The Avengers Review and Thoughts (SPOILERS)

It is fitting that The Avengers is the first review here on Aspect Ratio.  The film encompasses everything a comic book geek, nerd, dork could ever want, with a slight exception of maybe an appearance of The Infinity Gauntlet.  This isn’t a movie with overt character study or world-changing themes and conflicts.  The Avengers is just a great movie that fulfills every want and desire.  One doesn’t need to wrestle or unravel some great inner truth that would reveal something personal.  This is entertainment and awe encased within two and a half hours.  After the last credits rolled, I couldn’t help but think about how we got here: Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, Batman Begins, Iron Man, Dark Knight, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and now The Avengers.  This was made unabashedly by a geek for geeks.  This was made for me, and I feel lucky to have even been alive to experience it.

A long-time friend reminded me of how we used to spend hours pouring over those crazy fake casting calls in Wizard magazine in high school.  Endless debates about who would play who in superhero movies of our dreams would inevitably end in the stark reality that such an endeavor would be too expensive and impossible.  The Avengers fulfills all those wild fantasies in ways that I never would have believed. 

After the trailers were done and the lights dimmed, I felt a familiar sense of anxiety.  It was the same feeling when I saw The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time over ten years ago.  I thought to myself “Please don’t mess this up”.  The movie was too important to me and to anyone that has ever invested time and energy into comics.  And just like that first trip to Middle Earth, my fears and worries vanished minutes later.

To say Joss Whedon was in full form would be an understatement.  In any other hands, this plot, these characters would be a sheer mess.  But, everything just works.  Each minute of screen time is spent economically and briskly.  One would think that the pace would be feverish, manic even, but the movie knows how to slow it down just enough to peek through and see each character as a real person.  Granted, comic book superheroes are never subtle and build on readily accessible archetypes.  However, the true genius of The Avengers is earning those character building scenes.  Films work best when showing characterizations and not merely telling.

Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury leaps fully-formed onto the screen displaying Whedon’s command of characterization.  Jackson has space to work with here after spending so many movies in the periphery.  Everything you need to know about Nick Fury is in his first scene: loyalty to the mission, greater sense of purpose, a  by-whatever-means-necessary tenacity.  It is an archetype, but something Jackson embodies effortlessly.

Black Widow is played stunningly by Scarlett Johansson.  From the trailer, I had apprehensions that she would be primarily a background character with nothing special to do.  How can the relatively normal Black Widow share the spotlight with the tremendous, powerful likes of Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man?  How could a character with no real superpowers stand next to these demigods?  Whedon’s solution is simple: concentrate her limitations and make that humanity a strength rather than a liability.  For all intents, Black Widow is the most sympathetic character, and her powerlessness makes her interesting.  However, the film does not make the mistake of showing her as weak.  In classic Whedon style, she is a strong female character. While most movies would make a point of her overcoming expectations of being the only woman in an all male group, it bypasses that and shows her humane side subtly.  It strengthens her portrayal and allows her to transcend common trope.  She is a real character with her own motivations, hopes, and fears. 

Hawkeye, depicted with seething fervor by Jeremy Renner, is the other almost “regular” human of the group.  Prowess with archery aside, Renner lends more vulnerability and even a hint of romance like compatriot Johansson.  Like the Black Widow, Hawkeye has to compete with these titans, and I believe the end result is compelling.  With nothing much to do in the first half of the movie, Hawkeye almost steals the show.  Similar to The Town and The Hurt Locker, Renner’s physicality, good looks, and intensity is an irresistible draw.

Captain America should be the most ridiculous of all the Avengers.  A time-traveling soldier clad in head to toe in the star-spangled banner should be silly on the big screen.  But like his solo movie, Chris Evans captures perfectly the right blend of naivety and seriousness that make Captain America one of my all time favorite characters.  There is a great moment in the middle of the movie during a huge argument between all the Avengers.  Iron Man and Captain America confront their differing ideals.  Evans criticizes Downey with the standard “you don’t stand for anything” argument.  Downey counters by saying that Captain America was given his powers and none of it was earned.  The cut is deep and it hurts.  However, in true Steve Rogers style, it serves to strengthen his resolve.  I believe, this gets to the root of the symbolism of Captain America.  Like his namesake country, he is given gifts that surpass most people.  However, those advantages come with a responsibility for protecting the weak, aiding the needy, and self-sacrifice.  Chris Evans plays the clean-cut, honor-bound hero with earnestness which makes it believable that he can lead Earth’s mightiest heroes.

Chris Hemsworth has a tough job as Thor.  Unlike the other Avengers, he is literally a god, but, like last years solo movie, he provides enough human bits and raw charisma to bridge any gap with the audience.  I love the brother dynamic with Loki.  I do wish that there was more of a hint of reluctance in Loki so it wasn’t always so one-sided.  Though, I think it could be said that Thor’s endless well of compassion for his brother is nicely juxtaposed with the machismo response to everyone else.  Thor was never the most complex of characters but Hemsworth does a great job making him utterly awesome.

Hulk steals the show.  Mark Ruffalo nails in the first ten minutes everything I ever wanted in Bruce Banner.  A mild man imprisoned by his own anger.  The danger of the green giant lies right below the surface.  You can see it in his face, his mannerisms.  There is a shy fear, self-hatred, and acceptance in Ruffalo’s voice.  The “other guy” is treated as almost an inevitability waiting to be released.  And when The Hulk is finally released, it puts all previous cinematic depictions to shame.  Here is what The Hulk should have been all these years: an unstoppable force, full of rage, and simply indestructible.  Perhaps we had to suffer through the other movies to get to this point, but I am glad that The Hulk is finally smashing everything (including Thor).

Lastly, Iron Man is the heart of the movie.  Robert Downey Jr. Reprises his most famous role and does it with the usual charm and wit.  After three movies of Iron Man, we know how this plays.  Downey uses the quips and one-liners to hide vulnerability and create distance between Stark and the outside world.  Tony Stark is the most friendly loner in the world.  He seems selfish and egotistical but we know that in the end he is a hero and will understand the idea of self-sacrifice.

In a way, Iron Man’s characterization belies the most successful aspect of The Avengers.  The audience knows what will happen.  We understand how these Marvel movies work.  The opening scenes introduce us to the characters, there is a difficult middle, there is a climatic battle.  Towards the end of the climatic battle, it seems that the bad guys will win, but our heroes will always pull it out in the end.  However, the audience doesn’t care that this movie is, in all honesty, formulaic.  We buy into the movie because it respects our intelligence and manages to be entertaining as hell throughout. 

The Avengers is a great movie not because it says something profound, but it gets to the heart of entertaining fiction.  It inspires us to believe in superheroes even it is just for a few hours.


-D