference in Germany, and is bested by Iron Man and Captain America and taken into custody. While on route to the SHIELD Helicarrier, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) joins the party, having been sent to Earth by Odin to retrieve Loki. Thor abducts Loki, and is followed by Iron Man and Captain America, who proceed to duke it out in the woods in one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen.
Back on track, Stark and Banner begin working on a way to track the cube and recover it, while Steve Rogers (Captain America) (Chris Evans) does some investigating of his own. In doing so, everyone independently discovers that SHIELD was planning on using the Tesseract to power weapons of mass destruction, as a response to the events of Thor. In the midst of this, Hawkeye and a team of indoctrinated SHIELD agents attack and cripple the Helicarrier and free Loki. In the process, Banner changes into the Hulk, and dukes it out with Thor in another phenomenal fight scene.
In the midst of all this, someone dies. I won’t say who, but it was meaningful and provides the necessary focal point for the rest of the film.
Loki escapes, and the team is separated as each character finds their way to New York, where the invasion has begun.
What follows is a solid hour of action as the Chitauri, Loki’s army, invade Earth through a portal fueled by the Tesseract. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and a rehabilitated Hawkeye overcome their differences and work together to turn the tide of the invasion, ultimately defeating Loki and destroying his army.
There are TWO credits scenes; one halfway through and the other at the end. I recommend you stay for both.
END SPOILERS
What struck me most about The Avengers was that no one character took precedence. It could have easily turned into Iron Man and Friends pretty quickly, but each character, even Hawkeye and Black Widow, got plenty of screentime and are suitably fleshed out.
Out of all the characters, the most surprising was Bruce Banner/the Hulk.
The Hulk got the short straw in his previous movie incarnations. I liked Ang Lee’s Hulk and the aforementioned Incredible Hulk, but the vast majority of moviegoers disagree with me. I think those same moviegoers will find a lot to like about him in The Avengers. For whatever reason, Mark Ruffalo brings that “something” that Eric Bana and Edward Norton lacked to the Bruce Banner character, and it’s a welcome change. During the movie, the Hulk gets some of the absolute best moments, including a few that are particularly funny. After The Avengers, it’s not hard to envision him headlining a new Hulk movie.
Going along with that, what surprised me most wasn’t just the strong story and character development; Joss Whedon has always been an excellent storyteller with a knack for working with ensemble casts. Rather, it was the genuine personality written into the script and characters. Make no mistake: The Avengers is an action movie through and through. But, there is character and humor to the film, something I think is far too often overlooked in movies like this, and the dialogue between the main characters feels natural.
From a technical perspective, there was plenty of CGI and practical effects, but nothing particularly mind blowing either. Last summer’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon set the bar for CGI effects for me; if you want to impress me, you’re going to need to blow up a city, and I mean REALLY blow up a city. That being said, the Hulk and the Chitauri were both well animated. I found Alan Silvestri’s score to be perfectly adequate; not as good as Ramin Djwadi’s Iron Man score, which remains one of my favorites, but good and inoffensive nonetheless. I watched the movie in IMAX 3D, and I found the 3D to be tastefully done without being a requirement of full enjoyment of the film. Joss Whedon didn’t put anything on film that I found to be particularly notable as a technical achievement; that being said, there wasn’t anything so awful as to warrant mention either.
Being as The Avengers is the culmination of almost a decade long quest to bring Marvel’s top tier properties to the big screen, the inevitable question is “What’s next?”. Iron Man 3 is scheduled for 2013, and is rumored to be based on the popular Extremis storyline.. Captain America 2 is on the books for 2014, which is rumored to be set during modern times. Thor 2 is on the books for 2013 as well, and is expected to explore other realms beyond Earth and Asgard. As far as expanding the roster, the Avengers’ comic bench is deep. Edgar Wright has been working on an Ant-Man movie for what seems like forever. Black Panther, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, and Namor have all been rumored or mentioned as potential additions.
Oddly enough, Guardians of the Galaxy has been mentioned as being in the works as well; given the first post-credits scene, it’s possible the Marvel Universe could be getting quite a bit bigger.
So, having said all of that, what did I think of The Avengers?
I think it’s a cinematic tour de force that, even if you don’t like superhero movies, you owe it to yourself to see. I think Marvel and the cast and crew of The Avengers have put together something special that will probably break a ton of box office records, and will be either the #1 or #2 highest grossing film of the year.
For this year’s Midnight Movie Reviews, I’ve decided to introduce a new rating system.
Introducing: THE NERD BONER.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a Nerd Boner is the act of getting a proverbial penile erection over something that is really, really nerdy.
Based on my reaction to the film, I will grade it based on the level of nerd boner I get from it. The levels are as follows:
- Flaccid: I couldn’t get it up for this. Don’t bother.
- Half-mast: Eh, it was okay, but not great. Wait for Netflix or the DVD.
- Erect: Now we’re talking. A should see, either in theaters or on DVD/streaming.
- Raging Hardon: Ready to proverbially fuck. A must see at some point, preferably in theaters.
- Jonah Falcon: My proverbial nerd boner is FUCKING HUGE. Worth the exorbitant ticket price; go see it in theaters.
So, with that being said, for my first review of this summer’s Midnight Movie Reviews series, I give Marvel’s The Avengers…
JONAH FALCON.
My Nerd Boner for this was already pretty huge going into the movie. Joss Whedon and Co. did not disappoint. This was so good, I needed a few minutes to regain the feeling in my legs and a cigarette afterwards.
