Review: The Avengers

I might as well start this reviewer nonsense with a bang, and what bigger bang is there than this years smash hit film, The Avengers.

I just made myself feel violently ill.

Wait, no, not that one. The good one.

Premise


Is there really any point in me writing out the premise? I mean, you've seen it, haven't you? You just have. It's a statistical likelihood that I'm not going to argue with. Oh, very well. Right, first things first, Loki, the villain of the film Thor (2011) is out for world domination. He has an army of alien beings called The Chitauri to do his bidding and he's not afraid to use them. Of course, Earth isn't just going to roll over, close its eyes and take this without a fight. Nick Fury decides to bring together a team of, lets call them, superheroes. We've got Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Captain America, Hulk and Hawkeye (everyone's favourite). They have to put aside their differences ("My suits better, it's got lights and everything!"-"No, my suits better, everyone likes it. Unless you're a communist!") to fight this extraterrestrial threat and form The Avengers.

The Good

Right off the bat, I'm going to make a strong statement. This film was superior....to The Dark Knight. (By the way, pun intended!)

Wait! Just! A! Minute!

Okay, sure, the story is action oriented. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but cinema history shows us that films that follow the formula of "Stuff blows up, aw hell naw, shit just got real" generally don't receive critical acclaim. This film already has. If it were any other film, I'd complain about the lack of character development, but fuck you very much, they've all already been established in other films. So yah boo to you, naysayers! As such, there's free reign for these characters to just get on with it, in a manner of speaking. Character development is important, but in a superhero movie, that usually comes with an origin story, and they're drawn out to the extreme (see Batman Begins). With The Avengers, if you have any sense, you'll walk into the cinema knowing who Iron Man is, knowing why Thor has a hammer, knowing what flavour ice cream Hulk likes best (psst, it's mint choc chip).

The beauty of this is, we get a rather entertaining story, where we already know the characters from their previous "adventures", and we're already aware of their particular traits. We know before the film even starts that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are going to clash. One's a flag saluting, goody two-shoes patriot, the others Robert Downey Jr. It's bound to happen. The action's fantastic, the story is entertaining and the characters are all likeable. Even the villain. Loki is genuinely a fantastic part of this story, offering both humour and menace to the proceedings.

So, here's what I meant by my first statement. The Dark Knight is great. It really is. However, I stand by what I said about origins and how they can drag. Harvey Dents origin in The Dark Knight did drag. I spent most of the film waiting for The Joker to come back on screen. He brought the entertainment value. The Avengers rarely drags. I saw it again last week for what I THINK was the sixth time (I'm not sure), and yes, after six viewings, the middle of the film seems to slow things down ("Come on, where are the explosions? Why are we not hearing Tony Stark tell more HILARIOUS jokes? Why is every shot not focused on Scarlett Johansson?") However, this is after repeat viewings, all in quick succession (although I did ask that last question in the first screening. Someone needs to make a Black Widow film).

The Bad

.....um......hmmm....nope, can't think of anything.

Okay, it's not perfect. There are some iffy shots here and there, where I did wonder why director Joss Whedon hadn't gone with a better take (are you telling me that Black Widows hair can break a mans nose?). However, I guess that's just Whedon. We had this stuff with Buffy. I can't tell you how many times I've noticed a shot in that show where the foot just about misses the guys face during a roundhouse kick, or suddenly Sarah Michelle Gellar is replaced by a woman in a bad wig. I get the feeling that Joss Whedon is the kind of director who will use takes which have these errors, with the thought that "No-one will notice, and if they do, it shouldn't matter." Whilst this is an almost admirable way of doing things, I'm afraid it is noticeable and it does matter. Nothing tears you out of a story like a glaring visual error. However, there aren't many of these errors in The Avengers. In fact, I'm having trouble remembering any more than the previously mentioned "hair whip" attack.

The Ugly

Weird alien freak is weird

For those who skipped to the end...

This is a damn fine movie, for both fans of comics and people who haven't even touched a book (although the latter might have trouble understanding words and talky). It's got a bloody amazing cast, who all do a fantastic job. The worry of an ensemble piece is that one person will have every scene in their pocket (I think that's an adequate metaphor). I was partially worried that this was the case when the poster came out and Iron Man was most definitely in the foreground. I'm happy to say I was wrong to worry. You will love it, and if you don't, you're clearly unstable, and get away, I don't want to join your church, please stop following me, I've called the police.

10/10 (Yeah, that's right, not 9, 10)