Review of The Avengers (2012) by Brett C — 08 Aug 2016

Marvel has put a lot of effort into producing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and after the success of this film, it seems to be getting much bigger and more ambitious. Before making The Avengers, the studio decided to have a couple of films dedicated to each main character, and in a way filled the world that would then be the setting of The Avengers. Honestly, I don't think this film would be as successful if it wasn't for those films. So as years and films gone by, the hype for The Avengers kept growing larger and larger as we have never seen a film so ambitious in its cast and its concept. In 2008, when Iron Man came out, we never thought that this would be possible, now here it is. Does Joss Whedon's take on The Avengers, do it justice. My answer is yes, but not to a point of high praise.

The Avengers was written by Joss Whedon, who is commonly known as the show-runner of some of the best TV series of this generation. He is an experienced writer, but when it came to films, he has very little to brag about. Whedon's work has always been known to be ambitious and in a way quirky, especially in dialogue. What Whedon has created for this film is actually quite simple in its plot. It touches on themes that have been explored on many films before, and is a common aspect in comic books. These themes include teamwork, ego, good vs evil, responsibility, and war. I didn't mind Whedon in applying these themes to this film because they are universally relatable and it allows the film's plot to be simplistic. My biggest concern in his writing is the characters. I think Whedon was happy to have the opportunity to work on multiple different characters, and he knows that he could express each one with their own individual personality, allowing the characters to feel unique and at the start, be un-cohesive with each other. But Whedon has forgotten to give any character a sense of depth beyond their dialogue, as he just wanted things go quickly as they could to the parts that have us jumping in excitement. I understand that the individual Marvel films are the one that showcases this multi-layered character study that I was looking for, but that doesn't mean that The Avengers should lack it almost completely. I don't care if the film spends more time on these characters and letting the film run at 3 hours because it would have allowed me to appreciate more than just the surface of these characters. Whedon sometimes make their personalities and intentions too obvious, which takes me aback as it doesn't feel at all natural. It is almost as if he was too afraid that we might not entirely get it. Though there was potential in characters like Maria Hill, Phil Coulson and Natasha Romanoff, but very brief. Whedon's dialogue on the other hand was fun to listen to, as the back and forth between members of the group as tension rises were the best moments of the film. Through dialogue, Whedon has shown us just how different these characters are and how each one thinks they are above one another.

Joss Whedon is also the director for this film, he also doesn't have a lot of directed films in his name as he seems to be more pre-occupied with his work on TV. The success of The Avengers did open doors for him and allowed him to create films with more creative control, like with his next film Much Ado about Nothing. I could see a bit of artistic license in The Avengers, but at the same time, I felt it was a bit too tame. I am not sure whether this was a result of the studio or it was the intention of the director in order for the film to be appropriate for its younger audience. It would have been nice if we actually see some civilians die during the fight in New York, so at the end we can really feel that the event was a huge travesty to our kind and that we have hope it won't happen again. Whedon has created something very ambitious, containing a number of characters and yet still give enough screen time for each one. The area where Whedon has impressed me is the last hour and a half of the film. This is where the action comes in, supported with big sequences that are memorable and exciting. Whedon has given the last fight a large portion of the running time because he wanted it to be better than what anybody else could have thought of, which I personally agree. The film contains a lot of visual effects but it doesn't come off as fake or lacking in texture because the budget and time that was given to him allowed the film to be polished, ergo having the audience be immersed in the experience. My main issue was the first hour of the film, as it felt very rushed. It contained fast editing cuts that made things feel off. I think Whedon trimmed a hefty amount in order to move the plot along, and I think that was a bad decision as more time with these characters at the start would have allowed the audience to identify with them easier. Overall, I think Whedon did a good job in creating a film that contained so many beloved characters and still make a decent movie out of it. It's a tough job, and maybe it could have been a different experience if someone else helmed the project, but nevertheless it was good enough.

The film's director of photography is Seamus McGarvey. What McGarvey and Whedon have done with the film's cinematography is disappointing as the film contained many shots that felt unnecessary. There were many moments earlier in the film where I ask myself, âWhy did they use that angle?â? or âwhat was the point of it?â? I felt that some shots were too concerned in what would be filled in it rather than what it could do for the actor's performance or its connection/relevance to the film's plot or themes. It is during the moments that contained action sequences is where the film's photography shines, as the irritating approach they applied for the slow and earlier parts of the film would actually work in this situation. I assume a lot of the film is shot with a green screen but it never proves to be as obvious or distracting, like in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. The film also uses a more handheld approach for most of the scenes, assumingly using a Steadicam. I was really hoping for this film to knock me off my feet when it comes to its cinematography, but sadly that wasn't the case.

The film's score was handled by Alan Silvestri, who is mostly known as a collaborator with Robert Zemeckis. Silvestri's work here is astounding. The film's score is so grand and memorable that it becomes the first thing I think about when I recall back to this film. Yes it does follow the many trademarks and styles in mainstream action films, but this is an example of one that is excellently crafted. The film's theme track is the highlight of the score as it just hits the right notes and when it comes it feels so epic that you can't help but get goose bumps when it comes on.

The Avengers contains a wide cast and overall I felt that they did quite well with their roles. It is already established from their previous films that they have already given these legendary characters justice. The stand out performances mainly came from Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders. The rest were good but their roles, I felt were underdeveloped therefore the actors were limited with what they can do with it.

In the end, I thought this film was a bit of a letdown but there were some areas that bring this up and keep it from being a disaster. It's something that I would definitely watch again just for its amazing action sequences and to hear the chilling score, but that's really about it.