In the lead-up to Avengers: Infinity War (in cinemas 25 April), Liam Maguren re-watches The Avengers.
The Avengers was something special, novel and amazing. It triumphantly merged separate characters from separate films into one cinematic event, a cash-cow concept that has seen a couple of imitators embarrass themselves. Today, the DCEU holds together like a toilet paper piñata while the Dark Universe sleeps in a rotting casket.
How did Marvel Disney get this so right on their first try? For one, they did the groundwork. For two, they prioritised what mattered the most: the characters. For three, they hired Joss Whedon to write and direct.
Whedon gave every hero’s reintroduction a good amount of time – neither bloated nor malnourished – with a snappy scene that captured who they were in a bottle labelled ‘lightning’. Tony Stark traded smug quips for eye-rolls with Pepper Potts; Natasha Romanoff effortlessly took out three hostiles while bound to a chair; and Steve Rogers released his 70-year jetlag stress on numerous punching bags.
Mark Ruffalo, who had yet to prove himself as Bruce Banner, made the biggest impression in a scene that showed his calm demeanour and a behind-the-eyes exhaustion reflecting a troubled past. He also quietly intimidated the nearly unflappable Black Widow.
(Hawkeye fans who were kept waiting in Thor had to wait a little longer for their man to shine.)
Loki also got his own reintroduction as the key villain. Despite being defeated two movies ago, he was a wise choice. The film doesn’t have to clog the film with another origin story, so it kept the focus on the heroes. Plus, it allowed the franchise to pocket their heftier villains – namely Ultron and Thanos – for later.
Also, Loki does WAY more awful shit in this film. Not only did he possess people and kill 80 others in two days, he forked a dude’s eye like it was a meatball – and took glee it.
That scene led to the film’s first significant confrontation: Captain America vs Loki (Loki mocks Cap, Cap compares Loki to Hitler, they fight, it’s great). This moment marked the first time audiences saw two MCU characters from two different films go head-to-head. To make a cool thing even cooler, Iron Man showed up halfway through to the obnoxious sounds of AC/DC. Classic Stark move, there.
Thor was the last one to the party, arriving in a literal bolt of lightning. From there, the film goes on to answer a couple of ‘what if’ questions that fans pour their geek sauce over. Is Thor as strong as Iron Man’s suit? What happens when Mjölnir hits a vibranium shield? Can Cap really compete with a God and a human missile?
This is the beating heart of what makes The Avengers so loveable: these character interactions.
It says a lot when some of the most memorable parts of the film are dialogue exchanges. I could just hint at the punchline and you could probably fill the rest of the joke in. “He’s adopted?” “I understood that reference.” Galaga!
Whedon’s wit and writing won the audience over. It’s a good thing, too, because a lot of those scenes inside the heli-carrier look like they were shot in a TV studio. The lighting is bland, the camerawork is straightforward, and the set looks like a mediocre combo of The Office and the Starship Enterprise.
Thankfully, things went back to looking cool and cinematic when the action set pieces kicked in. Hulk and Thor traded blows, which included a very choice moment with the big green guy trying – and failing – to pick up the hammer. Cap and Iron Man put their differences aside to actually work together for once. Black Widow smacked the possession spell out of Hawkeye in a fight that showed us what the archer was capable of (finally!).
Of course, that sequence is merely a squeak compared to the sonic boom that is this film’s finale. It’s a long, sprawling, fun, funny, eye-pleasing climax that gave everyone their moment in the spotlight.
Cap gave out a plan of attack. Black Widow hijacked an alien vehicle. Thor ACTUALLY used his lightning for once. Hawkeye shot another out of the sky without looking. Hulk delivered the mother of all knockout punches. And even Loki got his moment.
Iron Man was also finally able to prove himself a worthy hero, deterring a government-sanctioned mega-bomb away from the city, through a wormhole, and at the enemy mothership. This honourable act ends up bearing consequences for Stark in Iron Man 3.
It’s an epic scene of blockbuster greatness, not just because it topped off an already entertaining film but because it lingers in the MCU long afterwards. PTSD is not ignored (Iron Man 3), collateral damage is not ignored (Civil War), not even the clean-up crew is ignored (Spider-Man: Homecoming).
So many films and TV shows in this universe refer back to this epic event. It takes a truly epic movie to earn that right.
Find disc & streaming options for ‘The Avengers’
