Francine Lim
But in Hollywood, it seems “the more the merrier” is the phrase of choice, as Marvel Comics having successfully put on the big screen beloved individual icons like Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and Thor, has gathered them for a raid on the box-office.
In fact, this Royal Rumble assembled in the movie by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) now including the sultry Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the ever sharp-eyed archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), pits the gang against the exiled king Loki (Tom Hiddleston) of Asgard, backed by Chitauri aliens eager to conquer Earth.
It’s as far-fetched a premise as you can come up with, but going by the 27 million views and 75,000 comments logged on the 2-month-old YouTube trailer of The Avengers, plus the ticket sales globally ahead of the movie’s opening in America on Friday, they’re in for colossal takings.
Joss Whedon of Aliens Resurrected fame has successfully fused the larger-than-life Marvel heroes into one movie. The movie could have easily become Tony Stark and the Other Guys, but Whedon manages to weave and interweave the plotline, character personalities and keep the men’s egos down to a tolerable level. Dealing with a previous cast in Serenity which rivaled the Avengers cast in terms of size and personality, Whedon has more than enough experience required to tame the unruly bunch of heroes unwittingly thrown at him.
The film does its best to showcase each hero and heroine fighting alongside each other and the distinct styles of every character with equal screen time for the individuals to battle alien scum. Be it the swift acrobatics of Black Widow or the raw power of the Incredible Hulk, the planet’s best go all out in a no-holds barred cosmic war with the Chitauri aliens under Loki’s command, resulting in an epic battle that satisfies movie goers.
However, the phrase: “Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness” proves true for the movie.
With the number of heroes (and heroine) in the film, even the 143 minute screen time wasn’t enough for any of them to fully develop. If you’re the 1% minority who didn’t know any of the heroes’ backstories from previous movies, (Thor, Captain America – The First Avenger, Iron Man 1 and 2) you might be struggling to understand the first quarter of the movie.
However, lacking knowledge of previous movies doesn’t result in total unappreciation, for the various plotlines, such as the Black Widow and Hawkeye’s shared past, the rejected initial plans for The Avengers, Iron Man’s find of Captain America and the Tesseract and the history behind Thor and Loki, shows many layers of interaction between the main characters and interwoven depths of mystery surrounding S.H.I.E.L.D.
The key draw is the action and suspense overload from the very beginning as well as the fight scenes of every hero bashing the brains out of intergalactic life forms. If you’re thinking, “It’s probably like the other movies” or “It’s just like a video game,” you’re so very wrong. Stunt coordinator R.A Rondell (coordinator for the likes of G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) and fight coordinator Jonathan Eusebio of Iron Man 2, Never Back Down and Haywire fame paired up to train and teach the cast their various fighting techniques required for their roles. For example, the Black Widow’s techniques are from the Chinese martial art, Wushu.
It is also the same enjoyable fight scenes that take away the focus from the script, which is somewhat weaker than expected and, as Agent Phil would put it, “lacks conviction”. The excellently choreographed action and the sheer awesomeness of the Marvel characters made up for the lack of good lines and witty dialogue, save for the one-liners (Hulk’s “We’re not a team, we’re a time bomb” and Thor’s “He’s my brother!”, “He’s adopted” about Loki), that the writers managed to sneak in.
Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) director Fury may not be in the heat of the action or standing around reading initiatives and barking out orders unlike military men in the heart of war. He is, however, the man who came up with the Avengers Initiative; deals with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s board of directors who are against the Initiative and strives to prevent a nuclear catastrophe while letting the Avengers go all out on the battlefield. For a human, he does possess nerves of steel to stand up to Loki when the exiled king makes his first appearance on Earth upon realising the existence of the Tesseract.
Fury’s number two Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) seemed to be a potential support character for Fury or the Avengers. Her quick reflexes and self-initiative was clear as day in the beginning of the movie, but died down as soon as the Avengers started appearing on screen. You’d expect Hill to be more of a kick-ass agent as the movie progresses but she instead deflates down to an underplayed role of carrying out any orders Fury throws at her.
The real man behind The Avengers is Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. operative (“Phil? His first name is ‘Agent’,” exclaims Stark to Pepper). He is known and seen to be Fury’s go-to-guy when it comes to dealing with Tony Stark or making the Avengers feel more at ease in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying fortress. He may be a Captain America fanboy at heart but he remains as cool as a cucumber in perilous situations, especially when dealing with Loki one-on-one. Ultimately, his moments of hero-worshipping and a trick from Fury will galvanise the conviction of the heroes.
The main leads are definitely Tony Stark, Thor, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner. With these powerhouses, Black Widow and Hawkeye are perceived to be the supporting pillars of the Avengers. What is worth noting about the pair is their back-story. Other than that, their stars don’t quite cut it like the fabulous four.
The impenetrable Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.) remains as cocky as ever, his signature quick wit providing most of the comic relief in the movie, naming Thor as “Shakespeare in the Park” and describing himself as a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” without his armor. Think of him as the smart and rich kid who can deliver a punch (with the help of the Mark II and subsequently Mark III armour, of course). Still, in the Avengers, the stakes are raised and emotions and desperation run deeper, Iron Man steps up to the plate and delivers it with his trademark charisma.
God of Thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth) still possesses his “Shakesperean”/Asgardian way of speech, but plays a more conflicted role in this film. Hemsworth plays the struggling adopted older brother to Loki, seemingly troubled as to how is he going to tame his power-hungry sibling. It clearly shows, amid the formidable strength and ability to call upon lighting, that his motivation to reunite and reform his younger brother is a personal one.
The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is more mild-mannered with bursts of anger due to “the other guy”. This volatile being usually sets the intense atmosphere every time the an argument breaks out. It’s quite obvious that no one wants to set him off, except for Stark, who wants to see how much Banner can take. The relationship between Stark and Banner is interesting, when you see Mr. Ego push all of the Hulk’s buttons while complimenting him on his work in the scientific field at the same time with the latter trying to remain cool. (“Doctor Banner, your work is unparalleled and I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”) But when it starts to get messy, this mild “man” casually rides a Vespa onto the scene and explodes into the incredible Hulk.
The ageless Captain America (Chris Evans) played on the recurring theme of being a soldier sent under the directive of his in-charge, in this case, Fury. A darker Captain is seen as compared to the character he plays in Captain America. Who can blame him? With his bad habit of referring to people as “soldiers”, you’d realise that he is but a former shell of himself who has lost everyone and everything he had came to love. In an interview with Insidemovies.com, Evans puts it simply, saying, “He was a soldier, obviously, everybody he went to battle with… they’re all dead. I think in the beginning it’s a fish out of water scene and … it’s a tough pill for him to swallow.”
With such overwhelmingly good characters, comes an equally strong counterpoint in the deviant Loki. 2012 BAFTA nominee for Rising Star Hiddleston embodies the role and fills it with devilish, malevolent delight, surpassing even his previous role as Loki in Thor. This menacing, megalomaniac isn’t all about destruction and power, he’s also the other half of the movie’s comical moment along with the Hulk.
And if you’re wondering about the chaos and destruction when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, this is no Transformers, but personally, it packs more of a punch, whether you’re a comic-book fan or not. When your favourite heroes face down armor-plated leviathans swimming down from space, you know that the oncoming fight is definitely something to look forward to.
The Avengers have been assembled, the fights have been fought and when they’re not trying to get at each other, they make a super team. In a fantasy world where such unlikely alliances are forged, you can’t help but wonder if any other heroes or famous villains lie in wait. But if they do turn up, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that The Avengers will heed the Captain’s words: “Hulk, smash.”
Movie: The Avengers
Rating: 4/5
Opens: May 1
Duration: 143 mins
Language: English
Age Rating: PG 13
Genre: Action, Thriller