The Real Super Pac

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2012)

This film is recommended.
Like those silly late-night infomercials found on cable television stations nationwide, with their cut-rate deals and instant add-ons used to entice any viewer to immediately buy into their product while supplies last, we unassuming consumers are there as gullible pawns bombarded by all the hype and promotion for the first of many summer blockbusters, namely Marvel's The Avengers, a movie that safeguards its Marvel franchise by adding, not one, not two, but six popular superheroes into the mix of action, fantasy, and adventure. The question remains: Is it worthy of your time and hard-earned cash, or just another disappointing come-on?
Well, without any warranty or guarantee, I can safely state that The Avengers exacts its vengeance upon all those other lackluster dim-witted comic book archetypes that sullied the name of its genre in the past, with dreck that was recently foisted on the movie-going public, in films like The Green Lantern, Watchmen, and Captain America. Well...WHAMM! BAM! KAPOW!...
This highly entertaining film knocks it out of the park, with one fell swoop of its mighty hammer, American shield, and its major muscle action. This pic uses its well defined pecs again, to right that injustice, thanks to the superpowers of its director / director, Joss Whedon and Industrial Light & Magic. The film is all action sequences strung together to elicit enough excitement for the fan-boys and teenage crowd and still amuse the older set.
A team of super humans, mutants, and even a demi-god have been assembled to save the Earth from destruction, a simple but overused formula that sets the stage for explosions, chases, and super effects. S.H.I.E.L.D. ( Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, with an emphasis on the E and not much evidence of the L word ), run by Nick Fury ( Samuel L. Jackson ), who wears an eye-patch and a scowl so you know he's a serious threat, enlists the aid of Ironman ( Robert Downey ) Captain America ( Chris Evans ), and the mighty Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ). Also joining the crew for this outing are Mark Ruffalo as the introspective Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, a welcome addition, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, with his never-ending illogical supply of arrows, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, a kick-butt in-your-face heroine, as they fight against the evil Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ), ready to unleash his lethal ball of gamma rays or, more precisely, his blue energy cube known as Tesseract, the McGuffin of the story. That's all you really need to know. There's not much depth of character, dramatic readings, or intricate plot in this type of movie genre. Let's face it, it's all about the action set pieces, the clever one-liners, and the CGI that you've come to see. And there's plenty of that!
Fortunately, this group of "freaks" take their loner status personally and Whedon wisely deals with their individual "uniqueness" in clever ways, having some of the superheroes relishing their powers while others question their calling. These personalities have nothing in common, except for wielding their power and zingers at random. Yet they are forced to unite, for the good of mankind, and become a team in this Super Bowl of Mayhem.
The production values are top-notch and the use of 3-D is quite effectively done with its subtle use of foreground, middle, and background perspectives. Kudos to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey and the fine art direction by James Chinlund. The film is also enhanced by Alan Silvestri's musical score that never overpowers its imagery and impressive use of sound editing that layers the lively action on screen.
The actors bring much humor and grace to their characters and their quirks, especially strong are Johansson as the red-haired leather-clad dynamo and Ruffalo, who underplays his role as the conflicted green menace to maximum effect, although I still have a problem with The Hulk's expandable pants malfunction. ( There is one unexpected comic scene during the climactic battle that may become a classic cinematic moment. ) Downey's urban egotistical playboy hero and Evan's clean-cut and slightly dopey Captain make good contrasting foils in their approach to problem-solving. In his underwritten role as Thor, Hemsworth is not given much complexity this time around. Perhaps, most importantly, the villain of the story is played by Hiddleston, who has perfected a smarmy sneer of a smile, reminiscent of Ledger's Riddler without the jungle red lipstick and whiteface make-up. He makes a terrific villain, which needs to be the case if a film like this is to succeed.
And succeed it does. While it is true that too much of the film is the typical crash and burn found in action films nowadays, and much of the clash and combat sequences are of the titanic variety and go on for far too long, Marvel's The Avengers is one of the better examples of comic book fantasy films that not only engages but completely satisfies its movie-going audiences with its excellent visual effects and thrills. As a film, Marvel's The Avengers is an efficient marvel of filmmaking that lives up to its own hype. KAPOW! GRADE: B
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