Review of The Avengers (2012) by Halfwelshman — 14 Jun 2012

It's finally arrived - the blockbuster to end all blockbusters. So, is it any good? In short, yes it is. Over the last four years, Marvel has delivered a series of mostly underwhelming origin films that seemed to spend as much time setting up The Avengers as they did introducing the hero on the poster.

Incredibly, Mr Whedon has managed to bring together all the Marvel big-hitters, played by some seriously big personalities, and somehow make it work as one film, with every character equally serviced and their place amongst this all-star roster well-earned.

The highlight of the impressive cast is definitely Mark Ruffalo, playing the latest incarnation of Bruce Banner/The Hulk (though he's the first actor to truly play both sides of the character with the assistance of motion-capture).

Whedon appears to truly understand the character, and Ruffalo is able to effectively communicate to the viewer through a sensitive and understated performance the extreme fear, paranoia and depression of Bruce Banner, and by really letting rip in his mo-cap suit he demonstrates the volatility and terrifying power of "the other guy".

Robert Downey, Jr.'s wisecracking playboy Tony Stark/Iron Man continues to entertain, and Whedon gives Downey the very best lines in the film - my personal favourite being when Stark is trying to reign in the furious new arrival Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and mocks his flowing red cloak with "doth your mother know you weareth her drapes?".

Scarlett Johansson also easily manages to hold her own in a largely testosterone-fuelled cast, and manages to develop Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow from the stereotypical sexy femme fatale we saw in Iron Man 2 to a fully-rounded, deadly and viciously intelligent character tormented by her violent past that we see here.

The final act shows the true potential of a modern big-budget superhero film; with the six heroes working together to defend Manhattan from an alien invasion lead by the increasingly manic tyrannical Asgardian exile Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

In one particularly slick and visually eye-popping moment the camera snakes its way through the city and in one unbroken shot takes in each of the Avengers in turn working as a team to repel the invaders.

The most rewarding and enjoyable moments for me, however, were on a far smaller scale and from much earlier in the film. In one particularly fine scene from the first act, Black Widow travels to Calcutta to persuade reclusive Bruce Banner to join SHIELD forces as a consultant on gamma radiation, and the on-edge scientist feigns a transformation into his greener side to test Romanoff's true intentions.

I also loved Black Widow's interrogation of Loki later in the film - the scene gives Johansson and Hiddleston plenty of room to play off each other and it's intelligently scripted, brilliantly tense and beautifully performed by the actors, resulting in an incredibly revealing moment for both of their characters.

The Avengers is exactly what a great blockbuster should be - grounded enough to be relevant and dramatically effective in the contemporary world (with references to worldwide energy shortages, WMDs and the terrifying future of warfare) but also fantastical enough to be fun, and to provide a level of escapism for the audience (it is about a group of very special guys and gals in funny costumes fighting aliens, after all!).

I must admit, the film does lose momentum a couple of times, and there are some incredibly convenient plot devices employed firstly to get the heroes together, and secondly to tie things up towards the end, but you can't really hold these minor gripes against a filmmaker like Joss Whedon.

This is a man who has achieved the impossible in making Marvel's crowning glory worthy of the time and effort dedicated to laying its groundwork over the last half-decade, and with the addition of his trademark playful sense of humour, the film doesn't look like it's taking itself too seriously, which could have been fatal.

Awesome is a criminally misapplied adjective in this day and age, but there really is no better way to describe this super-powered extravaganza. Unless Hulktastic is a word, that is.