Preston.....Preston....Sam, Sam Preston....

Title: The Avengers (Avengers Assemble in the UK)

Number: One Hundred and Thirty-One

Writer & Directer: Joss Whedon

Genre: Marvel Superhero.

Released: 2012

Seen on: Cinema.

Seen Before: Twice in the cinema.

Starring:Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johannsen, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgard, Cobie Smulders, Alexis Denisof

Running Time: 143 minutes.

Favorite Performance: Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner & The Hulk

Favorite Moment: The entire battle scene in the third act, ESPECIALLY a tracking shot of all six Avengers members fighting, anytime the Hulk appears, just every thing.

Favorite Line: I’m trying to find a specific line, but quite frankly, every line is near enough a zinger, or has resonance, or comedic elements, or something for the fan boys, but I’m gonna go for when Captain America takes charge in the battle scene: “Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter, anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash. Thor, you gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up. You and me, we stay on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk? Smash.”

Thoughts: In 2008, Marvel Studios released their first major film that was completely funded by themselves, with the B-List character, “Iron Man”, played by the then struggling Robert Downey Jr. Most people greeted the news that Robert Downey Jr. would play Tony Stark no more than stunt casting at the time, his career still tainted by his past drink and drug misdemeanors, despite his good work in films such as “Zodiac” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”. Also, the film was to be directed by Jon Favreau, mostly known as an actor who had directed only three films, which included “Zathura” & “Elf”, two movies seemingly nothing like “Iron Man”. With all the naysayers lining up, what occurred when “Iron Man” finally premiered on May 2nd, 2008? On a budget of $140 million, it made back $585 million, it made Robert Downey Jr a star, it made Iron Man famous around the world, it has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 94% as of May 2012. But more than that, it started a wildfire.

After the credits were rolled, audiences were left stunned as a stinger (post-credit scene) revealed a face out of the shadows: Samuel L. Jackson, playing Nick Fury, here to talk to Stark about, the ‘Avengers Initiative’. The sound you heard after that was several million fanboys dropping their jaws to the floor, amazed at the idea that Marvel, may actually be attempting something never done before: an extensive universe of multiple characters. But nah, it was probably just a sly wink to the audience. Or so they thought, until one month later, when on June 13th, Marvel introduced the world to “The Incredible Hulk”.

“The Incredible Hulk”, a reboot of Ang Lee’s “Hulk”, starring the respected Edward Norton and directed by Louis Leterrier, director of action tthrillers “The Transporter” and “The Transporter 2”. Introducing a more action based version of the Hulk, the movie made $264 million, not as good as “Iron Man”, but better than “Hulk”. More importantly, though, the film ended with General Ross, one of the main characters, drinking in a bar, when he is joined by none other than Tony Stark, as played by Robert Downey Jr. of “Iron Man”. The rumours were true…Marvel was creating its own world, and the audience couldn’t believe it.

Unfortunately, the audience would then have to wait two years before the stories would continue, but then, in 2010, Robert Downey Jr returned as Tony Stark in “Iron Man 2”, making Marvel their biggest gross with $624 million, but more importantly, hinting at a wider Universe. Minor hints to new characters such as Namor and Black Panther, returning old characters such as Hulk, Nick Fury and Agent Coulson as well introducing the audience to S.H.I.E.L.D and Black Widow, the film ended with another stinger, preparing audiences for something different: the Norse God of Thunder, Thor.

In 2011, the movies “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” premiered, with the final pieces of the puzzle fell in place, as audiences were introduced to the four last members of the Marvel Universe: the Norse God, Thor, as well as his brother, the mischievous Loki; the Super Soldier, plucked from the annals of World War II and stranded in the present day, Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America; and in a brief cameo in “Thor”, Agent Barton, fondly known as the Hawk(eye). With five films having been released, and an entire Universe introduced to cinema goers, there was only one thing left to do: To bring them all together. But which director would be given such a momentous task?

Most eyes were looking towards directors already working on Marvel films: Jon Favreau, Louis Leterrier, Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston, with all of them throwing their hats in the ring. Each was approached for different films and different reasons: Favreau with “Iron Man” due to his direction of both action and comedy, Leterrier with “The Incredible Hulk” due to his expertise in action thrillers, Branagh with “Thor” due to his reputation as a Shakespearean actor/director, and Johnston due to his experience with old-fashioned action movies. In September 2009, Favreau dropped out of the running, revealing he would primarily be producing. And then, in July 2010, the rumours were over, the wishes were granted, the fans were no longer waiting for news, the announcements were made.

In April 2010, rumours began to circulate that one of the least likely options may get the job. Joss Whedon was a writer who made his name as Creator of the hit TV show “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” in 1997, a series that would last 7 years and become a favoured curriculum in education. He would follow that up in 1999 with another hit TV show, “Angel”, a Detective noir about a vampire with a soul. In 2002, with both shows still going strong, he began a period of life that would cement him as not only one of the most loved talents, but also one of the unluckiest. His original Space-Western, “Firefly”, would run for just 10 episodes, ruined by a lack of publicity, ratings, and episodes shown out of order by the Network, Fox. After 14 episodes were finished, it was cancelled. From there, Whedon’s luck was never the same. Both “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” were cancelled within the next two years. He was approached to write on the first “X-Men movie”, rewrote the entire script, and then saw it thrown in the bin, told he was just wanted to “add some funny lines in”. His “Firefly” series sold so well on DVD that he was approached to direct a movie, “Serenity”, released in 2005, which whilst critically acclaimed, wouldn’t make its budget back until the DVD sales. His new series, “Dollhouse”, was cancelled in 2010 after just 2 seasons. And a movie he co-wrote, “The Cabin In The Woods”, made in 2008, was shelved for over 3 years due to a bankrupted studio. By 2010, he was known more for being regularly cancelled or messed around by studios than his ability behind the camera. So, why was he chosen?

Easy, he was a fan: he grew up on Marvel comics, and during 2004-08 he had a critically acclaimed, award-winning run on the comic book series “Astonishing X-Men”, so he had the knowledge of both comics and the comic book characters. His direction on “Serenity” the movie and several major episodes of his shows, including “Becoming Part 1 & 2” (Season 2 of “Buffy”), “Hush” (Season 4 of “Buffy”), “The Body” & “The Gift” (both Season 5 of “Buffy”), “Once More With Feeling” (Season 6 of “Buffy”), “A Hole In The World” (Season 5 of “Angel”), “Serenity” (Pilot of “Firefly”), were critically acclaimed. His story writing was critically acclaimed, with several episodes held up as some of the best in the last 30 years, his episodes “Hush” (silent episode), “The Body” (a minimial episode devoted to a death of a family member) and “Once More With Feeling” (musical episode) having inspired similar episodes over the ten years following their original production. And finally, Whedon, on all his TV shows, was renowned for magnificent writing of characters, his specialty being to juggle ensemble casts with no character or actor feeling shortchanged, a strength much needed for “The Avengers”, where 8 major actors would be demanding screen time. Whedon has had casts in his shows ranging from just 3 actors (a rarity) to as many as 9 actors per episode, with an average of 7 actors per season being main characters. So it was with this pedigree, that Whedon was approached by Marvel Studios with the offer of the role as Writer & Director of “The Avengers”.

In July 2010, it was announced that “The Avengers” would be written and directed by Joss Whedon, and would star Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlet Johanssen), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), as they battled the villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston). It was penciled in for a May 2012 premiere, a full 4 years after the film was first set in motion. It took four years, 5 prequels, 13 pre-introduced characters and exactly $1 billion for “The Avengers” to come into fruition, with just $220 million alone dedicated to “The Avengers”. Fans and non-fans alike have been on tenterhooks for decades, and it finally arrived, earlier this month (May 2012). So, after such a long game of preparation for the movie, and a long game of background for the movie in this review, what is the verdict of this Summer Blockbuster?

In a word, awesome. Whedon has excelled many expectations with a superhero film that challenges the best the genre has had to offer. Whilst pioneers such as “X-Men”, “Superman” & “Spiderman” showed it was possible to make a superhero film that audiences can enjoy without being talked down to, “The Dark Knight” by Christopher Nolan showed that you can highlight issues such as terrorism, and will forever be the measuring stick for comic book movies, but what makes “The Avengers” so great is that it not only treats its subject with respect, but it is fun. Audiences are leaving the cinema with smiles on their faces and multiple highlights, many people are supposedly going back to watch it two or three times because they enjoy it so much, it has earned over $1 Billion in less than a month, and has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93%.

One of the biggest fears for the movie was always gonna be: how would each character be utilized? Will it just be “Iron Man and his merry friends”? Will they work. Well, actually, they shouldn’t work, these are six characters who are opposites, and by tapping into that fact, it makes the movie work. For the first 60% of the movie, the Avengers members are arguing or clashing, with the differing relationships between them building on our previous introductions to them. Rogers and Stark clash due to their differing ideologies, but Banner and Stark get along as men of science, for example. With the amount of time given to this, by the climax of the movie, where the group band together, it feels earned, and the battle scenes that follow are that much more enjoyable as there is a human element to it.

It also helps the comedy works very well, similar to anything by Whedon, the comedy arises from the situation, not the comedy thrown in and situation written around it. Whereas “Transformers 2” had Bumblebee pissing over someone or a Transformer having testicles as ‘humour’, here the humour is organic, it is used as character development and to lighten the mood. Some of the funniest lines and scenes I have seen all year were in this film, and it leaves the audience happy and smiling.

The characters are defined better than some of their own films, with Whedon having a magnificent handle of their characteristics. Captain America is portrayed as uncomfortable with a world he doesn’t understand, trying desperately to fit in, until he finds his true role. Thor is emotionally compromised and wants to help his brother, but at what cost? Iron Man is, as always, full of quips but is given a darker side, a more emotional, grown-up aspect, something I wanted more of in “Iron Man 2”. Black Widow, the supposed ‘chick’ of the team, is written brilliantly, portrayed as able to manipulate on the emotions and arrogance of her opponents, she is more than just beauty, she is also ass-kicking. Hawkeye is intense and determined, as well as a man of action. And in one of the best developments, Bruce Banner seems to have come to terms with his difficulties, his body language demonstrating his habit of being on edge, looking out for any attacks, determined not to be manipulated or used,  as well as his humour masking a dark, desperate personality, more akin to the Bill Bixby Hulk of many fans’ childhood.

The smaller roles are also given their own importance, we are introduced to Maria Hill for the first time, and in the first ten minutes it shown to be capable with guns and cars, and demonstrates why she is such an important member of S.H.I.E.L.D. afterall. Nick Fury is finally given something to do, a darker element to S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced as well as Fury demonstrating his ass-kicking ability and difficulty as a leader, which was refreshing. Agent Coulson, the MVP of the series, is also included, and his unflappable nature and chemistry with multiple members of the Avengers allow the Marvel Universe feel more authentic and immersible, with Coulson even getting one of the best scenes.

Loki is also a brilliant villain, the perfect choice, as he is not only one of the strongest physically, compared to Red Skull or Abomination, but also offers a more emotional aspect, his relationship with the Avengers creating personal interpretations of the characters. His army, the Chitauri, aren’t as strongly written, but their roles is secondary to the role of Loki, and his attempt at conquering a world that helped lead to his downfall. Loki is able to pretty much piss off every Avenger, which makes us cheer on The Avengers even more,  but still, Loki has a melancholic aspect to his insane, evil persona, very impressive by Tom Hiddleston.

The plot slowly builds up, with each action scene not being shoved in but instead  there for a reason: the opening set piece is to demonstrate how dangerous Loki is, the next fight scene is a representative of the heroes clashing in personality and intentions, and then there are two other action scenes, that is it. But each action scene has reason and the final action scene is so huge and impressive that the audience is just loving it, each main character gets an impressive moment, or even two, or three, and the direction of the final action scene is immersing you into a true comic book style, with one tracking shot demonstrating each character battling, it is probably the closest you will ever get to a live action comic, just amazing.

The movie is a brilliant summer blockbuster, one with great action and humour but a emotional epicenter that builds on the audience’s love for the characters. During the film, I laughed, I was shocked, I was cheering, I loved every second of the film, and even though it is 2 hours and 23 minutes, I wanted even more, I wanted more time spent with the heroes, I wanted some more awesome action scenes, I wanted more character development, not because there wasn’t enough or any of these, but because it had been so great! I have been to the cinema to see this film twice already, and will gladly go a third time, maybe even a fourth! I have never done that before in my life, I’ve seen the Harry Potter films, The Lord of the Rings films, The Dark Knight, Inception, Drive, Pirates of the Caribbean, Iron Man, and even more, but this is the only film in my life I have seen a second time in the cinema. It is a true cinematic experience, with a magnificent range of depth and scope, utilizing a wonderful ensemble cast to their full strengths, and Joss Whedon has made himself a name to be recognized in Hollywood. He has been misused, mistreated, and unlucky in many aspects of his career, but now, he has earned $1 billion at the cinema with his film, people will sit up and pay attention to him now, and as a fan of his for over ten years, I couldn’t be happier. Whedon will follow this up with “Much Ado About Nothing”, a long-time dreamed adaption of Shakespeare, set in his own house, and made in just 12 days on break from this blockbuster. Whedon was given one of the biggest challenges in Movie history, and he blew it out of the water. Many of you will have already seen it, if not, go see it, if you have, go see it again! 

Thumbs Up, 10 out of 10.