Great Expectations

I was greatly conflicted about my expectations for Marvel/Joss Whedon's "Avengers Assemble", released last Thursday after four years of build-up since "Iron Man"1. Part of me thought it could never live up to the hype, which was inevitably huge, or harness well all six of the team (especially the key four: Thor, Iron Man, Cap America and the Hulk). It could have fallen into the great pit created by "Spider-Man 3", with its multitude of heroes and villains destroying any cohesion in the film. On the other hand, part of me was so excited I kept squealing intermittently on the train journey to Cineworld. Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,.... It totally lived up to the hype! "Avengers Assemble" demonstrates the pure, unbridled cinematic talent of Joss Whedon, seen in his first  movie venture "Serenity" and indeed in the very recent "Cabin in the Woods", but which also must be noted in his TV masterpieces with there fantastic ensembles and brilliant combo of humour, horror, emotion and entertainment! See "Buffy" and "Angel" for probably Whedon's finest moments.

What was so great about "Avengers Assemble"? Where to begin?! Ok, lets start with the cast and the Avengers themselves. I, as you all know, am a MASSIVE Thor fan. Loved the film, love Chris Hemsworth (I need a good nickname for that boy...), love the humour and the characters. I definitely was expecting to love his character the most, though with Iron Man as a close second. I was definitely not expecting much from ScarJo and Jeremy Renner, whose characters seem redundant when fighting next to a demi-God, a hulk, a super soldier and a man in a metal suit which flies and is covered in guns! I worried that the film wouldn't acknowledge or be able to work with the clear lack of equilibrium between powers. And with such a big cast of leads, one always fears some will get too much attention and some too little. My worries were unfounded. 

The Avengers + S.H.I.E.L.D agents + Joss W

One of the best things about this film is the abundance of fight scenes and conflict. Before our heroes even get to fighting Loki they have to become a cohesive unity and that - with such diverse personalities at play - naturally leads to some initial conflict. Thor vs Captain America and Iron Man? Genius. And the pièce de résistance of such inner-clashes is that it allows Whedon to acknowledge their differing abilities and varying power: there's no way Black Widow stands a chance one-on-one with the Hulk for example and this is clear in the film. Nevertheless, ScarJo does not seem redundant as I feared. In a battle against Loki there's no question, she - and Renner's Hawkeye - would lose, but in a war their powers do come in handy. Furthermore, all the characters get decent coverage, though you can't help but think Stark (or Robert Downey Jr) will always steal the show somewhat. I loved all the characters, even the infamously boring Bruce Bannar, played by Mark Ruffalo who I am definitely learning to appreciate. No character is without a good script, a decent back story, depth of personality and some funny one-liners. I can't say who was my favourite really... Captain America certainly nabbed a place in my heart with his endearing and in no way annoying dedication to what is right and to a higher purpose. With such large, unruly and eratic characters such as the Hulk, Thor and Iron Man, the Cap is a necessity! No actor let his character down. The casting - which when I first noted it made me go "Who ARE half these people??" - is pure genius.

Creepy right?

As for non-Avengers casting, Samuel L Jackson was of course BORN to play Nick Fury. That man has, like his wallet, "Bad-ass" written all over him. And, like his co-stars, in this film he is allowed to bring more depth and character to his role. He genuinely moved me in multiple scenes. Oh Nick, I have so much love for you and your eye patch. Tom Hiddleston also has the villainous Loki down. I would not trust that boy with a barge pole. He's cruel, he's deranged, but he's a genius, and despite the other heroes' superior physical powers, he has them wrapped around his finger for a  large portion of the film. Hiddleston brings emotion but also pure sinister-ness to this former Ice Giant. Ice being the operative word. I must also mention Agent Coulson, who since the post-credits scene in "Iron Man" has been bringing out heroes together, preparing them for a time when the Earth will need them and need them to work together. He also gets fleshed out in this film with some new and very lovable character traits: His dedication to the Avengers initiative and his fan-boy-crush on Captain America.

Thor and the Captain mid-battle

The battles and the adventure aspects are what we're all really going to see at the end of the day - and hot men in tight suits naturally - and this film brings it and brings it hard! As I said, there are battles against Loki but also some instances of Avenger#1 vs Avenger#2. Each hero has a completely different power and so no fight scene is the same. You have your hammer-wielding God who packs an ENORMOUS punch; your faster-than-a-human-should-ever-be-able-to-run Captain America who was trained as a more traditional soldier; your shiny metal suit which has unlimited gadgets and, of course, flies; and you have your in-no-way-subtle giant green angry dude. The main battle is of course the final battle in which Loki attempts to unleash hell on earth. Though it may be argued that the villains which accompany him are of no real character or particular originality, the amazing force which the Avengers unleash on them certainly is. It's exciting, its of a good length - unlike the fights which end "Iron Man" 1 and 2 and "Captain America" -, and its diverse. Those Avengers sure do know a lot of ways to kill. This film is as colourful in plot, characters and action as a true Marvel film should be. The final fight VERY much resembles the end of "Transformers 3", but you know, if T3 was frikkin' awesome!

I say to everyone, see this film. No exceptions. It will grab you and not let you go til the end. It had me laughing out loud consistently, it had me on the edge of my seat and it had me in tears at a couple of points which I will leave you to discover for yourself. There is no genre or atmosphere Whedon can't master - as "CITW" also demonstrated very well. As I said, this film is a super hero movie, but as Marvel have been learning to do quite well since beginning this adventure with "Iron Man", it encompasses character, strong plot, humour, darkness, and pure, unhinged adventure. Oh, to watch it again straight away! Trust me, it will happen this week. The Avengers assembled and they assembled well!

P.s. I very much enjoyed Empire's online review of this film, I agree with pretty much all of its points. Check it out if you desire better-written, well-articulated praise of AA, though, I will say that I would add another star to its four-star judgement.