The Avengers (MCU) Review

    Ah, what a difference a Whedon makes!

    There's nothing like rewatching the MCU films over a matter of weeks for the importance of writers/directors to become glaringly obvious. While Iron Man and Iron Man 2 are quippy and funny by necessity (I mean, you can't really have Tony Stark without snark, right?), and both Thor and Captain America have enough humour to be in keeping with the overall style, The Avengers (Avengers Assemble in the UK) is the first film in the series to really pack a hilarity punch. For those of us still pining for Firefly, Whedon's humour in both his writing and directing are a much welcome addition to the Marvel movies (favourite line, anyone? Mine was Fury's frustrated "Is the sun coming up? Then put it on the left!").

    The chemistry between the main actors is effortless, be it when they're at loggerheads or being friendly, making each interaction genuine and enjoyable.  Downey Jr. was born to play this role, Evans is a natural Captain, Hemsworth brings depth and a twinkle in the eye to Thor. Mark Ruffalo, having inherited the Hulk after two different actors brought him to the big screen with not much success (to be clear, I liked both performances, it was the films as a whole that were underwhelming, particularly Ang Lee's, making me forget that one is officially part of the MCU), manages to convince us that this is indeed an interesting superhero, a man at war with himself. On the villain side, Tom Hiddleston really comes into his own in this film, his Loki menacing, troubled, yet filled with mischief. And his scene with the Hulk ("puny god!") still cracks me up every time.

    Watching this again after Phase 1 has ended, it's clear why I never warmed up to Black Widow and Hawkeye: from the get-go they feel like afterthoughts, tacked on to the team to bulk up the numbers. It seems originally it was meant to be Ant-man and the Wasp rounding up the first Avengers iteration but filmmakers decided that wouldn't work without the characters having their own introductory film (you hear that, DC?). However, the issue they were trying to avoid ends up happening regardless, this time without special powers to entice us and make us care. I mean, Hawkeye spends half the film as a bad guy so why would I root for him? The performances by Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner, whilst perfectly capable, do little to counteract this.

    Despite the two weaker members of the team, we are treated to some downright yummy "secondary" players. Clark Gregg's Coulson is hilarious and provides the normal counterpart to all the superheroes. His attempt at hiding how awestruck he is when meeting the Captain is utterly endearing and highly relatable. And then there's Nick Fury. Yes, yes, I know this isn't his first appearance in the MCU, but it is the first time we get to spend a considerable amount of time with him. Samuel L. Jackson is such a perfect cast that I was completely unsurprised to learn that the comic book character was actually based on the actor; talk about life imitating art!

    All in all, my favourite MCU so far in the rewatching, and a very important start to the journey that culminates in Endgame. For if we weren't completely engaged in the story and characters in this film, how could all the next ones have been made with as much care (and money!) as they were?


Conclusion: Absolutely! [what's this?]


The Avengers came out in 2012.

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