As anyone who has followed USA basketball over the years knows, a mere grouping of superstars a team does not make. Superstars aren't used to playing second fiddle, much less third and forth and especially fifth. And we're just talking about basketball players here. Imagine trying to wrangle a super-genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, a physical ubermensch war hero, a brilliant scientist with anger management issues, a couple of skilled assassin/spy types, and a Norse god into one cohesive squad of team players. Even the Zen master himself, Phil Jackson, would have his hands full. But they didn't have Phil Jackson, they had Sam Jackson. With an eye-patch. And if Sam Jackson with an eye-patch can't get the job done, then I don't know what to believe anymore.
Our saga begins with cyclops Sam, playing the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. top dog Nick Fury, in a presumably super secret and super secure location, where scientists in his employ are analyzing a glowing cube of pure energy called the teseract. Apparently the teseract is really awesome and is capable of all kinds of awesome things. However, there is a small downside. The teseract is also a portal to another dimension where a horde of nasties with bad complexions are chomping at the bit to unleash themselves on earth and enslave the human race. The nasties are lead by Loki. The name sounds sort of soft for a super villain demi-god, but make no mistake Loki is a bad dude with a major inferiority complex and a cool horned helmet. Never underestimate someone with a horned helmet and an inferiority complex. So anyway, Loki leaps through the portal to Fury's super secret hideaway and absconds with the teseract and causes a bunch of havoc.
Needless to say, things are looking grim. So Fury does the only thing he can. Assemble a dream team to hunt down Loki and get the teseract back. Action/adventure thrill ride ensues.
Up to this point, I was not overly impressed. Yes, it was still very early, but I was nonplussed by the previous couple of solo Avenger movies, so I remained circumspect. I liked Captain America ok, but I thought Thor was dull and fell asleep during Iron Man II. In in it's defense it was late, but I was unimpressed enough to never go back and finish it.
However, once the set-up was over with, The Avengers really took off and the remaining two hours flew by. When you think about it this was quite a feat pulled off by writer/director Joss Whedon. Enormous expectations and hype; depending on how you look at it, as many as eight(!) main characters; the very real possibility of a geek revolt if things didn't go well. The deck was definitely stacked against Whedon. But he pulled it off and then some.
Getting back to that team analogy. Two ways that it's relevant (see, we're coming full circle):
Number 1: as far as the actual storyline, what really made the movie click for me was the way the characters didn't just all of a sudden gel into the super hero Dream Team that is The Avengers. They bickered, they backbit, their egos got the better of them. Whedon's screenplay took the time to flesh out the characters a little bit. Sure they're super, but they're vulnerable and damaged goods. Captain America/Steve Rogers doesn't know where he fits in in the present day. Bruce Banner/The Hulk is embarrassed and terrified of what he may become at slightest irritation. Tony Stark/Iron Man lets his arrogance get in the way of his brilliance. And Thor...well, it's gotta be tough to be a god among men, even super ones. Black Widow and Hawkeye are the least compelling of the group, but they were at least serviceable. There was one scene in particular which captured the tension of bringing all these super-egos together. They sniped and bickered, just like a sports team with all the talent and none of the chemistry, not living up to its potential. It was almost like being in a fractured locker room, only with fewer towel snaps.
Number 2: Whedon's other big accomplishment was to juggle so many main characters effectively. Many a hero franchise has been brought down by too many villains or good guys. The last of the Sam Raimi/Tobey McGuire Spider-Man movies tried too hard with both Sandmand and Venom (among other issues). The last of the first run of Batman movies had about 14 villains and a few too many heroes to actually give them time to do anything. Eventually all these types of franchises become little more than cash cows, bloated with pointless special effects and excruciating one-liners. The Avengers gang will themselves be there eventually I'm sure. But this time around the formula worked. Each member of the team had a role to play, and and like a good coach, Whedon managed to give all the characters sufficient time to give them some depth and the actors all answered the call.
Of course, when it gets down to it, The Avengers is all about the action. And it was fantastic. I mentioned in a prior post that its hard to put your finger on what exactly makes one action movies action better than another action movies action. Is it the tension generated? Is it new and creative ways of blowing things up? I don't really know. But the action in The Avengers was always exciting.
All the actors did phenomenal job. Robert Downey Jr continues to kill it as Iron Man, Chris Evans is pitch-perfect as Captain America with his naivete about this modern world, his role in it, and his burning desire to do good. Mark Ruffalo is terrific as the tortured and brilliant Bruce Banner. I liked Chris Hemsworth's Thor better in this movie than in Thor, and same probably goes for Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson were fine as Hawk Eye and Black Widow respectively, though their characters were the least compelling. And Samuel L. Jackson is, well, Samuel L. Jackson.
Finally, one of the major strengths of the movie is that it is funny. I mean, seriously funny. We all know action movies are renown for their one-liners, but in The Avengers the one-liners are actually funny. And not in that cheesy, Commando way, but legitimately clever, funny lines. All delivered by actors with some serious comedic chops.
The Avengers definitely lived up to the hype and is right up there amongst the best superhero/comic book adaptations (along with Spiderman 2 and The Dark Knight, in this humble bloggers opinion). It's everything you want in a summer blockbuster.
