Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth. Directed by Joss Whedon.
In a studio system supposedly averse to risks, hiring Joss Whedon to direct one of the most anticipated films of all time was a ballsy move.
Sure, he’s a fan favourite, but ‘cult status’ — the sort enjoyed by Whedon projects like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse — isn’t what you’re shooting for when you’ve got (at least) $220 million invested in something. Like so many risks, though, it’s paid off in droves.
The Avengers plays to all of Whedon’s strengths, starting with the film’s ensemble nature. This is a guy who’s used to juggling large casts, and though they aren’t usually made up of big names like Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson (or, even more intimidatingly, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor), the principle is the same: it’s about finding room for everyone to shine.
No fan of any of these characters will come away disappointed, or feeling like their favourite deserved more time in the sun. ‘The Big 3’ are at the centre of the story, sure, but if anything, it’s the characters who haven’t headlined their own movies (or haven’t done so successfully) that steal the show.
The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) will come away from this with a Helicarrier’s worth of new fans (Black Widow, in particular, benefits from Whedon’s gift for handling genuinely strong female characters), while The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is a hugely entertaining wild card that generates the loudest applause at every turn.
Thank god Ang Lee and Louis Leterrier couldn’t stop Marvel from coming back to this gamma-irradiated well, although a third solo movie would almost definitely be a mistake — he’s an incredibly one-dimensional character that works best in this ensemble environment.
Whedon’s knack for dialogue is on show throughout. His light touch clearly distinguishes The Avengers from the only other superhero movie at this level, Chris Nolan’s dour Dark Knight, and ensures the verbal sparring between our heroes is every bit as exciting as the more literal fireworks.
Speaking of sparring, there’s a lot of it — Whedon (a part-time comic book writer with a run on Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men to his name) brings an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel Universe to the table, and he’s aware of their grandest tradition: Virtually anytime one superhero encounters another in a Marvel comic book, some sort of misunderstanding leads them to fight each other to a standstill before they come to their senses and take on the bad guy. (This is how fanboy arguments like ‘who’s stronger, Thor or The Hulk?’ continue to rage.)
It’s a tradition Whedon well and truly keeps alive, as fans are treated to just about every possible matchup they could hope for: Iron Man vs Thor vs Captain America; Thor vs Hulk; Hulk vs Black Widow; Black Widow vs Hawkeye; Hawkeye vs... well, everybody. But the main event, of course, comes when The Avengers take on the scheming Loki and his army.
The final third of the film alone contains more action and excitement than the other Marvel movies combined, all of it gloriously staged. Every dollar of the budget is stretched to its absolute limit, and you can see it all up on the screen (this, of course, is the true genius of hiring a director used to working on a shoestring). There’s never been a more spectacular film. Even the 3D conversion — the bane of so many other movies of this type — works here, helping to add depth to the action when needed and never distracting from the experience.
For a film focussed on paying off set-ups established elsewhere (and doing so in such a satisfying way), there’s also an impressive amount of world building going on here. Seeds are planted for a potential prequel; a fan favourite takes a bow as their replacement steps to the fore; and a new threat, infinitely more powerful than anything we've seen so far, lurks on the edge of the universe, ensuring we’ll get to do all of this again in a few years.
Or maybe we won’t. Who knows? Maybe the stars can only align like this once; maybe lightning can’t strike twice. Even if this cast can be re-assembled, who’s to say it’ll feel as fresh the second time around? All the more reason, then, to appreciate The Avengers for what it is: the greatest action film of its time, and for fans, pure superhero nirvana.
Hollywood filmmaking simply doesn’t get any better than this.
