The Avengers is everything you wanted and more. It hits almost all the beats that we wanted to see, joins itself effortlessly and convincingly to all five preceding films, and actually manages to take the familiar characters we’ve come to know to something like the next level. It's a thrilling, funny, and utterly satisfying crossover. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun in a movie theater.
We open with the arrival of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) on Earth in the middle of a S.H.I.E.L.D. base where Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) is studying the Tesseract, under the watchful eyes of Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Agents Maria Hill (Coby Smoulders) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Loki quickly declares his intent to conquer the Earth, steals the Tesseract, and destroys the base with one fell swoop.
In light of the attack, and the threat posed by Loki, Fury decides to enact the Avengers initiative by assembling a response team made up of the world’s superheroes. Coulson and Natasha Romanov AKA Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) are thus dispatched to recruit Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Bruce Banner, sometimes the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, ably replacing Edward Norton) respectively, while Fury approaches the recently thawed-out Steve Rogers AKA Captain America (Chris Evans).
Hmm…don’t really want to say much more, except that they’re soon joined by Loki’s brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who has returned to Earth to try to talk some sense into his brother or, failing that, bring him back to Asgard to face justice. Oh, and Loki is backed by the Chitauri: a race of reptilian creatures who have agreed to give Loki dominion over Earth in exchange for the Tesseract, which will allow them to conquer the galaxy.
You might be able to tell that this is a fairly simple plot: Loki wants to conquer the world, Fury assembles the Avengers to stop him. That’s really all we need: we’re not here for big plot twists (though there are a few), we’re here to see the Avengers get together and kick ass…and we do. Oh, do we ever!
The film is neatly divided into three acts: the first is the gathering of the team, the second their meeting each other and having personality clashes onboard the SHIELD Helicarrier (flying aircraft-carrier, which is every bit as cool as it sounds), the third a massive, extended battle royal against Loki and his army in New York City.
Crossovers are a relatively rare genre of film, and even rarer is one that actually works as well as The Avengers does (I can only think of two: Freddy vs. Jason and the animated World’s Finest Superman/Batman crossover). More often, you’ll get things like, say, Alien vs. Predator, which, despite a few flashes of inspiration, failed to capture the spirit of either character and ended up being an uncreative, thudding mess (and the less said about the sequel, the better), or the other Universal monster-match-ups like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf-Man or House of Dracula that sidelined one or more of the characters in favor of a particular ‘star.’
What really stands out about The Avengers, and what might be its signature strength, is how well it juggles all six of its heroes. It actually manages to give each character a surprising amount of screen-time, and no one feels like they could have simply been cut without taking away from the story (well, Maria Hill is a borderline case, but she’s a supporting character so it’s not as noticeable) The filmmakers thankfully didn’t forget that they were making a sequel as well as a crossover, and all the characters we’ve been getting to know over the past five films are allowed to grow, continue, and move on from where they were the last time we saw them. In other words, the film doesn’t just bring all these characters together; it continues their stories from where they left off. We see Captain America trying to adjust to the modern world, we see Tony Stark continuing his transformation from selfish dick to honest-to-goodness hero, we learn more about Bruce Banner’s relationship with his other half, and we get to see Thor and Loki finally have the conversation they were too busy to have last time: the one where Loki tells Thor exactly why he’s doing all this.
Most importantly, none of the six heroes overwhelms the others: Cap and Iron Man are, fittingly, probably the closest thing the film has to ‘stars’ in terms of impact and screen-time, but no one is forgotten and each gets their chance not only to shine, but to grow and develop.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is as much fun as ever; tossing off ad libs and smart-alecky quips with his usual aplomb. He seems more stable this time around though, less socially dysfunctional and more at peace with himself. This may have something to do with the fact that he and his long-suffering assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, welcome as ever) are now officially a couple, and we get a very charming moment with the two of them near the start of the film to emphasize this (and to finally let us see the romance that the two Iron Man films were leading up to). Their banter is as witty and lovable as ever, and helps us to realize that Tony is growing and maturing; he’s not the neurotic wreck we once knew, though he’s not completely different either and evinces some notable insecurity in his interactions with Captain America. Downey also excels at saying one thing while letting us see that Stark really thinks something different: one scene with Cap has Stark toss off a rather nasty and patently untrue insult, but a brief aside glance shows us that he knows he’s firing blanks.
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America is the same good-guy he was, though now his decency and heroism is tempered by an edge of sadness and disillusion: he’s a man out of time, whose lost pretty much everything he’s ever known and is unsure how he fits in to this new world. I particularly like the way they acknowledge the fact that an idealistic hero from the Greatest Generation would probably be disappointed with the twenty-first century without getting too specific (which would certainly have alienated viewers). Evans is still great at portraying Cap’s essential virtuousness and decency, and he gets a number of good moments that emphasize this (particularly his meeting with Dr. Banner). Cap’s the leader of the team, and the film makes sure to show it.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor is recognizably still the more humble and selfless figure he became at the end of the last film, though like Stark he’s not a completely different person and still has moments of hotheadedness (particularly his meeting with Iron Man). He’s in somewhat of the opposite position to Cap, in that while both are outsiders, Thor knows and loves this world and has friends here (his friendship with Dr. Selvig is acknowledged, and while Natalie Portman was unable to appear in person, Jane Foster is briefly present in a very sweet moment that is among the many things the film gets exactly right). Hemsworth gets some particularly good scenes with Hiddleston, as he tries to come to terms with what his (still beloved) brother has become.
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner just might be the stand out performance of the film. Banner is a very different person than he was when we saw him last (and not just because he’s played by a different actor); he’s become more-or-less resigned to his curse, and while he still travels the globe in secret, trying to do good for people (we meet him tending plague victims in Cambodia), he’s developed a rather alarming confidence about himself, as well as a somewhat self-deprecating sense of humor about his condition. Basically, he knows that in any situation he finds himself in he holds the trump card. At the same time, he lets us see that Banner is still hurting, still resentful, and still keenly aware of how his condition sets him apart from his fellow men. There are a number of little details in his performance that I loved, such as the way he instinctively hides his face from passing SHIELD agents even after he’s joined the Avengers, or the way he keeps casting glances over his shoulders as though expecting attacks from any corner. Ruffalo gives a complex, multi-layered performance that I’d rank as the best portrayal of the character since Bill Bixby defined the role. The Hulk itself, meanwhile, very nearly steals the whole show with a series of brilliantly conceived maneuvers that puts it to better use than any previous film and makes one eager to see what it might do in another solo adventure.
(On the subject of the Hulk, the movie deserves credit for a very rare achievement: it actually removed one of my complaints from The Incredible Hulk. In my review, I noted both that the ending shot made no sense and that Bruce Banner didn’t really have any kind of character arc. Well, with the conception of the character in The Avengers we have not only a satisfying explanation of the final scene in Hulk but also, retroactively, are able to read some real development of Banner’s character into the events of the previous film. I don’t want to say anymore, as it would give away some of The Avengers’ most delightful surprises.)
Scarlet Johansson as Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow was something of a surprise for me. She really comes into her own in this film, making us realize just how little we knew her in Iron Man 2. Here she’s a curious mixture of coldness, deceitfulness, bravery, and emotional turmoil that let us know that this is a woman who, for all her skills, really hasn’t come to terms with herself. On the one hand, she casually lies to Banner’s face when she comes to collect him and alludes to horrible deeds in her past, on the other she’s a brave and selfless team member, one who does her best to try to keep the team together as the varying personalities start taking their toll and who puts herself on the line numerous times for the sake of her companions (including, at one point, engaging in a battle of wits with Loki himself). I particularly like how her particular skills of infiltration, interrogation, and so on are actually put to good use, making her seem like a valued and important member of the team (no mean feat, considering she’s basically a normal woman fighting alongside super-powered men).
There’s also an ambiguous relationship between her and Hawkeye that the film sets up just enough of to make us interested while simultaneously understanding that this really isn’t the time or place to explore in depth. It isn’t quite a romantic relationship, but it certainly is close friendship and trust that might hint at something more, however much Black Widow herself denies it (though frankly I’m still hoping for a Captain America-Black Widow romance).
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye doesn’t really have as much to do as the others (partially due to a first-act twist that effectively isolates him from the team for much of the film), but he does at least get off some good moments. He’s the hero that is least developed either in previous films (he only had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Thor prior to this) or in this one, being little more than a rather snarky sidekick and motivating force for Black Widow. He doesn’t really come into his own until the end fight, during which he pulls off a number of excellent maneuvers, but he at least holds his own and feels like he contributes something to the film, despite his limited character.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki, meanwhile, isn’t quite the same complex character he was in Thor. He still has shades of it, particularly whenever he and Thor have a scene together, but he’s basically a straight-up bad guy this time, with little sign of the contradictory emotions and neediness he had in the previous film. Still, he’s certainly an effective villain, blasting his way through S.H.I.E.L.D. guards and heroes with terrifying ease, showing himself to be a threat truly worthy of the Avengers. He’s also a delight to watch as he confidently manipulates and blasts his way towards victory, usually with a good dose of sarcasm or boastful speeches thrown in. Loki this time around is a villain you truly love to hate, and Hiddleston again shows his mastery in the role.
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury finally gets a chance to be front and center, and does a typically good job in the role, though with so many other characters flying around he sometimes gets a little overwhelmed for all of Jackson’s charisma. Clark Gregg is back as Agent Coulson, here showing more of a personal side as he chats with Pepper or has a gushing fan-boy moment with Cap. Coby Smoulders doesn’t really have much to contribute as Agent Maria Hill, serving mostly as someone for Fury to talk to, but she handles herself well enough, particularly in the opening action sequence. Paul Bettany is back as JARVIS, and as snarky as ever. Stellan Skarsgard as Dr. Eric Selvig has a rather compromised role this time around, but is a welcome presence nonetheless. Meanwhile, Harry Dean Stanton (of Alien fame) has a brief but amusing cameo as a janitor who gives Banner a hand after one of his Hulk episodes (“You have a condition, son”).
One of the key ingredients to making a good crossover is the question of how these characters will react to each other. In almost every case, The Avengers absolutely nails the interactions that, say, Thor and Captain America, or Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, might be expected to have. Stark and Banner in particular have surprisingly good chemistry, bonding over their shared love of science (“Finally! Someone who speaks English!” “Was that what just happened?”). Most of the inner-team rivalry centers around Cap and Stark, and it must be said that while their verbal battles are entertaining, it sometimes feels like Cap isn’t being allowed to push back as hard as he should against Tony. Stark is allowed to have the last word a few times too many for my taste, including a couple times when he really shouldn’t. It’s not a major problem, just something that might have been improved.
Something that almost completely makes up for it, however, is the way that they drop their bickering immediately when the chips are down. Once the time has come for action, Cap and Iron Man work surprisingly well together, better than anyone would have expected given their vastly differing personalities (I’m reminded of a similar dynamic among the three men in Jaws). The way they actually grow to respect and trust each other is engaging, and the two of them serve as the heart of the team (and the film).
There is also real heart and sweetness in the team’s treatment of Banner, who is clearly rather nervous at meeting so many other people, and unused to the simple respect and friendship they show him. As noted, his scenes with Stark are particularly good as Stark essentially tries to cheer him up and give him a new perspective on his condition (one funny moment has him playfully jabbing Banner in the side to ‘test’ his control…while at the same time letting Banner know that Stark isn’t afraid of him).
As you might have gathered, The Avengers is a furiously action-packed film, though it’s never confusing and never feels overstuffed (surprisingly enough). The action always seems to serve the story, rather than vice-versa. Even an exhibition match between Thor and Iron Man feels like it fits in both with what’s going on in the story and with the personalities of the two characters (kudos also for the choreographers for making the fight believably even). There’s a great creativity to these scenes, giving the moments we wanted to see, while also giving us a number of surprises along the way. The action sequences are face-paced, outsized, and utterly thrilling, from the opening assault on the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, to the battle on the Helicarrier, to the epic final confrontation in New York City. Sprinkled throughout are perfect “crossover” moments: moments that fans of the characters would demand to see in any decent match-up between them. Thus we have moments like Iron Man reflecting his repulser rays off of Cap’s shield, or the Hulk trying to pick up Thor’s hammer, or the glorious moment when the team assembles as a complete unit for the first time and Cap begins ordering them to their places.
I really can’t think of too many flaws for the film, and they’re mostly ones of omission. I mentioned that characters like Nick Fury and Maria Hill get somewhat overshadowed or lost in the shuffle, though there doesn’t seem like a whole lot that anyone could have done about that. Also, I wish they hadn’t stacked the deck quite so much against Cap’s idealism: he never drops it, but he has it challenged more times than he probably should (though the film ultimately supports his idealism and selflessness as preferable to Stark’s cynicism). The fight between Thor and the Hulk (which I had been particularly looking forward to seeing) was far too short for my tastes. I also wish they could have fit the line “Avengers assemble!” into the film somewhere.
There are also a couple of moments where the story slips a bit: it’s mentioned a couple times that you can’t go out onto the Helicarrier while it’s in flight because of the thin atmosphere, but then several characters do so with no apparent problem. Likewise, one scene has Thor caught in a death trap that seems to pose more of a threat to him than it really should. The “World Defense Counsel” just sort of shows up without much explanation and doesn’t really serve much purpose apart from making Fury look good by comparison. I was also rather disappointed that Black Widow’s fighting style (which I praised in Iron Man 2 for its relative restrain and realism) has been simplified to precisely the rather prosaic punches and kicks I was so pleased the previous film had avoided. She’s still persuasive in the action scenes, but not as much as she was before.
Fortunately, there aren’t too many such moments. On the whole, The Avengers is the most fun I’ve had in a theater for a very long time and one of the most satisfying crossover films I’ve ever seen.
Final Rating: 5/5 Everything you wanted it to be: not only highly recommended, but it’s worth seeing the previous five films just to fully enjoy this one.
Memorable Quotes:
Nick Fury: “We have no quarrel with your people.”
Loki: “An ant has no quarrel with a boot.”
Bruce Banner: “Are you here to kill me, Agent Romanoff? Because that’s…not going to work.”
Black Widow: “We need you to come in.”
Banner: “What if I say no?”
Black Widow: “I’ll persuade you.”
Banner: “And what if the Other Guy says no?”
(regarding his new Stark Tower in Manhattan)
Tony Stark: “This is your baby. Give yourself…twelve percent of the credit.”
Pepper Potts: “Twelve percent?”
Stark: “An argument could be made for fifteen.”
(after being interrupted by Coulson)
Stark: “I thought we were having a moment.”
Pepper: “I was having twelve percent of a moment.”
(about the Helicarrier)
Steve Rogers: “Is this thing a submarine?”
Banner: “Do they really want me in a compressed metal tube?”
(the Helicarrier takes off)
Banner: “Oh, this is much worse.”
(to a crowd in Germany)
Loki: “In the end…you will always kneel.”
(an old man stands up)
Old Man: “Not to men like you.”
Loki: “There are no men like me.”
Old Man: “There are always men like you.”
(during an encounter with Thor, Cap suits up)
Black Widow: “You might want to sit this one out, Captain. Those guys are alien beings, they’re basically gods.”
Captain America: “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
Thor: “We were raised together, we played together, we fought together! Do you remember none of that?”
Loki: “I remember a shadow. I remember living always in the shade of your greatness.”
Cap: “Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?”
Stark: “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”
Cap: “I know guys with none of that who are worth ten of you.”
Banner: “Last time I was in New York I sort of broke…Harlem.”
Thor: “You people are so petty! And tiny!”
Loki: “I have an army.”
Stark: “We have a Hulk.”
(fighting the invading aliens)
Black Widow: “Just like Budapest all over again!”
Hawkeye: “You and I remember Budapest very differently.”
(giving the team their orders)
Cap: “And Hulk…smash.”
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