Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson
Director: Joss Whedon
Comic book fans who've kept their eyes peeled to the Internet for
every scrap of news since the film was first announced, will be
delighted to know that The Avengers more than lives up to their tall
expectations. The truth, in fact, is that even if you're unfamiliar with
the Marvel universe and the back-story of these superheroes, you're
still likely to find yourself cheering for the sheer spectacle that's up
on screen.
After successfully introducing movie-goers to Iron Man, Hulk,
Captain America, and Thor in previous films, the decision to get all
these big guns firing as one was brave to say the least…given that each
of them inhabits a different space, and comes with his own set of quirks
and characteristics. But writer-director Joss Whedon, a lifelong Marvel
fan, recognizes that challenge clearly, and uses exactly that to form
the basis of his story – in order to come together to fight a common
enemy, these superheroes must first sort out their own egos and
differences.
That enemy, by the way, is Loki, the Asgardian demi-god who you
might remember, was banished from the heavens at the end of Thor for his
propensity to create inter-galactic mischief. The Avengers opens with
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stealing the Tesseract, a powerful energy source,
with which he intends to open a portal to space to summon an alien army
to help him enslave all mankind.
In response, Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), director of
international peacekeeping agency SHIELD, gathers his best men:
billionaire industrialist Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr),
supersoldier Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans), god of
thunder and Loki's brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), ace scientist and
Hulk alter-ego Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), along with slinky Russian
spy Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and expert
marksman Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Together they must
work as a team to thwart Loki's world-ending scheme…but there's that
small matter of fighting amongst each other to resolve first.
Director Joss Whedon maintains a cracking pace, switching deftly
between spectacular action sequences, and witty interaction scenes
between the characters. Expectedly, Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man gets the
best lines here, especially his clever putdowns to the others – to the
red-caped Thor he asks, "Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?",
while to Banner he says: "I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and
turn into an enormous green rage monster."
It's particularly remarkable how Whedon ensures that the story
remains rooted in the characters, without ever compromising on the
punch-ups and the adrenaline-pumping set-pieces. The film's third act
for one, a thrilling alien-bashing finale on the streets of Manhattan,
is pure fanboy wet-dream.
The performances are top-notch across the board, particularly
from Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk far more sympathetically than in
the two previous films that starred Eric Bana and Edward Norton as the
angry green fellow. Ruffalo nails the almost precarious relationship
between Dr Banner and his alter ego, and delivers plenty spontaneous
laughs.
In the end, The Avengers isn't just an ultimate spectacle, but
also incredibly smart and surprisingly humorous. I'm going with four out
of five for The Avengers. It raises the stakes for comic-book movies
hereon… Batman and Spider-man, are you listening?
Rating: 4 / 5
by : Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN
