And so it appears at last (albeit with an annoying title change so
that we easily confused Brits don't think Steed and Emma Peel are coming
back to the big screen this year), the film that looks set to be the
mightiest of superhero movies, the royal rumble of the Marvel cinematic
universe, the geekgasm for comic book fans. With Joss Whedon directing
(and co-writing the script with Zak Penn), Avengers Assemble actually manages to be all of this and more.
For anyone adjusting to the sunlight and the sights around them after
coming out of some decade-long hibernation, here is the plot. Loki (Tom
Hiddleston), last seen causing major trouble for Thor (Chris
Hemsworth), has managed to get himself to Earth with a device that can
run on self-sustaining energy and grow more and more powerful. Loki
hopes to use this device to bring a warring alien race to Earth, cause
mayhem and chaos, and then lord it over all he surveys. Nick Fury
(Samuel L. Jackson) really doesn't want this to happen so he enlists the
help of the superheroes that he knows and thinks up to the task.
Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor, Dr.
Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo in both forms),
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and, hopefully, Hawkeye (Jeremy
Renner). The biggest problem is that these characters don't play well
together, something that Loki soon realises as he puts strain upon
strain on their relationships (even completely taking over one or two
characters to do his bidding). There's also the ever-dependable Agent
Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).
Most of the cast here have already grown into their characters in a
previous movie (with Robert Downey Jr. perfecting his great patter in
two enjoyable Iron Man films) but viewers may be most surprised
to find that the person who comes near to stealing every scene here is
Mark Ruffalo, arguably the best onscreen interpretation yet of the man
who fears his own uncontrollable strength and rage. In a script full of
great one-liners he also comes close to bagging two of the top five
spots (though the absolutely greatest retort comes from Loki in a
comment so funny that the cinema audience I saw the film with was
laughing hard for the next full minute). But the best, and most
impressive, thing about Avengers Assemble is just how everyone
gets their share of great moments without the movie feeling overlong or
bloated in any way. You may go into this film with a favourite that
you're looking forward to seeing but I guarantee that you come out of it
loving the entire group and struggling to pick an outright favourite
moment. Which all goes to show just how much praise Tom Hiddleston also
deserves for making Loki such a memorable and worthy villain, a perfect
mix of camp and menace and scheming (his outburst to Black Widow in one
particular scene ranks up there with some of the very best rants by
cinematic baddies ever).
The writing is as sharp as you would expect. Okay, this isn't
necessarily a film for complete newcomers (if there ARE any) but it
sketches out enough details to keep most people happy and it does a
great job of following major plot strands through a whole cat's cradle
of different sub-strings. There are also at least four great action
set-pieces, just as important to a film of this type, and the
barnstorming finale features a superb mix of CGI, witticisms and sheer
spectacle.
As you would expect from Whedon, he knows what fans want. I think
that most people will be like myself, eager to like the film even before
the opening titles come up. But with great anticipation comes, of
course, the chance for great disappointment. Thankfully, there's
absolutely nothing to worry about here. Whedon shows in almost every
sequence that he knows just what audiences want, the action may be fast
and frantic on many occasions but there are many times when the camera
is pulled back and viewers are allowed to revel in a moment of sheer
fan-pleasing awesomeness (be it simple joy at the scale of the action or
an extended shot of Hulk having a smashing time).
2012 is already shaping up to be a great year for BIG cinematic
spectacle (I am also drooling with anticipation at the thought of going
to see Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises) and Avengers Assemble has
already set a very high bar for blockbuster quality. Did I want to go
back and watch it again as soon as the credits rolled? Yes. Am I looking
forward to reliving the whole thing on shiny disc format? Yes. Am I
already very, VERY eager for a sequel? I think you know the answer to
that one.
9/10
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