Avengers Assemble: The Big Marvel Re-Watch
I'm attempting a great big Marvel movie re-watch ahead of the release of Captain America Civil War on 29th April. A summary and brief review of each of the 12 instalments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be posted each Thursday and Tuesday.
Avengers Assemeble (2012)
Summary and Review
I'd normally do the review separately from the summary but this film is so packed with characters, moments and story that in order to not miss a moment or botch up and under sell it, I've essentially just live tweeted myself notes for when I sit down and write this. So here goes;
We get a mysterious exposition opening hinting at an alien army ready to take earth and then we hit the ground running with a massive set piece. Fury, Hawkeye, fan favourite Coulson and Agent Hill are at action stations in a SHIELD facility where Selvig is studying the Cosmic Cube from Captain America's solo film. The cube has activated and opens a portal for Loki to come through. He has a mind controlling staff and takes Selvig, Hawkeye, the cube and a bunch of SHIELD agents with him while the whole place falls down around them. Just realising that they've lost an almighty source of power to a God, Fury is asked what they should do now and practically turns to camera and winks as the Avengers Assemble logo flies up on screen. It's such a good feeling that 5 years in the making of solo films has built up to this moment.
The thing this film gets so right is a balance between all of it's characters. All of the SHIELD personnel, as well as the heroes, each get just perfect moments on screen. Everyone gets to make one liners and jokes, in typical Joss Whedon fashion, as well as each getting great action set pieces. I don't think I mentioned Hawkeye in my Thor review and that's because he barely gets time to shine. He does feel a little shortchanged this time too. Spending half of the film brainwashed and working for the bad guys. Something that Whedon rectifies with the second Avengers team up. Whereas every other character has had a solo film, even Widow who didn't, got some considerable screen time to show off with, in Ironman 2.
The Avengers are being gathered by Fury. Black Widow gets a great kick ass moment early on, taking a phone call from Coulson halfway though a mission and then beating the crap out of the people holding her hostage, while Coulson is on hold. It almost foreshadows a moment later on when she is a sitting duck and is using her own way of seeming helpless to get information. She's brought on board when she hears that Clint has been taken. Coulson goes to get Ironman and Widow goes of to fetch Hulk. We get some hints throughout the film about Hawkeye and Widow having a history together that doesn't ever really get explored. Fury recruits Captain America when he realises it's the cosmic cube that is in the villains possession.
Ironman is taking well to his no more weaponry way of life and is midway through converting his STARK tower to be a clean energy building. Banner has turned his life around and is in control of his rage and acting as a doctor back on the run in third world countries again. Already in only 6 films they have changed so much. We get a little filling in of Loki's back story; last we saw he was falling off into space at the end of Thor and wound up on Earth. We find out that he ran into some shady characters in space. He was granted an army and rule of Earth after he conquered it, in exchange for.. conquering it, I guess. He was given the staff that lets him control minds and then got sent to earth to open a portal with the cube for the army to arrive through. That's his end goal here.
The balance of humour in this film is really cleverly done. Whereas sometimes it can feel a little forced when every character is rattling off one liners at the same pace, here some are played at their own expense, or as sarcasm. Especially with Cap and Thor, who both have a fish out of water/ man out of time thing going on and don't always get references. Fury and Tony both have the wild sarcasm going for them. Each character stays true to what is built up so far in their solo films while becoming just that much more enjoyable as they bounce off each other. Perhaps with the exception of Thor who seems to take a step back but I'll cover him when we get there.
The team is assembled on the Hellicarrier and the first "oh wow" moment happens when the ship takes off into the skies. Bruce is brought in to track the Gamma radiation that he specialises in, and what the cube and Loki's sceptre are radiating. They track Loki to Germany where he's making a scene to get arrested and onto the Hellicarrier. Cap stands up to Loki in Germany and in comes all his sentimental, imagery. Whereas it was more believable and acceptable in his period piece solo film, it does feel more than a little cheesy in the modern day setting. Thank goodness that Ironman rocks up to hijack the SHIELD speakers with some classic rock, and steal the show. Ironman eventually puts him down. While transferring Loki to the Hellicarrier, Thor arrives and the three main heroes have a little fight before teaming up of the greater good.
This sounds like a bit of a cliche and that's because it is. This movie brings in so many moments from the comics. Not so much easter eggs, but just the little touches that truly let you know this is the Avengers that you've been reading about since the 60's but on the big screen. Tony referencing Life Model Decoys, Hulk not being able to lift Thors hammer, Cap using his shield to redirect Ironman's blasts, Thors hammer making contact with Cap's shield- the whole unstoppable force/ immovable object thing, and Widow uttering her bohze moi catch phrase. It's chockablock full of moments you'll recognise straight outta your comic pages.
Thor comes off a little unlikeable but Cap puts everyone in their place and very early on becomes the leader/ icon that can control and rally everyone into order. What Thor learned in his solo film, about being human, and not being so brash, seems to have been thrown out of the window and he's gone back to being a bit of a meathead/ jock again at first. Whereas Tony similarly comes off as a jerk, yet his constant wisecracking make him really likeable. Aboard the Hellicarrier Tony and Bruce get on like a house on fire, and make fan art fuel forever, with their Science-Bros style friendship.
I talked a little about this in my Hulk review but the friendship between the two goes a long way to making this version of Hulk a believable part of the team and also make him an enjoyable character. The whole idea that Tony's shrapnel and arc reactor is a blessing and a curse, reflected onto the whole Bruce should have died during the Gamma explosion, thing and should be thankful of Hulk for saving him. The Hulk is now a fun suit to play around in just like Ironman's. This is a brilliant retcon. A retcon being, for those of you that don't know, basically translates to retroactive continuity. Something is already in place and is changed or something was never mentioned and is now being relied upon, basically. It can be a huge no no in the comics, and there have been some questionable things written out of continuity. However here, all the changes make sense and serve a purpose. Another genius bit of retconning during the film is mentioning that Banner was trying to recreate the Serum that made Steve Rogers strong. Hulk was an accident, a side effect of that. It just makes sense, that everyone was trying to recreate super soldiers after the inventor died and the subject went missing. Kind of makes you wonder what else SHIELD was up to in the intervening years between being set up and trying to recruit Ironman? It's basically a mine field of history that they can plant things in depending on which legacy heroes they decide to adapt at a later date. We see this in Antman, and I'm hoping to see more quite frankly. More of that when we get to those flicks though!
A couple of things I don't like about the film is that, while we do get Black Widow and Maria Hill kicking serious ass, and I'm all for strong female characters, and for the fictional world I'm reading/ watching to reflect the one I'm living in with diversity. Pepper Potts is shipped off out of harms way really early on and Jane Foster is sent away off screen to be kept safe. Peggy Carter and this dance with Cap she was waiting for is never addressed at all, which I was convinced was going to be a tear jerking moment when they finally reunite. It's just a shame that all of their love interests are shoved off to a side. I get why they did it, it was a huge enough cast as it was, and every second counted, but would 5-10 minutes more screen time to feature Jane Foster and Agent Carter really have pushed this too long?
It comes to no ones surprise that Loki was captured too easily. Widow manipulates him into finding out that he wants to turn Hulk against the rest of them, in one of my favourite scenes, in which the words "mewling quim" managed to slip by sensors. Google the meaning. Go on it's funny that it's in a disney movie! Hulk and Tony are already doubting SHIELD because the prison they are currently housing Loki in, was built for the Hulk. Tony and Banner hack SHIELD's computers while Cap goes and finds proof that they too are creating weapons from the staff/ cube's power sources. This being the "phase 2" to the Avengers initiative's "phase 1". Fury wants to go with the Avengers solution, rather than alien weaponry against Loki. This all comes to a head in an epic and frankly quite compelling argument, from all sides, about the security of Earth and themselves. This moment really got me thinking about just how well scripted every moment is in the film. Each character is there for a purpose and not just because it's the big crossover. Each character has a driving force and worries about the world around them. I can only hope the up-coming Civil War movie has as many clear character paths through it's narrative. The fighting comes to a head when brainwashed Hawkeye comes to break out Loki and blows up one of the Hellicarrier's engines.
This is the next big action piece. It's been a long time since the last, yet all the characterisation and talking heads feels just as fun as the fighting, thanks to Whedon's quippy word play. The action was something I was sure the film wouldn't be able to capture, yet it comes across seamlessly here. Team work. Ironman and Cap go to fix the broken engine, Widow has to calm a now Hulked out Banner, Thor takes on the Hulk in the start of a little team-up/ rivalry (which we've been told will follow through into Thor's up-coming third solo movie as more of a buddy cop style story), while Fury, Hill and Coulson hold the bridge from Hawkeye and his lackeys. The juggling of screen time, characters, and editing here is nothing short of a miracle. Hawkeye takes out a second engine and the carrier starts to drop out of the sky. Widow takes on Hawkeye and knocks him out so hard his brain washing wears off. Because that's how science works in comics too. Cap has to pull a lever to let Ironman out of the turbine, he's now manually pushing up to speed, but winds up getting sidetracked with other villains. Hulk ends up being tricked into jumping off the plane and falling to Earth. Loki tricks Thor into his prison, then shooting it out of the plane and seemingly kills- although it's never really shown on screen- Agent Coulson. He's back in his Agents of SHIELD spinoff series, and I've only seen the first series so I'm not sure how he comes back just yet. But hey, comics are a place where death means nothing. Fake outs, resurrections etc. If you can pull it off without it sounding stupid then fine by me. He's technically the first major death on screen, and it's a fan favourite who's appeared in most of the franchise so far. Coulson gets the last laugh before his dying breath by finally getting to try out his new God-gun. Knocking out Loki and then some.
With the team now broken and somewhat scattered, Fury uses Coulson as a martyr. Someone to be avenged, and practically turns to the camera and winks again. Cap takes the bait. Thor has this bizarre "am I worthy enough of my hammer" moment in a field in the middle of no where, which seems a tad pointless. Banners comes around, and finds out the Hulk aimed for an abandoned warehouse so as not to hurt anyone, when landing. Maybe Hulk isn't so bad? Widow forgives and fixes up Hawkeye, then Cap comes and recruits them both, because Tony just realised that Loki is as much of a diva as he is. Turns out that Loki is setting up his portal on top of STARK tower. This is the first time we hear the full Avengers musical score in all it's glory and it is really empowering for this little getting everyone together and rallying the troops moment.
Tony gets to NYC first and has his now iconic "..we have a Hulk." speech (note: iconic means meme worthy) with Loki before unveiling his new armour, in a way that somehow tops his suitcase suit moment from his last movie outing. Each time they top the last thing in these franchises you worry how the next person is going to one up the new moment, you almost feel sorry for them. We get a little Thor vs Loki moment, after the portal opens and Loki realises there won't be much of Earth left for him to rule over. Banner rocks up and finally has fun Hulking out.
This last battle is a visual effects spectacle that at the time I thought would be so hard to top, and it still holds it's own now. This isn't some made up city, this is NYC and lots of landmarks are shown, it feels so very real. It gives every character great moments. Captain America finally feels fully in control of the team. He gives out a strategy for everyone. Thor can bottle neck the portal and stop more coming through with his lightning, Tony works the perimeter, Hawkeye is the eyes in the sky, Cap and Widow help civilians and keep the fight on the ground while Hulk smashes stuff. There's communication with emergency services, and a need to get civilians out of there. It's grounded in reality despite the spectacle of throwing people through buildings being right up there in the enjoyment factor.
There is again so much juggling of character and so many straight outta the pages of the comics moments that its a wonder this film exists at all, let alone that its this good. There is one really amazing shot that is a constant scene right through the flow if battle moving from one character to another and it's just perfect.
Fury's war council override his Avengers plan and send a nuke to destroy midtown and the portal. It culminates in Ironman having to ride a nuke through the portal while Widow uses Loki's staff to penetrate the shield around the cosmic cube powering the portal. Even during all this action you get little character moments like Tony trying to call Pepper in case he didn't make it. After it closes all of the ships and troops of the alien Chitauri army drop down dead, a little too quickly, because of some mothership/ phantom menace excuse which feels a tad rushed. Again it's only a minor gripe.
The Avengers as a team succeed as well as the Avengers movie as a whole, as Marvel further teases the cosmic scale of the Universe that they are heading towards.
End Credits Scene
There's two this time. It is revealed through the Chitauri leaders monologue, which framed the early intro to the film too, that Earth isn't as easy to conquer as once thought. That to challenge Earth would be to court death. The big bad of Marvel, Thanos, spins around in his throne and smiles to camera. This is the first hint of the over arching plot of all of the Marvel movies. In the comics Thanos is a power house of a character who is in love with the physical embodiment of death. She promises him they can be together when he kills half the universe. He uses the infinity gauntlet and six gems/ stones that give it power. It will later turn out that the cosmic cube and the sceptre are both two of the six stones. Two more pop up in already released films that I will review shortly.
The second scene is the team sat around eating Shawarma, leading from a throwaway line by Tony after the battle of NYC, where he says he doesn't know what it is but he wants to try it. It's a funny after credits scene. Some fans would be disappointed, expecting yet more teases of whats to come but personally the tease and the comedy pretty much sum up the film for me.
Avengers Assemble Rating: 9/10
Pulling one superhero centric movie off is hard enough. The hit and miss lead up to this team up shows that all to well. Joss Whedon pulls off, arguably, the impossible by doing a team origin movie and giving each character enough time to be in the spotlight. Loki is taken in a different direction, proving to be, still to this day, the only fleshed out multi movie villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The visual effects are spectacular and pull off the characters on screen in a way comic fans could only dream of. This could have been the Tony Stark and friends movie, or an action movie with nothing at stake, instead it somehow lives up to the hype. By no means was it a perfect movie, but for me comics should be fun, and this was an absolute riot.
Additional Thoughts
Marvel took a long meandering path to get to Avengers and some of it was hit and miss. It felt like a long time coming. Once upon a time these characters were not household names. Marvel during it's 90's bankruptcy scare notoriously sold the rights to Spider-man and X-men, it's biggest most recognisable characters and needed to build up and introduce the rest gradually. I was asked recently if I thought Marvel or DC's way was best, in which way they took to their Justice League movie. Now DC's is still a way off, so some of this is still speculation.
I'm on record that Man of Steel wasn't for me. It was an amazing visual spectacle and was made for a certain kind of audience. It's tone is darker, everything is visually darker but it has a stylised action. It captures comics in a different way, and captures DC's dark 90's house style perfectly. Needless to say the film did well, and I'm somewhat glad. The difference between their approach is that Marvel needed to introduce their characters from scratch, and DC's heroes are iconic and all owned by the same studio still. People know Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, you can simply tell a story with them. So Marvel took 6 films to get to it's team up, DC is essentially doing it in 3 steps (minus the Suicide Squad side step). We are going Superman solo film, Superman vs. Batman with half (if not all of the Justice League involved too), the Justice League part 1. It's bold and it's risky but the thing is, DC can do this. I hope it works out well, and I'm definitely looking forward to Suicide Squad. They are villains so finally the house style I loath will actually make sense.
My only worry about Batman vs. Superman is that it sounds overcrowded. It would definitely be funny if that was the case with the finished product. Marvel taking until it's eleventh film and Avengers sequel before feeling overcrowded and DC doing it in their second, essentially just rushing to play catch up.
Whatever happens I'm just glad comic book films are mainstream ad this regular.
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| The first 5 years led to this epic 6th film in the franchise. |
Summary and Review
I'd normally do the review separately from the summary but this film is so packed with characters, moments and story that in order to not miss a moment or botch up and under sell it, I've essentially just live tweeted myself notes for when I sit down and write this. So here goes;
We get a mysterious exposition opening hinting at an alien army ready to take earth and then we hit the ground running with a massive set piece. Fury, Hawkeye, fan favourite Coulson and Agent Hill are at action stations in a SHIELD facility where Selvig is studying the Cosmic Cube from Captain America's solo film. The cube has activated and opens a portal for Loki to come through. He has a mind controlling staff and takes Selvig, Hawkeye, the cube and a bunch of SHIELD agents with him while the whole place falls down around them. Just realising that they've lost an almighty source of power to a God, Fury is asked what they should do now and practically turns to camera and winks as the Avengers Assemble logo flies up on screen. It's such a good feeling that 5 years in the making of solo films has built up to this moment.
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| Hawkeye gets shortchanged again. |
The thing this film gets so right is a balance between all of it's characters. All of the SHIELD personnel, as well as the heroes, each get just perfect moments on screen. Everyone gets to make one liners and jokes, in typical Joss Whedon fashion, as well as each getting great action set pieces. I don't think I mentioned Hawkeye in my Thor review and that's because he barely gets time to shine. He does feel a little shortchanged this time too. Spending half of the film brainwashed and working for the bad guys. Something that Whedon rectifies with the second Avengers team up. Whereas every other character has had a solo film, even Widow who didn't, got some considerable screen time to show off with, in Ironman 2.
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| Plenty of humour lightens the mood, and captures the battle banter, you read in comics. |
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| Despite being the strongest most successful solo character so far, thankfully, Stark doesn't steal the show. |
The balance of humour in this film is really cleverly done. Whereas sometimes it can feel a little forced when every character is rattling off one liners at the same pace, here some are played at their own expense, or as sarcasm. Especially with Cap and Thor, who both have a fish out of water/ man out of time thing going on and don't always get references. Fury and Tony both have the wild sarcasm going for them. Each character stays true to what is built up so far in their solo films while becoming just that much more enjoyable as they bounce off each other. Perhaps with the exception of Thor who seems to take a step back but I'll cover him when we get there.
The team is assembled on the Hellicarrier and the first "oh wow" moment happens when the ship takes off into the skies. Bruce is brought in to track the Gamma radiation that he specialises in, and what the cube and Loki's sceptre are radiating. They track Loki to Germany where he's making a scene to get arrested and onto the Hellicarrier. Cap stands up to Loki in Germany and in comes all his sentimental, imagery. Whereas it was more believable and acceptable in his period piece solo film, it does feel more than a little cheesy in the modern day setting. Thank goodness that Ironman rocks up to hijack the SHIELD speakers with some classic rock, and steal the show. Ironman eventually puts him down. While transferring Loki to the Hellicarrier, Thor arrives and the three main heroes have a little fight before teaming up of the greater good.
This sounds like a bit of a cliche and that's because it is. This movie brings in so many moments from the comics. Not so much easter eggs, but just the little touches that truly let you know this is the Avengers that you've been reading about since the 60's but on the big screen. Tony referencing Life Model Decoys, Hulk not being able to lift Thors hammer, Cap using his shield to redirect Ironman's blasts, Thors hammer making contact with Cap's shield- the whole unstoppable force/ immovable object thing, and Widow uttering her bohze moi catch phrase. It's chockablock full of moments you'll recognise straight outta your comic pages.
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| "He's my brother." He killed 80 people! "He's adopted" |
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| A fun Hulk is a much more enjoyable watch than a mopey hitch hiker. |
A couple of things I don't like about the film is that, while we do get Black Widow and Maria Hill kicking serious ass, and I'm all for strong female characters, and for the fictional world I'm reading/ watching to reflect the one I'm living in with diversity. Pepper Potts is shipped off out of harms way really early on and Jane Foster is sent away off screen to be kept safe. Peggy Carter and this dance with Cap she was waiting for is never addressed at all, which I was convinced was going to be a tear jerking moment when they finally reunite. It's just a shame that all of their love interests are shoved off to a side. I get why they did it, it was a huge enough cast as it was, and every second counted, but would 5-10 minutes more screen time to feature Jane Foster and Agent Carter really have pushed this too long?
It comes to no ones surprise that Loki was captured too easily. Widow manipulates him into finding out that he wants to turn Hulk against the rest of them, in one of my favourite scenes, in which the words "mewling quim" managed to slip by sensors. Google the meaning. Go on it's funny that it's in a disney movie! Hulk and Tony are already doubting SHIELD because the prison they are currently housing Loki in, was built for the Hulk. Tony and Banner hack SHIELD's computers while Cap goes and finds proof that they too are creating weapons from the staff/ cube's power sources. This being the "phase 2" to the Avengers initiative's "phase 1". Fury wants to go with the Avengers solution, rather than alien weaponry against Loki. This all comes to a head in an epic and frankly quite compelling argument, from all sides, about the security of Earth and themselves. This moment really got me thinking about just how well scripted every moment is in the film. Each character is there for a purpose and not just because it's the big crossover. Each character has a driving force and worries about the world around them. I can only hope the up-coming Civil War movie has as many clear character paths through it's narrative. The fighting comes to a head when brainwashed Hawkeye comes to break out Loki and blows up one of the Hellicarrier's engines.
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| The Hellicarrier bridge is an amazing set. |
This is the next big action piece. It's been a long time since the last, yet all the characterisation and talking heads feels just as fun as the fighting, thanks to Whedon's quippy word play. The action was something I was sure the film wouldn't be able to capture, yet it comes across seamlessly here. Team work. Ironman and Cap go to fix the broken engine, Widow has to calm a now Hulked out Banner, Thor takes on the Hulk in the start of a little team-up/ rivalry (which we've been told will follow through into Thor's up-coming third solo movie as more of a buddy cop style story), while Fury, Hill and Coulson hold the bridge from Hawkeye and his lackeys. The juggling of screen time, characters, and editing here is nothing short of a miracle. Hawkeye takes out a second engine and the carrier starts to drop out of the sky. Widow takes on Hawkeye and knocks him out so hard his brain washing wears off. Because that's how science works in comics too. Cap has to pull a lever to let Ironman out of the turbine, he's now manually pushing up to speed, but winds up getting sidetracked with other villains. Hulk ends up being tricked into jumping off the plane and falling to Earth. Loki tricks Thor into his prison, then shooting it out of the plane and seemingly kills- although it's never really shown on screen- Agent Coulson. He's back in his Agents of SHIELD spinoff series, and I've only seen the first series so I'm not sure how he comes back just yet. But hey, comics are a place where death means nothing. Fake outs, resurrections etc. If you can pull it off without it sounding stupid then fine by me. He's technically the first major death on screen, and it's a fan favourite who's appeared in most of the franchise so far. Coulson gets the last laugh before his dying breath by finally getting to try out his new God-gun. Knocking out Loki and then some.
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| RIP Phil Coulson. Until your spinoff. |
With the team now broken and somewhat scattered, Fury uses Coulson as a martyr. Someone to be avenged, and practically turns to the camera and winks again. Cap takes the bait. Thor has this bizarre "am I worthy enough of my hammer" moment in a field in the middle of no where, which seems a tad pointless. Banners comes around, and finds out the Hulk aimed for an abandoned warehouse so as not to hurt anyone, when landing. Maybe Hulk isn't so bad? Widow forgives and fixes up Hawkeye, then Cap comes and recruits them both, because Tony just realised that Loki is as much of a diva as he is. Turns out that Loki is setting up his portal on top of STARK tower. This is the first time we hear the full Avengers musical score in all it's glory and it is really empowering for this little getting everyone together and rallying the troops moment.
Tony gets to NYC first and has his now iconic "..we have a Hulk." speech (note: iconic means meme worthy) with Loki before unveiling his new armour, in a way that somehow tops his suitcase suit moment from his last movie outing. Each time they top the last thing in these franchises you worry how the next person is going to one up the new moment, you almost feel sorry for them. We get a little Thor vs Loki moment, after the portal opens and Loki realises there won't be much of Earth left for him to rule over. Banner rocks up and finally has fun Hulking out.
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| Such a satisfying moment! |
This last battle is a visual effects spectacle that at the time I thought would be so hard to top, and it still holds it's own now. This isn't some made up city, this is NYC and lots of landmarks are shown, it feels so very real. It gives every character great moments. Captain America finally feels fully in control of the team. He gives out a strategy for everyone. Thor can bottle neck the portal and stop more coming through with his lightning, Tony works the perimeter, Hawkeye is the eyes in the sky, Cap and Widow help civilians and keep the fight on the ground while Hulk smashes stuff. There's communication with emergency services, and a need to get civilians out of there. It's grounded in reality despite the spectacle of throwing people through buildings being right up there in the enjoyment factor.
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| There's the odd questionable costume change. His classic look still works best in my opinion. |
Fury's war council override his Avengers plan and send a nuke to destroy midtown and the portal. It culminates in Ironman having to ride a nuke through the portal while Widow uses Loki's staff to penetrate the shield around the cosmic cube powering the portal. Even during all this action you get little character moments like Tony trying to call Pepper in case he didn't make it. After it closes all of the ships and troops of the alien Chitauri army drop down dead, a little too quickly, because of some mothership/ phantom menace excuse which feels a tad rushed. Again it's only a minor gripe.
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| Another comic moment as only the A from STARK towers logo is left standing. |
The Avengers as a team succeed as well as the Avengers movie as a whole, as Marvel further teases the cosmic scale of the Universe that they are heading towards.
End Credits Scene
There's two this time. It is revealed through the Chitauri leaders monologue, which framed the early intro to the film too, that Earth isn't as easy to conquer as once thought. That to challenge Earth would be to court death. The big bad of Marvel, Thanos, spins around in his throne and smiles to camera. This is the first hint of the over arching plot of all of the Marvel movies. In the comics Thanos is a power house of a character who is in love with the physical embodiment of death. She promises him they can be together when he kills half the universe. He uses the infinity gauntlet and six gems/ stones that give it power. It will later turn out that the cosmic cube and the sceptre are both two of the six stones. Two more pop up in already released films that I will review shortly.
The second scene is the team sat around eating Shawarma, leading from a throwaway line by Tony after the battle of NYC, where he says he doesn't know what it is but he wants to try it. It's a funny after credits scene. Some fans would be disappointed, expecting yet more teases of whats to come but personally the tease and the comedy pretty much sum up the film for me.
Avengers Assemble Rating: 9/10
Pulling one superhero centric movie off is hard enough. The hit and miss lead up to this team up shows that all to well. Joss Whedon pulls off, arguably, the impossible by doing a team origin movie and giving each character enough time to be in the spotlight. Loki is taken in a different direction, proving to be, still to this day, the only fleshed out multi movie villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The visual effects are spectacular and pull off the characters on screen in a way comic fans could only dream of. This could have been the Tony Stark and friends movie, or an action movie with nothing at stake, instead it somehow lives up to the hype. By no means was it a perfect movie, but for me comics should be fun, and this was an absolute riot.
Additional Thoughts
Marvel took a long meandering path to get to Avengers and some of it was hit and miss. It felt like a long time coming. Once upon a time these characters were not household names. Marvel during it's 90's bankruptcy scare notoriously sold the rights to Spider-man and X-men, it's biggest most recognisable characters and needed to build up and introduce the rest gradually. I was asked recently if I thought Marvel or DC's way was best, in which way they took to their Justice League movie. Now DC's is still a way off, so some of this is still speculation.
I'm on record that Man of Steel wasn't for me. It was an amazing visual spectacle and was made for a certain kind of audience. It's tone is darker, everything is visually darker but it has a stylised action. It captures comics in a different way, and captures DC's dark 90's house style perfectly. Needless to say the film did well, and I'm somewhat glad. The difference between their approach is that Marvel needed to introduce their characters from scratch, and DC's heroes are iconic and all owned by the same studio still. People know Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, you can simply tell a story with them. So Marvel took 6 films to get to it's team up, DC is essentially doing it in 3 steps (minus the Suicide Squad side step). We are going Superman solo film, Superman vs. Batman with half (if not all of the Justice League involved too), the Justice League part 1. It's bold and it's risky but the thing is, DC can do this. I hope it works out well, and I'm definitely looking forward to Suicide Squad. They are villains so finally the house style I loath will actually make sense.
My only worry about Batman vs. Superman is that it sounds overcrowded. It would definitely be funny if that was the case with the finished product. Marvel taking until it's eleventh film and Avengers sequel before feeling overcrowded and DC doing it in their second, essentially just rushing to play catch up.
Whatever happens I'm just glad comic book films are mainstream ad this regular.
Avengers Assemble: The Big Marvel Re-Watch
Reviewed by Matt
on
00:00:00
Rating:
Reviewed by Matt
on
00:00:00
Rating:
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