Marvel has the upperhand.

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2012)

Thanks to names like Michael Bay and most recently, Peter Berg, movies that had all the makings of a motion picture event went from ridiculous to ludicrous in the short time it took a movie patron to feel the phantom pinch of money lost forever; But not if Joss Whedon has anything to say about it. And say he does! In what has to be the best super-hero action movie spectacle in a long, long time, Whedon gives you value and oomph, two sides of a coin if you will, for every buck you have put aside to watch this movie.
In epic form, both visually and cinematically, Whedon's screenplay begins where "Iron Man 2", "Thor" and "Captain America :The First Avenger" ends. A common thread running through these movies is Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D and proprietor of a task force, albeit super-human, put together to protect a sustainable energy source called the Tesseract from falling into the wrong hands. But it does and those hands belong to Loki, Thor's conniving adopted brother who arrives unannounced and steals the Tesseract. Following this prologue, Fury assembles the Avengers. From New York to Calcutta, Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and The Hulk converge on a mission to prevent Loki from exerting his devious plans. However, before our heroes can say "lock and load", they have to first learn a painful lesson about he values of humility and unity.
There are innumerable ways that make this movie a cinematic event for 2012. As the screenwriter and director, Whedon's first nuance is in hoisting this movie way above the hype it created ever since trailers piqued global interest last year. Up until now, we knew something big was brewing within the confines of the Marvel universe. Yet as we have seen before, very few film makers have succeeded in simultaneously pleasing Marvel fanboys as well as action movie fans. Again, this is where Whedon cuts a niche for himself in satisfying die-hard comic book fans alongside a generic cinema audience clueless about the two worlds that exist between Marvel and DC. From a cinematic standpoint, Whedon also goes as far as busting the myth that quantity is better than quality. With a plethora of Hollywood A-listers suited up in peculiar costumes (I dare say), the narration ensures that each of their characters add an equal and important input to the story. What I like about this is Whedon's method of giving each superhero 15 minutes of egotistical fame and then letting them pummel each other before receiving another round of motherless beatings from Loki and his unsightly army. During all this, the story is structured as such that none of our heroes actually gain dominance over the others. Yes, viewers will eventually find an individual preference but Whedon has cleverly taken the reliance on a main protagonist out of the equation. Personally though, I enjoyed every moment Bruce Banner turned into "the other guy". Then there is the icing on the cake ― Whedon's well written dialogue, void of clichés but rife with wit. Speaking of wit, this has to be the first superhero action movie induced with so much humor, that at times it is possible to miss a joke here and there. As such, Whedon's slight of hand is the perfectly timed moments when you are made to laugh right in the middle of an intense battle scene. Brilliant!
Without doubt, character portrayals are just spot on with all actors in top form. As expected, Robert Downey, Jr. brings his usual flamboyance as the billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man. Chris Evans is even better in his second outing as Captain America and is convincing as a 1940s hero grappling with current times. Again, Witty sarcasm between these two characters are well written and well placed. Other standouts are Mark Ruffalo as the timid Bruce Banner with a furious green giant lurking within, Scarlett Johansson as the sensuous and butt-kicking SHIELD agent and Jeremy Renner as the skilled archer, Hawkeye. Watch out for this guy, an up and coming one-man action movie hero rumored to take big names in some long running movie franchises. Centrally positioned as the antagonist, Tom Hiddleston's Loki brings along a malignant delusion to rule earth, whose only non-human deterrent is Chris Hemsworth's fellow Norse god, Thor. As polar opposites, both characters benefit from immersive depth by Hiddleston and Hemsworth, each having upped the notch since their previous team up in "Thor".
Centrally themed, most superhero movies are about saving the world from annihilation. With that premise done to death, Whedon's forte is in rolling out the plausibility that society's menace cannot be brought down with the will of just one strong individual. Clearly embedded is the message that it takes unity and a lot of heart to put up a worthy defense against any and all forms of evil. Before the end of summer, a lone hero lurking in the dark will try to prove otherwise. For now, it suffices to say that Whedon has raised the bar and in the process gives Marvel a shiny new upgrade. For now.