The Avengers (2012)
There was another four films to get through before Marvel would produce something of the same quality as the first
Iron Man. They came mighty close with
Captain America: The First Avenger, but not quite. Although, the CA trilogy has the most solid story arc for any of their characters, and is the strongest overall of their standalone franchises;
The Winter Soldier is still arguably the best MCU film next to the first
Guardians of the Galaxy (I haven’t seen
Black Panther yet). But this still fits comfortably somewhere into my top 10, and was their best effort as this point.
Sure, it’s not perfect, and I could nit-pick if I was a joyless prick, but none of that matters. Joss Whedon gets more than enough right here, and it’s one of the most enduring blockbuster event movies of recent years. It’s something that shouldn’t have worked with so many big name superhero characters vying for screentime, but Whedon manages to find the right balance, and executes some of the MCU’s most memorable moments, with not just its exhilarating set-pieces, but with superb character interplay as well.
The Avengers are as a dysfunctional family injected with some of the writer and director’s trademark humour, and the cast’s chemistry is sublime.
He also realizes the definitive version of Hulk/Bruce Banner that Marvel would stick with in the following films, and one of the few great villains of the MCU - Loki. Of course, this is also thanks in large part to the excellent performances of Mark Ruffalo and Tom Hiddleston in their respective roles.
**** out of *****