Avengers Assemble (2012)
A film which Bizarre_Eye aside, i'm sure you've all seen and don't need me to go into any plot details.
After loving
Iron Man (2008), falling asleep during
Iron Man 2 (2010) and never returning to it, enjoying
Thor (2011) and despising
Captain America The First Avenger (2011), i decided now was the right time to check out
Avengers Assemble seeing as i've just bought two spin off tv series based on the film.
Long story short. I loved it.
From first minute to last i found it invigorating, charming, funny and above all extremely entertaining. I'm sure much of my enjoyment came from the pen and direction of Joss Whedon, a director and writer who hooked me into buying tv on dvd like no other in the early 00's.
Whedon's style shines through especially in his characters. Iron Man's introduction to the fray was superbly executed.
AC/DC's
Shoot to Thrill blowing the surround speakers as he swoops onto the screen. Nice to see Robert Downey Jr sporting a
Black Sabbath Never Say Die t-shirt for the remainder of the film as well. Downey Jr's chat with Mark Ruffalo about the Hulk was one of my favourite scenes in the film. Well written and thoroughly engaging allowing both actors and characters to have a little down time. It even reminded me of the De Niro / Pacino chat in Michael Mann's
Heat (1995) showing the audience that beneath the iron suit and green skin were two genuine blokes who talked and drank like the rest of us.
Gwyneth Paltrow, in what was basically a glorified cameo as Pepper Potts lit up the screen, coming across as a far more approachable, fun loving person than her media profile suggests. Then there's Tom Hiddleston as Loki. I'd forgotten Hiddleston was in these films so his ever watchable presence was a welcome surprise. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a fine character, (although at times he did remind me of Cult Lab's own Nordy) his ongoing battle with The Hulk being of constant amusement.
Mark Ruffalo as Doctor Banner / The Hulk was the most believable character i felt, adding some less than heroic charm to the film as the good doctor just out to stay calm. Although it confused me a little when he exclaimed he was always angry meaning he could turn into the Hulk when he wanted. If this was indeed the case then why fight Thor earlier causing untold mayhem.
Finally, enter Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America. I don't know what it is for most of this film and
Captain America The First Avenger he seems miscast. When put in conversation with Ruffalo and Downey Jr he seemed out of his league as an actor, completely lacking any personality in comparison to the other two. Having said that he seemed to grow into the role as the film progressed, especially during the battel in New York. Evans aside, the Avengers bitchy banter with one another was another highlight of the film. Again i'm sure this was down to Joss Whedon's screenplay as he knows from past experiences with
Buffy,
Angel and
Firefly how to write for an ensemble cast. He even threw a few laugh out loud moments into the script with the Hulk sucker punching Thor, then trouncing Loki mid speech. Two genuinely funny moments in a thoroughly entertaining film. Samuel L Jackson and Jeremy Renner always add to whatever they are in and this film was no exception. With Scarlett Johannson's Black Widow thrown into the mix the producers seem to have got it right with this film.
It's not perfect by any means. Whilst brilliantly staged i did think Loki's army was a bit of a let down. Coming through the worm hole thing they didn't have the same wow factor as say, an army of Daleks or Borg for example. Maybe it's with me not being as familiar with Marvels universe, i'm not sure, it just lacked any great impact to me. However the action was a terrific spectacle and staged brilliantly by Whedon. At times the film seemed to pilfer ideas from other movies such as the mirrored car from
Die Another Day (2002). An idea ridiculed at the time but when applied to the SHIELD flying aircraft carrier
nobody bats an eyelid.
I think the biggest endorsement i can say about this film is that as the credits rolled all i could think about was purchasing the other films i don't own in the Avengers universe whilst they are still 2 for £13 in the stores.