Contributor: Henry T.
Story by Joss Whedon and Zak Penn
Screenplay by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
(Note: Our original non-spoiler review for the The Avengers, provided by Bronzethumb, can be found here.)
WARNING: This review will contain spoilers.
I think the best thing this film ever did was validate the existence of the five superhero lead-up films that preceded it. I was extremely worried about superhero fatigue coming into this film, and thankfully, that’s kind of thrown by the wayside by about 30 minutes into this film.
Well, okay, the film also pointed out how kind of pointless “Iron Man 2″ was other than introducing us to Natasha Romanoff (an incredible-looking Scarlett Johansson). But by and large, “The Avengers” is much more enjoyable if you’ve seen “Iron Man”, “Thor”, “Captain America”, and “The Incredible Hulk” (that film only gets a passing reference in the dialog at the beginning of “The Avengers”; I would expect people to miss it if they don’t pay careful attention). It’s a loud and brash and bombastic film, everything you could hope for when Joss Whedon’s name is attached to the project.
What’s amazing is that Whedon demonstrates total control over the material at hand. Every character gets their turn in the spotlight and while the film is rather long for a superhero flick, nothing feels like wasted time or an extraneous subplot. Minor characters like Maria Hill or Phil Coulson are even used very well. Whedon is fully aware of the arsenal he has and what the expectations are for this film (which is to say, very big) and he knows how to use it. Most importantly, he understand pacing in a film, especially one that runs close to 150 minutes. When and where to dwell on moments, or where to keep things moving in a forward direction. Where to place moments of levity (of which his trademark oddball humor comes at many welcome times) and lend gravity to certain parts and relationships. Nearly all of it works, which is an impressive achievement for someone directing his first big-budget film.
Whedon knows that this film has to basically re-orient fans into this hyper-stylized world. It’s a world where it’s basically accepted that demi-gods can walk the Earth and that a mild-mannered doctor can turn into a giant, angry monster. So the first hour can seem a bit sluggish in setting up the story that the movie wants to tell. They have to assemble the Avengers, and even then, that proves a difficult task. Whedon and his filmmaking team play around with the notion that all of these superheroes coming together is not going to initially be a kumbaya, let’s-all-unite-for-one-purpose kind of thing.
It leads to some very fascinating exploration into character dynamics. Captain America scoffs at the attitude of Tony Stark. There’s palpable friction there, which takes on even more significance when you consider the awkward family history connecting the two characters. It pays off what occurred in Captain America: The First Avenger. Stark is cocky to a fault and that’s going to rub people the wrong way. What occurs within the film feeds what we already know about each of the characters from their solo films. The one threat that brings all of these disparate characters together is Loki entering the Earth realm with the intention of taking it over. I must admit that Loki’s appearance so early in the film threw me a bit, and it goes very quickly how he takes over certain characters to do his bidding. He’s never left on the sidelines for long, though.
That’s what I liked about Whedon’s approach here. “The Avengers” could so easily dissolve into a superhero highlight reel, but the focus always remains on the threat at hand. So the villain of the story is never really marginalized. Instead, the threat grows larger and larger, until the set pieces are right in place for Whedon to knock them down. There’s an elongated sequence aboard the invisible S.H.I.E.L.D. flying aircraft carrier that is just balls-to-the-walls action one second, and a rather decent mini-spy film in the other. The S.H.I.E.L.D. flying aircraft carrier, I must say, is an incredible piece of machinery, though I kept wondering where the company could have gotten the money to fund and build such a thing. No matter. A lot of that sequence really works, although it can be argued that our heroes spend a little too much time pontificating and not enough fighting.
That’s more than made up for several incredible action set pieces, from a chase involving the Hulk and Black Widow, a little scuffle between Black Widow and Hawkeye, or a knockout fight between the Hulk and Thor. In between all of that, there’s time to explore some of the almost Shakespearean connection between brothers Thor and Loki. I have to applaud the editor of this film because it must have been a monumental task to keep everything in order and have it flow so smoothly the way it was shown. Again, this could have easily been a giant mess of a film.
Once they’re done with everything on the S.H.I.E.L.D. flying aircraft carrier, it moves well into the next phase: the alien attack on Manhattan. As an aside, I imagine this is a super-powered version of what Joss Whedon was going to do with the end of the television series “Angel”. Just on a more massive scale. Loki’s new forces assault the city and the newly formed Avengers fight them back. It’s a bravura hour-long sequence where lots of things get blown up real good, and Whedon keeps things from getting monotonous by mixing it up. Certain members get paired up to attack certain forces. Captain America has to save a building with people being held hostage all by himself. The heroes form a plan and they stick to it. Loki fight first with Thor, then he gets into it with the Hulk.
It’s during this battle sequence that a lot of unexpected humor shows up, often out of nowhere. Whedon seems to know where exactly in the dialog or action sequence to put in a funny quip or hilarious sight gag. He really seems to have fun with the stuff he’s given, and that’s a rare gift among film directors. The humor seems so natural and doesn’t seem forced at all. Okay, the moments of melodrama can be a bit overwrought, thus slowing the film down, but it never lasts too long. I found this with the sequences involving Thor and his efforts to talk Loki into stopping his plan of world domination. But even those parts have a purpose, and it gives shading to the events in Thor’s earlier film.
This is where a film’s pacing is so key. The idea is to keep things moving so that the audience’s attention doesn’t waver. Whedon has a natural ability to do this and it really impresses me. I can’t say enough about how much he has lived up to so much of his potential as a film director. He can also attest to making the umpteenth time Manhattan has been under alien attack to not seem boring (unlike say, Michael Bay to name one example). The special effects don’t overwhelm the proceedings, and Whedon makes it work for him instead of the other way around. The Hulk still looks fake, but it’s less of an attention grabber these days, and the Hulk actually proves key to many of the happenings in the alien attack. Whedon doesn’t dwell on the Hulk’s appearance, so as to divert the audience’s attention to other things, and there’s also a palpable sense of danger whenever “the other guy” pops up. His fight with Loki is a memorable highlight of the whole sequence, as is a pairing with Thor to take out one of the robotic-looking alien worms.
Even a relatively minor character like Black Widow or Hawkeye gets some good screen time in the attack on Manhattan. Black Widow especially since long-time Whedon fans know he can do wonders for female characters and it’s redemption for being so misused in “Iron Man 2″. Hawkeye gets to kick some ass after sitting out much of the first hour of this film. Like I said, every character has their moment to shine, and they don’t waste it.
This is as impressive a kickoff to the summer movie season as I’ve ever seen. Probably not since the first “Iron Man” movie unexpectedly made the summer of 2008 the huge success that it was. The difference from that to this is “The Avengers” has a lot more expectations attached to it. For the most part, it delivered on those expectations. As with 2008, a Marvel film has to contend with a Batman sequel, and the Marvel film has landed a big opening blow. The film is sure to delight both comic book fans and non-comic book fans. I can’t see a way in which a major fault could exist in the film. Maybe its length would be a deterrent, but it’s really a four-corners-type film.
It’s not overly violent or bloody, which should appeal to older kids. There is death, but Whedon handles death with care and grace. There’s gravity to the death presented onscreen because we come to care about the characters (one guy audibly said in the theater with frustration and disbelief, “Oh, come on…” at one sad moment; Viewers of the film probably know what I’m talking about).
This was as delightful a film as I’ve seen in a long time. It’s been a while since I was even this engaged with a film. Whedon does that. He knows that the audience is going for a ride and he wants to make it as fun as possible. Even the film’s soundtrack was appropriately epic and bombastic, not generic like I’ve found some superhero films to be. I left the theater with a smile on my face, nearly from ear to ear. It made me feel like a kid again, reading comic books in my bedroom at night. My faith in superhero films has been restored.
