Summer Review #1 -- The Avengers
What do you get when you bring together a group of outcasts to save the Earth?
What happens if some of them possess egos bigger than the planet that they are meant to be defending and others are a bit out of the loop?
What do you do when each personality threatens to take over at any given moment, for a few more literally than for others?
Did I mention that this bunch includes doctors, soldiers and playboys, with a bit of deity thrown in for good measure?
When it comes to cinema, this kind of high concept premise can lead to either success or disaster. Thankfully, it is geek king Joss Whedon's job to mold the tale into a film and he achieves perfection. The Avengers is a smashing, thrilling, fun ride, with not only incredible visuals that will make your eyes pop, but also the human element to pull the story along.
When god of mischief Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives on Earth to enslave its inhabitants, S.H.I.E.L.D. agency director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles a team of superheroes to stop him. The group is comprised of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), god of thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), soldier Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), marksman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and assassin Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Through their loud quarrels and quiet respect for one another, the Avengers start advancing toward a common goal...
The film works on numerous levels, simply because it does not rely on one layer of storytelling. What could easily have been a soulless slam-bang-boom actioner becomes a clever and often moving adaptation in the hands of writer/director Whedon. The filmmaker never lets his audience forget that the majority of the protagonists, as preternaturally powerful as they are, are human beings... with slightly amplified problems, that is. Once you take away their mind-boggling gifts, resources and whatever else makes them distinctive, they are humans with the same kind of quirks, fears and insecurities like the mere mortals they are protecting. As for the effects, they are phenomenal. I am hard-pressed to choose my favorite sequences, but the New York City sequences are pretty high up on my list, even though the script gets a little lost among the kicks and explosions. The film deserves to be seen in IMAX 3D; it is the kind of gem that this technology was made for.
The cast infuses the proceedings with plenty of heart and spunk. Downey has always been the perfect choice for Stark, and Hemsworth proved his leading man potential as Thor in his 2011 introduction to the Marvel universe. Hiddleston is quickly becoming one of the newest chameleon performers. His Loki is a sadistic yet vulnerable villain aiming for devastation in all forms, no questions asked. Johansson is a force to be reckoned with as the Widow, with her lines being quite the zingers, and Renner plays Hawkeye with a sense of duty and a bit of wry humor. The most affecting portrayal, though, belongs to Ruffalo, whose Bruce Banner is constantly at odds with himself and his unfortunate alter ego. Banner is reserved and almost frightened of his own self in this incarnation, which makes the anticipation of the Hulk's appearance palpably intense and turns the scene into one of the crucial points in the character's development.
The Avengers is one the best comic book adaptations in recent years. Its way of blending the earthly with the fantastic brings gravitas to the characters' stories and creates a stable context for their reality. It is a terrific cinematic escape fueled by intelligence and imagination, sure to delight comic book and film fans alike.
What happens if some of them possess egos bigger than the planet that they are meant to be defending and others are a bit out of the loop?
What do you do when each personality threatens to take over at any given moment, for a few more literally than for others?
Did I mention that this bunch includes doctors, soldiers and playboys, with a bit of deity thrown in for good measure?
When it comes to cinema, this kind of high concept premise can lead to either success or disaster. Thankfully, it is geek king Joss Whedon's job to mold the tale into a film and he achieves perfection. The Avengers is a smashing, thrilling, fun ride, with not only incredible visuals that will make your eyes pop, but also the human element to pull the story along.
When god of mischief Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives on Earth to enslave its inhabitants, S.H.I.E.L.D. agency director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles a team of superheroes to stop him. The group is comprised of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), god of thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), soldier Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), marksman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and assassin Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Through their loud quarrels and quiet respect for one another, the Avengers start advancing toward a common goal...
The film works on numerous levels, simply because it does not rely on one layer of storytelling. What could easily have been a soulless slam-bang-boom actioner becomes a clever and often moving adaptation in the hands of writer/director Whedon. The filmmaker never lets his audience forget that the majority of the protagonists, as preternaturally powerful as they are, are human beings... with slightly amplified problems, that is. Once you take away their mind-boggling gifts, resources and whatever else makes them distinctive, they are humans with the same kind of quirks, fears and insecurities like the mere mortals they are protecting. As for the effects, they are phenomenal. I am hard-pressed to choose my favorite sequences, but the New York City sequences are pretty high up on my list, even though the script gets a little lost among the kicks and explosions. The film deserves to be seen in IMAX 3D; it is the kind of gem that this technology was made for.
The cast infuses the proceedings with plenty of heart and spunk. Downey has always been the perfect choice for Stark, and Hemsworth proved his leading man potential as Thor in his 2011 introduction to the Marvel universe. Hiddleston is quickly becoming one of the newest chameleon performers. His Loki is a sadistic yet vulnerable villain aiming for devastation in all forms, no questions asked. Johansson is a force to be reckoned with as the Widow, with her lines being quite the zingers, and Renner plays Hawkeye with a sense of duty and a bit of wry humor. The most affecting portrayal, though, belongs to Ruffalo, whose Bruce Banner is constantly at odds with himself and his unfortunate alter ego. Banner is reserved and almost frightened of his own self in this incarnation, which makes the anticipation of the Hulk's appearance palpably intense and turns the scene into one of the crucial points in the character's development.
The Avengers is one the best comic book adaptations in recent years. Its way of blending the earthly with the fantastic brings gravitas to the characters' stories and creates a stable context for their reality. It is a terrific cinematic escape fueled by intelligence and imagination, sure to delight comic book and film fans alike.
9/10
posted by raindropped @ 8:32 PM
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