Assembled at long last!
The Avengers is Marvel studios long in development mega project that has been in the works over the course of five individual films that have been used to craft the back story’s for many of the characters’ in the Marvel cinematic universe. With a whopping $220 million budget can the guru’s over at Marvel studios give audiences the super hero movie they deserve?
Marvel Studios The Avengers - written and directed by Joss Whedon is the first major individual’s super hero team film to date, whilst being the second super hero film of 2012 behind Ghost Rider and is certainly a feat in the superhero genre. The film covers the story of the origins of the Avengers initiative, a concept that the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D has enacted to “bring together a group of remarkable people” all of whom display a variety of unique superhuman gifts and talents, with the exception of Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) who at times feel a little out of place next to their demi-god status allies. This odd comparison soon fades however as the tension mounts and the movie begins to pull the viewer into its universe.
Soon after the film begins the villain Loki enacts a plan to invade earth with the help of a magical energy source known as the Tesseract (Cosmic Cube) which enables him to open a portal for an alien race to invade earth. The premises isn’t very complex and may look uninspired to some however it is in the dialogue and character interaction, along with some grand set piece action sequences that are the film’s greatest strength. The script written by Joss Whedon in conjunction with the film’s very talented cast manages to keep what might be a clumsy premise into a sophisticatedly amusing and entertaining story. All of the cast in the film do an admirable job at portraying their respective roles, from the charismatic and lovable Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey JR) to the dastardly villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston).
The CGI is at times all over the place particularly when it comes to actor interaction with CGI characters which lets the film down in some places. Iron Man is wonderfully animated as always and the Hulk is also impressively done further bringing a difficult character to life more than ever before. However It’s the CGI on some of the foes that looks artificial often coming across as if they commanded no real physical weight whilst being twice the physical size of a character like Black Widow, yet they are still somehow meaninglessly bashed aboout or kicked to the side as if they weighed nothing - luckily however this can be overlooked and still manages not to get in the way of the fun.
This film is best viewed after viewing all of Marvel’s individual character films prior however this is still an overly enjoyable standalone film that is a worthwhile viewing for both comic and non comic fans, its whity character interaction along with its fun and engaging cast manage to make this film a must watch of 2012.