MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS: Assembling an Adventure

“‘I am Iron Man’. You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve just become part of a larger universe. You just don’t know it yet. … [I’m] Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative.”

- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Iron Man (2008)

“What if I told you we were putting a team together?”

- Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) The Incredible Hulk (2008)

“Legend tells us one thing, history another. But every now and then, we find something that belongs to both.”

- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Thor (2011)

Sometimes, the fantastical can be realized in reality. It just takes a lot of work, innovative tools, a group of genius people and a lot of faith. This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something unheard of in today’s film landscape. Taking separate movies created by different cast and crews and tying them together with a single narrative. From the Iron Man films to Captain America, Marvel Studios has kept a series of films that takes its characters seriously but maintains a wry sense of fun.

In 2009, Marvel Entertainment was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, kicking open the doors to all possibility: TV series, video games, all sorts of merchandise and clothing and, most importantly, propelling its 5,000 characters into the worldwide lexicon. With the series of films now under the care of one of the world’s largest entertainment providers, it was time to finally go for the Hail Mary. To bring together all the heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into one major motion picture: Marvel’s The Avengers.





The evil Asgardian god of mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives at a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility, steals the ancient artifact the Tesseract and announces to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) that he is bringing war to Earth. After the evacuation and destruction of the facility, Fury orders that the “Avengers initiative” be put into effect. Meanwhile, in New York, billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) has put the final touches on his new Stark Tower in New York with his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) until Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) comes in and recruits Stark to help S.H.I.E.L.D. track down Loki and the Tesseract. Agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) goes to India to find the reclusive Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who is afraid of unleashing his monstrous alter-ego, the Hulk. In New York, Fury talks to the recently awakened Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and convinces him to join the group. After capturing Loki, his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth) arrives from Asgard joins them on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to make sure he is protected, believing he can still be returned home. However, Loki's scheme is much bigger than anyone knows and it is going to take a team to save the world from an alien threat.

What can be said about this movie that hasn't been said by the world? Although I am just now getting around to reviewing this film, I saw it on May 4th at midnight. That was a spectacular screening. People were just so geared-up for this movie (as I was) and we were blown away by how great it was. This, and The Dark Knight Rises, will change the game for superhero films in the years to come. Warner Bros. has recently announced they are going to try again to bring Justice League to the screen. If there is one thing I think they should learn from The Avengers, it's this: Take your characters seriously but remember to have fun. The Christopher Nolan Batman films are extremely serious, but even Nolan knows to add some levity every now and then to keep things moving. I'm glad Joss Whedon has finally gotten his time to shine; considering his time in Hollywood (from screenwriting and script doctoring to directing Serenity), it's a sweet reward. As the first Marvel Studios director to actually have written for Marvel Comics, it certainly has paid off in spades.

The cast, as expected, was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth delievered as they have before. The new guy, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, exceeded expectations by playing a different Banner than before: someone who is cautious but without daddy issues and isn't paranoid. Ruffalo is also the first actor to play the character of the Hulk live on set via performance capture and it is stunning to see. From what I've been hearing, Disney was not expecting this reaction to the Hulk and I am sure they are happy that the third time's the charm. Scarlett Johansson gets a little more to do than she did in her supporting role in Iron Man 2. On the other hand, Jeremy Renner, aka Hollywood's new golden boy, doesn't get much to do as Hawkeye. Hopefully, if he is given his own film or a supporting role in a larger S.H.I.E.L.D.-centered film. Samuel L. Jackson is Samuel L. Jackson. As Nick Fury, he can do no wrong, though I kinda wished for more one-liners like he did in Iron Man 2, but that's just me.

Marvel's The Avengers is probably the best blockbuster film I've seen in quite a long time. It's action-packed, smart, funny and can appeal to everyone. Even my mother got out and saw this movie! Now that it's one of the biggest films of all time, third only to James Cameron's own Titanic and Avatar, Marvel and Disney's partnership is one to watch out for because they now own 5,000 characters that they can pull out of obscurity and turn into major motion pictures. It's only a matter of time...