The very definition of 'crowd pleaser.'

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2012)

Anzac day. Public holiday. Late night session. Not an empty seat in the house. The atmosphere was at a deserved premium for the year's most anticipated film, and The Avengers did not disappoint. The king of sci-fi television, director Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly) enlists the help of one Samuel L. Jackson in assembling Earth's mightiest heroes to protect humanity against the greatest threat to our existence in history. Sounds pretty stockstandard, right? It should, because The Avengers makes no move towards trying to reinvent the genre, but rather takes everything that makes a film like this enjoyable and cranks it to eleven, proving there's some life in the blockbuster yet.
All is peaceful on planet Earth with the all-powerful Cosmic Cube safely in the hands of Nick Fury and SHIELD. That is until Loki, Thor's evil half-brother from another realm, storms the castle and commits larceny of the grandest scale. His actions convince Fury that the world is indeed at war, and he is left with no choice but to reinstate the Avengers Initiative. With it, he brings together The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and the big cheese Iron Man to take down this mighty foe. Unfortunately, all signs point to the superheroes killing each other before saving the Earth. 'Cause, you know, priorities.
The film's unquestioned drawcard has always been its ensemble cast and, more importantly, the potential for spectacular chemistry between the leads. This forced sceptics to beg the question: How long will this gimmick last before everyone starts to get in each other's way? The final product allays such concerns with ease, as Whedon, his fellow writers and the actors all deserve equal credit for their depiction of the superteam as the ultimate dysfunctional family.
To the mere mortal, a superhero can appear angelically honourable and beyond reproach. Throw four of five of them into one room and they become stubborn, irritable and deviously arrogant just like the rest of us. Watching this dynamic progressively unfold throughout the film is a treat, as the Avengers bicker over almost anything, all with a watch-me-prove-I'm-better-than-you macho attitude.
A witty script almost entirely devoid of clichés that allows room for sufficient individual character development certainly helps this dynamism. Stark copes with fighting for something greater than himself for once, Banner draws sympathy as a brilliant mind struggling with a crippling case of split personality and the contrasting ideas Thor and Loki possess regarding freedom, arguably the film's most prominent theme, all contribute to the film's depth without disrupting the excellent pacing.
Walking into this film in the right frame of mind, one would find most minor flaws few and far between. Not every one-liner or scripted joke hits the mark, in typical Marvel fashion, and Cobie Smulders' character comes off as underused and unnecessary in stark contrast (no pun intended) to her prominence in the trailers.
Kudos must also go to the execution of the 'megascene', that is, the forty-minute climactic battle between the Avengers and Loki's army. While it is certainly nothing new, the megascene has become more and more of a staple in major action franchises of late, including the last Harry Potter and Transformers films. The ambitious nature of the set piece by sheer design means things can get ugly and repetitive in a hurry if care is not taken to ensure the audience is engaged at all times (see: Dark of the Moon).
With The Avengers, though, the final act is not only visually fascinating, but also mentally stimulating, constantly jumping between various settings and characters involved, with new developments occurring every couple of minutes to ensure one doesn't even come close to losing interest. After a string of commercially dominant but critically indifferent projects, it appears Marvel has finally hit the jackpot in every sense of the word.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*