Film Review: Avengers Assemble

We’ve been building up to this for years and now it’s finally here: Joss Whedon’s take on Marvel’s classic superhero team, Avengers Assemble (known everywhere else as The Avengers), is a thrilling and highly entertaining piece of cinema. Whedon knows how to create a great balance between dramatic action sequences, which will keep audiences thoroughly satisfied, and engaging and emotional dialogue scenes.

The action scenes are top-notch, even through the inevitable CGI-fest that is the final act of the film. The choreography is fantastic, the spectacle and cinematography will make your heart leap into your throat and watching our heroes fly and leap into action is simply breathtaking. Yes, there are many scenes involving our heroes fighting each other at times as well as the enemy, but let’s be honest – it’s what everyone wanted to see, and it’s handled brilliantly. At the same time, the film is not overwhelmed by these sequences and balances them well with the excellent dialogue scenes, which are very well written and are treated more importantly than they normally seem to be in superhero films, which helps us understand more about the characters as personalities clash and desperation runs high.

The previous Marvel instalments chronicling the origins of each of our heroes have all been brilliant pieces alone, and now seeing the team come together shows how well each individual compliments the team as a whole. Included are the Norse god of lightning Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the billionaire playboy inventor genius turned hero Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), World War II hero Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), troubled doctor Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and brilliant S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Each has different strengths and weaknesses, and they work well together and support one another – for instance, Captain America cannot fly or shoot lasers but is strong, great at leading the team and strategising as he would have done years ago in World War II; Iron Man is narcissistic but will bravely put himself in danger’s way for the greater good and also uses his vast scientific knowledge to help combat the enemy; Thor is often well-tempered in amongst initial petty bickering between Avengers members but needs to be reminded of the bigger picture as his attempts to win Loki back to the side of good are fruitless etc.

They come together under the request of S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who needs them to fight together to retrieve the stolen Cosmic Cube – an item holding unlimited power, known in the film universe as the ‘Tesseract’ (it has been seen briefly in Iron Man 2 and Thor, as well as playing a key role in Captain America but now takes the limelight in Avengers Assemble). Thor’s power-hungry brother Loki has stolen the item from the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it is up to the team to stop him and his attempts of world domination.

This film provides the best portrayal of The Incredible Hulk yet, and is the first to make him seem genuinely terrifying – in particular, during a brilliant sequence the first time he is revealed. Mark Ruffalo, the third incarnation of Bruce Banner, plays him with a gentle but weary softness, which provides a strong juxtaposition when he finally unleashes his inner monster.

Robert Downey Jr. gives his best performance yet as the egotistical Tony Stark, providing many brilliant one-liners (given extra sparkle by Joss Whedon’s fantastic writing and trademark pop-culture references) and fantastic action sequences, including the stunning shots of Iron Man soaring in the sky. We are provided with a deeper connection to his character in this instalment, as the stakes are higher and for perhaps the first time since he created the Iron Man suit, Stark is truly shaken with the prospect of his own mortality.

Despite these great performances, the film focuses sometimes too much on Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, over-shadowing some other characters – in particular Hawkeye and Agent Phil Coulson – which is a shame, as the balance feels offset. That said, Marvel has not as of yet planned a sequel for 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and so may have wanted to feature The Hulk more in Avengers Assemble to compensate for that, and perhaps Iron Man’s heavy involvement in Avengers Assemble allows build-up for his upcoming sequel Iron Man 3.

Black Widow gets a real taste of the limelight since her smaller role in Iron Man 2, and her scenes in particular are thrilling yet fascinating at the same time, and her combat sequences are brilliantly choreographed, providing some of the best action in the film. Scarlett Johansson plays her with a beautiful icy demeanour, and as an audience we can never tell whether or not she’s been truly broken by the ordeals she is put through as she tries to hide from us – as she does the world – her emotions.

Chris Hemsworth is also first-rate as Thor, authoritative and strong yet torn between showing mercy to the world of humans (in which his love Jane, portrayed by Natalie Portman in Thor, resides) or to his kin, Loki, who he believes can still be saved from the lusts of power and greed.

Chris Evans portrays the lost Steve Rogers brilliantly (giving one of the best performances in the franchise with last year’s Captain America), showing his character’s strength as a hero but yearning for the world around him and his alienation as a human being. Whilst Thor is also from a different place and time, Thor knows and accepts that he is an entirely different being altogether, whereas Steve Rogers is just a regular human being who was pulled out of his time and suddenly awoken in a strange new world. Hopefully this aspect of his character will be explored more in the upcoming sequel to Captain America.

The pleasant surprise of this film is Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of Loki, the trickster Norse god, who has greatly improved as a character since Thor and takes on a deliciously dark and sinister portrayal without being overly clichéd – in particular, during a dialogue sequence with Black Widow.

The vision is spectacular; the performances are absolutely superb and the writing is terrific, filled with drama, tension and a sprinkling of Whedon-esque humour. This is the finest achievement in the Marvel cinematic universe as of yet, and does not fail to live up to the hype: a must-see for all action and comic-book fans.

Be sure to stay during the credits for an extra scene hinting at a future villain for the Marvel film franchise.

9/10

 

Image sources – Flicks and Bits, ScreenCrush