Only after four marvelous viewings does my untrained eye feel qualified to offer a review on a visual masterpiece as spectacular as THE AVENGERS, which is the product of years of pining by super-geek fanboys, the vision of one of the more apt of these fanboys, Joss Whedon, the combined plotlines of five blockbuster Marvel films, and roughly $220 million. The result is a something incredibly captivating and supremely bad-ass.
While the most obvious attraction of the movie is the nearly hour-long (it truly seemed longer) fighting scene in New York City, which some have gone so far as the call the greatest action scene in the history of cinema, this is not a film devoid of other commendable qualities. The character development is another highlight: complex and riveting, though not unmanageable or too difficult to follow. Each Avenger either faces inner turmoil or is faced with the challenge of finding a niche in a world that does not necessarily accept them; each is forced, by the end, to either accept what they cannot change in themselves or to change what they can. For instance, The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) realizes at last that he must come to terms with his condition, Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.) finally becomes a team player, Captain America (Chris Evans) adjusts to life in an era entirely foreign to him, and The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) seeks to atone for past wrongs. It is extremely interesting, and in some cases moving, to watch as each character adjusts as they must to ensure that the Avengers initiative is a success and that the survival of the Earth is secured. While the obvious attraction in this and in every superhero movie is found in the otherworldly and supernatural fights for the preservation of mankind, the character development in THE AVENGERS leaves little to be desired, a testament to the work of the aforementioned Joss Whedon.
The other component of the Avengers that makes it so great is that it is, in parts, downright hilarious. In particular, Downey Jr.'s Ironman provides a combination of eloquent sarcasm and brilliant timing that brought the audience to audible laughter at least four to five times on each occasion that I saw this movie. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Ironman; I said so after each film in the Ironman series, and THE AVENGERS has only further cemented this idea in my mind. He perfectly portrays the self-made superhero in all of his lovable, egotistical complexity and sheer captivating genius; he is a complex man and thus convincingly acts in complex roles, with his work as Ironman and Sherlock Holmes providing prime examples. I loved that, despite the presence of perhaps more powerful heroes, he was, in the end, THE hero of the film, proving willing at last to sacrifice (in this case, his own life) towards a common goal. As Captain America alludes to about halfway through the film, the impression of Ironman is that he fights for no greater cause than himself, and so it was incredibly gratifying for me and for the audience to finally see concrete evidence that Tony Stark is indeed a superhero in the truest sense. To see him risk his life to save Earth, and then survive that risk against all odds, was the highlight of the film for me.
Lastly, as I have not done so yet, allow me to dwell for a moment on the brilliant spectacle of that final fight scene. It is truly a sight that must be seen in order to fully appreciate it; the task of describing it with words is not only frustrating but entirely inadequate. Every single Avenger is breathtaking in fighting off the vast, breathtaking (and convincing) aliens. The sheer power of the Hulk and Thor, the traditional heroism of Captain America, the technology employed by Ironman, the graceful martial arts of The Black Widow, and the work with the bow used by Hawkeye, who is nearly a new-age Legolas; all combine to create what has to be my favorite scene from any action movie in at least the last few years, and are, for lack of more eloquent terminology, ridiculously bad-ass. In fact, if there is a one-word review on a film that words can scarcely provide review for, it is just that: "bad-ass". I am entirely willing to go out on a limb and call THE AVENGERS the film of 2012. Even with seven months and hundreds of movies yet remaining in this year, I see none surpassing this. I rate THE AVENGERS 10/10, and could not have enjoyed the movie more thoroughly.On the topic of bad-ass: which Avenger, of the six, deserves that title most? I thought I would play around with a poll on this particular post; if it's popular, perhaps I'll bring it back. Let me know.
Before I finish this review though, a few, very minor complaints. Firstly, it seemed to me that the Hulk's turnaround from incredibly volatile and devoid of self-control to finely-tuned fighting machine was a bit sudden and perhaps a bit rushed and hard to believe. Secondly, as good friend and acclaimed movie critic Ryan Michaels pointed out, Samuel L. Jackson's character Dr. Fury had the potential to be more involved. Lastly, the teaser after the credits basically gave me and anyone else without much knowledge of the numerous Marvel series very little insight into the next film (apparently my observation that the creature shown looked a bit like Hellboy was misguided and, I am told, generally very funny to more knowledgeable parties).
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