For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - The Avengers
The Impression:
Marvel’s been shakily building the path towards this
unbelievably enormous film since Tony Stark swaggered on to
the screen in Iron Man four years ago. They’ve
baubled a few of the films along the way (Iron Man 2
and Thor, ahem) but with Joss Whedon behind the
camera a film starring each and all of the main ass-kickers
from their respective films suddenly sounds downright
amazing.
The Reality:
For years and years and years (possibly to this day) every
comic book character’s book would get an Annual - a
super-sized behemoth rife with guest stars, and if well
executed, big plot advances and character developments. Joss
Whedon has created a near perfect end-of-the-year Annual. He
clearly understands comic books, the big book especially,
and his Avengers is a masterstroke in bringing
together a group of disparate, super-powered personalities
and letting them wreak havoc on each other and the world.
Whedon understands that the big Annual, the collaboration
book, isn’t about dense plot mechanisms, no no, it is about
bringing together Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America
(Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark
Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett
Johansson) and giving enough small moments amongst the
inevitable chaos. It’s about a simple three-act structure
where Act I features the gathering of the group, Act II the
lashing out of the collected super-heroes (on each other),
and Act III in which the group comes together to fight off a
horde of super beasts. Strangely enough in the smaller
moments in the film, a fight scene between Black Widow and
some Russians in particular, Whedon’s small screen
experience rears its ugly head and we’re suddenly watching
Buffy the Super Spy, but the final hour of the movie, one of
the great "New York gets destroyed" moments in recent film
history, proves Whedon more than an able big budget
director. His final hour is densely peppered with memorable
one-liners and scenarios that push forward character
development (as slight as it might be) while forcing "oohs"
and "aahs" from the collected audience. The favorite
characters continued to be my favorite characters (Iron Man
and Captain America in particular) but who truly stands out
is The Hulk, a character so far mishandled. Here, The Hulk
is a living weapon, so dangerous that even a group of
superheroes fear his Dr. Jekyll like turning. Whedon smartly
holds off The Hulk’s transformation until almost 2/3rds of
the film, building the suspense and the expectation. When
Bruce Banner suddenly turns from mild-mannered to hulking,
the film truly takes off, leaving behind the weighty baggage
of Marvel’s proposed multi-film narrative, and turning in to
the most enjoyable romp in years.
The Lesson:
Joss Whedon needs to be making Hulk movies.
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