Recruit A Team Of Heroes With Attitudes

Well, we've looked at all five films leading up the massive crossover film, The Avengers. The dominoes are lined up, the cogs in the machine are all aligned. We've waited four years. But is it a case of a coming together of the greats, or is there still some assembly required?

Before we get into that, let's go over the Avengers as a team in the comics: in September, 1963, Thor's arch-nemesis Loki tricks the Hulk into destroying a railroad track, which leads to Hulk's friend Rick Jones sending out a radio call seeking help, a call which Loki diverts to Thor, in the hopes of drawing him out. What Loki didn't expect was that the distress call would be answered by more heroes: Iron Man, Ant-Man and The Wasp. Together, they all defeated Loki and decided to become a team. And it took all of two issues to lose a member, in this case it was Hulk, who left because he realized his unstable personality was a source of great fear for his team mates. But a few issues later, Captain America would be found and he would become a long time member of the team. And the rest is history. A long and confusing history, especially with all the different Avenger teams.

Now, if you don't read comics and know little about them, you're probably wondering who the Hell Ant-Man and The Wasp are. Well, the answer is: they are two characters who had better appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the years to come, because they are great. But that's for another time.

For this film, our team is instead made up of Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, the only change in actors for this film, with Lou Ferrigno providing the voice for the Hulk himself), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), brought together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), to take on Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his alien army. Also joining the fray is Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), a high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and we also see the return of Coulson (Clark Gregg), Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), as well as more voice-work from Paul Bettany as Iron Man's AI program, JARVIS.

And... well, OK, I pretty much described the plot right there. They come together, settle their differences and they fight some bad guys.

And you know what? I love every goddamn minute of this movie. From the moment Iron Man ended, I knew this movie was going to be monumental. After five movies, the anticipation just rose even higher. Every scrap of information relating to this movie pointed to it having enough momentum to actually be the greatest Marvel movie ever, to be something that would shape how Marvel's movies would be for ages to come. And considering how this came out in the same year as the currently-the-worst-film-I've-this-year-based-on-rankings Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, it's almost like Marvel are trying not only to wipe away their embarrassment but overcompensate.

The aspect I love the most, the key to this whole film, is the blending of the different styles from the respective films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man's solo segment before the team comes together is hilarious but also sweet, since he's spending time with Pepper. Cap's is solemn and you can tell he's just begging to get back into the action, but there's also drama as he is a man out of time and that weighs heavily upon him. Thor appears later in the film but there's a strong dramatic tone with his first few scenes, especially those with Loki. And Hulk (well, when he's Banner) is funny, but darkly so and showing how he's grown accustomed to his surroundings. As for those who didn't have their own movie, Black Widow's segment is like something out of a spy movie, and it's funny, though Hawkeye doesn't get much of a back-story, if any at all (probably my only real nitpick with the movie, but that's only if I need to have something against it. The good heavily outweighs the bad, so much that the bad is virtually non-existent).

Acting-wise, everyone carries on their role and proves yet again why they have made these roles their own. Mark Ruffalo is the exception, but only in the part about carrying on the role, since he's taking over the role. And how does he do? He may just be better than Edward Norton in this role, and that's a mean feat! He's got Banner's sense of meekness down, and his sardonic wit. And he's also the first actor to actually “play” Hulk, as in, motion capture and such and DAMN! When Hulk smashes, he REALLY smashes! As much as I loved the Hulk in his previous film, he's a sight to behold in this and for anyone who thinks he can't hack it in another sequel, you will damn well apologize right now, because this movie proves that not only does he deserve another sequel, he NEEDS it.

Cobie Smulders is the only other major new player and I have to say at this point that I LOVE How I Met Your Mother, and I consider it the best show currently on TV, and I love her character in the show. And while she's not always on screen here, I loved seeing her here and seeing just how badass she could be. Also, now she shares something with HIMYM co-stars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris: working with Joss Whedon (more on him later)

Coulson FINALLY gets a bigger role, and he even reveals his inner fanboy about Captain America. Yeah, that guy keeps getting awesome.

But Hiddleston... holy crap, that guy borders on scary! I think it's his smile. That damn slasher smile... it's really bad when he smiles, it means he knows something you don't. And you never want that. While he was great in Thor, he's even better here and he made for a worthy adversary.

Now, Whedon. I love the man's work. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, all classics (though I have yet to see Dollhouse, because they haven't been released on DVD down here, which pisses me off. And I just found out we're not getting a cinematic release of The Cabin In The Woods down here, it's going straight to DVD. Well, it better bloody well be soon, justice must be served!)\

But while his direction is spectacular, his best work is in the script. I kept thinking “Oh that is so Whedon!” at some of the funniest bits, since they remind me of Buffy and Angel, like the deadpan way people snark at each other, or the random humor that takes a little tension out of the scene but not so much as to undermine it, but rather to get us to relax before the drops the hammer (no pun intended).

For example, in one scene, Tony's hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D's database and spouting off all sorts of information, and one thing he says (very matter of factly) “And that guy's playing Galaga and thinks no one can see him”. A few minutes later, we watch as a guy switches his screen back to a game of Galaga. Priceless.

Or this, I love this exchange:
Thor: He's my brother
Black Widow: He killed 80 people in 2 days
Thor: He's adopted

The timing of that, I couldn't help but crack up.

But I can't share my favourite scene for fear of spoilers. I will say this much: despite Iron Man being the funniest character within the movie, Hulk wins with the laugh-your-arse-off moment for the entire affair. It's towards the end. You'll know it when you see it, even though it's in that third act that Hulk gets even funnier.

And the action... oh Lord, is it ever sweet. There's gunplay, sorcery, tech, projectiles and good ol' fashioned fisticuffs. Sure, the battle at the end (not a spoiler, you so know there was going to be a huge one) is epic, and doesn't overstay its welcome, but it's the fight between Thor, Cap and Iron Man that I love the most. Egos clashing, power flowing, the darkness around them, the intensity, it's magic. Especially the end of it.

I could go on all day about it but since it's not out in America at the time of writing, it would be disrespectful of me to do so, since I'd run the risk of spoilers. But I'd like to end on this closing statement:

Everyone that was involved in this movie: you're not leaving. You will damn well come back and do a sequel, no ifs, ands or buts. I know most of you are under contract anyway, which is great, but the rest I don't know about. I know Joss has been offered the chance to direct again should it arise but it's obviously early days. Nevertheless, you can't leave. You all created magic with this film. I was never bored, never insulted and I now consider this the greatest Marvel movie ever.

Whether or not it will be the best movie of the year remains to be seen. As much as this film is an outstanding triumph, the Caped Crusader's next (and last for the live action interim) is its biggest threat. And Nolan always has a trump card. That being said, The Avengers has raised the bar for crossovers and team-up movies. Even if the Justice League movie gets off the ground, it will not be able to beat this. Marvel crafted this to perfection, taking it's time, letting things build up and putting in little clues here and there as to what was coming next. It resulted in a massive pay-off, one that will never be replicated, not until the next time this team is together.

Take all the time you need to, Marvel. You rewarded our patience and we'll happily wait again. Easily 4.5/5, richly deserved.

Well, that wraps up this week devoted to the Avenger film and its tie-in's. Hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. And a little tip: once the credits roll, it begins with a montage of close-ups of the character's costumes and such, listing the actors for each respective character. After this, the traditional post-credits scene plays, hinting at what's to come (and my jaw dropped at the reveal of the figure who had their back turned to the audience for that scene). So, after that, you can leave if you wish, since there's nothing else after the next set of credits (yes, I stuck around, on the off chance there was some kind of teaser for Iron Man 3) but on the plus side, I got to hear a bitchin' new song from Soundgarden, called Live To Rise. I must have this song. And I will.

So, next week, got something big and special planned, and something completely different from what I've done before. But I won't be saying a thing until next week.