Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I am reviewing The Avengers. The long-awaited Marvel cross-over that fans had dreamed of. This film turns 10 years old this year and for me personally, it is surreal. I remember being in my junior year of high school and going to see it in theaters and loving every second of it. It was the movie everyone was talking about and its box office success speaks for itself. Ten years later, does this film still hold up? Let's take a look.
For this review, I will be formatting it a little differently than my previous reviews. Seeing as this is a cross-over film and that there are multiple characters that are focused on, the Hero section will be changed to the Avengers section. Furthermore, the hero descriptions will be kept brief seeing as the heroes already had their own films to establish themselves (aside from Hulk, more on that). I will also be focusing the Hero’s Journey section on their journey as a team rather than focusing on their individual journeys. I will most likely keep this format when I get to the later Avengers films (aside from Infinity War; more on that when I get to that review.)
The Avengers
Iron Man
Billionaire, philanthropist, playboy Tony Stark. Stark created the Iron Man suit as way to use his great intellect and technology for the betterment of the world. A man with great passion for others while also having a great ego that can be both helpful and a deterrent
Captain America
After being frozen for 70 years, Steve Rogers returns to the world as Captain America to do what he has always set out to do: save it. He always strives to do what is right and what is best for others
Thor
Son of Odin and God of Thunder, Thor returns to Earth to once again stop his brother Loki and to bring him home to answer for his crimes against Asgard and Earth. After his previous adventure on Earth, Thor holds it in high regard and will stop anything and anyone who threatens it or gets in his way of protecting it.
The Hulk
Bruce Banner is a renowned and respected scientist who was exposed to dangerous levels of gamma rays in an experiment gone wrong. As a result, he turns into the rage-fueled monster known as The Hulk.
There is a standalone film, The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton as Banner that I do plan to do a seperate review of later. However, seeing as the actors were switched out between that film and Avengers, as well as most elements of it not being referenced in any other Marvel film, I choose not to treat it as needed canon. It was one of the films that I chose not to show my girlfriend but I do think that it does have some merit in its own right that I will delve into deeper when I get around to that review.
Banner in this film is portrayed by Mark Ruffalo who does a really good job in capturing the essence of Banner as a man who has been fighting within himself to achieve inner calm. We don't see the Hulk right away and Banner does his best to maintain his composure and prevent the "Big Guy", as he refers to his alter ego, from appearing. However, despite his best efforts, the Hulk cannot be containted for long.
Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow, a one of the most renowned spies in the world. Trained originally as an assassin, Romanoff (first introduced in Iron Man 2) proves to be a valuable member of the team with her excellent fighting skills and her great dry wit. Her friendship with Clint Barton is one of the strongest elements of the film and one that establishes her and Hawkeye as valuable members to the team that the audience invests in. She is a bad ass in every sense of the word and an empowering female force that is to be reckoned with. Her introduction in the film right away establishes what she is all about. My girlfriend cheered her on throughout the film watching her kick some ass and showing that females can be bad ass heroes too.
Hawkeye
Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye, is an extremely skilled archer and one of the best agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. He is first introduced in Thor but only briefly. Here he gets more screen time to showcase why he is one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best. He is so useful that Loki brainwashes him in the beginning of the film and uses his great skills to his advantage. He proves to be a tough opponent for the Avengers but once he is freed from Loki's control by Natasha Romanoff, he joins them in their fight to stop Loki. His skills as well as his strong friendship with Natasha make him one of the stronger Marvel characters who would eventually get his own show.
The Avengers' Journey
The Avengers story telling approach is different from the previous films. Where the standalone Marvel films focused on establishing the hero to the audience, Avengers takes those established personalities and has them work off each other. Avengers is not only a clash of heroes but a clash of personalities. Steve Rogers’ wholesome and honorable personality comes into conflict with the more egocentric personality of Tony Stark and creates a natural rivalry. Thor’s honorable God personality gives him and Rogers a common ground while his confidence makes him a good foil for Stark. These are three well established personalities that play off each other beautifully in terms of creating conflict and comedy. The first battle between Iron Man and Thor is fun to watch not only because of what they can do physically but also with how their personalities clash. They both are trying to do the right thing but their means of doing so are where the conflict arises and that is a theme the carries throughout the film. When the Avengers have Loki at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the conflict raises as they all have different ideas on how to deal with Loki. Rogers is all about following orders and is weary of what Loki’s true intentions are. Stark and Banner are more worried about what Fury is hiding from them. This skepticism gets into Rogers’ head, and he decides to investigate on his own. Thor believes he is the best choice to handle Loki and to do it alone. Rogers and Stark discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to weaponize the Tesseract. This leads to a big argument amongst them all bringing the tension to a boiling point. Loki’s plan was to have the tension boil over and lead the Avengers to destroy each other, using the rage of the Hulk. They get so caught up in their argument that they are caught off guard by the ambush from the brainwashed Barton and army of Loki supporters. The attack brings out the Hulk and forces the heroes to spring into action. Thor goes after the Hulk while Stark and Rogers work to fix the ship and keep it afloat. This leads to an awesome battle between Hulk and Thor. The ensuing chaos leads to Loki’s escape, Thor being launched off the ship, Hulk going AWOL and the death of Agent Coulson.
Agent Coulson’s relationship with the Avengers was brief but one that impacted them nonetheless. He and Tony have interacted the most as he appeared in both Iron Man films and their relationship was that of Tony throwing jabs and Coulson no-selling it. Coulson seemed to have more of a relationship with Pepper Potts as they are revealed to be on a first-name basis in the beginning of the film. Coulson is seen fanboying when he meets Steve Rogers and mentions his vintage Captain America cards. These interactions while brief, left an impact on the Avengers enough that Coulson’s death gave the team the push to come together to take down Loki once and for all.
The final battle in New York made for an epic climax and brought a great showcase of each hero. My girlfriend was very into the final battle thinking how cool it was and cheering for moments and getting emotional for others. Iron Man's sacrifice to bring the nuke into space had my girlfriend on the edge of her seat. She was convinced that Stark was going to die sacrificing himself and had a whirlwind of emotions. She was relieved when he survived and got a good laugh after they decided to grab Shwarma after the battle. The climactic ending was a great payoff for a film that had been four years in the making. I remember thinking it was incredible the first time I saw and I felt the same way watching it again.
The Villain
Loki, adopted son of Odin and adopted brother of Thor, returns to conquer his brother’s beloved Earth.
After being thought dead at the end of Thor, and revealed to be alive in the post credits, Loki returns with a vengeance. He has made a deal with the Other, leader of the Chitauri, to get them the Tesseract in exchange for their aid in him conquering Earth.
I mentioned in my review of Thor, that the Loki that we all know and loved was not entirely present in that film. Well, he is here and in full form. Loki is full of his wit, deceit, and trickery. While it is always fun to see him interact with Thor, it is even more fun to see him interact with the other Avengers, especially Tony Stark. Their battle of wits and ego adds to the great comedy of the film. Their talk before the final battle in New York is a highlight of the film. It's fun to watch Loki meet his match in the game of egos.
Loki feels more threatening in this film as he is more ruthless and cutthroat. He makes for a fun and likeably hateable villain. My girlfriend hated him throughout the film and by the end was hoping to see him die. When he kills Agent Coulson and then drops Thor out of the Hellicarrier, my girlfriend screamed some obscenities at the TV. I noticed my girlfriend being more invested in Loki as the villain than any of the other villains so far. She was creeped out by Red Skull and didn’t like Obadiah Stane but this was more of a hatred for a villain. She wanted to see him get stopped and get justice. A reaction like that is a sign of a well done and interesting villain.
Looking back through the Phase One films, I noticed that the villains thus far were weak. They were not the most interesting villains and not memorable. They served more as antagonists than super villains. Loki is the first one to feel like a villain and because he stood out amongst the others, he has gone on to become one of the more popular characters in Marvel.
The Film's Pros
Getting to finally see the Avengers assembled
Avengers was a project that was four years in the making and accomplished something not seen in film at the time. Earlier and later attempts at establishing a cinematic universe made the mistakes of focusing on establishing a universe and setting up for later films rather than establishing interesting characters. Marvel took their time with the standalone films to establish the heroes and get audiences invested. When the time came for Avengers, fans were ready to see their favorites interact on the big screen and they were not disappointed. The film is a great pay off to such a build and delivers everything fans had wanted to see. I had fun watching my girlfriend get excited when characters would meet for the first time. She got excited when Thor showed up and even more excited when he and Iron Man came face to face. The first battle with Thor and Iron Man is an awesome encounter and the shot of Thor, Iron Man and Captain America standing together in the woods is an image I always picture when thinking of this film.
And of course, the final battle in New York delivers the epic climax that was missing in the standalone films. It had action, drama, and even humor and had it all perfectly balanced. I remember being on the edge of my seat the first time I saw it in theatres, and it was fun to see my girlfriend have the same reaction experiencing it for the first time. I mentioned her emotional roller coaster when Tony flew into space to stop the nuke but there were also some great moments of humor. I got great joy at seeing her laugh at Hulk’s punch on Thor as well as Hulk’s smashing of Loki. The shot of the Avengers assembling in the climax is one of, if not, the most iconic shots in Marvel films and a surreal moment for me as the dream of seeing the Avengers on the big screen became a reality. It was an epic moment for Marvel fans and for movie goers and the film that established superhero films as the big box office blockbusters they are now.
Looking to the future
After an epic film, Marvel tops off the epicness with the post credit reveal of Thanos. For the average movie goers this was tame but for Marvel fans, this was awesome as Thanos is one of the biggest villains in the comics. For the time it was cool that there was a promise of more to come. Looking back on it now, it is a very significant moment for the future of the MCU. Thanos will go on to be the biggest and greatest villain in the Marvel Universe and it is surreal seeing his first appearance. I remember for the time; fans were not happy with his initial design which would thankfully be redone and refined by the time he would eventually show up. In the long run, it was the start of another great build and pay off but for the time, it was a cool promise that there was more to come on the horizon.
Hulk smashes Loki
Not much to explain here. The gif speaks for itself. This moment was so epicly awesome and hilarious to watch. I laughed the first time I saw it and laughed even more watching it again with my girlfriend. A simple but awesome moment that will forever be iconic amongst Marvel fans.
The Film's Cons
Not the best storytelling
To be perfectly honest, I really enjoy this movie a lot, so it was difficult to find something that I thought was bad. Of course, this film is not perfect, no film is, but the positive elements outweigh the negatives to the point that they are almost unseeable. But seeing as there are always flaws and imperfections to be found, the biggest one that I found was that the story does have some issues. Loki’s plan was not the smartest of plans. His plan was to get all the Avengers together so that they would destroy each other. It is a little hard to believe how he could not have seen the potential of this blowing up in his face, but again I don’t even consider it to be a serious issue that hurts the film in any way. Was it the smartest of plans? No. But then again, that is also the flaw that villains need to have to be defeated in the end.
Final Thoughts
Avengers was an important for Marvel and for film. It was the payoff to four years’ worth of build that led to great financial and critical success for Marvel and elevated superhero films from the corny disrespected works to epic blockbusters. It had done what had not been done before and did it successfully to the point that other studios would try to copy what they did. I was in high school when it came out and I remember it being the talk of the town. Everyone, even people who never read a Marvel comic in their life, went to go see it and loved it. As a fan of Marvel superheroes, it was the first time I had gotten excited for a film since Spider-Man 2, and it paid off and then some.
Ten years later, this film still holds up as the epic payoff and dream come true for Marvel fans. As a film, while not perfect, is still an epic experience from beginning to end. It has action, humor, drama and enough going to keep your attention and have you on the edge of your seat. Getting to experience it again with my girlfriend brought back that excitement that I felt the first time seeing it and it was special to get to see her have the same emotional experience that I had. Avengers took what had been successfully established and made it into something even bigger. It is an important moment in the MCU that took it to another level and set up for even better things to come down the line. If you're a Marvel fan and have not seen it, do yourself the favor and assemble some friends, grab some popcorn and strap in for a fun time.
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